If You Choose the Low Bid, You May Be Getting Low Quality - Unless...

A recent competitor friend of mine relates to me how he lost a locksmith job because he was underbid by one of his competitors by $2000.   My friend went to bid on a large job in Murfreesboro, TN.  After he had bid the job, his competitor showed up.  My friend told me that, "As soon as I saw him drive up, I knew I would lose the bid."

The man who won the bid is the same man who inadvertently received a check meant for my company and then proceeded to cash it.  From personal experience, this man is a liar and a cheat.

The job that was being bid included a large number of commercial exit devices.  These devices were to be used in an industrial application.  When the unscrupulous locksmith was awarded the job, he proceeded to install low-quality panic devices on all of the clients doors.  He has since had to make many returns to maintain the poor quality products he installed.

If you are going to take the low bid on a lock installation project, ask other locksmiths, or call David at A-Best Locksmith, 615-308-6794, and ask for the wholesale cost of the locks that are being offered to you.  The locksmith who won the bid was installing outside trim for panic bars at $95 per piece.  That means he was buying them for $45.  Do you really want $45 locks on your commercial doors?  If so, you are acting foolishly and will live to regret your purchase.

Commercial door hardware of any quality cannot be had for under $500; and, even at that price, it will be a lighter duty than recommended for an industrial application.

The best devices on the market today are the Von Duprin products made by Ingersoll Rand.  The 99 Series Exit Device sells wholesale for between $450 and $575, depending upon whether or not the device is fire-rated, fire-rated being more expensive.

Ask your locksmith what he or she is paying for the product that is being installed.  Add 45% to that amount, and you will get a good idea of what a fair price should look like.

Go to www.a-bestlocksmith.com and check my list for prices that locksmiths are charged for the products they sell you!!  This is a free service.  Scroll to the bottom of the page.

Or check www.locksmithmurfreesboro.com!

When Will Locksmiths Unite and Turn Away "Locksmith Re-Sellers?"

Today, I received a package from Bass Security.  In it was a lock to be installed in a commercial establishment in the town of Decherd, Tennessee.  For those of you unfamiliar with Decherd, let me say that, in order to go to Decherd, you have to make plans.  For me, it would take one hour up and one hour back if I were to make a service call to this area.

Bass Security sent me a lock and work order and allowed a maximum charge for this job at only $95.  No wonder they didn't tell me on the phone what the job paid!  Of course, this would have been an okay price if the service was to a closer location; but this price was insufficient for a call to Decherd, Tennessee.  I called them up and told them what a huge insult their service call was.  I also asked them to send a UPS call-tag to pick up their lock.

What I would like to know from locksmiths in the United States is why we continue to accept jobs from Bass Security, Security Solutions, and other companies who are nothing more than middlemen who are marking up our services and selling us for a profit?  And why do we continue to allow companies like these to tell us how and when we will get paid?  None of these companies has ever paid me in under sixty days.  Yet, many of us are still content to give up a lock sale in exchange for a service call and labor.  But, if locksmiths band together, we can sell the hardware, the service call, and the labor!!

I would suggest that locksmiths unite and begin turning these "locksmith re-sellers" away when they call with any request.  Not only would we make more money by selling hardware, but we would also get paid on time and be able to set our own prices.

Come on, guys.  Let's just say no to those who are selling our services.  It all begins with you. Just say no.  Together, we can sink these "locksmith re-sellers" so that they can never again offer locksmith services!!!

Locksmith Charges You Can Expect In the Nashville, Tennessee Area

If you hire a locksmith, just make sure you get a 95% commitment on the price before he arrives.  By doing this, you have a verbal agreement in the case the locksmith is a con artist; and, believe me when I say that people are being conned every day in the Nashville area by locksmiths they find on the top of the Google website that are paid advertisers!  As I have said over and over again on my website www.a-bestlocksmith.com, these con artists lure people in with the "Low $14 Service Call! And 15  Minute Response".  Do not believe any of this for a moment; and stay away from the paid locksmith ads on search engines.  Why?  Because these guys are paying to appear as a relevant business listing.  The real locksmiths have to build and maintain good websites in order to EARN the slot on the first page of the natural Google results.

In the Nashville, Tennessee area, you can expect to pay -

1. a $45 to $65 service call for the locksmith to arrive.  If he doesn't have service call as an itemized charge, he has it hidden in with the flat-rate he quoted you.
2. $15 to $20 for a basic lock cylinder re-key.
3. $60 to $85 for a basic residential deadbolt installation where carpentry is needed.
4. $45 to $75 for a car opening.

In the event you are surprised by the bill after you have already agreed to a price, refuse to pay and threaten the locksmith by telling him that you are going to call the Tennessee Locksmith Licensing Bureau.  After making the threat, offer him the original, agreed upon price.

I hope this has been helpful!  If you would like me to bid your commercial or nice residential lock project, call David at 615-308-6794.  I am licensed by the state.  TN LS LIC #68.

A Murfreesboro Locksmith Does Shoddy Work and Lies to Customer

I received a call from a new client on St. Andrews Street in Murfreesboro, TN. The manager called me over to look at her Adams-Rite dead latch and exit paddle. There was no faceplate on the Adams-Rite lock mechanism. The manager asked the locksmith about the absence of the cover plate and he replied that the lock does not come with a cover plate. He could not fool the manager, however. I was called to tighten the lock, which was falling out of the door, and install a make-shift cover plate, which looked so good the manager decided to just keep the plate and not have me come by and install the "correct" plate. When it comes to glass door dead latches, the face plate plays a vital role in keeping the lock centered. Without it, the lock moves in the door and the activation plug of the paddle falls out, disabling egress.

Remember: if the completed lock service does not look right, then it isn't right. This is especially true when it comes to glass storefront doors. Demand that your job be done properly. If it isn't done properly, refuse to pay.

Before You Hire a Locksmith on the Internet

Just because a company has an advertisement on the internet doesn't guarantee you professional service. First, I will tell you what people looking for locksmiths online have experienced by clicking on paid advertising and then I will tell you how go about making sure you are safe before you schedule an online-advertising locksmith.

Here is what can very easily happen to you.

1.  You get a company run by people who do not do lock work. These companies only run advertisements in the top Internet slots and hire people they have never met to do the service.  These "locksmiths" have been known to be under-trained.  In one case, the locksmith had no key machine, gave the only key he had to the customer after the re-key, and the key would not even copy.  I was called in to clean up the mess. Do you want somebody re-keying your home or business who cannot be found tomorrow?

2.  The top Internet ads always advertise a low service call fee. You will see $14, $15, or $19.  When you see this, run! You should know that nobody can cover costs with a fee like that.  The lock company will lead you to believe that your service project is going to be done inexpensively. In the end, however, what should have been an $85 job ends up costing you $375. (Actual example from a business on Middle Tennessee Boulevard in Murfreesboro, TN.)

This is what you can do to protect yourself when hiring a locksmith online.

1.  Ask for a firm price and do not sign the bill beforehand.  If the locksmith jacks the price up in the end and tells you that he already did the job, do not pay.  He will threaten to sue you, but simply tell him that you did not agree to the charges.  Because the locksmith is "shady", he does not want legal involvement. He will usually relent. 

2.  Ask for his locksmith license number if your state requires licensing.  Or, tell the locksmith before he arrives that you will need to record his driver's license number before he begins to work.

3.  Check his references and do know that references can be part of a scam.