We are always looking for locksmith technicians!
Am I qualified?
Probably! We’ve had technicians with skilled trade experience and some with little to none. Most of the technicians we’ve brought on have any locksmith experience. There aren’t a lot of locksmiths around so we have an internal training program. New technicians get to shadow before running jobs on their own, we have an online course with videos, and of course you can ask fellow locksmiths here at Lock Alchemy.
Aside from a willingness to learn we have a few other requirements. Due to the nature of the work being security related we can not bring on anyone with a Felony or certain misdemeanors. Additionally, technicians need reliable transportation that can store equipment and stock.
What’s the Job like?
Different every day, more thinking than you’d imagine, and interesting stories.
Here’s a typical day:
9:30 A business let go of an employee so they want you to rekey their glass storefront door
11:00 someone closed on a new house. Some locks don’t have keys and they don’t know who in the neighborhood has one. You rekey the house, tighten some hinge screws, and drill a latch lower to accommodate the sagging door
1:00 grab lunch on the go
2:00 Someone lost all of their car keys. You pick open the lock, decode it, and cut a working key. You program with chip with a programmer, turn the ignition, and the car fires up
4:00 The office calls in and asks if you want one more job. Last nights windstorm broke a door closer on the back entrance to a strip mall. You remove it and replace it with a new one.
Full-time / Part-time?
We prefer people interested in full time positions but if the right candidate comes along we are interested in helping them become full-time. We are fine with people working two jobs. However, it takes a decent amount of skill to complete jobs so you’ll want a decent amount of time dedicated to learning the craft.
Room for Growth
It takes a while to learn the basics, more time to get faster, and even more time to learn the harder things. There’s always more to know. Most professions say there is always more to learn and that’s true. However, it’s possible to go on hundreds of jobs and not work on a very common type of lock. Then you get the opportunity to work on it and learn it’s details. There are really only so many different ways to lock something and only so many different types of problems but they can combine in a numerous ways that make it challenging to troubleshoot.
By learning more advanced locks and services you can increase your earning potential and work on some rewarding jobs. It’s a growing company so there are opportunities in sales, marketing, and management.
Why Lock Alchemy?
Our goal is to do cool stuff with integrity. Oddly, a lot of locksmith companies are fly by night and try and make quick cash with bait and switch tactics or overcharging for simple things.
Our other mission is to not be soul crushing place to work. Everyone should work to live and not live to work. Officially, we are 9-5 during the week but if someone wanted additional work on the weekends and after hours we could make it happen. We don’t have billing requirements, a giant corporate structure, or punitive HR rules. We offer a lot of flexibility, the ability to learn and grow as a technician, field support, and the opportunity to make honest money.
Locksmith technicians do just that, locksmithing. We have a flat rate pricing structure for work so you don’t need to spend time making estimates and price things out. No sales calls or door knocking (blech!). We have an office that handles calls, dispatch, and customer questions. There is some paperwork/invoicing, payment needs collected, and some other additional tasks that make doing the job possible.
We provide the tools, equipment, inventory, and training.
Who Succeeds as a Locksmith?
Locksmithing is a thinking man’s trade for knowledge seekers. It’s not about drilling a hole in a door. It’s about looking at the door, knowing what’s currently installed and how it works. Then looking at what you are accomplishing and making a plan. Knowing what could be done and what options you have. Putting the drill to the door is just the last step.
Sometimes it can be tedious and honestly, frustrating. Small pins, retrofitting hardware, working on old doors etc. But when you finally figure it out, turn the key and it works it’s a pretty great feeling knowing that you solved a problem for the customer using your own knowledge.
Customer service and the ability to remain calm is essential. Most customers are really amazing. They’re very happy you finally fixed a door in their house or secure their business after letting an employee go. They thank you, pay you, and everyone goes home happy. Occasionally, there are people with different expectations, didn’t understand the pricing, or will rush you on jobs. Some people are just confused. Some people are unreasonable. Some people are having a very bad expensive day after losing their car keys. It requires a little gumption to get past these situations but they typically resolve themselves without incident when people remain calm.
What does a bad day look like?
Every job has it’s rough days. It’s a good idea to know what the downsides are. Here are some typical things that happen:
You show up for a 10 am appointment at a house. The home owner isn’t there. You call them and they say they ran to the grocery store real quick and will be back in 15 minutes.
The job description is to replace 4 brass locks. You check your inventory and you have 5. When you show up they actually want 6 locks replaced so you need to drive back to the warehouse for extras.
You’re working on a glass storefront door. The door is in terrible condition and the original installer cut some corners. It takes 2 1/2 hours of cutting, drilling, and trying different things to finally get it to work…okay. The customer understands that that’s the best you can do but you can tell they wish it was better.
Someone lost all of their car keys and you tell them you can be there in 30 minutes. You’re rushing for 15 minutes to pack up from the job you’re on and are finally ready to head their way, it’s only 15 minutes away. You check your phone before heading out and they cancelled because someone could get there “sooner.”
