One of my latest articles to date was discussing “Cost vs Value“. Today, I am proud to present an excellent example of not only what an expensive job without much value looks like, but also what a nicely priced job that also offers great value to the customer looks like.
Indeed, in today’s job, I would like to feature a customer who called me, a Locksmith from Newcastle, as their door would not work anymore. They mentioned another locksmith had had a look already, but could not get the door to work. I then agreed to come have a look and quote them on the spot.
Upon arriving, the first thing that jumped at me was the cylinder hanging out from the door by a considerable margin, yet stuck in the door. See below:
I eventually managed to extract the lock out of the door, and immediately went ahead and tested it, only to find it would not lock at all, despite the handles functioning correctly. I then removed the entire mechanism from the door and witnessed its guts falling off to the floor as it came out. Not something you want to see.
It was now clear we were going to change locks at this Newcastle home. I had a like-for-like replacement, but that lock looked quite new, so I asked about it to my customer. They told me they had it replaced about 6 months ago, by a “locksmith” that not only charged them a callout fee but ended up charging them over £250 for the job. Now, that wouldn’t be so bad if that same “locksmith” didn’t also tell them there would be no warranty on the job he had done, and that the lock they fitted “is not going to last long”.
At least they did not lie about that.
As a proper locksmith in Newcastle, here is what I did: I replaced the parts for a new one, adjusted the door so it would work as smoothly as possible, gave the customer a 1-year warranty, and my business card, should there be an unfortunate need to honour said warranty. Here is a picture of that door now in full working order:
And all of that while charging about 40% less than the previous gentleman. If this isn’t value, I don’t know what is! And as far as this customer was concerned, here is what she had to say about it:
For any of your locksmith Newcastle queries, feel free to get in touch with Anthony at 07865 367298!
Published: 2nd January, 2024 | Updated: 9th February, 2024