Guides
Locksmith service packages: a reviewer's notes
Locksmith service packages work when each is written as a scope statement. Seventeen definitions follow, with the boundary and the authority check named.
What to take away
- Seventeen package definitions follow, each written as a boundary rather than as a name. The name is not the part that gets argued about.
- No prices appear. A package is a scope, and scope travels between businesses in a way a price never does.
- Each definition names the hardware family it covers and, where it matters, the authority evidence the job needs before work starts.
- Offer a subset. Seventeen is a menu of candidates, not a target.
Residential packages
- Single-key rekey. Pin tumbler cylinders in bored locksets and tubular deadbolts at one address, brought to one new key up to a stated cylinder count and tested afterward. Excludes mortise bodies and worn hardware.
- New occupancy package. Rekey of all exterior cylinders plus a written key issue record, offered at move-in. Requires evidence of ownership or tenancy before work begins.
- Lost key response. Attendance where keys are missing rather than where a door is fastened. Covers rekeying so the missing keys no longer operate, and names the openings still outside scope.
- Hardware upgrade assessment. A walk-through recording the function, grade and condition of existing hardware, delivered as a written schedule. Sold as an assessment, not as work.
- Keyed-alike conversion. Several compatible cylinders brought onto one key, priced per cylinder rather than per door. Incompatible cylinders are identified before starting.
- Auxiliary hardware package. Cabinet, garage side door and outbuilding locks, mostly wafer and small pin tumbler cylinders, grouped because they rarely justify their own visit.
Commercial mechanical packages
- Small master key system design. A keying schedule for a defined set of doors, delivered with a record of which key operates which opening and a written custody arrangement for that record.
- Master key system maintenance. Additions, changes and reissues against an existing schedule, on call-off, with a named authorized signatory on the account.
- Interchangeable core program. Supply and service where the core is the serviceable unit, including control key custody and spare cores held for the account.
- Restricted keyway program. Hardware on a controlled keyway with an authorization list limiting duplication to named signatories. The authorization list is the product; the keys are the delivery.
- Door and hardware survey. A written schedule of every opening in a building recording lock type, function, handing and condition, with code concerns flagged for the authority having jurisdiction.
- Exit hardware and closer service. Adjustment and servicing of exit devices and closers, excluding anything that changes egress arrangements.
Electronic and specialist packages
- Access control assessment. A survey recording where an electric strike or electromagnetic lock would sit, what fail safe or fail secure implies there, and what power and monitoring the opening needs.
- Credential administration. Issue, revocation and record keeping for cards, fobs or mobile credentials on an existing system. Sold as an ongoing service, not as an installation.
- Safe servicing. Combination changes, servicing and anchoring on customer-owned units, with ownership evidence recorded before attendance and out-of-competence work declined in writing.
- Automotive credential service. Origination and programming of vehicle credentials by code, with title or registration matched to identification before work begins. Coverage is stated by what your equipment supports, never in general terms.
- Scheduled maintenance agreement. A recurring visit covering lubrication, adjustment, alignment checks and a written condition report across an agreed opening list, invoiced on a cycle.
What every one of them needs underneath
Three things are written before a package is sold: the exclusion list, the return-visit trigger, and what happens when the authority evidence does not arrive. The method for writing those is in packaging locksmith services for customers.
Each also needs a competence behind it. Core programs, restricted keyway administration, access control assessment and automotive work are not interchangeable skills. Staffing them is what decides how many of these you can honestly offer, and the locksmith hiring and training guide covers how that competence is signed off.
Choosing which ones to offer
Start from the buildings around you. Dense older rental housing supports packages one to five and rarely supports package sixteen. A corridor of small commercial units supports seven through twelve and may never produce a residential call worth the travel. That geographic reading is the subject of best markets for a locksmith business.
Then check the arithmetic, because a package that sells well and contributes badly is worse than one that does neither. The method is in profitable locksmith services, and how the whole menu fits together is in the locksmith services and packages guide.
Whatever you publish about these has to be supportable. Automotive coverage claims and emergency response claims are the two that most often outrun the business, and the FTC advertising guidance asks that a claim be substantiated. Keep the job records that would let you show it, as the IRS recordkeeping guidance describes.
Common questions
Should packages be published with prices?
Publish the scope always and the price only where it is genuinely fixed. A published price that is really a starting point trains customers to distrust the next number they hear.
How many should a one-van shop offer?
Usually four to six, drawn from one or two of the groups above. The limit is stock and competence rather than ambition. A shop offering all seventeen is offering second visits.
Can a package be withdrawn?
Yes, and it should be if it consistently produces returns, disputes or work you would rather decline. Withdraw it cleanly, honor existing commitments, and record why, so the decision is not quietly reversed a year later.
