Follow these steps to protect yourself, your family, and your belongings!

1. Define Your Puchasing Criteria Before You Call

Over the years I’ve received countless calls from potential clients who’ve asked me right off the bat “How much do you charge to—?”, and while I agree that price is of some importance, it is foolhardy and potentially dangerous to hire anybody just because they’ve quoted the cheapest price over the phone. Decide ahead of time whether or not you care if the locksmith you call can prove he’s licensed, or how long he’s been in business, or whether he’s done full background checks on his employees. Ask about warranties, or even guarantees (which are extremely rare). Ask if the employee they’re sending is licensed, experienced, or bonded. Ask how long he’s been with their company. Try to remember that all locksmiths are NOT created equal, and act accordingly.

2. Make Sure the Locksmith Company You’re Calling is Legal

Most people have no idea that the Yellow Pages and other advertising media make no effort whatsoever to confirm whether an advertiser has a legally obtained business license. When I first started out in business I was told that I needed to advertise in the Yellow Pages if I wanted my company to be considered as legitimate. Well, those days are long gone, friend. Today you are just as likely to reach some guy watching Judge Judy in New York City as you are to stumble upon a real, live, honest-to-God locksmith down here in South Florida! The techniques used by these companies are complicated and confusing by design, and they succeed in ripping you off by dominating the 411, the various Yellow Page- type ad companies, and internet search engines. The trick for them is to take advantage of your wish to get “something for nothing”—they quote you a very low price to come out to your home or business, ONLY TO SLAP YOU WITH MIND-BOGGLING, BOGUS FEES WHEN IT’S TIME TO PAY! There’s much you need to know about about this scandal, and you can read all about it in an article entitled “SCAMMERS DISCOVER THE LAND OF THE FREE”. Feel free to read the entire story on my website at: www.AFemaleLocksmith.com . And spread the word—the next person these predators scam might be someone you really care about!!

3. Make Sure the Locksmith Company You’re Calling is Local

It’s really all up to you to ask the person who answers the phone to tell you the company name of the ad you called (many phony out-of-state companies have multiple fake names and addresses and can’t answer this simple question, so they just answer the phone by saying the word “Locksmith” ). Ask if they’re familiar with your local area (fraudulent companies tucked away up in New Jersey can’t name the main roads leading to your home or business, or describe any key local landmarks). Ask for the listed business address of the number you called (I seem to remember once seeing MY mailing address listed on SOMEONE ELSE’S PHONY AD!) And try to keep in mind that a business isn’t necessarily illegitimate merely because they don’t rent a storefront–A2Z Locksmith (my company) is strictly mobile, and I’m as legitimate as can be!

4. Make Them Prove They Told You The Truth on The Phone

Always ask to see a copy of their business license when they arrive. If they refuse, send them away. Ask the person who shows up for the job to produce an ID card with the company name and logo printed on it (no sensible employer is going to give a company ID to someone acting as a subcontractor—that’s how they can deny any responsibility if he screws up the job, steals, or even worse, cuts himself an extra key once your plasma television catches his eye). It’s a sad thing, but it’s true—SOMETIMES THEY COME BACK WHEN YOU HAVEN’T CALLED THEM!           

5. Make Sure You Receive A Fully Itemized Sales Receipt

Always insist they provide real invoices and sales receipts (not the little receipt pads you can buy at Office Depot or Staples). If the receipts are numbered, so much the better for you—an honest company can’t afford to risk a government audit when their numbered sales receipts are either missing, or in disarray. And don’t forget you have a perfect right to have a complete record of the work performed in case you need to call the locksmith back for warranty work, OR WORSE YET, IF YOU NEED TO SUE. Don’t put yourself at risk by not doing your homework!

Summary:

It’s becoming more and more difficult these days to find a tradesperson who takes the time and trouble to work at a high level of expertise, and even more so when it comes to locksmiths. A dishonest plumber might leave you with a leaky faucet. A dishonest woodworker might leave you with squeaky flooring. But a ‘rogue’ locksmith could possibly leave you without much of anything worth having! Think it over for a second:

Even If the price you paid for a truly talented and knowledgeable locksmith were $100 greater than what you might have paid for so-so work, that may sound like a lot of money. But what if that work were so superior that it held up for 5 years or longer, the extra cost would break down to about 40 cents a week, or less than 6 cents a day. Wouldn’t you agree that the difference between real security and questionable safety is worth 6 measly cents a day? If you do, you’re smarter than an awful lot of people, and you’re exactly the type of client an honest businessperson will always appreciate the most – the sensible type!

If you’ve found this information helpful, I’ve done my job. Everyone is entitled to the best locksmith they can possibly afford, and no one ever deserves to be screwed. Call Valerie at (954) 382-2200, and you never will be! Or type www.AFemaleLocksmith.com into the address bar of your computer and see what else your locksmith never told you.

Warmly.
Valerie Tannenbaum, President
A2Z Locksmith, Inc (a female owned and operated firm)
“Because sometimes the best man for the job is a woman.”
Copyright 2007, Val Tannenbaum