Anytime you hire someone to do a job for you, whether a locksmith or other kind of private contractor, you want to know what you’re in for. Thankfully, in the modern age of Google and internet apps like Yelp and Angie’s List, it’s easier than ever to find out information on a locksmith you may potentially hire. All you have to do is Google search for a locksmith in your area, go onto their website, and check Google for their reviews.
However, not everyone always takes time to go through these steps. People are busy, and often just want to hurry to take care of their lock and key emergency. These people are most likely to get taken advantage of and scammed. That’s why it’s absolutely vital that when you’re searching for a locksmith, you look at their website and read customer reviews. Reviews can tell you a lot about a business if you pay attention to them. In this post, we’ll discuss why it’s so important to read reviews on locksmith businesses.
Locksmith Fraud
Have you ever tried to consult Google to find a locksmith in your area? Then you know that the internet is crawling with Locksmith Business websites. The choices can be overwhelming, with many offering low prices and 24-hour availability.
How do you know which businesses are legitimate? As it turns out, that question is getting harder to answer. Locksmith scams are on the rise, and to address it Google has had to roll out certain policies to make sure that fake locksmith businesses can’t advertise to you.
Unfortunately, these policies haven’t been able to stop these fakers from reaching and scamming customers. Locksmith fraud is so common that even the New York Times took it on. Additionally, this blog post by ACME Locksmith discusses how you can spot locksmith fraud. In our post, we’ll look specifically at how locksmith business reviews can tip you off to a fraud.
What Reviews Can Tell You
Service Rates
Lots of fraudulent locksmith companies will advertise low rates…because they make their money by overcharging you with surprise fees after they finish a job. They often cite “complications” with a job, or note the late hour that you called. If you do find even ONE negative review stating being overcharged, then leave the website and find another. An honest business won’t have swindled anyone.
How a Locksmith Treats Customers
It might sound shocking but many locksmith businesses are owned and run by people who actually have very little training. This is possible because most states don’t actually require locksmiths to have a license. Scammers have capitalized on this. If customers complain about a locksmith looking like he didn’t know what was doing, or being short with them and unable to answer questions, it’s a tell-tale sign of an untrained “professional locksmith.”
What To Look For In Reviews
These are the things you should be paying attention to when reading through reviews:
(1) Are the reviews mostly negative or positive?
This basically goes without saying, but if the majority of customer reviews are negative, the business is a waste of your time and money.
(2) Do the reviews seem to be written by locals?
Google hasn’t quite figured out how to crack down on fake reviews just yet. Consequently, locksmith businesses know how to take advantage of this. Many will pay review farms (often located abroad, in Asia) to write reviews for their business. You can read more about review farms on the ACME Locksmith blog, but basically what you should know is that these companies take money from businesses to write and post fake reviews on their Google My Business pages.
The good news is these are usually pretty easy to spot! They’ll often be written in poor English and stick out like a sore thumb among reviews left by actual American English speakers. Remember, a review that is written by a native English speaker will be written correctly and coherently. If you see too many reviews that don’t seem right…it’s because they’re not.
(3) How many reviews do they have?
If you’re looking at the Google reviews for a locksmith business and notice “wow, they’ve gotten A LOT of reviews this month,” be wary. Most locksmiths simply don’t have time to serve more than 4 or 5 customers a day (assuming they’re busy all day.)
Furthermore, it’s actually quite difficult to get a customer to leave a review. That person must already have an existing Google account or create one in order to leave a review. And most people who are satisfied with a service will simply thank the locksmith and move on with their day. Very few people actually take the time to log onto Google, find the business, and leave a review. So, if you’re noticing dozens of positive reviews recently, understand that some (or many) of them may be fake.
In Conclusion…
We hope our tips have been helpful. Always remember, when you’re searching for a locksmith, it’s best to hire a licensed and insured professional, whose business has a reasonable number of positive, coherent reviews written by locals.
