Most Common Locksmith Jobs

Have you ever had to call a locksmith to let you into your home? You are not alone. Robert Campbell, owner of Advantage Locksmith in New York City, says the majority of his clients are people locked out of their homes. The most common job is changing a cylinder, or changing a lock to another key. When people have lost their keys and are locked out of their homes, he often has to open the door and change the cylinder and give them new keys. A person getting locked out of his car is another popular job. People get preoccupied while driving: They’re looking for a spot, looking for change for the meter and they realize they have locked themselves out of their cars.

Safety Precautions:

Campbell says he also often changes the locks as a safety measure. Any time someone moves into an apartment or buys a home, he should change the locks. Regardless of how safe you feel or what the realtor told you, if you are moving into a new home, you could be asking for trouble if you keep the old locks.

If someone suspects that his keys are lost or stolen or copied, we change the cylinder. People in residential buildings feel they have a super who has the keys and something strange has happened, we change the cylinder. Similarly, when roommates split up, he changes the cylinder.

Business Security:

If someone is terminated from a business and had keys, you should change the locks. It’s possible the person made copies of the keys. Don’t assume, “He was a good guy. He will never be back,” because then you are just asking for trouble. I’ve heard people say, “I let this guy go a month ago, I never thought he would come back and he showed up this morning and two computers are gone.”

At a business where someone was fired, Campbell says he changes the front, the back, and the side door locks and provides them with new padlocks for the roll-down gate. He will even change the combination for the safe.

Campbell says that you can never be too careful when it comes to other people’s safety and security.