Locksmith (Whats Involved)

Locksmith (Interview for Jobs4u)

Ray Preedy is a locksmith and co-owner of R & R Security Services, an established locksmith company. He is a member of the Master Locksmith Association and the Auto Locksmiths Association. He is based in Ealing, West London.

How would you outline your role?
As a company we supply, repair and carry out the fitting of locks, keys, vehicle security, safes, and access control systems for domestic, government agencies and commercial uses. My role, as a partner, is in all aspects of the running of the company.

What are your main responsibilities?
I am involved in running the company on a very hands-on basis. There is no typical day! After opening the shop premises I organise the work schedule for the day, depending on what is booked in. After that I could be doing anything from taking orders, cutting keys and assembling locks, to calling on customers and fitting locks.
I am also responsible for organising staff training and rotas.

What hours do you work?
The shop is open from 8.30am to 5pm. I have worked up to 60 hours in a week but I try to average 40 hours a week at the moment. We operate an emergency call out system, 24 hours a day, so we are all generally on call one week in every four.

What is your working environment like?
I work in a retail premises. We have a workshop at the rear for working on old locks, which may be dirty and need stripping down, and a ‘pinning room’ for assembling clean, new locks to people’s requirements, such as master key systems and cylinders.

Who do you work with?
I work with a variety of customers, from businesses and the general public, to professionals such as architects who may be looking for a particular product. I also work with my business partner and colleagues including four qualified locksmiths, two trainees and two salespeople.

What skills or qualities do you need?
Integrity and honesty are the most important qualities. Obviously you also need to have practical skills and to be good with your hands. You also need IT skills to use computers.

Why did you choose this type of work?
I left school at 16 and got an apprenticeship with an engineering company. The company went bust so I got a job selling motor spares. I got to strip down car locks and found this interesting, so I then got a job as a trainee locksmith. I joined the Master Locksmith Association (MLA), undertook the training and sat their exams to become a master locksmith. Not long after this I set up R&R Security Services with my business partner.

What training do you have/have you done?
I am involved, together with the other locksmiths, in training our trainees on the job. We also send them on training courses leading to the exam to become a master locksmith. I attend regular training sessions myself to keep up to date, as there are always new developments in terms of products and technology.

Do you use any special tools or equipment?
There are multitudes of special tools! In the workshop we have to constantly upgrade and renew equipment, for example machinery or pieces of software, as it is very specialised. We have many types of manual machines, the two basic ones are used to cut mortice keys and standard cylinder type keys. We also have different types of computerised cutting machines for cutting keys to code number or for the more sophisticated specialised keys.

What do you like/dislike about your job?
I get immense satisfaction from my job, for example when I’ve assembled a key system that is working well and the client is happy, or when someone comes in with an obsolete key and we can replace it like for like. I also really enjoy the variety, in terms of the different jobs we do for different clients. The only downside is being a small company it can be hard to arrange cover when someone is off sick or on holiday.

What are the main challenges?
My main challenge is to provide a quality service that keeps our customers happy. As a member of the MLA, which is a professional body, I find it frustration that there isn’t more regulations on ‘cowboy’ locksmiths who can set up without the proper training. Every time they do a bad job it reflects on the industry as a whole.

How do you see your future?
I’d like to develop our website, which is a relatively new buy-on-line site offering a huge range of products, and make it more profitable. Generally I’m very happy the way our business is. By staying small we can offer a much more personal service which is really satisfying to me.

Ray’s route
· Left school at 16 years and got an engineering apprenticeship
· Got a job in a shop selling motor spares
· Trained as a locksmith and qualified as a master locksmith
· Set up and developed R&R Security Services

Ray’s tips
· Approach locksmiths directly and try to get a Saturday job before leaving school
· Contact the MLA to enquire about training. Don’t be fooled by any ‘get rich quick’ schemes.