From a Scam Locksmith Operation to 230 Google Reviews: Ike's Security and Lock
Matthias, Owner ·Ike's Security and Lock · Hillsboro, OR
Built Local Podcast with Clay Lawrence · · 25 min episode
The short version
Matthias got into locksmithing through a company that quoted $19 or $39 on the phone and charged $200 at the door. He left, got licensed, bonded and insured, and built Ike's Security and Lock in Hillsboro, Oregon, west of Portland, on upfront pricing and car key and safe work. His Google reviews went from 163 to 230 in about three months.
What other owners can take from Ike's Security and Lock
- 1
Give the price up front and say in advance what could make it go up. Most customers do not mind paying more when they were told.
- 2
Get licensed, bonded and insured, and look the part: a company shirt, a marked or wrapped vehicle, business cards.
- 3
Do not build a locksmith business on car lockouts. They have the highest cancellation rate, because customers call several companies and take whoever arrives first.
- 4
Learn the higher-ticket work, such as car key programming and safes, and pay for training beyond YouTube.
- 5
Warranty your work. Things will go wrong, so go back and fix them.
- 6
You will not outspend scam operations, so do what they will not: be honest, be on Google, collect reviews and be known locally.
Who is Matthias and how did he get into locksmithing?
Matthias owns Ike’s Security and Lock, a locksmith business serving the Portland, Oregon area from Hillsboro, about 15 miles west of the city. He has been in the trade about three years and has run his own company for about two and a half.
He was delivering for Instacart and DoorDash when a former teammate started a locksmith company and their basketball coach posted the job in a group chat. Matthias was the only one who answered. There was no formal training. He shadowed for a while, then was sent out alone to “go figure it out.”
It was, he says plainly, a scam company.
How do locksmith scams work?
With a low quote on the phone and a high price at the door. Matthias described what he was trained to do: tell a locked-out caller it would be $19 or $39 to come out, with the final quote given on site. Once he was there, the company would have him charge $200 for a job that takes seconds. He kept maybe 20 to 25 percent and the rest went to the company.
He said the practice is very common and hurts legitimate locksmiths. One early job showed him who he was working with. Police and a worried son needed a door opened for a welfare check, and Matthias drilled the lock. The older man who lived there had died. Matthias told the family he would not charge. One of the people he worked with said he should have taken the money. “That’s what really opened my eyes to the kind of people they were.”
What did he do to build a legitimate locksmith business?
He did what the fly-by-night operators skip:
- Licensed, bonded and insured first.
- A marked vehicle. He started in a small Honda CRV with his logo on it and now has a wrapped van.
- An office, by appointment only, which he was preparing to move to Hillsboro to focus on a smaller area.
- Paid training. He started on YouTube, then flew to a school in Utah to learn European cars and took suppliers’ on-demand courses.
- A warranty. “If something goes wrong, which things will go wrong, make sure that you warranty your work.”
His first customers came from handing business cards to everyone in the local area, subcontracting for larger established companies (usually the jobs they could not or did not want to do), and a Google listing.
Where does the money come from in locksmithing?
Not from car lockouts. Matthias said lockouts are a small part of his work and have the highest cancellation rate of any job. A locked-out customer may call three companies and give the job to whoever arrives first, so a locksmith can drive out and get nothing for the time.
Most of his work is car keys and ignition services. Programming a key means identifying the key, cutting it, finding the correct part number and using a scan tool through the car’s OBD port. European cars are harder and can require soldering wires onto a circuit board.
The prices he gave:
- Key work on high-end cars: from $350 up to $1,000, depending on the car.
- Safe services: starting around $250, and into the $500s if a lock has to be drilled and replaced.
“If you really want to make money, you have to be able to do car keys or safes or something like that.”
How does a locksmith earn five-star reviews in a trade known for scams?
By being upfront and personable. Matthias arrives in a company shirt and a wrapped van, gives the price, and says in advance what could make it go up. “Most people don’t care about paying more. It’s more just about the communication.” He also makes a point of having a real conversation with every customer.
He estimates he has worked with over a thousand customers and says nearly all of them are pleasant to deal with. He records jobs on Meta Ray-Ban glasses.
His Google profile went from 163 reviews to 230 in about three months after he started using Review Harvest.
What is his advice for a new service business?
Ask yourself the basic questions before complaining about a lack of work. Are you on Google? Are you getting reviews? Are you handing out business cards?
Scam operations have more money and bigger teams, he said, so a legitimate company cannot outspend them. “You have to do the things that the scammers aren’t doing.”
Next for Ike’s Security and Lock: a storefront one day, more involvement in the community through the Chamber of Commerce, and buying out one of the older locksmiths who are retiring.
In Matthias's words
“You have to do the things that the scammers aren't doing.”
“Most people don't care about paying more. It's more just about the communication.”
“If something goes wrong, which things will go wrong, make sure that you warranty your work.”
“If you really want to make money, you have to be able to do car keys or safes or something like that.”
Review Harvest Client
What Ike's Security and Lock says about Review Harvest
Matthias says he was very skeptical when he first talked to Review Harvest. He had tried personalized texts, a tap-to-review card and even discounts, and customers still forgot. He started at 163 Google reviews, Google removed about seven during an update, and he is now at 230, which he puts at close to 80 new reviews in about three months. He chose per-review pricing and says he would have saved about $300 on the monthly plan.
“Review Harvest, that thing converts like a beast.”
Matthias on working with Review Harvest: “How This Business Added 77+ Google Reviews in 3 Months”
Questions this episode answers
How do locksmith scams work?
Matthias, owner of Ike's Security and Lock in Hillsboro, Oregon, started out at a company that ran one. He says the caller is quoted $19 or $39 to come out, with the final price to be given on site. Once the locksmith arrives, the customer is charged around $200 for a job that takes seconds. He says it is a very common scam in the industry.
How much does a locksmith charge for a car key or to open a safe?
Matthias of Ike's Security and Lock says key work on high-end cars runs from about $350 up to $1,000 depending on the car. Safe services usually start around $250, and can reach the $500s if the safe has to be drilled and the lock replaced.
Are car lockouts profitable for a locksmith?
Not very, according to Matthias of Ike's Security and Lock. He says car lockouts have the highest cancellation rate of any job, because a customer may call three companies and give the work to whoever arrives first. He says the money is in car keys, ignition services and safes, which make up most of his work.
How do you start a legitimate locksmith business?
Matthias says the first step for Ike's Security and Lock was getting licensed, bonded and insured. He put his logo on his vehicle, handed out business cards across his local area, subcontracted for larger companies and set up a Google listing. He also paid for training, including a school in Utah for European cars, and he warranties his work.
How did Ike's Security and Lock get to 230 Google reviews?
Matthias says Ike's Security and Lock had 163 Google reviews when he started with Review Harvest and 230 about three months later, even after Google removed about seven during an update. He says upfront pricing, a professional appearance and a friendly conversation with every customer are what earn the five stars.
Need locksmith in Hillsboro? Visit Ike's Security and Lock at ikessecurityandlock.com.
