Locksmith · 2026-09-23

Locksmith after hours without guessing the price

A lockout at night is a posted price, not a number you invent in the truck.

The simple idea

A lockout at night is a posted price, not a number you invent in the truck.

If you had to explain it to a neighbor who has never run a truck, you would say this. The night visit is $150 to get you in. Rekey or a new lock is extra, and I will say that price before I start.

A normal weekday

A locksmith quoted a friendly number on the phone, then the lock was a high security cylinder. The customer heard the first number and felt robbed by the true one.

Read it again and circle two things: the clock, and the dollars. Everything else in the story is noise. The clock says whether the truck can be there. The dollars say whether the trip was worth leaving the cluster for.

What people get wrong

Guessing the lock from a scared voice.

Here is that mistake in plain words. Post the night visit. Price the hardware after you see the lock.

If you are training someone this week

Sit down for five minutes and say the rule in this order.

The old way sounds like this. Guessing the lock from a scared voice. It feels helpful in the moment. It costs a day, a review, or the money you already spent getting there.

The way you work now sounds like this. Post the night visit. Price the hardware after you see the lock.

The only sentence they are allowed to send is this one. The night visit is $150 to get you in. Rekey or a new lock is extra, and I will say that price before I start.

If they want to sound nicer than that sentence, they are not being kind. They are giving away a promise the truck cannot keep. Have them say it out loud once before they text a real customer.

The numbers on one job

A $150 night visit that becomes a $400 rekey is fine if you said both. It is a complaint if you only said $150.

The box below is a starting price for your own book. Change it. It is not a promise to a homeowner until you have seen the house, the access, and the calendar.

quote

  • kind — visit

What to say out loud

The night visit is $150 to get you in. Rekey or a new lock is extra, and I will say that price before I start.

A new person at the desk should be able to say that sentence without adding a discount, a same day arrival, or a part you do not have. If they have to call you to finish the sentence, the sentence is not finished.

Walk the lead

Go one step at a time. The point of the walk is to keep the yes attached to something you can actually do.

walk

  • Look before you answer — A locksmith quoted a friendly number on the phone, then the lock was a high security cylinder.
  • Name what went wrong last time — Guessing the lock from a scared voice.
  • Say one sentence — The night visit is $150 to get you in. Rekey or a new lock is extra, and I will say that price before I start.
  • Leave a record — Post the night visit. Price the hardware after you see the lock.

The picture

Say the night price before you drive. Each label is a decision, not a decoration.

diagram

  • kind — thread
  • title — Night price first
  • caption — Say the night price before you drive.
  • Night visit — 150 — Get you in
  • Rekey — extra — After we see the lock
  • Daytime — lower — If it can wait

Where Sqyre holds the work

The text thread should show the night price before the truck moves. Jason can say the posted number. He cannot discount it to win the call.

The trade page is locksmith. The part of the product that should carry this rule is communications. Jason can repeat the sentence. He should not invent a kinder one at night.

Questions people ask

faq

  • What is the plain rule? — Post the night visit. Price the hardware after you see the lock.
  • What does it cost to skip the rule? — A $150 night visit that becomes a $400 rekey is fine if you said both. It is a complaint if you only said $150.
  • What do I say to the customer? — The night visit is $150 to get you in. Rekey or a new lock is extra, and I will say that price before I start.
  • Where should this live so I am not the only one who knows it? — The text thread should show the night price before the truck moves. Jason can say the posted number. He cannot discount it to win the call.

Before Friday

  1. Put this sentence where the desk can read it: The night visit is $150 to get you in. Rekey or a new lock is extra, and I will say that price before I start.
  2. Use it on the next lead before you soften it.
  3. Mark one job from this week that broke the rule and move it.

When you want the next piece of the same idea, read What a shop can promise and After hours rates.