Have you ever had one of those days when everything seems to go wrong, and its not Monday? Well, that is the way it has been around here; even with the best of intentions, thing seem to be a bit behind. You know, once you fall behind on one job, it has an astounding domino affect. This is why locksmiths generally give a “between” time when setting up appointments. We will be there “sometime” before 1 pm. Yet, due to the way that people perceive our industry, that doesn’t seem to be the “best” answer for them.

Now if we were plumbers, telephone repairmen, etc, for some reason it is ‘acceptable’ to hurry up and wait for those guys to show up. However, locksmiths are expected to suit up and show up on time, and then have customers get upset over how much they are being charged because “I could have done that myself” … if I knew how. There is the rub, in our industry, the perception of people. Unfortunately we have to fight the negative views that people have developed over the years from locksmith that have abused people’s trust. Who have further instilled in individuals, that locksmiths are just hobbyists who don’t know what they are doing.

Then you have locksmiths who have trained and dedicated their lives and careers to the industry of helping to keep people secure. The ones who have time and time again, proven that they are trusty-worthy and in this industry to help people. Who continue their education, like professionals in other industries (teachers, realtors, insurance agents, attorneys) in order to keep up with the ever changing world and technologies that continually appear. That is what the customer is paying for, our training and knowledge of how to solve the problem or to acknowledge that the problem is something other than the lock and recommend the best solution to the problem.

I pray for the day that customers will understand that the time we spend to improve our skills, is not a “fly by night” thing. That it is only with experience that we gain the knowledge we have to ensure that we are offering the “right solutions” to their problems. I also hope that someday, the people who are out there giving our industry a bad name will get what they deserve as well.