It can be incredibly stressful when you find yourself locked out of your home or car, or when you have any reason to change your existing locks for new ones. Although professional locksmiths will always be capable of helping you out in these situations, the time sensitivity and general urgency associated with these appointments often leads to hasty hiring decisions.
This is why we’ve partnered up with the locksmith beaverton specialists at Davis Lock & Safe to provide you with a comprehensive list of questions that you should ask prospective locksmiths prior to hiring them.
So, if you’re in the process of hiring a locksmith, keep the following questions in mind during your initial consultation calls!
Do you offer emergency locksmith services?
There’s no denying just how urgent it can be to access your home, safe, vehicle or other property when you’re locked out, and this is why most locksmith companies offer emergency services to help people outside of regular business hours. There are countless reasons why locksmiths need to be capable of helping people during holidays, weekends, and even in the middle of the night—but this unfortunately isn’t always possible for every locksmith business.
When you’re on the hunt for a locksmith in the local Beaverton area, you should do your own online research and ensure that they’ll be there for you when you need them most. By keeping an emergency locksmith in your phone’s contacts, you’ll be ready to initiate your service calls whenever things go wrong!
Are you licensed, insured and bonded?
There are many states that don’t actually require locksmiths to hold professional licenses, so this is a very relevant question for many hiring decisions. An easy way to verify whether or not a locksmith is licensed is to simply ask for their license number.
There are many different professional organizations and institutions that locksmiths can be accredited through as well, but in general you should only work with experienced, reputable locksmith companies that are fully insured, licensed and bonded.
This type of coverage helps shield you from all sorts of potential liability issues, which can go a long way when it comes to guaranteeing your overall satisfaction with a locksmith’s services.
Do you conduct employee background checks?
You should also get a good grasp on a locksmith company’s employees prior to hiring them, because screening employees and conducting background checks is an important part of hiring locksmiths.
There are many different scams out there that can leave people susceptible to bad actors, which is why you should be very careful while hiring a locksmith and make sure that they arrive in a marked truck that identifies their affiliation with the locksmith company.
What do your reviews say about your past services?
This is the type of question that you should more than likely be asking yourself during the locksmith hiring process, and you should generally take a good look at a locksmith’s online reviews before even calling them for a consultation.
Online reviews are crucial when it comes to better understanding what a locksmith’s past customers have to say about them, and you should generally only work with locksmiths who receive positive reviews about their workmanship and overall customer experience.
You can also take a look at a locksmith’s Better Business Bureau page to verify their professionalism as well.
What types of residential locksmith services do you provide?
Locksmiths provide all sorts of different residential services that most homeowners don’t know about. Many locksmiths are also fully capable of helping you out when you’ve locked yourself out of your car, or when your keys get stuck within your car’s ignition.
If you’re preparing to buy a new home, residential locksmith services are crucial. You’re going to want to have your locks replaced shortly after moving in, and this will include things like your basement doors and garage door.
You also don’t want to work with any inexperienced locksmiths, which is why you should ask about their scope of residential services prior to hiring them. Certain locksmiths are more specialized than others for unique types of services, so make sure you’re getting a clear picture of what to expect prior to hiring a new locksmith company.
Do your locksmith services come with a warranty guarantee?
You should generally only hire professional locksmiths who provide comprehensive warranties and satisfaction guarantees for their services.
This means that you should ask for a written warranty statement, as well as a written price estimate, prior to hiring them. These types of guarantees provide the type of security that you’ll need just in case something goes wrong or you need additional services due to faulty installations or other unforeseen issues.
How much is the locksmith service that I need?
Trustworthy locksmith companies provide upfront prices as much as possible, and this typically means that they provide fixed or slightly variable prices for their specified services.
Although there will always be variable aspects like labor costs, a lock’s specifications and the overall duration of a particular project, you should still receive a rough estimate to help you budget your costs.
Contact The Locksmith Experts At Davis Lock & Safe When You Need Help In Beaverton Oregon!
The above questions are just a brief glimpse into what you might have on your mind when you’re in need of professional locksmith services, and it’s important to be patient and take your time with these hiring decisions—even when you’re in a tough situation.
You can learn more locksmith hiring tips by speaking with the industry leaders at Davis Lock & Safe when you check out the link to their website located at the top of this page!
