If you have recently finished your training and are now a qualified locksmith, here are some tips you should keep in mind to ensure that your career is successful.
Act fast when you get an emergency call-out
A lot of locksmiths end up doing frequent emergency call-outs. These will involve you helping a client who is locked out of their car or home at short notice. These calls may come at any time of the day or night. If you get a call after you have already fallen asleep, you may find it difficult to drag yourself out of bed and drive to the client's location. However, it is extremely important to act quickly in this type of situation and get to the client as fast as possible.
There are several reasons for this. Firstly, if your client is locked out of their car late at night and they happen to be in a dangerous neighbourhood, there is a risk that they may be assaulted or robbed during the time that they are waiting for you to arrive. As such, the less time you make them wait, the less likely it is that something bad will happen to them.
Secondly, even if the client who needs you to open the lock to their home or their car is not in any danger, they are unlikely to be impressed with your service if you arrive an hour or two after they called you, particularly if this incident occurs on a very cold, wet or windy night and they are stuck outdoors. This could lead to them giving your locksmith business negative feedback, which could, in turn, affect your ability to find new clients.
Take extremely good care of your hands
If you want to enjoy a long career as a locksmith, then it is crucial to take excellent care of your hands. The reason for this is as follows; the process of picking open locks and installing new ones requires a high level of manual dexterity. As such, if you break any of the bones in your hand, damage any of the nerves or sprain any of the ligaments, you may not be able to do your job to a high standard (or do it all, if the injury is severe).
Given this, you should do your best to keep your hands in good condition. This might mean avoiding playing contact sports (which are very likely to result in injuries), wearing cut-resistant gloves when handling knives and other sharp tools, and limiting the number of repetitive movements you do with your hands (such as typing or playing an instrument) as these could put you at risk of developing carpal tunnel syndrome.
