Locksmith Services Blog

Anytime you hire anyone to do some work on your home or automobile, you have to be very selective.  For one thing, these are probably your two biggest investments and you don’t want anyone tinkering with them who doesn’t know exactly what they’re doing.  Secondly, it can cost you a lot of money to do some type of home improvement or have a major repair done on your car, so you want to make sure you find a tradesman who does quality work at affordable prices.

Nobody would argue with the above, but, as a Tampa locksmith, I have found that folks do not put apply the same standards when they are looking for a locksmith.  It is true that a lot of times, when you need a locksmith in Tampa, you are in an emergency situation.  You are standing outside of your car somewhere or locked out of your house, and you don’t feel like shopping around at times like those, and that is understandable.

However, you have to realize that there are a lot of great, ethical Bay area locksmiths who take good care of their customers…but there are also some companies out there who take advantage of  people who are in a bind.  They’ll quote you one price and they charge you another when they get to you.  And like anything else, there are locksmiths in Tampa who are experienced and equipped with all of the state-of-the-art tools, and there are others who are not truly professional.  If you call a locksmith who is talking about drilling and replacing a lock handle a lockout, he probably doesn’t have the training and tools that a legitimate locksmith in Tampa would routinely have.

So even if you are locked out and not really in the mood to shop around for the best locksmith in Tampa, you do need to ask the right questions to protect yourself.  Ask the locksmith to give you an estimate, and make sure that the price you are being quoted is not just a partial charge just for showing up.  Ask if they are insured.  Try to get a feel for the legitimacy of the locksmith using common sense.

There are things you can do to make sure that you are dealing with a Tampa Bay locksmith company that is truly reputable if you have to call them in an emergency, but it is best to know a good locksmith beforehand.  You can call around and ask questions, and  you can also ask your family, friends, or co-workers if they can recommend a good locksmith in Tampa.  Being prepared, just in case you need a locksmith in an emergency, is the wisest course of action.

The bottom line is that you can ask questions, call around, consult with people that you know, and do all of this legwork to make sure that you are hiring a locksmith you can trust.  Your other choice is far simpler and just as safe: call 24/7 Locksmith Services.  We are the Tampa locksmiths that people have grown to trust, and we are there for whenever and wherever you need us in the greater Tampa Bay area.

I was reading an article recently about a spate of burglaries in the Atlanta area. A group of men were identifying garage doors that were open or ajar and taking whatever they could find. Homeowners reported losing power tools, wallets, recreational equipment, and even alcoholic beverages that they were storing in their garages.

This is not the first time that I have heard about burglars getting into garages, and as I make my rounds every day I invariably notice a lot of overhead doors that are either left open due to carelessness, or in such bad shape that they simply won’t close properly. This is an invitation to potential intruders. The odds are that they won’t notice the opening if it happens every now and then because someone forgot to close and lock the door. But if you actually need overhead door repair work done, and you procrastinate and leave the door partially open over a significant period of time, the criminal element will eventually notice, and you are likely to be victimized.

Commercial buildings that utilize overhead doors are especially prone to burglary. Many of these types of businesses are located in industrial parks or areas that are zoned for commercial use, so they get pretty lonely at night. And of course, any business is going to have valuable equipment and inventory inside, so thieves know they will come away with a haul if they can find a way past the door. It’s easy to take a look at your old, rickety overhead door as you’re closing it at the end of the day and think that “someday” you need to have a new one installed. But that day may be the day after you’re business has been ransacked, when it should have been done long before.

Fortunately, these recent burglaries outside of Atlanta were confined to the garages themselves. But if nobody is home, and a thief can get into your garage, he has total cover to do whatever is necessary to get into the main house through the door leading into the garage. He even has access to your tools to help him do it!

Whether you have overhead doors at your place of business, or simply guarding the garage at home, you need to make sure that they are in good repair and adequately serving their purpose. There are cases of garage theft that occur when the homeowners are actually home, but in the backyard. It is not wise to expose yourself to this type of risk when a simple and affordable overhead door repair will ensure the security of your property.

If you have any garage doors that need to be serviced, it might be a good time to call a professional. And if you’re in Atlanta: Atlanta Overhead Door Repair.

When you are a professional locksmith, if you want to stay relevant as new innovations come along in your industry, you have to be willing to undergo ongoing training. Much of this takes place on the job, and since certified locksmiths have a solid theoretical background from their years of experience in the business, learning how to work with new products is a matter of building on what they already know. However, there is a lot of new security technology on the market, so the skill set that a diligent locksmith carries with him today is a lot more comprehensive than it was twenty or thirty years ago.

Keyless entry systems are one of the modern innovations that locksmiths need to be versed in, and there are a number of different types of keyless locks, so there is a lot to know. The thing that has remained consistent is the locking mechanisms themselves for the most part, so it is not like reinventing the wheel, but the way they are released and triggered is what is so different. It requires a lot of work for a locksmith to stay current on all of the high tech keyless entry systems for homes and business, but it is also very rewarding. In fact, it is actually fun to work on a variety of different types of modern high security locks, like biometric fingerprint and handprint locks, remote wireless deadbolts, hardwired keypads, push-button handlesets, and proximity card readers.

In any industry, you have to be adaptable and willing and able to change along with the times, and few trades have demanded more ongoing training in recent years than that of the locksmith. Many of the new products that have been introduced have been specifically designed to eliminate some of the tasks that locksmiths have traditionally done, so keeping up-to-date and able to service all types of modern equipment has been necessary for the very survival of the modern locksmith.

Keyless locks, for instance, are meant to eliminate the need to replace your locks when you want to prevent someone with a key from having access to a property. Also, when you use keyless locks, you have no keys to lose or forget, and responding to those types of situations has always been a common job for locksmiths. The good news, however, is that there is a whole new wave of business out there for locksmiths who are keeping up-to-date. Modern home security solutions are making the old ones obsolete, so there is a lot of work to be done modernizing the security locks in people’s homes, vehicles, and businesses.

There is still plenty of old school, traditional work for locksmiths, but times are changing, and 24/7 Locksmith Services is on the cutting edge of all modern high tech locksmith technologies. We can install and service commercial access and security systems including biometric fingerprints technologies, and we can upgrade your home security with heavy duty bump-proof locks or the modern keyless entry system of your choice. For seasoned and certified locksmiths who take their vocation seriously enough to keep abreast of all state-of-the-art security solutions as they are released to the public, call the experts at 24/7 Locksmith Services and rest assured that the safety of your home or business is in the hands of a highly trained and totally up-to-date professional master locksmith.

Most of us have professionals that we go to regularly when we need the services they provide. We have a family doctor and a regular dentist, and we know who we will call if we need a plumber, a carpenter, an electrician, or a landscaper. We develop these relationships over time and we continue to do business with people that provide us with quality work and good service at fair prices, and invariably, we recommend them to others.

It is a good idea to keep a list of all of the service providers that you may need somewhere handy in the event of an emergency. You don’t need to be rummaging through your drawers looking for the phone book or wasting time trying to separate the spam from the legitimate listings online when you need help immediately.

Locksmiths are often called because people find themselves locked out of their business, car, or home, and when you have no idea who to turn to when you are in the midst of an unexpected locksmith emergency, you are leaving yourself vulnerable to scams. There was recently a case in Missouri that was brought to light by the State Attorney General there that underscores why you should identify a reputable local locksmith in your area and keep their contact information close at hand.

There was a locksmith company out of Florida that came to Missouri and created multiple fake identities with different phone numbers that all fed to the same call center. When you called any one of these companies due to a locksmith emergency, they would quote you a particular price, and then charge you much more when they got there. If you tried to complain at the “office” that was listed, you found out that there was no locksmith at that address. And then if you told others to beware of this unscrupulous locksmith, they were likely to get the same company because they dominated the listings under different names with different phone numbers.

This type of thing can and does happen in any industry, which is why it is wise to find tradesmen that you know you can count on to act with integrity if you have to call them in the event of an emergency. The best way to do this is to develop a relationship under non-emergency circumstances. Residential locksmiths offer a full range of solutions that can help keep your home and valuables safe. Having a locksmith come out to upgrade your locks or install a keyless entry system can be a good way to improve your home security while connecting with someone you can trust in the event of an emergency.

24/7 Locksmith Services is dedicated to becoming the most trusted 24 hour emergency locksmith in the business, and we do all that we can to keep people aware of the scams that are out there to help you avoid paying more than you should. We highly recommend that you develop a relationship with an honest local locksmith who you can rely on to respond to emergency locksmith situations quickly, honor their quotes, and get the job done right. Don’t take chances when you need a mobile locksmith. Call the trusted professionals at 24/7 Locksmith Services.

Nobody wants to live in constant fear of being robbed, and fortunately, most of us will never have our homes broken into. However, the people who are the victims of burglaries are often times not doing enough to protect themselves. If you are practically inviting a thief to easily enter your home, someone just might take you up on it.

Miami locksmiths can do a lot to protect your home from burglaries, but we do need a little bit of help from homeowners. Bump proof locks on your front and back doors are essential, and you also need to make sure that your patio door locks are upgraded, and your garage needs to stay securely locked as well. But even if you have ten locks on every door and window, they will do no good at all if you don’t use them, or if you lock the doors but leave your windows wide open.

A Hallandale Beach couple was burglarized the other day, and they lost a significant amount of property. The thieves got a laptop computer that was worth nearly a thousand dollars, bottles of Percocet and Xanax, a couple of telephones, and $500 in cash. They also took a lock box that contained almost $6,000 worth of jewelry. You have to assume that the house is insured, but the sentimental value of the jewelry can never be replaced.

It is sad to hear about the losses that this couple incurred, but the thing that stands out about this robbery is the fact that the burglars gained entry into the house by bending a screen. It is hard to understand how someone could leave all of their valuables completely unprotected when they leave their home. Nobody “deserves” to be robbed, but if you can’t even take the time to close and lock the windows when you go out, you are putting yourself at risk.

As a locksmith in Miami I may be more security conscious than the average person, but we all have to use common sense to prevent burglaries and be aware of the reality that there are thieves out there. There is the career criminal who is always looking for a score,
and we have to do all that we can to make it tough on them with bump proof locks and home security systems. But there are also people who are not really professional burglars who might be tempted to take advantage of an open window through which they can see a laptop sitting out in plain sight. Do what you can to protect your property by taking a moment before going out to make sure that your home is secure.

24/7 Locksmith Services is the Miami locksmith that people have grown to trust for fast and affordable locksmith work. Call us at 1-866-450-0383 for all of your residential, commercial, and automotive locksmith needs.

It is difficult to know all of the different home security locks and keyless entry systems that are available to you if you are not a locksmith, and locks are something that most of us don’t put a lot of thought into. As long as they work when you turn the key, you assume that all is well, but in fact, that may not be the case. Locks serve a very specific purpose, and if you don’t have the right locks installed throughout your home you may be putting your family and your belongings at risk.

Lock bumping is a very big problem these days, and the vast majority of the locks that people are using are not bump-proof locks. Very briefly, lock bumping is a method that thieves use to fashion a particular type of key, called a “bump key,” that they insert into your lock and tap until it catches and allows entry. This can be done in a matter of just a few seconds in some instances, and bump keys are available online for as little as a couple of dollars. Since around 90% of the locks that are out there are vulnerable to lock bumping, you really need to have a locksmith analyze the locks that you are using around your home to be sure that they cannot be so easily compromised.

Other aspects of home security that people do not pay enough attention to in many instances are their patio and sliding glass doors locks. These almost always need to be upgraded to ensure a reasonable measure of home security. A professional locksmith can install high security tamper-proof and pick-proof sliding glass door and patio locks that will keep this vulnerable area of your home safe and sound.

Window locks are also a key aspect of home security that can be overlooked by the layman, especially downstairs windows that are easily accessible from outside. A professional home locksmith can take a look at your windows and the means that you are using to secure them and make recommendations for improvements (like keyed window locks) that will make your home very uninviting to potential intruders.

Garage door locks are another way that homeowners can make their homes more secure, and quality garage door lock installation is a relatively inexpensive way to be certain that your garage is completely protected from would-be thieves.

Having a locksmith inspect your property and let you know what your home security options are is a must for any homeowner. Few of us have unlimited budgets, but a seasoned commercial locksmith can work with you to help you prioritize the most important security upgrades that your house needs, and you can tackle these issues one by one. For a home security analysis from a certified security locksmith, call 24/7 Locksmith Services and we will arrange an appointment that fits into your schedule. We can and do respond to locksmith emergencies that require our immediate assistance, but Locksmith Services 24/7 gets far greater satisfaction from preventing break-ins before they happen.