When you call a locksmith, one of the main questions you should have (in most states) is, “are you licensed and insured?”. Unfortunately, many states do not require locksmiths to be licensed, which causes many problems. The most common problem that is encountered because of this lack of license requirements, is that anyone can be a “locksmith” in that state. This causes many issues because many handy men and untrained individuals are now calling themselves locksmtihs, and doing very poor quality work for their clientele. The number of times that our company has been called out to repair the work of these “locksmiths”, and the number of times we have had to re-rekey locks because the homeowner was afraid that these unprofessional men may have kept their key, or intimidated them into paying much more than should have been owed is unbelievable.
To avoid getting someone with no experience, or someone that will take advantage of your situation, you should always try to call local numbers rather than 1-800 numbers, and you should always ask if the locksmith is insured, how many years they have been in business, weather they can supply good references, check their reviews online, and when they arrive at your location, look them over before allowing them into your home, if they don’t look professional, with logos, name tags, a marked vehicle, and seem over all professional, they may not be the greatest technicians.
As proud, professional locksmiths, we are fighting very hard to eliminate this problem. Not only do these unprofessional men leave their customers unsatisfied, but they give a bad name to the rest of us in the security industry.