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825 Haskins Road |
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How to
Select a Locksmith for Your Home or Business
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Check with the local Better Business Bureau to see if the locksmith is a member and if any unsettled complaints have been filed against him/her. |
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Do not rely on the yellow pages. Anyone can advertise in the yellow pages and telephone companies are not responsible for checking to see if what is stated in an ad is honest and factual. On the same note, do not rely on the World Wide Web. |
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Call several banks in the area. Banks are conservative about who they use. Unless the locksmith has been in business for several years and is reliable, banks will not use him/her. While some banks that are part of large chains may use out-of-town locksmiths because the home office has a service contract for all of their branches. However, most banks rely on a local locksmith as a backup for emergency situations. |
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Call the local police department and ask who their locksmith is. Do not ask for a recommendation, because it is usually against policy to recommend a particular business. However, the police department usually will use the most reliable person for their own work. |
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Call several landlords who maintain several rental properties. They have usually tried most of the locksmiths in the area and have settled on the one who does the best work. |
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Contact government agencies that run large or critical buildings such as jails or juvenile detention facilities. These agencies use locksmiths on an emergency basis and know who gives the best service. |
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Do not hesitate to ask why one locksmith is preferred over others. Some people choose locksmiths on the basis of price; however, most will choose a locksmith because of quality and promptness of service. |
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Ask which national and local associations the locksmith is a member of. Is he/she active in the local association? Does he/she regularly attend classes to keep his/her knowledge updated or is he/she relying on experience only? |
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Do not rely on the recommendation of one person. That individual could be a personal friend of one of the locksmiths and prefer friendship over quality and promptness of work. However, the organizations suggested above use locksmiths frequently and know the quality of their work. If the same locksmith is mentioned by several of these sources, you can reasonably expect quality work and service. |
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Ask about certifications. If the locksmith says that he/she is certified, ask what organization issued the certificate. The Associated Locksmiths of America and the Brotherhood of Independent Locksmiths both have a certification program in which the locksmith is tested on his/her knowledge. On the other hand, several correspondence schools have certification programs in which anyone who completes the course is certified whether he/she is competent or not. |
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Ask about a license. If the locksmith advertises that he/she is licensed, ask to see that license. At this time, there are no licenses specifically for locksmiths in Ohio or Pennsylvania. Thus he/she cannot be "licensed" as a locksmith. |