Buyer's guide
Locksmith answering service: what your options really cost.
Voicemail, answering it yourself, a human answering service, or an AI receptionist. Here is what a locksmith call needs, how each option handles it, and what to ask before you pay for one.
Calls · Last night
4 answered · 3 booked
With voicemail
- Message, call back11:48 pm
- Message, call back1:12 am
- Message, call back2:30 am
- Message, call back5:40 am
By morning, most lockout callers have called the next number.
With the AI receptionist
11:48 pmCar lockout ENQuoted $105–$140 with the night surchargeBooked
1:12 amHouse lockout ENCaller outside, keys insideBooked
2:30 amWants the owner ENCommercial account, sent to your cellTransferred
5:40 amRekey after a move ESBooked for 9 am instead of a night tripBooked
What a locksmith call has to get right
A lockout call isn't a sales inquiry. The caller is standing outside, often at night, and will hang up on anything slow or vague.
Picked up fast
Someone locked out calls the next number if nobody answers. A callback 20 minutes later is often too late.
A price they can trust
Most callers ask how much before anything else. “Someone will call you back with a price” loses a lot of them.
The details a tech needs
Address, what's locked, the car's year, make and model, the lock type. Missing any of these means a second call.
A way to reach you
Some calls need the owner: an upset customer, a commercial account, a job you'd never price on the phone.
The caller's language
In many areas, some callers are more at ease in Spanish. A message taken in the wrong language is a lost job.
A booked job, not a note
A message you read an hour later isn't a booking. The call should end with the job on your schedule and the caller told what happens next.
Four ways to answer the phone
General patterns, not any one company. Human services vary a lot, so check the details of any plan you're offered.
| Question | Voicemail | Answering it yourself | Human answering service | LockCommandAI receptionist |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Answers at 2 a.m. | Picks up, but the caller has to wait for you | Only if you're awake and free | Usually, on a 24/7 plan | Yes, up to 5 calls at once; extra callers ring your cell |
| Gives a price | No | Yes, from memory | Only what's in the script you give them; many take a message instead | Yes, only the ranges in your price book, plus your after-hours surcharge |
| Gets address and vehicle | If the caller leaves them | Yes, if you're not driving or mid-job | Usually, if you ask for it in the script | Yes: name, callback number, address, and the car's year, make, model and color |
| Books the job | No | Yes | Often a message to you; some services book into a calendar | Yes, the job and the customer are created for you |
| Spanish callers | Only if you speak it | Only if you speak it | Depends on the service and plan | English, Spanish, or both: it answers in the caller's language |
| Reaches you when needed | No | It is you | Usually by patching the call or sending a message | Transfers to your cell when a caller asks for a person |
| How it's usually priced | Free | Your time, and the calls you miss on jobs | Often per minute or per call, sometimes with a monthly minimum; prices vary a lot | A monthly plan with AI minutes included, then a per-minute price |
When voicemail or your own cell is enough
If you get a few calls a day, rarely work nights and can always pull over to answer, you may not need anything else. The cost shows up as the calls you miss while your hands are in a door.
When a human service makes sense
A person handles odd calls well and can calm an upset customer. It works best when you mostly need messages taken and are happy to call people back with a price.
Questions to ask any answering service
Whichever way you go, these answers decide whether calls turn into jobs.
Can they quote from my price list, including a night surcharge, or only take a message?
How do I get the job: a text, an email, or a booking in my schedule? How fast?
What happens to a call at 2 a.m. on a holiday?
Can they take calls in Spanish?
How do they reach me for a call I have to take myself?
How am I billed: per minute, per call, a monthly minimum? What counts as a minute?
Are calls recorded, do callers hear a notice, and can I listen back?
Can I see the details of every call, including the ones that didn't book?
An answering service that books the job
LockCommand's AI receptionist answers on your own local number, quotes from your price book, takes the address and vehicle and books the job. It hands off to your cell when someone asks for a person. The AI receptionist page shows every setting.
Solo
One locksmith on the road, doing the calls and the work.
$149.99/ month
Billed monthly. Cancel any time.
Get early access- 200 AI minutes every month
- Just you, one user
- AI receptionist on your own local number
- Texts, invoices, pay links and ID checks
- Reports and QuickBooks Online sync
Dispatch 3
Most shopsA small shop with someone on the board and a couple of techs.
$349.99/ month
Billed monthly. Cancel any time.
Get early access- 800 AI minutes every month
- Up to 3 users, any mix of roles
- Live map and the dispatch board
- AI dispatch: Suggest, Offer or Auto
- Everything in Solo
Every plan, minute price and add-on is on the pricing page.
Answering service questions
Is an AI receptionist cheaper than a human answering service for a locksmith?
It depends on your call volume and the service. LockCommand's Solo plan is $149.99 a month with 200 AI minutes, then from $0.16 a minute depending on the AI brain you pick. Compare that with a human service's per-minute or per-call price and any monthly minimum, using your own call count.
Can an answering service quote locksmith prices?
A human service can read prices from a script you give them, but many prefer to take a message. LockCommand's AI receptionist quotes from the price book you set and adds your after-hours surcharge. It doesn't make up prices; if a job isn't in the book, it says a tech will confirm the price.
Will callers know they're talking to an AI?
The default greeting introduces it as your shop's virtual assistant, and you can rewrite the greeting. By default every call also starts with a short recording notice. Any caller who asks for a person is transferred to the cell number you choose.
Do I have to give up my business number?
No. LockCommand gives you a local AI number. Forward your business line to it when you want the AI to answer, or put the new number on your ads.
What if I still want to answer some calls myself?
You can turn the AI off any time, or only forward your line to it after hours or when you're on a job. Calls also ring your cell when you're out of minutes and wallet credit.
Keep reading
- AI receptionistAn AI that answers your calls in English or Spanish, quotes from your price book, books the job and transfers to your cell.
- After-hours callsHow to answer, price and route night and weekend lockout calls without being on the phone all night.
- Customer textsBooking confirmations, ETA texts, receipts, review requests, missed-call text-back and AI reply drafts.
- Solo locksmithsHow a one-person mobile locksmith stops losing calls while on a job or driving.
- PricingMonthly plans by team size, included AI minutes, per-minute prices, boosters and top-ups.
Let the AI pick up.
You pick the lock.
LockCommand is opening to locksmiths now. Email us and we'll get your shop set up.