Do You Tip A Locksmith?

Being locked out of either our home or car can be a frustrating experience that we’d all rather never go through. If you do lock ourselves out, the first thing to do after saying or thinking of some choice words is to call your local locksmith. Once the nearest locksmith arrives, they should have you back into your house or home quickly. While your locksmith is unlocking your home or car, you might wonder whether you should tip a locksmith or not. Once you have an answer to the question of “Do you tip a locksmith”, which we discuss in the next section, you can go enjoy your evening or get back on the road, leaving the whole unfortunate episode in the past.

Locksmiths: Cheap or Not?

If you’re looking for a local locksmith, you’ll probably want to know which one is the cheapest, since locksmiths tend to be expensive. Why are locksmiths so expensive? One reason is that people are willing to pay a lot of money to get back into their car or house. No one wants to be stranded next to their car or house. We’d much rather be on our way or sleeping inside – not outside – of our home. Another reason locksmiths tend to be expensive is that to be successful as an emergency locksmith, they have to be able to respond quickly at any hour of the day. Running a 24/7 locksmith company that responds quickly isn’t cheap. Even though a locksmith is not going to be cheap, research locksmith prices to avoid getting ripped off.

How Much Does an Average Locksmith Charge?

If you’ve locked yourself out during normal business hours, the average locksmith in the United States will charge you $60 – $120 to open your car or house, $75 – $130 to rekey your locks, and $75 – $200 to change your locks. So if you’re just having the locksmith come to open your car or house and you have a spare set of keys inside or elsewhere, the whole service charge during normal business hours should cost you $60 – $120.

If you’ve locked yourself out of your home or car and it’s after business hours, a service call will set you back $100 – $250. This is because your locksmith will charge you an ‘after hours’ or ’emergency’ fee. Still, it’s not such a bad price to get you into your house or car after dark. Just don’t pay some crazy amount outside of these ranges since there are always people who want to take advantage of another’s person’s unfortunate situation. Make sure to ask what they charge before they come out!

Tipping Locksmiths

If you’ve already called a locksmith and are waiting for them to arrive, or if they’re already busy unlocking your door, you’ll want to know whether you should tip them or not. If you do need to leave a tip, you’ll want to know how much you should leave too.

Do You Need To Tip A Locksmith?

No, you don’t need to tip a locksmith. Tips are neither customary nor expected by locksmiths. Although it’s a service job and a local locksmith definitely doesn’t enjoy coming out late at night or very early in the morning, it’s their job and they’re paid a decent wage (or they’re getting by fine as a small business owner)

If you would like to leave your locksmith a tip for helping you out of a peculiar circumstance, coming to your house in heavy snow, or for being particularly quick, your locksmith will certainly appreciate your tip.

Many locksmiths are actually self-employed small business owners that would appreciate positive social media reviews, more than they would a cash tip. A good review helps them win future business and lets you help others pick a good local locksmith. Giving a self-employed locksmith a tip of a positive review on Google and Facebook will be appreciated.

How Much Should You Tip Your Locksmith?

Although tips are not expected or common, if you’ve decided that you’d like to leave your locksmith a tip then $5 – $10 will be appreciated.