As a locksmith your goal is probably to work for yourself.
However, when you’re getting started in the business, there are some advantages in working for someone else. You have the security of stability, working for an employer who has been around for a number of years and will assume the re-sponsibility of running the business. Second, you can learn on the job from more experienced colleagues. And finally, you have the opportunity to meet new people and learn how to interact with them.
But there are some minor disadvantages, too. You’ll be work-ing for someone else, and will have to do what they want you to do. You’ll be working to make someone else successful and prosperous. As the new person on the job, you may be expected to do some of the less pleasant work around the shop, or to work less favorable hours. And your fortune may
be tied to someone else’s. All these things must be consid-ered as you make your decisions.
As a locksmith you can specialize if you find a specific need in your area. There are many areas that you can pursue, but you MUST get training. There are many options open to you. You may choose to work for a business in your field of interest.
There are also many fine programs offered through community colleges, business colleges or vocational/technical schools. An-other important resource is the public library. Get to know your local librarians, for they can help you find information. Some of the reference materials may be in the library already. Your li-brarians can help you research the latest developments.
Some information is readily available in book form. Books in Print, a multivolume reference set, can help you find infor-mation by author, title, subject, and publisher. Catalogs/re-pair manuals may be obtained directly from manufacturers, distributors, or supply catalogs. One starting point might be the Thomas Register of American Manufacturers.
As you become an expert in your specialty you may need to purchase specialty equipment. You may want to buy kits to help you train. Machines you may wish to purchase will come with written instructions or service manuals, perhaps even videos. There are many other ways, including working on used equipment and networking with professionals in your area of specialty, that can help you learn the skills you need.
One specialty service is “road service.” Some locksmiths offer 24-hour emergency service. Ideally, you should have a mobile shop, or at least portable equipment that’s always ready to go.
If you can’t afford to equip yourself properly, don’t offer the service. Second, you must be emotionally prepared. Emergency service is filled with stress, both yours and the customer’s. Are you willing, and do you have the temperament, to deal with stressful situations? You’ll need an emergency hot line which will be answered 24-hours a day. You’ll also need to establish specific policies and charges for your types of service.
Another aspect of road service is road calls. These might in-clude calls about keys locked in cars at shopping malls, fro-zen locks, lost keys, and calls from store owners or large businesses who need on-site key duplicating services. The same stresses and rules apply to road calls, although these
don’t usually mean emergency life and death situations, but are matters of urgency to your customers.
House calls are usually planned in advance. Your first visit is to determine the scope of the job. You should provide a writ-ten estimate to your customers, and get a signature confirm-ing the agreement. When the agreement is reached, you’ll assemble the necessary materials and establish a mutually convenient time to do the work.
A lock is a security device, a way to protect people and valu-able property. You, as a locksmith—the word “smith” means one who makes or fixes—are part of the protection and secu-rity profession. And like any other professional who serves and protects, you should know and observe the laws of your community, your state, and your country.
The Locksmith Publishing Company produces a series of books called Locksmith Law which can be important refer-ences for legal advice, court cases, judgments involving secu-rity, and legislative reports.
Laws not only protect the customer, they protect you. There are seven points of legal advice that every locksmith should commit to memory:
1. Always put everything in writing.
2. Once you install a door lock on a building, you can’t re-move it without the permission of the owner, even if the owner has refused to pay for your services. You’ll need an attorney, but if you have a written and signed
authorization for service, you’ll help your case.
3. Insist on full payment before returning items to a cus-tomer. That way you won’t get “stuck.”
4. Always ask for proper identification and have a client sign a Declaration of Ownership form for any equip-ment brought into your shop. Use the same procedure on jobs that are emergencies, late at night, in an unlikely area, or involve an expensive automobile. You must pro-tect yourself from criminals.
5. Know the life safety codes for the state, county and cities where you work. This is a way to quickly check on pos-sible code violations when you’re installing locks.
6. You can’t be forced to do a job you don’t want to do, even if asked by a law enforcement officer. Check with an attorney to assure your rights.
7. If you work for someone else, you may have to sign a non-competing or restrictive covenant. This means that you can’t take the skills you learn and open a competing shop.
You obey the law because you have to, but as a professional you follow good business ethics because you want to. Ethics are codes of operation, morals, and scruples that business peo-ple follow to show that they’re responsible citizens and reliable members of the business community. You’ll develop your own code of ethics as you mature in your work. There are some ba-sic rules that apply to all called the Locksmith’s Code of Ethics.
Today’s public demands the best from the people who pro-vide the services they need. The more important the service, the more important professional credentials become. Poten-tial customers want to know that the person they’re entrust-ing their security to—the locksmith—is honest and
competent. Locksmiths can be certified, licensed, or bonded.
As a locksmith, you must keep abreast of new technology.
The locksmith who doesn’t know how to work with new tech-nologies will lose customers. Joining a local, state or national professional association is one way to keep up with new de-velopments in your field. There are many to which you can belong, with a variety of benefits to their members.
Books and periodicals are also excellent sources of informa-tion for the resourceful locksmith. Check Books in Print at your local library for relevant books. Take time to read and update your skills, it will pay off in increased business.
To start your own business, you’ll need all the basic start-up materials that every businessperson needs: phones, furni-ture, office supplies, insurance, licensing and permits where appropriate, an accounting system, and an advertising plan and budget. In short, you need a complete business plan.
Every business needs some kind of material in order to operate successfully. This is especially true of retail businesses, which need inventory to sell to customers. And while locksmithing is in many respects primarily a service industry—that is, you’re selling your abilities and knowledge—you’ll also make money operating as a retail business, selling locks, keys,
alarms, and all the other items you’ve learned about. Manag-ing and regulatManag-ing your inventory is important because in-ventory controls the cash flow in your business.
There are a variety of options available to locksmiths. They may own their own shop, work part-time to gain experience, work for another locksmith, work as an “in-house” locksmith for a company, work in security, or work as a teacher or consultant.
Getting a good job, a job that makes you feel productive, ful-filled, and happy with yourself, is one of the most important steps you can take in life. And because it’s so important, you have to work just as hard looking for a job, as you’ll later work doing the job itself. Job hunting is a full-time job in it-self. You’ll be interviewing, filling out employment applica-tions, and waiting in between. By concentrating your efforts, you’ll cover more potential employers in a shorter time, and you’ll almost certainly find a job faster. And it won’t just be any job, but a job that best fits your needs and goals.
Where do you begin to look for a job? A job lead is any type of contact that can lead you to a job opening. It’s important to realize that job leads are everywhere and can come from any-one.
A resume is a written summary of an individual’s education and work history. It’s usually submitted with a letter of ap-plication or cover letter, but may also be attached to an em-ployer’s standard application form. It’s important that your resume is well written, concise, neatly typed, and presented in the most effective form.
The letter of application is the first step. It should make the prospective employer want to meet and interview you, the important second step in getting a good job. Make your letter short, factual, and hard-hitting. With every sentence, use the YOU attitude. That means, concentrate on what the reader really wants to know. Try to give the impression that you’re efficient, loyal, dependable, and versatile, since these are qualities an employer looks for in a potential employee.
The personal interview may be the most important single step that determines whether or not you get the job. It shows the employer how well you think on your feet. More impor-tantly, the interview shows your skills in dealing with other people. If you handle yourself well in an interview, you dem-onstrate that you probably also know how to handle yourself
on the job. Thus you increase your chance of being the em-ployer’s first choice.
Arriving for the interview well prepared, professionally dressed, and having a positive attitude is important; but once you’re there, you must know how to act. First of all, be on time. In fact, be early. Enter the room confidently. Don’t be too stiff or too relaxed. Greet the interviewer with a smile, in-troduce yourself, and offer to shake hands. Answer the inter-viewer’s questions candidly. Be complete. Don’t wander off the subject. Expect tough questions; they may want to see how you’ll react to a tough situation. Keep your cool.
A follow-up thank you letter should be sent immediately af-ter your inaf-terview. It should be short, remind the employer who you are, and thank the person for the interview. Repeat your desire to work for the company, and take the opportunity to enlarge upon answers that were perhaps not sufficiently ad-dressed in the interview. Repeat your thanks and sign off with a final reference to your hopes for the future with this company.
Do You Know Now . . .
Below are the answers to the questions asked at the beginning of this study unit.
What is a noncompeting agreement?
A noncompeting agreement or restrictive covenant is a legal agreement between an employer and employee that the employee won’t take the skills learned from his or her employer and open up a competing business.
Where do you find information on locksmithing law for your area?
To find out about locksmithing law in your area, contact local agencies. An excel-lent first step is to visit your local police department to introduce yourself. This shows you want to cooperate with law enforcement officials. Other locksmiths can also be a source of information about local laws. A third source are the local, state/provin-cial, or national locksmithing organizations.
What is the Locksmith’s Code of Ethics?
The Locksmith’s Code of Ethics are codes of operation, morals, and scruples that locksmith’s follow to show that they’re responsible citizens and responsible members of the business community.
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1. Electronic security systems; home installation and repair; automobile door and ignition locks; safes and vaults; and many other areas 2. It offers security, the opportunity
to learn from professionals on the job, and the chance for meeting and working with new people.
3. You’ll be working for someone else; you’ll be low in seniority and have to do some less welcome jobs, and your job will depend on some-body else.
4. Company training; postgraduate training; research/reference;
books; catalogs/repair manuals;
practice kits, parts from old locks or devices, machine manuals; net-working
5. Hospitals, schools, and hotels often employ locksmiths.
6. Basically, it’s a locksmith shop in a van or panel truck. It allows you to take necessary tools and supplies to the job site.
1. Once a lock is attached it becomes part of realty and you can be ar-rested if you try to remove it. A written agreement would help because you could threaten legal action.
2. Ifyou told her there was a mini-mum service charge for the visit, she owes you. If you said nothing, she may refuse to pay you. How-ever, if she has any sense of fair-ness she should offer to pay. BUT YOU AS A PROFESSIONAL SHOULD NEVER GET ANGRY IN A CASE LIKE THIS. Show her that you’re a pro.
3. Assuming that he’s the owner or co-owner of the home, he can hire you to open the door. As long as the couple is still married, and he’s still legally a resident of the house, you can open the door for him.
Would you do it? That’s a question that you must answer for yourself.
If you decide to open the door, make certain that he understands the service charge for an