Residential lockouts
A locked-out homeowner calls three shops in the time it takes one to answer, and the fee goes to whoever picks up first.
- Daytime: someone locked out after a lost or snapped key, a deadbolt that's stuck, or a landlord needing a tenant let back in.
- After hours: the bulk of residential lockout calls land once the day locksmith's already off the road, and a voicemail loses the job outright.
- Weekends: families locked out coming home from a day trip, plus a steady run of lost-key calls on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.
- Deadbolt versus smart lock changes the answer: a smart lock lockout may need a battery swap or app reset before a tech ever drives out.
- Proof of residence matters: a reputable shop asks for ID or some proof the caller lives there before a tech opens anything, and that question needs to be asked before dispatch, not on the doorstep.
How AutoRev handles it: AutoRev asks whether it's a deadbolt, a smart lock, or a lever set, confirms the exact address, and quotes the residential callout fee before the caller hangs up.
Automotive lockouts and key fob programming
A car lockout in a parking lot is one of the highest-margin calls a locksmith takes, and it's also the one most likely to go to whoever's on the phone right now.
- Daytime: keys locked in the car at a grocery store or office lot, plus scheduled key fob programming for a lost or spare key.
- After hours: lockouts spike late at night after bars and restaurants close, when a caller has no other way to get into their car.
- Weekends: the same pattern, worse, since most competitors either don't answer or route straight to voicemail.
- Make, model, and year change the job: some fobs need dealer-level programming equipment, others don't, and the quote depends on which.
- Roadside-assistance referrals come through the same line as direct calls, and a shop that runs both needs the caller sorted into the right billing path before a tech rolls out.
How AutoRev handles it: AutoRev captures the vehicle's make, model, and year, confirms whether it's a lockout or a lost-key rebuild, and gives a callout window while it texts your nearest tech the exact location.
Commercial rekey and master-key systems
A commercial rekey is a scheduled job, not an emergency, but a slow callback loses it to a locksmith who answered the same day.
- Daytime: office rekeys after an employee's terminated, a lease turnover, or a new tenant who wants every exterior door changed.
- After hours: property managers calling in the evening after a bad hire is let go and they want the locks changed before morning.
- Weekends: less common than the emergency call types, but new tenants often want to schedule a rekey before their Monday move-in.
- A master-key system for a multi-door office is a different quote and a different visit than a single rekey, and needs to be scoped before a price goes out.
- Restricted keyway systems need a signed authorization on file before a duplicate gets cut, so the office manager who's allowed to sign that off has to be identified up front.
How AutoRev handles it: AutoRev separates a same-day emergency rekey from a scheduled commercial job in the first question, collects the door count and building access details, and books the visit on your calendar.
Emergency board-up and break-in lock repair
A break-in call is both urgent and often tied to an insurance claim, and the property needs to be secured the same night.
- Daytime: a homeowner or business owner discovering a forced door or broken lock after returning from work or vacation.
- After hours: this is when most break-ins get discovered, and the caller needs a locksmith out that night, not next business day.
- Weekends: break-ins cluster on weekends when homes and businesses sit empty longer, and the caller is often on the phone with police at the same time.
- Insurance jobs need documentation, so a photo of the damaged door or frame and a written estimate usually matter as much as the repair itself.
- A board-up is often the same visit as the lock repair, not a separate call, and a caller who doesn't know that term still needs the door secured tonight either way.
How AutoRev handles it: AutoRev flags a break-in call as urgent immediately, confirms whether police are already on scene, and dispatches the nearest available tech with the address and damage details in one text.
Safes and commercial access control
Safe and access-control jobs carry the highest ticket of anything a locksmith quotes, and a caller comparing three shops picks whoever answers with a clear next step.
- Daytime: a business opening a new location and calling around for panic bar installs, keypad access, or a commercial safe.
- After hours: less common, but an office locked out of its own safe or access panel still calls whoever picks up first.
- Weekends: new-business owners scoping a security upgrade before opening day often call around on a Saturday when they have time to plan it.
- These are consult-then-quote jobs, not phone quotes, so getting the site visit booked matters more than pricing on the call.
- A lost combination on an existing safe and a brand-new install are two different visits with two different skill sets, and mixing them up wastes a truck roll.
How AutoRev handles it: AutoRev recognizes a safe or access-control inquiry as a site-visit job, collects the business name, address, and what they're trying to secure, and books the consult instead of guessing at a price.
Move-in and move-out rekeys for property managers
Property managers rekey on a fixed turnover schedule, and a locksmith who's slow to confirm a date can lose the whole account over a single missed date.
- Daytime: property managers batching several units at once ahead of a lease turnover, usually calling with a list, not a single address.
- After hours: rare, but a management company scrambling to rekey a unit before a same-week move-in will call whenever they remember to.
- Weekends: move-ins concentrate on weekends, and a property manager who can't reach anyone Friday afternoon starts calling other shops Saturday morning.
- This is repeat, recurring business, and a property manager is sizing up whether the shop can handle the whole building's volume, not one door at a time.
- Standardizing the property onto one master-key system is a common upsell here, since maintenance staff otherwise carries a different key for every unit.
How AutoRev handles it: AutoRev takes the unit count and move-in date, confirms whether it's a straight rekey or a lock swap, and gets it on the calendar so the property manager isn't chasing a callback.
