Call now(629) 317-1770Emergency Locksmith: What to Expect in Murfreesboro, TNOpen 24/7
Call now(629) 317-1770CALL →
Home Commercial

Emergency locksmith: what counts, and what to expect

Which calls are emergencies, how the night call goes, and what gets done at the door in Murfreesboro.

What counts as an emergency

Locked out of the house at night with nowhere to go. Locked out of the car somewhere you shouldn't be standing. A door that won't lock after a break-in, with the house open to the street. A key snapped in the lock of the only door. A business that can't secure its front at closing. An elderly relative locked in or out. Those are emergencies, and they get a technician now, whatever the hour, across Murfreesboro and the towns around it.

Everything else, a rekey, a spare key, a keypad install, is booked for daylight. Say which yours is on the call and it's handled accordingly.

Mortise lock on a storefront door in Murfreesboro, TNAccess control card reader beside an office door in TNSecurity camera above a business entrance, TN

What to expect when you call at 2am

You'll be asked where you are, what's locked, whether anyone is at risk, and for a callback number. Then a time: a real one, not 'right away'. The technician rings before setting off. On arrival, ownership is checked (ID against the address, or for a car, registration or ID); it's the one step that never gets skipped, day or night. Then the door is opened, or the lock is secured, and you're told exactly what was done.

Have your ID ready, or know where it is inside; it speeds the first minute after the door opens.

House lockouts

A house is opened without damage to the door or the lock, the way a car is: carefully, with the method left undescribed. If a key snapped in the cylinder, the piece comes out and the lock is checked; most survive it. If the lockout is because the only key is lost, the lock is rekeyed on the spot so the lost key is dead, and new keys are cut. If you've moved recently, this is also the moment to rekey the rest, since you're paying for the visit anyway in time and sleep.

The door from the garage into the house is the one people forget when they list their locks. Mention it.

After a break-in

After a break-in, the police report comes first, and don't disturb the door until they've seen it if they've asked you not to. Then the locksmith: a forced door often has a bent strike, a split frame or a broken bolt, and the immediate job is to make the house lockable tonight. That may mean a replacement deadbolt, a repaired strike plate, or a temporary secure fix until a new door or frame is fitted. Every lock a stolen key might open is rekeyed the same visit.

Around Murfreesboro the burglary pattern is a kicked door, not a picked lock; the fix is a better strike plate and a longer bolt, and that's what gets fitted.

Business emergencies

A business that can't secure its door at closing is an emergency whether it's a restaurant on a Friday night or an office on a Sunday. The technician comes out, gets the door locking, and if the hardware has failed for good, fits a replacement rated for a commercial door. Lost master keys are a next-day rekey of the system, planned on the phone. Staff locked in a stairwell or a bathroom with a failed lock is treated as urgent as any home lockout.

Property managers: a single after-hours number for a building's locks is worth setting up before the night you need it.

What you'll hear that isn't true

Nobody comes out at night. We do, for the situations listed above. The door will be drilled. Drilling is a last resort for a failed lock, not a first move, and you'll be told if it's the only way. The first result on your phone is local. Often it isn't; national call centers buy the top spots and send whoever is nearest, hours later. A local company gives a street address and a technician's name on the call. You have to change every lock after a lockout. Only after a lost key, and then rekeying does it.

Questions we get asked

Do you really come out at 3am?

For a lockout, a forced door or a broken key in the only lock, yes, across Murfreesboro.

How long until someone arrives?

You're given a real time on the call, and the technician rings before setting off.

Will you drill my lock?

Almost never. Drilling is for a lock that has failed internally, and you're told first.

I've had a break-in. What should I do first?

Call the police and don't touch the door until they've seen it if they ask. Then call us to make it lockable tonight.

How do I know you're local?

Ask for the address and the technician's name. A local company gives both without a pause.

Locked out right now?

Say the street and a technician heads out.

Call now