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If You Can't Beat 'em, At Least Don't Join Them!

I've often expressed my gratitude for the internet in leveling the advertising playing field and allowing the smaller budgeted businesses to compete with the deeper pocketed conglomerates. Unfortunately, this situation has also proven quite lucrative for the scam artists in many professions, especially the cash heavy lockout locksmith service. No longer is there the need to commit to a phone book advertisement for 12 months at a time. The scammers can now come and go as they please, posing as local businesses with flashy websites and showing up at the top of most search engines. Masters of the “bait and switch”, they advertise a low “service fee” to attract your attention. But beware! Upon their arrival you will receive the “labor charge”, often 3 or 4 times higher than what would be considered normal. Don’t like the quote? You’re still on the hook for their “service fee”. Sounds like a racket to me!

Lockout and locksmith service is regulated in only a handful of states (Alabama, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Washington D.C.). But even with regulations, it can be a difficult industry to enforce. Most of these “companies” are not local; in fact, some are even in other countries. They have websites heavy laden with SEO design and utilize pay-per-click advertising, such as Google Adwords and Microsoft’s Bing.

By running an over-priced scam, they have larger budgets and can afford to stay at the top of the search listings with high keyword bids. They recruit “contractors” within their targeted cities (often other locksmiths) to actually perform the work. It can be difficult for a legitimate, “fair priced” business to compete and I personally know locksmiths who have resorted to working for these type of “shell” companies. They claim they are providing a legitimate service with legitimate leads but in reality they are nothing more than a middleman; a shadowy puppet-master driving up the service cost to the consumer and making the once-legit contractor do their dirty work for a percentage. The more they can get away with charging, the higher their cut.

What’s a legitimate company to do? The best way to compete with the locksmith scammers is to stay the course. Let your honest reputation speak for itself. Mention “free quotes” and “flat rate pricing” in your ads. Urge customers to call around and compare total prices! If you can’t afford to stay in the top pay-per-click positions, at least put yourself in the mix at third or fourth place to keep the bidding competitive. And if you can’t beat ‘em, at least don’t join them! Remember, they’re not locksmiths. They are website designers at best, taking business away from you and, upon scamming your customers, selling your business back to you in the form of leads. Yup, sounds like a racket to me!

Need help setting up a Google Adwords account for your lockout or locksmith service?
Check out our new book “Breaking Into Cars for a Living”, now available for kindle @ www.amazon.com/dp/B00FG8S1XE or visit us @ www.MrQuickPick.com.
www.QuickPick.net. www.QuickPickLockout.com.