There are some myths about locksmiths that some might still are the actual truth. When hiring a locksmith some people would avoid one service or another because of a myth that might mislead to a wrong decision.
Here are 7 myths about locksmiths that you’d might want to discard when hiring your next locksmith.
All locksmiths are the same
There is a misconception about that all locksmiths are the same;
Well in fact there a quiet a few types of locksmiths. Some locksmiths specialize in vehicles while others in commercial services, safes and others. Here are some of the different types of locksmiths:
- Emergency locksmiths – Usually works 24 hours a day. Some even on weekends and bank holidays. Emergency locksmiths will provide you with door and lock opening, repairs and installations.
- Auto Locksmiths – Will help you with unlocking and fixing issues in your vehicle’s locksmith systems. Auto locksmiths can also cut keys at your location and program new keys for your car.
- Commercial locksmiths – Specialize in fitting and maintenance of security systems for commercial properties. The ability to handle master keying and access control systems are some traits of the commercial locksmith.
- Forensic locksmiths – Who’s job is aimed at telling the police how a lock was opened or cracked.
In addition, there are safes engineers also known as “safes locksmiths” and locksmiths that also offer home security services.
Like in all industries with locksmiths too there are those who are certified and those who aren’t. This doesn’t make a different type of locksmith but does worth a reminder to make the distinction.
All locksmith services are costly
Locksmith services could start or get expensive but are not essentially costly in their nature.
As with every service the price of locksmiths would be determined by:
- Your requirements.
- The time you need the service for.
- The company that you hire.
The cost of locksmith services in some parts of the UK are as low as £35 for a simple opening of a door during day time. In large cities like London it could increase to £60 for the same. If the service is delivered during “out of hours” the cost can be higher and even doubled.
Locksmiths doesn’t have to be costly. If you’d like to keep it cheaper just make your research, verify the rates and understand the pricing scheme in advance.
Locksmith jobs are quite easy
The short answer is no! It might look easy at times (particularly in the movies or on TV), but the locksmith’s work involves so much more than that. Becoming a locksmith takes, skill, passion and commitment. In a course of a year you could get a pretty good experience if you’re a fast learner but that’s only the start.
Traffic – The locksmith’s worst nightmare. When you need to attended to a call out in 30 minutes and stuck in the traffic of London the stress is significant. After sometime stress builds up and get you into real anxiety. Lucky for locksmiths these days there are Apps like Waze that makes the drive faster and less stressful.
Experience – There are so many different types of locks and mechanisms which means that locksmiths need to be able to retain and recall a wide range of intricate information about locks and how they function.
Sacrificing Nights and Holidays – Much of the work a locksmith does can be on evenings and at weekends, it can get tiring waking frequently for night calls and to give up weekends. Some locksmiths temp to go on night call outs as these are more profitable jobs (due higher call out rates at night). So being a locksmith requires energy and giving up some precious free time.
Nature of the job – Locksmiths have to be resilient yet firm in the face of adversity; they need to be able to remain calm when others are losing their head and work to come up with the best solution possible for the problem at hand. They are experiencing many situations, sometime inconvenient ones like being hired by crooks, being held on site by the police until an incident is over, etc.
Yet and nonetheless for those who fit to the job it is an exciting profession that enriches you with some great stories to tell to your grandsons 🙂
Locksmiths use similar products
In the UK there are a few national suppliers of locks and security systems which actually makes many locksmiths using similar products.
However;
- A locksmith might not use solely or only the most popular suppliers.
- The locksmith could and in most cases would hold a variety of products from different sources.
- Locksmith would normally use their budget to hold a stock of “must have products” so they can cover most of the jobs. Therefore their budget or how much they want to spend / earn will also determine the quality of the products in their stock.
- There are also endless types of locks, locking systems, doors, safes, security accessories, CCTVs, alarms, access control systems, etc. that no single locksmith could stock them all.
Locksmiths carry a master key to open any lock
Was there a skill of being a locksmith if you just had 1 master key to open all locks? Well obviously not.
There are some main concepts of locking mechanisms by which all locks operate. However sometimes even similar looking locks that are made by the same company would have different internal parts and therefore can’t be on the same “Master key”. So when there are millions of even slightly different locks a magic master key is only a dream.
Having said that, for some particular brands of basic locks a locksmith might have a key chain of keys and can find the key with right combination meet those of your lock. Which means he can open your lock with his “master keys”.
Locksmiths can easily pick any lock like in the movies
Picking a lock looking so easy; When it is done by a professional locksmith on TV, or by James Bond. They all seem to make lock picking extremely easy but that’s not always the case.
First of all even locksmiths on TV or Youtube may make some adjustment to the lock in advance so it is easier to open and that how it looks on records.
Despite that every lock is different and takes varying amounts of time to pick. And some locks you can’t pick at all!
Locksmiths secretly roll their eyes when they have something like “not as quick as Dexter are you?” but the fact of the matter is that different locks have different complexities and quirks.
Other things that could make it hard to pick a lock can be:
A grimy or rusty lock. The frame or other elements around the door obstructs you. The lock has some fault that makes it impossible to even turn and others.