A day in the life of your friendly neighbourhood locksmith

A day in the life of your friendly neighbourhood locksmith

AC Locksmiths Norfolk

Just recently I had a call from a gentleman looking to start up as a locksmith in another county. He wasn’t going to be my competition, so I thought I’d take five minutes to answer his questions and give him some advice. Half an hour later, we were still talking and I had only scratched the surface. Being a locksmith in the UK is hard compared to other places.

From what I read of American locksmiths, their locks are pretty easy to pick but they are pretty standard, so locksmiths tend to re-key locks rather than replace the whole thing. That means they are used to dealing with the same locks day in, day out. Re-keying is where you take out the old pins, put new ones in, using a different configuration and cut keys to match. Across as much of Europe as I have been, the locks are usually euro cylinders, the type we see most commonly in UPVC doors. These are everywhere, and again, pretty easy to get through if you know what you are doing and have the correct tools.

But here is the UK, you never know what sort of lock you are going to find. Nightlatches (Yale locks), mortice (Chubb) locks in 2, 3, 5 or even 7 lever varieties, Rim locks mounted on to one side of the door with a long key, wooden doors, metal doors, composite doors, hollow doors, upvc doors and on and on and on. UPVC doors have in excess of 37 mechanism manufacturers, all whom produce multiple designs with multiple sizes of those designs. To be prepared for any situation, I would need to go to every job in an articulated lorry! If you ever think of going into this business, you must be prepared to learn a lot on the job. Even now, I am coming across things I have never seen before in over 13 years on the job.

So what is my day like? Unlike city locksmiths, being one of the few Norfolk locksmiths, my area is huge. Norfolk has quite a sparse population well spread out and with a notion that we are a ‘safe’ county. That means I can drive for up to an hour to reach my jobs. Admittedly, I do try to keep local, but right now, there is a massive shift in holiday let fire regs and I am racing across the North Norfolk coast fitting thumb turn locks for all those that need keyless escapes. That means from my base, I travel all the way to Hunstanton in one direction and as far as Happisburgh in the other. I will go further, but this is my main focus.

So, Monday means getting to the first job for 9. Mondays are always busy so this will be booked from last week. By the time I finish the first job, I’ve been interrupted by two more bookings and two or more advice calls. With something unexpected happening at the first job (customer not there because they decided to walk the dog and leave me waiting for half an hour, I am already late for the second job. But one of those calls I just received is from someone locked out with desperate need to get back in and pick up the CV they need for their job interview. They are also on a large divert from a direct route to my original second (now third job). With no time to put anything away tidily in my van (my wife never believes that), I hurry to the lock out. Five minutes away, I get the call that the lockout has found a neighbour with a key and they don’t need me. So now I am really late for the second job and have nothing to show for it. Luckily, when I get to the second job, it is really easy for me and I am away in fifteen minutes, catching up time, but not enough to keep my van tidy (honestly, wife!)

The third job is a long distance one, so there and back is nearly three hours. Unfortunately, I need to order parts, so apart from getting them secure, there is not much to do. That’s three (nearly four) visits and only two have resulted in me getting paid today (I don’t usually charge if I can’t do anything). I then come home. I have a backlog of paperwork to do, parts to order and a van tidy to ignore (tomorrow when the weather is better!) During this time, more calls come in and more appointments/queries need to be addressed via email. But Monday is my favourite day. I play football on a Monday night so it is the one time I can switch off. I have been known to go to jobs after playing 5 aside football, but now I ache too much. Any other night I am ready to go when the phone rings. This last week it was Friday and Sunday nights, but luckily on both, I was home by 11pm, so in bed ready for the next day. Tuesday is likely to be more easy jobs like measuring up for thumb turn locks, because I am a wuss with the football (maybe next day for the van tidy!). But the emergencies come in anyway and I can only hope for the long drives in between!

99% of people understand that locksmiths are different to most other traders. We don’t often get big jobs like builders. Most of our time is in between jobs. So when we turn up and get you inside your home in five minutes, the money you pay is for the time to get to you, to return home, the fuel, wear and tear on the van, the time advertising, doing paperwork and eventually tidying the van!

admin February 26, 2024

Locksmiths norfolk /

Safes: locks & maintenance

How safe is your safe?

safe

Recently, I have been having a few calls from customers asking me to gain entry to their safes. Either codes have been forgotten, keys have been lost, or batteries (in electronic safes) have been allowed to run down to flat.

Within the locksmithing industry, opening safes is a whole extra level of learning and the courses, along with the correct quality tools are rather expensive. This in turn makes the cost to the customer quite expensive as well. In Norfolk, there are just not enough customers for me to take on the extra expense. To make it worthwhile, I would have to put up my normal prices, and I am trying to keep as competitive as possible. While there are other locksmiths in Norfolk who will gain access to your safe, and I will be happy to guide you to them, safe opening is not something I generally do. There are exceptions, however. If your safe is small, the chances are I can get in through destructive methods and provide a new safe for a similar cost to the safe specialist simply gaining entry (they might also use destructive methods and charge more).

Safe

Better still, good practical maintenance of the safe is always the best course of action. A common scenario is when an elderly relative passes away and the family discover that the safe with all the important documents is battery operated and the batteries have long since gone flat because they were never changed. If you have elderly relatives, remind them to change the batteries yearly. Make sure you have at least two keys and they are stored in places where they cannot be damaged. One key should be kept at another safe location. I have had a case where one key was lost and the spare had been kept….in the safe itself (a common mistake with spare car keys as well – keeping the spare key in the glove compartment is not a good idea)! Simply opening the safe on a regular basis just to make sure all the levers seem to be working good, is also good practice. And always observe the “you get what you pay for rule.” If you buy a cheap safe from the high street, the chances are it will not last.

While I have said I do not generally gain entry to safes, I do provide and install all sizes of safe from the small ones that will hold documents to commercial sizes. I recommend that any household safe be replaced every ten years at the very maximum. I am also happy to arrange annual safe maintenance visits and do the things like battery changes that many people seem to forget. My aim is to make sure you can access your valuables when you need to by having the work done when it is economically convenient, rather than face a high call out fee at a time when you least need it.

Should you require a free consultation about safe installation, or just a question about the above or any of my other blog subjects, please do get in touch via any of the methods on my contacts page.

Thanks for reading.

 

admin November 2, 2016

Locksmiths norfolk / maintenance / safes /

Better Locks for All

Big things are happening at AC Locksmiths; I went to an industry Expo this past weekend (exciting stuff, I know!) and came away with the feeling that while I have been happy with the service I have thus far provided for my customers, there is room for improvement.

Regular readers of my blogs will know I am driven to educate my customers that fitting BSI kite marked products ensures, at the very least, that insurance standards are met. Yet, I still carry many non-kite marked products as I have also had to compete with other locksmiths on price. This has always been hard, because I have yet to find another locksmith who advertises their costs. So therefore, I am contradicting myself.
With that in mind, come this Spring, instead of fitting like for like standard locks with the option to upgrade, I will be fitting the best standard locks I can in all cases, where possible.

To give an example of the difference, let’s look at the barrel lock of a UPVC door. If your barrel does not display a kite mark, it’s a bit like having a small factory standard hatch back car. It serves a purpose. There are modifications you can make, but the barrel is still vulnerable as the car is still a hatchback and you wouldn’t want to drive across America in one. You can now buy kite marked cylinders in the shops. These however, are 1 star rated and still vulnerable to attack and so you need extra products like armoured handles or cylinder guards. So this is like the factory standard family saloon car. More comfort, but you still need to buy the extras to want that something special. The locks I will be carrying to fit as standard are made by British Company ABS and they are a stand alone 3 star and Sold Secure Diamond rated. This is like the car you want to own. For me it’s a ’69 Corvette. For my wife it’s an Audi A4. For you it might be a Lexus, or a McClaren F1. The point is, this lock is that good! BS3621 has now been superseded by a new standard which is TS007, and this lock fits this standard without buying additional products. At the price I will charge for this product (more on that later) it will be cheaper to install than buying a 1 star rated barrel from the shops and the extra kit to achieve the same level of protection.

Of course it will not always be possible to install the very best and I am always understanding of budgets, so as always, I will be happy to order standard products and return within 48 hours at no extra cost with the lesser quality product. In extreme cases, second hand products will be available, subject to undamaged removal from previous properties (although these will not have the same guarantees).

In addition to the above, I can provide more security in the form of safes to fit all requirements, be it for documents, jewellery, lap tops and beyond, even up to commercial level. I have a full brochure of safe products, most of which can be delivered and fitted within the week.

Of course, for all the locking products in the world, I cannot make or install burglar proof glass and there is always the window as a method of entry for the determined intruder. And with that in mind, I also install wireless CCTV and alarm systems which can even send a direct message to your mobile phone and be pet friendly, allowing your animals to roam free while being alert for larger human size intruders.

I also intend to improve on my already outstanding personal service, (see testimonials page) by explaining the items I am fitting and what makes them great in more detail so my customers know that they are getting true value for money. So, what about cost? Well, the Spring and Summer seasons are going to be a trial period.

* I am freezing my labour cost at £50.00 flat fee regardless of time (remember most charge hourly).

* I am also going to keep my work labour free if the locking products come to more than £100.

* A full BSI 3621 Nightlatch kit will remain at £116.00 (cheaper than buying it yourself and paying labour to have it fitted).

* If it is just a Rim cylinder (Yale type lock) that you need the price is rising to £38.00 as I will be using the ABS range which are as good as the UPVC barrels described above.

* A mortice (Chubb) with handles will remain at £62.00

* A mortice deadlock (no handles) will rise to £44.00

* The ABS UPVC Euro cylinder will trial throughout Spring and Summer for £62.00

* The Standard UPVC Euro cylinder will remain at £42.00 (although you may have to wait 48 hours for one to be ordered)

Of course there are many more products that I supply and fit, all of which I will price for you before ever starting any work so you can decide whether to go ahead or not. Please check back for updates as to exact start dates for the new prices and please feel free to contact should you have any questions.

Thanks for reading.

admin April 3, 2014

insurance standard locks / Locksmiths norfolk / Safe installation /

Locksmith Prices Norfolk

Transparency of Prices

AC Locksmiths is committed to giving its customers the best service possible at the best possible price, but I am sometimes asked why locking products can be expensive when compared to the shops, and why locksmiths’ prices vary so much. So, in the interest of full transparency, I will do my best to explain and give you, the customer an informed choice as to which locksmith you should use.

In research for this blog, I have been unable to find one single other locksmith brave enough to advertise a labour rate. This is because they change their rates depending on time of day, day of the week, bank holidays, etc. My rate is a flat cost of £50. I do advertise this as an hourly rate, but have never charged beyond the first hour, so whether I am at your house for five minutes or five hours, the cost is the same. £50 may seem like a lot of money if I am only with you for a short time to get you into your home, but when you take into consideration my fuel and car running costs, time to get to and from your property, advertising, web site running, and all the other little costs that are needed to run a small business, I can promise you there is very little actual profit margin. But to charge more would bring me too close to the competition and I want to be able to give my customers value for money.

But what about the locks?  Yes, like all locksmiths I make profit on these, but again not as much as you might think. Sometimes my products are twice as expensive as what you might pay in a DIY store but there are reasons for this. Big name stores have the buying power to buy their items in bulk, gaining them huge discounts. They can also spread their profits across all the items in store, so are even able to price some smaller products very low and counter that with a larger profit on a larger item. I, on the other hand, only have the capacity for smaller amounts of stock, meaning I have to take more time to make orders, pay for more delivery fees and pay more myself as I cannot get the large order discounts. So again, my profit margin is not nearly so great, even though I am charging more than the big name shops. You pay more through me because I have to carry stock that I might not need for six months, but I want to have the right lock on hand when you need it wherever possible. But even if I don’t have what you need on board, that is my problem and unlike some locksmiths, I won’t charge a second time when I return with the correct parts.

I also use the best quality products I can. After all, I give all my customers a guarantee of my work and do not want to be called back against that guarantee. I am also happy for you to source your own locks for me to fit. My running costs come out of my labour, so my customers are more than welcome to provide their own locks for me to fit.

Another query came from an estate agent who asked about a difference in price from a lock I supplied and the one he found on line. The door in question was upvc. Readers of my previous blogs will know I am trying to educate my readers and customers to the fact that most upvc door locks do not meet insurance standards as they are not BS3621 rated. If I replace one of these for a customer, I give them a choice of replacing like for like or upgrading to the insurance standard. But if I come across a kite marked cylinder, I must replace it with another kite marked cylinder because no locksmith worth having would downgrade any customer’s security. So when I replaced a like for like BS3621 rated cylinder, the estate agent looking after the property questioned the cost as he had found a cylinder on line for a fraction of the cost. Needless to say I looked up the lock the estate agent found and discovered it to be a brand I had never heard of and only of standard non-insurance rating, therefore the comparison was a waste of time. When you use a tradesman, part of the cost goes into the expertise of knowledge. I know that my insurance rated cylinders for upvc doors are better than the ones you can buy in the DIY superstore and yes, they are more expensive. But I know they will also do a better job of deterring  break ins.

Before I sign off this blog, I want to give one final example of how pricing can vary; I found a product very similar to one of my locks in a well known DIY store recently and it was nearly half the price I charge. This made me question the price I had set. A day later, I happened to be in another well known (but not as popular) DIY store where I found the same product was over £10.00 more than the first DIY store. That’s more than £10 difference between two big name companies. Now either one is simply overcharging, or the other is off setting losses against other profits because the lock was branded the same and would have come from the same supplier. Less than a week later, I happened to be in a more localised DIY and hardware shop where the same product was a lot closer in price to my own. This last shop was still very big and had a huge range of products to offset profits with, and even though still less than my own price, their profit margin was obviously much more.

And so I hope this explains why sometimes, the products I have on board may be more expensive than similar ones you can buy in the shops. The prices I set are as fair as I can possibly make them and I am not scared to advertise my prices as I believe an honest pricing system backed up by a friendly, efficient service will, and does, bring in recommendations, repeat custom and happy customers.

Thanks for reading.

admin February 11, 2014

Locksmith prices Norfolk / Locksmiths norfolk /

Save money when searching for a local tradesperson

Regular readers of my blog will know by now that AC Locksmiths Norfolk wants to spare as many people as possible from wasting money on National Companies, not just in the locksmithing trade, but others as well such as plumbing, electrical, etc.   I am not going to say that the National Companies have not been a help to me, because I would not have survived without sub-contract work and it continues to help pay the bills. This is the first reason I still do it. The second is that by sub-contracting out, my vehicle is also seen more – which generates my own private business. While I never give out my own cards whilst doing work for other companies, (this would breach my contract with them) hopefully the signage on my vehicle is seen by neighbours who might use me direct in the future.

All the above being said, it pains me to turn up at properties and have to charge the customers nearly double the amount I would be asking for if it were my own work.

So why do these large, nationwide companies need to charge so much?

Firstly, between forty and fifty per cent of the cost is to pay the sub-contractor and materials used. They then have the costs of large adverts in local directories, payments to ensure they are at the top of internet search engines as well as local telephone number diversions so that they can make you believe they are actual local companies. They also then need teams of  telephone operators to take the calls from all over the country as well as their managers, IT specialists and of course their company directors. That is a lot of money to pay out before they even think of profits.

This all means that there are certain things these companies have to do to maximise their profits. There may be encouragement of more destructive entry methods that destroy the locks, thus meaning more profit in the mark-up of a new product. Some will charge labour twice if the engineer does not have the required products on board (- quite common when there are so many locking devices, especially for UPVC doors that are not easily inter-changeable.) Some will take your debit card details up front making you uneasy about shopping around. Some will give you an expected arrival time, with no idea where they are going to find a sub-contractor to do the actual work and then keep you hanging for up to two hours, before giving an excuse as to why the engineer could not make it. Then there is VAT. Because they have high cash turn overs, they have to charge VAT. That is an extra £20 on top of every £100 you spend. In most cases, you are paying nearly £100 just for the locksmith to be there and although there may be “no call out fee” as soon as the engineer touches your locking product he or she is into the “£ per hour or uncompleted part thereof” clause.

This means that for something simple like a broken window handle on a double glazed unit, the engineer may have to spend a few minutes securing the window in the shut position requiring one payment of nearly £100 including VAT. Unless you have the most basic of handles, he or she will have to go away and order another one. When he or she comes back, there will be another labour charge of nearly £100 plus the small cost of the new handle. It should take less than ten minutes. These labour rates are just weekday office hours as well. If you need someone in the evening, or at weekends or on bank holidays, i.e. when you are not at work, then the charges go up. So unless you want to lose money by taking time off work, you have to pay more to have the locksmith come to you at a convenient time. You can’t win. The national companies have to charge more to encourage their sub-contractors to work the so called unsociable hours, though.

When you see the reasons for the high costs, it all makes sense. After all, no-one creates a business without wanting to make a good profit and the larger the company, the more overheads there are and the more you need to do to make a profit. But for the customer, it is a large pay out. You are essentially paying a large company to contact a locksmith local to you who would do the work for him or herself at a fraction of the cost and he or she will still be better off than taking on that same job through the national company. And this is not just true of locksmiths. Other trades have national companies that use sub-contractors as well;- Glazers, plumbers and electricians amongst others can all use sub-contract workers, especially in the emergency work areas.

So what can you do to save on these extra costs. Well, the best way takes a bit of planning and a little time, but is well worth it. I have mentioned this in a previous blog, but it really works. Sit down and think about all the services you may ever need. Plumbers, carpenters, decorators, chimney sweeps, mechanics and all the others you can think of.  Look through the internet or local directories and find those tradesmen who are local. Ring them up and ask if they are genuinely local and if so, what their labour rates are, including VAT (you don’t want surprises). Write the information down somewhere safe. Do this until you have two or three for each trade (you never know your first choice may be unavailable when you need them). If you can, put these numbers in  your mobile phone. They may come in handy if you are with a friend or, in the case of a locksmith, you may lose your keys but still have your mobile phone.
You will also get a feel for the type of person you may be required to use in the future and notes are always good. For example, someone who is cagey about their labour rates may be the sort of person who makes it up as they go along and therefore only to be used if your other options fail. You might prefer a cheery tradesman to a grumpy one, or someone who is more willing to discuss what they do and how they do it. This is time consuming but well worth the effort if you need a tradesman in an emergency. This will also help you better know the range of services offered by your local trades people.
For example, I recently did a window handle change through a National Company. The customer did not know locksmiths did this and had requested a double glazing engineer. Luckily, the particular company worked both fields and was able to allocate the work to me.

If you do not want to go through the above process, then when you do need the tradesperson, ask at the beginning of the phone call if they are truly local. Will they sub-contract the job? Where exactly are they based? Can you talk to the actual person who is coming out to you? At the end of the day, if they are going to sub-contract the work, then the person they will use is available through direct contact and you should try another number and pay less for the same service. Small adverts in local directories are not cheap so ask yourself would a genuine local trader take out a huge advert in the yellow book, or is that likely to be a national company using a local number?

So, now you have read this, please feel free to copy and paste it and send it to all your friends and family. In times of austerity, we could all do with spending less for work we have done. Plus supporting your local businesses means boosting the local economy. Win Win!

If you have any further questions, please contact me through any of the methods on our contacts page. www.ac-locksmiths-norfolk.co.uk

 

 

 

 

 

admin November 21, 2013

Locksmiths norfolk /

Why choose AC Locksmiths Norfolk?

There are several Locksmiths available to carry out your work in the Norfolk area, so we have done some research on the competition to find out what sets us apart. Please take a minute or two to read the following and make your own mind up.

  • We are a genuine local company, based in Norfolk meaning the money you pay remains in the local economy stimulating local business.
  • We do not sub-contract out our work.
  • We are transparent with our pricing. Our labour rates for 2013/14 are £50 regardless of time of day, weekends or bank holidays. (£70 for car entry) and there are no labour costs if the locking products exceed £100. We can find no other locksmith website in this part of the country that advertises its’ prices. We find this fact very significant as we believe in being open and honest about our pricing from the first – there are no unpleasant surprises regarding what we charge our customers.
  • We are a qualified locksmith, we hold the highest level of accreditation in the country, NCFE level 3; this means we have trained and gained the appropriate qualifications. This is of particular importance in an industry that, so far is unregulated. (Although this should hopefully be changing soon.) We know that there are not many locksmiths that can offer this high standard at the prices we charge.
  • We still offer free security checks of your house, garage, office etc. – with no obligation to buy.
  • We often give free advice over the phone.
  • We do not charge labour twice if we have to make a second visit because we did not have your product on board the first time around.
  • Our existing customers are rewarded for loyalty by having labour rates frozen against future rises, i.e. last year’s customers continue to pay last year’s labour rates.
  • We stock second hand products for customers who cannot afford new ones.
  • We agree the full cost before work commences.
  • We take pride in our work: – that’s why we get testimonials and recommendations (which go on the testimonials page.) These are all genuine, from happy, satisfied customers.
  • We do not charge VAT, and will not charge it until we have to – this alone saves 20% off your final costs.
  • We write information blogs to help you save money, or inform you how to improve your security.
  • We want to be the best and are always on the look out for ways to improve without impacting on our prices.

admin May 31, 2013

AC Locksmiths / Locksmiths norfolk / qualified locksmith /

Saving money reminder

Time has flown since my last blog and lots have happened. Christmas has been surprisingly busy with an increase in window locks, (I will talk about this later) and a house move which has reminded me how much family pulls together when needed. Also this site is undergoing a few tweaks which we are really excited about. Hopefully, this will make us stand out even more.
But, back to the house move. As soon as we had a move date, the usual worries started about the cost of it all, particularly the removal van. As we were not moving very far, we thought a large van and a few trips would suffice. Looking back, I can honestly say that without some very hard work from our family we would have taken a week rather than a day to get done. This has set me to thinking about how, in my experience, many of us are so caught up in our own lives and issues, we do not stop to think about our siblings until those big days like house moves, weddings, etc, and while it is great to be there for these occasions, many of us do the dutiful visits but then go through the same routines. The point I am trying to make is this, if you have siblings, parents, cousins, friends, neighbours, even work colleagues, start talking to them about the more everyday things that cause problems or you could do  with advice on. Find out who their energy suppliers are, who their plumber is, who their locksmith is, do they know anything at all that could make your own life easier and do you know anyone or anything that could potentially help them. If someone in your life is elderly,you could check they are having essential things like boiler services done (without trying to take their independence away) and that they are coping as well as they like to think in an ever more complicated world.
And finally, my advise would be  – you could club together to save money. We say we charge £45 per hour for labour, but I have nearly always found that doing multiple lock jobs, gives me enough profit to be able to waiver any labour cost beyond that first hour. Therefore, if you wanted to upgrade your own locks, you should talk to your neighbours first and see if they want to improve their own home security. Providing the whole job was within a reasonable distance, the labour cost would not only be shared, but reduced as well. This is a policy that could be extended to all trades and should be. After all, most of the trades persons labour charge is to cover things like petrol, tools, etc. If that trades person only has  to travel once, then their own costs go down, a saving that may be passed to the customer.
So, look at your jobs that need doing, talk to your friends, neighbours and family to find out if they are in a similar position and if so, see if you can get the work done cheaper between you. If nothing else, you will be that little bit closer to all.
This talk will also enable you to start your own directories of trusted traders that can be relied on for quality work at reasonable prices.

Now, back to those windows. Insurers are increasingly insisting that upper storey windows have locks as well as the ground floor. Check your own Buildings and Contents policy and then check your windows. I recently astounded myself with how easy it is to gain entry to an unlocked casement window with only rudimentary tools. I am also aware of entire estates of newer build properties that have the wooden double glazed windows. These are often built with lockable windows downstairs but non-lockable upstairs. Check now, because there must be nothing worse than the break in followed by the bad news of invalid insurance.

Finally, some bad news. It is with regret that we are going to  increase labour rates at the start of the new financial year in April. This is due to continued motoring costs and the need to cover such a large area. The increase will be between £5 and £10 ( still to be costed and finalised), but we do intend to continue our current policy of keeping labour rates the same regardless of time of day or day of week.

admin January 20, 2013

insurance / Locksmiths norfolk / saving money /