Business Lockout Service: getting ready

A cook stepped into the alley with the recycling and the rear door swung shut behind him. The push bar works from inside, but the outside handle has a keyed cylinder and the key is hanging in the kitchen office. The front door is locked too.

Worth answering before the call

Has anyone already tried to force or pry the door? Which door are you locked out of, and what does the lock on it look like? Where are the keys: with an absent keyholder, lost, broken in the lock, or turning without effect?

I am an employee, not the owner. Can you still open the door for me?

Yes, with the owner or a manager in the loop. Tell the locksmith who can confirm you work there and how to reach them. A call to the business owner, the regional manager or the property manager, ideally on a number that can be looked up rather than one you supply, settles it. Staff on an opening shift arrange this on the phone before the locksmith arrives so nothing waits at the door.

We need to open for customers. How do you sequence the visit?

Entry comes first and repairs second. Once authority is confirmed the door is opened, staff go in and start their routine, and the locksmith turns to the cause: extracting a broken key, rekeying for a lost one, re-springing a deadlatch or lifting a dropped door. Anything that can wait for a quieter hour, such as rekeying interior doors, is offered as a return visit so the shop floor is not blocked while it trades.