Phoenix Locksmith
Trip Charges Explained
Does the Cheapest Service Charge
Mean the best Price?
(480) 380-2263
Low Service Quotes Don't Mean You'll Pay Low Prices
Service charges are charges that cover the cost of getting a service to your home or business. Fuel, truck maintenance, insurance, and labor are all part of this charge. One way to avoid a service charge is to bring you lock needs into our Mesa locksmith and safe shop, but often, that's just not possible.
ACME Locksmith has noticed that some locksmiths have been advertising service call charges of $0, $14, and $15 to entice customers into calling their company. But is this what you're really going to pay? Sadly, the answer is no.
1) The BBB and the FTC have issued press releases concerning this advertising tactic.
They report that Locksmith companies using this technique to gain business will often jack up the price of service once arriving onsite. Often this is done only after the locksmith has the keys to your vehicle of home in their hands. ACME Locksmith frequently receives calls from consumers that have been scammed by this method.
One recent customer called us for a quote. We provided our standard, flat rate for a vehicle unlock. They told us they wanted to look around and we provided information to the customer about the price gouging technique. About an hour later we got a call back. They had hired one of these companies to unlock their vehicle due to the very attractive $15 fee "plus labor." Because the customer had just spoken to us, they demanded to know what the labor rate would be once the locksmith was on location, now that they had seen the vehicle. They were told it would be $180 to unlock the vehicle, nearly 3X our flat rate. They sent that locksmith packing and had us out to open the vehicle.
2) All locksmiths have fixed costs associated with field service.
If you don't charge for these costs, you don't stay in business very long. If you get a quote that doesn't seem to cover the expenses of providing the lock service, it's a red flag. Companies using these practices hide the true cost of service by either selling you items you do not need at inflated prices or by not disclosing all the fees associated with the service.
We had a call from a customer that had paid over $200 for a home unlock. At the time of service, they were told about an additional emergency fee and after hours charge that had not been disclosed when they booked the locksmith service. The after hours fee was charged even though it was only 3:00PM!
ACME Locksmith also recently took a call from a doctor's office. The doctor asked me if she had been ripped off. They hired a lock company to rekey a couple of doors in their business. The locksmith told them that they had to replace two locks at a cost of $417 because they weren't functioning correctly and he demonstrated the problem. She had not noticed any problems with the locks up until this point. Sadly, she probably did get taken. The cost for the locks wasn't unreasonable for a high quality commercial and ADA compliant lock, but it likely didn't need replacing and could have been repaired. Commercial locks also have very good warranties. Those sold by ACME Locksmith have warranties of 25 years. If they locks had truly failed, the customer could have likely gotten them replaced by the manufacture.
3) Do you really want to trust your home, business, or family's security to the lowest bidder?
A few years ago ACME took a call from a client in Phoenix. They had hired a company to come and rekey a home they had purchased. The tech was very late and arrived at the home after 9:00 PM. The tech was unprofessional and made them skeptical of his skills let alone his ethics. When the job was completed, he charged them substantially more than they were quoted. The homeowner was calling us because their home had just been burglarized. There was no evidence of a break in. No one could say for sure if the locksmith that rekeyed the home, but the homeowner was certainly suspicious.
Before hiring any locksmith company check these three things.
ACME Locksmith has noticed that some locksmiths have been advertising service call charges of $0, $14, and $15 to entice customers into calling their company. But is this what you're really going to pay? Sadly, the answer is no.
1) The BBB and the FTC have issued press releases concerning this advertising tactic.
They report that Locksmith companies using this technique to gain business will often jack up the price of service once arriving onsite. Often this is done only after the locksmith has the keys to your vehicle of home in their hands. ACME Locksmith frequently receives calls from consumers that have been scammed by this method.
One recent customer called us for a quote. We provided our standard, flat rate for a vehicle unlock. They told us they wanted to look around and we provided information to the customer about the price gouging technique. About an hour later we got a call back. They had hired one of these companies to unlock their vehicle due to the very attractive $15 fee "plus labor." Because the customer had just spoken to us, they demanded to know what the labor rate would be once the locksmith was on location, now that they had seen the vehicle. They were told it would be $180 to unlock the vehicle, nearly 3X our flat rate. They sent that locksmith packing and had us out to open the vehicle.
2) All locksmiths have fixed costs associated with field service.
If you don't charge for these costs, you don't stay in business very long. If you get a quote that doesn't seem to cover the expenses of providing the lock service, it's a red flag. Companies using these practices hide the true cost of service by either selling you items you do not need at inflated prices or by not disclosing all the fees associated with the service.
We had a call from a customer that had paid over $200 for a home unlock. At the time of service, they were told about an additional emergency fee and after hours charge that had not been disclosed when they booked the locksmith service. The after hours fee was charged even though it was only 3:00PM!
ACME Locksmith also recently took a call from a doctor's office. The doctor asked me if she had been ripped off. They hired a lock company to rekey a couple of doors in their business. The locksmith told them that they had to replace two locks at a cost of $417 because they weren't functioning correctly and he demonstrated the problem. She had not noticed any problems with the locks up until this point. Sadly, she probably did get taken. The cost for the locks wasn't unreasonable for a high quality commercial and ADA compliant lock, but it likely didn't need replacing and could have been repaired. Commercial locks also have very good warranties. Those sold by ACME Locksmith have warranties of 25 years. If they locks had truly failed, the customer could have likely gotten them replaced by the manufacture.
3) Do you really want to trust your home, business, or family's security to the lowest bidder?
A few years ago ACME took a call from a client in Phoenix. They had hired a company to come and rekey a home they had purchased. The tech was very late and arrived at the home after 9:00 PM. The tech was unprofessional and made them skeptical of his skills let alone his ethics. When the job was completed, he charged them substantially more than they were quoted. The homeowner was calling us because their home had just been burglarized. There was no evidence of a break in. No one could say for sure if the locksmith that rekeyed the home, but the homeowner was certainly suspicious.
Before hiring any locksmith company check these three things.
- The are members of the BBB with an A+ rating
- They are members of the Associated Locksmiths of America (ALOA). You can check this by going to findalocksmith.com
- They are licensed with your states board of contractors.
