It’s almost always the same story. You stepped out for thirty seconds, the door closed behind you, and the keys are sitting on the counter.
First, if anyone or anything is inside. A child, a pet, or something on the stove: call 911 before you call us. That’s what they’re for, and they’ll be faster.
If you rent, call the landlord or property manager first. Many of them hold a key, and some won’t reimburse a locksmith you hired yourself.
Before you call anyone
Check the other doors. Back door, side door, garage service door, a window you never bother locking. Not because we don’t want the work, but because a two-minute walk around the house can save you a call. Don’t climb anything to do it.
Think about who else has a key. A partner twenty minutes away costs nothing. Worth a phone call before ours.
What not to try
The credit card. It only ever works on a spring latch, never a deadbolt, and most front doors have both. What usually happens is twenty minutes of wiggling, a scratched door, a bent card, and then you call anyway.
Breaking a window. Glass, a new frame and a board over the hole until the glazier can come will cost you several times what the lockout would have, and you’ll be finding glass on the floor for weeks.
The spare under the mat. If you’re wondering where yours is, so is everyone else. Mat, planter, over the door frame, the fake rock. Those are the first four places anybody looks.
Taking the knob apart. The screws you can see on the inside aren’t on the outside for a reason. You’ll strip something and still be standing outside.
Prying the door. A screwdriver or a pry bar in the gap bends the frame and the strike plate, and once a frame is bent the door never closes properly again. That’s a carpenter on top of a locksmith.
Climbing in. Ladders, balconies, second-floor windows. People get hurt doing this every year, and it’s never worth it.
Calling the fire department. They’ll come if someone’s in danger. Otherwise they won’t, and when they do open a door it’s usually with force.
Letting someone have a go because they “know how.” The neighbor with a screwdriver, the guy who offers in the parking lot. If they damage the lock you’re paying for a new one as well as the opening.
What we actually do
We pick the lock. The door stays as it is, the lock keeps working, and you keep using the same key. On most houses it’s a short job.
If a lock genuinely can’t be picked, we’ll tell you before doing anything else, and you’ll know what it costs before we start.
What we’ll ask you for. Something showing you live there: a license with the address, a lease, a piece of mail. We ask everyone, every time. It’s the reason you want a locksmith who bothers to ask.
If this isn’t the first time
Twice in six months isn’t bad luck. A keypad means there’s nothing to forget and nothing to leave on the counter, and it’s worth asking about while we’re already there.
Locked out right now? Call 844-644-6539 and tell us where you are.
