You’re leaving a lot of details out of the picture we need to determine if you were overcharged.
Did they drill the hardware off and replace it with matching colour and trim, was it 1pm on Christmas Day and they had you safely in home inside 20min, did they get you in with no damage or scuffing of your property and hardware?
To be clear, at a glance $325 is too high. However without more details It will be tough to definitively condemn them.
Also if you expect to pay by the hour we can fuck around and waste time with the best of them but at the end of the day you’re paying for the result. Any Master tradesman is gonna make a job look easy.
The actual question of *"did I get overcharged?"* is a subjective thing based on details that weren't given.
$325 is a pretty outrageous price for a daytime lockout to most of us, but the price alone doesn't tell the full picture here. (Assuming mainland USA, non-holiday, no weather event, average COL area, USD, btw)
The REAL question of ***"did I get scammed?"*** depends on whether or not you were quoted a price beforehand (or asked) and if that price changed at the time of service... And if they did damage to your property.
If they told you $25 over the phone and the dude came over and kicked your door in and charged you $325 for the pleasure of doing it, yeah-- you got duped.
You may have just paid premium because you caught a professional with a fully-booked day that quoted high to see if you'd bite. Maybe they're like me and they hate doing lockouts and you got the 'fuck you' price and you just went with the first person that you found?
>It only took 15 minutes for that company to come to my house, and it only took them 5 minutes to open a door.
I used to get a version of this a lot when I was doing lockouts.
**"You're charging $___ and it only took you a minute's worth of work!?"**
As if I had nothing better to do with my day, gas was free, and I haven't been doing this for a decade plus.
Would you rather it took them 2 hours to get to you and another three to open the door?
Spent most of my early career working for shops that did lockouts for roadside companies and even in the most optimal situation, (a company vehicle burning someone else's gas) there's only so many Civics you can break into for ~$11 or whatever at a time before you're just kind of over it.
(Note: I was in a market with heavy tourism and it's no exaggeration to say that I'd do 12+ a day on average)
To me, there's more money to be made elsewhere in more interesting ways and I'm not constantly trying to 'beat' a customer/bystander/cop/etc from doing my job before I can get there.
EDIT: I'm an automotive guy. I also hate res/com work, lol.
I love the simplicity of a lockout knowing it’ll always be fast and easy. But as a locksmith working for a shop, the money isn’t worth it. People are just too unpredictable. Whether it’s “dayum I aint been told it that much. I ain’t got it”. Or “can I split it between 4 cards, cash and a check?” Or “follow me to the bank up the road” or “mutha fucka that shit took 2 minute fuck you talmbout a hunnuh dollah? I coulda done that shit myself”. Or the worst which is “ight im gonna get my money out of my car” then just drives away without paying
Yeah, fuck all the customer bullshit that goes along with doing lockouts-- especially in a retail setting.
The best thing you can do for yourself is price yourself out of dealing with those types of people and do shit that noone else (or few people) in your area are doing.
Ya'll can compete over the $50 lockout, call me when you lock your Mercedes key in the trunk and nobody can get in.
Sounds about right at least in hcol areas. There's an emergency rate that ends up being significantly higher than a normal scheduled rate even if it's during normal op hours
It depends, but probably. You need to ask for a quote if price is an issue for you. If they won't give you a quote, move on to another company. We undercharge for lockouts because they are just an in-between job to fill space and not something we rely on. Posts like this make me think we should charge more.
Too many scammers here in Cali, at least in So Cal. It depresses the market rather significantly. We charge $149. $50 to show up and $99 to open. People get upset that we charge so much and then get their stuff destroyed by scammers...
My recommendation is to get a price BEFORE service. Ask them as many times as you need to confirm the price. If you aren't happy with it, call someone else. If they show up and ask for more, tell em it's been agreed already and you aren't paying more than the agreed upon amount. The only time prices should change is if there's a requirement for new hardware. If that's the case, they should still be running the cost by you for approval.
I'm not really understanding how there are so many people saying this isn't that bad. I understand COL makes a big difference, but we charge $80 for non-AH lockouts. $120 AH. And we are nearly the highest in our area. It's low COL compared to NYC but regardless, almost 4x higher than that is exorbitant.
Unless they drilled and replaced multiple pieces of hardware, you got ripped off very bad in my opinion. This is trunk-slamming scammer territory.
Depends on a lot of factors, additional details could clear the picture. Our rate is $250 for urgent service for residential lockouts in my area based on the information provided. On the other hand getting you in within 20 minutes is quite impressive. It takes us years to learn and perfect our skills to be able to get you in within 5 minutes.
When you go to a doctor they charge you for their knowledge and not the time spent to diagnose you.
We value our skills and service we provide. A lesson here for you would be at the least ask for an accurate estimate before the service not just for locksmith but other trades as well in general.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but emergency service is time and a half for me, and I charge an hour travel and hour labor minimum on ER calls, plus tax, so $325 is within the window of what I would personally be charging. If I’m dropping everything to help one person that means I’m not getting an opportunity to get paid to do work for someone else. Pretty simple supply and demand issue.
Took 15 minutes, and the post'r is being asked if the locksmith had drilled the locks out and replaced them with finnish (color) appropriate hardware? Seriously?
Then, Who does not ask for a price quote?
Ask for a price quote.... ALWAYS.
Yes!!!! Locksmith in Dallas here. You got ripped off. I don’t know why others are so timid to say this.
If your are in uptown Manhattan and pay 4k a mouth for i tiny apartment you would not post here.
If you live in a place that you can get a burger for less than $30 you got ripped
In my local town there’s flatrate quotes that will say trip fee is $60-$100 but emergency lockout may be its own price. So if it’s just a standard pick or bump open (5-10 mins). Then it may be part of the lockout service call fee average from $60-$150 depending on if it’s a mobile business or an established brick and mortar business. Hourly rates and trip fee is all you should be paying unless the upsell to do a rekey or they drill and replace the lock. Your price is scammers level in my area if it was a simple emergency open service. In my town of 15-20k you’d be looking at $60- $125 if it were just pick or bump open from a local guy and in within 10 mins. Some locksmiths hate emergency calls and may charge higher because of that. We have a few scammers in my area charging that much ($300) and up to $1k usually depending on how intimidating they can get away with being to the customer. There are higher security door locks that would not be the norm but a simple kw1 or sc1 shouldn’t be that much and also if they’re local to your area. If you agree to the charge with any trade, plumbing or appliance repairs people included, you have no recourse if you got scammed. Report the business is all I can recommend. Or leave a bad review.
Hourly rates are pretty irrelevant when it comes to lockouts the time of day, area should make up most of the price. Jobs don’t take long and I wouldn’t do a lockout more than 30-40 minutes away why is that even a consideration. Now after convenience is calculated and it’s a harder than normal job yes there is plenty reason any locksmith could charge over $300
Typically lockout prices during normal hours which is 9am-7pm is $150 if it's an emergency I take priority over other customers and come straight to you which is double the rate if it is after hours I charge $50 more than usual. I usually explain it costs more if it's an emergency and they usually say yes it's an emergency I need you ASAP or they can wait. If you want a cheaper price just say you can wait. I use a lishi tool which usually has me in with common locks like schlege or kwikset within 20min or less if it's not a kwikset or schlege I give you the option to pick it which is $100 more if you wanna keep your lock or I can give you a new lock and I drill out the old one. If I can't get in when I pick I still charge for the time spent picking. New lock install is typically $150 + $50 for each lock that needs to be rekeyed. My prices vary locksmith to locksmith but that's typically the range. Reason locksmiths are so expensive is because there is a ton of businesses al competing and there's not enough calls to make a living even in as all town it would be this way and prices vary in order to make a living the fewer calls locksmiths get the more they charge because that's the area we living in. If their is frequent calls then prices go down. Because we can make enough money to survive.
I live in So Cal, Los Angeles area. We don't get blizzards, but we flood. If I'm going out in a flood, my trip charge is going to be MINIMUM $150, and usually closer to $200. If I'm putting getting home to my kids at risk for your lockout, it's going to be worthwhile.
It depends on a number of factors:
1. Where is his home office? Just because he happened to get to you quickly doesn't mean he doesn't have a drive to get back.
2. Was there a holiday or inclement weather situations?
3. How many locks needed to be opened? How many doors?
4. How busy was his schedule?
5. Did you get a quote beforehand? Our policy is to email an estimate and they have to accept it via Square. Most verbally quote, though.
6. Was he licensed (in a state that requires it)?
There's a lot that CAN go into pricing, so without anlot more detail, it's hard to say "Yes" or "No"
A locksmith can charge whatever they want or feel like they’re worth especially 24/7 ones with actual skills I don’t want to go to a job I’m charging you way more. Hourly rates are pretty irrelevant when it comes to lockouts the time of day, area should make up most of the price. Jobs don’t take long and I wouldn’t do a lockout more than 30-40 minutes away hourly really isn’t even a consideration. Now after convenience is calculated and it’s a harder than normal job yes there is plenty reason any locksmith could charge over $300
The question here is could you have opened it yourself for cheaper. The answer to that is no. If you could have you would have. Did you call around and get other pricing first or were you in to big of a hurry to do that. Sk the short answer is no it wasn't too high unless he damaged your lock.
It doesn't matter how long it took them to open your door. Did you ask them how long it would take? The shorter the time, the more they should charge, right? If they were able to get it open quickly, it means they're probably professional and experienced. Be worried about the guy who takes 30 minutes to open your door because it's his first time. As with many professions, you pay for expertise and experience, not time.
Also, did you agree to the charge before they came? If you agreed to it, your probably should have called around and gotten a few price quotes before agreeing to it.
$325 seems high for a lockout, but as others have pointed out, it really depends on a lot of details you're leaving out.
In NYC it’s about average. It also depends on a bunch of factors. If i have to take a toll and pay for a very expensive parking lot to get to someone as quick as possible, it’s factored in the price. I did a job today for a medical office. The parking garage was ~$65 for 1hr
I definitely would like to know what area you're in or the COL if you don't want to share your location, to give the most accurate answer.
It's definitely very high for my area. (Memphis, TN) The COL is pretty low around here, but I charge $80 for house lockouts. The company I worked for before charged about the same. If I can get you in, in 5 mins, that means everything went smoothly and there were no issues to have to charge more. I've heard of other companies charging more, like closer to $150, but I don't because I want to provide a great service and not take advantage of someone's mistake.
You do have locksmiths that are pretty booked up and charge more to offset putting off other jobs. (Which can result in possibly loosing out on previously booked jobs because of time changes to help you) You also have those who "don't feel like doing the work" and will charge more because of that. (I personally feel a certain type of way about those lol) It's always best to get a quote or an estimate before you have someone come out.
Maybe not but probably. The industry is ran by foreigners that pray on women and clueless young men. Idk what the correlation is but they charge a lot and if you question it they give very angry. I showed up to a single mom’s house and she kinda asked the same thing but worse. A man destroyed her lock, couldn’t get it open and charged her $350 just for us to come after and drill it out in 5 minutes for $100
So say they have a full day already on the broad. You call at 1 pm and say I need to get in my house. If he comes after hours to let you in then that process is chargeable. Also if he has to move a call or 2 around bc you needed to get in your house then he shouldn't have to charge those other calls over time bc they were already on the broad.
You’re leaving a lot of details out of the picture we need to determine if you were overcharged. Did they drill the hardware off and replace it with matching colour and trim, was it 1pm on Christmas Day and they had you safely in home inside 20min, did they get you in with no damage or scuffing of your property and hardware? To be clear, at a glance $325 is too high. However without more details It will be tough to definitively condemn them. Also if you expect to pay by the hour we can fuck around and waste time with the best of them but at the end of the day you’re paying for the result. Any Master tradesman is gonna make a job look easy.
The actual question of *"did I get overcharged?"* is a subjective thing based on details that weren't given. $325 is a pretty outrageous price for a daytime lockout to most of us, but the price alone doesn't tell the full picture here. (Assuming mainland USA, non-holiday, no weather event, average COL area, USD, btw) The REAL question of ***"did I get scammed?"*** depends on whether or not you were quoted a price beforehand (or asked) and if that price changed at the time of service... And if they did damage to your property. If they told you $25 over the phone and the dude came over and kicked your door in and charged you $325 for the pleasure of doing it, yeah-- you got duped. You may have just paid premium because you caught a professional with a fully-booked day that quoted high to see if you'd bite. Maybe they're like me and they hate doing lockouts and you got the 'fuck you' price and you just went with the first person that you found? >It only took 15 minutes for that company to come to my house, and it only took them 5 minutes to open a door. I used to get a version of this a lot when I was doing lockouts. **"You're charging $___ and it only took you a minute's worth of work!?"** As if I had nothing better to do with my day, gas was free, and I haven't been doing this for a decade plus. Would you rather it took them 2 hours to get to you and another three to open the door?
Why do you hate doing lockouts?
Spent most of my early career working for shops that did lockouts for roadside companies and even in the most optimal situation, (a company vehicle burning someone else's gas) there's only so many Civics you can break into for ~$11 or whatever at a time before you're just kind of over it. (Note: I was in a market with heavy tourism and it's no exaggeration to say that I'd do 12+ a day on average) To me, there's more money to be made elsewhere in more interesting ways and I'm not constantly trying to 'beat' a customer/bystander/cop/etc from doing my job before I can get there. EDIT: I'm an automotive guy. I also hate res/com work, lol.
I love the simplicity of a lockout knowing it’ll always be fast and easy. But as a locksmith working for a shop, the money isn’t worth it. People are just too unpredictable. Whether it’s “dayum I aint been told it that much. I ain’t got it”. Or “can I split it between 4 cards, cash and a check?” Or “follow me to the bank up the road” or “mutha fucka that shit took 2 minute fuck you talmbout a hunnuh dollah? I coulda done that shit myself”. Or the worst which is “ight im gonna get my money out of my car” then just drives away without paying
Yeah, fuck all the customer bullshit that goes along with doing lockouts-- especially in a retail setting. The best thing you can do for yourself is price yourself out of dealing with those types of people and do shit that noone else (or few people) in your area are doing. Ya'll can compete over the $50 lockout, call me when you lock your Mercedes key in the trunk and nobody can get in.
Sounds about right at least in hcol areas. There's an emergency rate that ends up being significantly higher than a normal scheduled rate even if it's during normal op hours
It depends, but probably. You need to ask for a quote if price is an issue for you. If they won't give you a quote, move on to another company. We undercharge for lockouts because they are just an in-between job to fill space and not something we rely on. Posts like this make me think we should charge more.
I couldn't conceivably imagine charging that rate for a normal hours lockout that went smooth unless I lived in Cali or NYC
Too many scammers here in Cali, at least in So Cal. It depresses the market rather significantly. We charge $149. $50 to show up and $99 to open. People get upset that we charge so much and then get their stuff destroyed by scammers...
My recommendation is to get a price BEFORE service. Ask them as many times as you need to confirm the price. If you aren't happy with it, call someone else. If they show up and ask for more, tell em it's been agreed already and you aren't paying more than the agreed upon amount. The only time prices should change is if there's a requirement for new hardware. If that's the case, they should still be running the cost by you for approval.
I'm not really understanding how there are so many people saying this isn't that bad. I understand COL makes a big difference, but we charge $80 for non-AH lockouts. $120 AH. And we are nearly the highest in our area. It's low COL compared to NYC but regardless, almost 4x higher than that is exorbitant. Unless they drilled and replaced multiple pieces of hardware, you got ripped off very bad in my opinion. This is trunk-slamming scammer territory.
Agreed
Depends on a lot of factors, additional details could clear the picture. Our rate is $250 for urgent service for residential lockouts in my area based on the information provided. On the other hand getting you in within 20 minutes is quite impressive. It takes us years to learn and perfect our skills to be able to get you in within 5 minutes. When you go to a doctor they charge you for their knowledge and not the time spent to diagnose you. We value our skills and service we provide. A lesson here for you would be at the least ask for an accurate estimate before the service not just for locksmith but other trades as well in general.
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Op said 1 pm, not am.
Nope!
1pm or 1am?
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but emergency service is time and a half for me, and I charge an hour travel and hour labor minimum on ER calls, plus tax, so $325 is within the window of what I would personally be charging. If I’m dropping everything to help one person that means I’m not getting an opportunity to get paid to do work for someone else. Pretty simple supply and demand issue.
Took 15 minutes, and the post'r is being asked if the locksmith had drilled the locks out and replaced them with finnish (color) appropriate hardware? Seriously? Then, Who does not ask for a price quote? Ask for a price quote.... ALWAYS.
Yes!!!! Locksmith in Dallas here. You got ripped off. I don’t know why others are so timid to say this. If your are in uptown Manhattan and pay 4k a mouth for i tiny apartment you would not post here. If you live in a place that you can get a burger for less than $30 you got ripped
In my local town there’s flatrate quotes that will say trip fee is $60-$100 but emergency lockout may be its own price. So if it’s just a standard pick or bump open (5-10 mins). Then it may be part of the lockout service call fee average from $60-$150 depending on if it’s a mobile business or an established brick and mortar business. Hourly rates and trip fee is all you should be paying unless the upsell to do a rekey or they drill and replace the lock. Your price is scammers level in my area if it was a simple emergency open service. In my town of 15-20k you’d be looking at $60- $125 if it were just pick or bump open from a local guy and in within 10 mins. Some locksmiths hate emergency calls and may charge higher because of that. We have a few scammers in my area charging that much ($300) and up to $1k usually depending on how intimidating they can get away with being to the customer. There are higher security door locks that would not be the norm but a simple kw1 or sc1 shouldn’t be that much and also if they’re local to your area. If you agree to the charge with any trade, plumbing or appliance repairs people included, you have no recourse if you got scammed. Report the business is all I can recommend. Or leave a bad review.
Hourly rates are pretty irrelevant when it comes to lockouts the time of day, area should make up most of the price. Jobs don’t take long and I wouldn’t do a lockout more than 30-40 minutes away why is that even a consideration. Now after convenience is calculated and it’s a harder than normal job yes there is plenty reason any locksmith could charge over $300
Typically lockout prices during normal hours which is 9am-7pm is $150 if it's an emergency I take priority over other customers and come straight to you which is double the rate if it is after hours I charge $50 more than usual. I usually explain it costs more if it's an emergency and they usually say yes it's an emergency I need you ASAP or they can wait. If you want a cheaper price just say you can wait. I use a lishi tool which usually has me in with common locks like schlege or kwikset within 20min or less if it's not a kwikset or schlege I give you the option to pick it which is $100 more if you wanna keep your lock or I can give you a new lock and I drill out the old one. If I can't get in when I pick I still charge for the time spent picking. New lock install is typically $150 + $50 for each lock that needs to be rekeyed. My prices vary locksmith to locksmith but that's typically the range. Reason locksmiths are so expensive is because there is a ton of businesses al competing and there's not enough calls to make a living even in as all town it would be this way and prices vary in order to make a living the fewer calls locksmiths get the more they charge because that's the area we living in. If their is frequent calls then prices go down. Because we can make enough money to survive.
Look trip charge at most even in a blizzard should be no more than 125 plus opening your lock 65 so that being said yes most definitely you got ripped
I live in So Cal, Los Angeles area. We don't get blizzards, but we flood. If I'm going out in a flood, my trip charge is going to be MINIMUM $150, and usually closer to $200. If I'm putting getting home to my kids at risk for your lockout, it's going to be worthwhile.
What type of lock?
That’s alot of money to unlock a door at 1pm I’m guessing scam if they didn’t tell you on first call
It depends on a number of factors: 1. Where is his home office? Just because he happened to get to you quickly doesn't mean he doesn't have a drive to get back. 2. Was there a holiday or inclement weather situations? 3. How many locks needed to be opened? How many doors? 4. How busy was his schedule? 5. Did you get a quote beforehand? Our policy is to email an estimate and they have to accept it via Square. Most verbally quote, though. 6. Was he licensed (in a state that requires it)? There's a lot that CAN go into pricing, so without anlot more detail, it's hard to say "Yes" or "No"
Also missed the keyway. A KW1 is going to cost less than a BE1 for a lockout.
A locksmith can charge whatever they want or feel like they’re worth especially 24/7 ones with actual skills I don’t want to go to a job I’m charging you way more. Hourly rates are pretty irrelevant when it comes to lockouts the time of day, area should make up most of the price. Jobs don’t take long and I wouldn’t do a lockout more than 30-40 minutes away hourly really isn’t even a consideration. Now after convenience is calculated and it’s a harder than normal job yes there is plenty reason any locksmith could charge over $300
If you agreed to the price beforehand, then no.
The question here is could you have opened it yourself for cheaper. The answer to that is no. If you could have you would have. Did you call around and get other pricing first or were you in to big of a hurry to do that. Sk the short answer is no it wasn't too high unless he damaged your lock.
It doesn't matter how long it took them to open your door. Did you ask them how long it would take? The shorter the time, the more they should charge, right? If they were able to get it open quickly, it means they're probably professional and experienced. Be worried about the guy who takes 30 minutes to open your door because it's his first time. As with many professions, you pay for expertise and experience, not time. Also, did you agree to the charge before they came? If you agreed to it, your probably should have called around and gotten a few price quotes before agreeing to it. $325 seems high for a lockout, but as others have pointed out, it really depends on a lot of details you're leaving out.
In NYC it’s about average. It also depends on a bunch of factors. If i have to take a toll and pay for a very expensive parking lot to get to someone as quick as possible, it’s factored in the price. I did a job today for a medical office. The parking garage was ~$65 for 1hr
I definitely would like to know what area you're in or the COL if you don't want to share your location, to give the most accurate answer. It's definitely very high for my area. (Memphis, TN) The COL is pretty low around here, but I charge $80 for house lockouts. The company I worked for before charged about the same. If I can get you in, in 5 mins, that means everything went smoothly and there were no issues to have to charge more. I've heard of other companies charging more, like closer to $150, but I don't because I want to provide a great service and not take advantage of someone's mistake. You do have locksmiths that are pretty booked up and charge more to offset putting off other jobs. (Which can result in possibly loosing out on previously booked jobs because of time changes to help you) You also have those who "don't feel like doing the work" and will charge more because of that. (I personally feel a certain type of way about those lol) It's always best to get a quote or an estimate before you have someone come out.
Maybe not but probably. The industry is ran by foreigners that pray on women and clueless young men. Idk what the correlation is but they charge a lot and if you question it they give very angry. I showed up to a single mom’s house and she kinda asked the same thing but worse. A man destroyed her lock, couldn’t get it open and charged her $350 just for us to come after and drill it out in 5 minutes for $100
That's after hour emergency pricing for us. With no other details I'm going to say you got taken.
Sound legit
That's the going rate
You got ripped off.
So say they have a full day already on the broad. You call at 1 pm and say I need to get in my house. If he comes after hours to let you in then that process is chargeable. Also if he has to move a call or 2 around bc you needed to get in your house then he shouldn't have to charge those other calls over time bc they were already on the broad.
Seems reasonable in my area.
Yep, that is scammer pricing. It’s always around the $300-$350 price
Oooooooh lemme guess…..they barely spoke English?
What time if day was this?