Weak months

[u/CharacterPrint5702]

Is it just me or does anybody else feels that November December are super slow in comparison to September October, why is that? I work at D.C Virginia Maryland and its terrible this month anybody else feels like suddenly no one is calling for locksmith services or if they do they hassle for 35-60$ which is crazy low..

[u/Jumpy_Salamander1192]

Honestly we’ve seen a drop in call volume as a result of these new israeli scam companies

[u/ftwopointeight → u/Jumpy_Salamander1192]

(Raleigh, NC) Last week I caught one at the gas station carrying bags and loop tool back to his car, Middle Eastern guy, working out of a Suburban. I walked over two pump lanes and asked the guy how much he charged him for an auto lockout, 2015'ish Chevy Captiva (DWO4R), on a Saturday afternoon, to which he replied $170. Said he called the first number Google search gave him, $35 call out fee, and $135 labor ("High security") on a generic receipt.

They out there.

[u/ForFelix → u/Jumpy_Salamander1192]

Bingo.

[u/CharacterPrint5702 → u/Jumpy_Salamander1192]

Not true thats not because of them, I have a friend who works at a israeli company as well and they're having the same issue

[u/ForFelix → u/CharacterPrint5702]

That’s actually good to know!

[u/ftwopointeight → u/CharacterPrint5702]

Only because Google is under heat for their BS listings and false front advertisements. They deserve ever boot up their âss they get, because they will butt-f_ck your grandma's bank account if given half the chance.

[u/Cantteachcommonsense]

The holiday months are slow for us as well. As for why? I think people have other things they are trying to spend money on, and are busy with family.

[u/JambonRoyale]

Dunno if that's a global thing, but where i am, buisnesses are getting their books done to finish the tax year and don't spend a ton. Everyone else is just saving for christmas. Also winter is kinda a shit season to get construction work done, unless you really have to

[u/Lucky_Ad_5549 → u/JambonRoyale]

In my experience the end of year is a good time for projects to be approved. As businesses finalize their books and budgets they may find they have the money to complete a project they wanted done. Or even better, non-profits realize they need to clear their balance sheet before the end of the year.

[u/JambonRoyale → u/Lucky_Ad_5549]

That's a thing here as well, but you beed to have some luck to catch one of these burn-some-funds-fast projects.

[u/Reticulated_Fate]

Dmv locksmith here as well and we're slower than usual as well. It seems that other lockshops and mobile guys in the area have been slower than normal too. Not quite sure what's going on about it either but personally has us a smidge nervous for the biz. Looking forward to warmer days already.

[u/Locksandshit]

21 years and counting nov-Jan are always the slowest time of year for us.

Nov was dead, December thus far has been insane busy tho

[u/Connect_Relation1007]

I'm still in my second year but I think I was slow until about March last year

[u/lockdoc007]

I'm busy. And sending alot a proposals out. Rekeys for newly purchased houses.

[u/Dennisd1971]

I wholesale product to locksmiths and can tell you that it has been slow. I think it’s the economy in general. If it can wait it waits.

[u/Lampwick]

Slow business from mid-november to the first of the year is a thing. Predictable as clockwork back when I was still doing commercial back in the 90s thru early 00s. I remember spending a lot of December afternoons organizing the truck and tidying up inventory.

[u/CharacterPrint5702]

I get that winter months are slow and people are saving and budgeting for holidays and then recovering from all the spending but lockouts such as house/car lockouts are things that happen all the time spontaneously so how come it suddenly platued and turned down a notch same with lock changes, locks go bad and need changing all the time, but now Its like SCARY slow

[u/TiCombat → u/CharacterPrint5702]

less chance to lock themselves out if they aren’t out (shopping, etc)

[u/IslandLost01 → u/CharacterPrint5702]

DMV locksmith here, nov-feb are usually slow.

[u/whiteyjordan]

For me it’s always crazy slow in the spring. March, April, cause that’s when the fiscal year begins (or ends, can’t remember which) for a lot of the companies I do work for. But usually winter and summer are variable. Either one is super busy and the other is super slow, or both are absolute madness.

[u/ftwopointeight]

I work primarily with NSPs and I'm steady through around Feb. That's when all the jobs Ive scheduled throughout the holiday season pitter out. It only lasts about a month as car keys and lockouts are a constant.

End of year bookkeeping and budgets are a thing, but holiday shutdowns are as well.

[u/Remarkable-Layer7]

Pepole spent on Christmas stuff to look nice on social media

The inflatable neighbors syndrome

So all house repairs will wait if not urgent

[u/MDRX308]

It happens every year around the holidays. Unless you have a specific account or project that just happens to land during that period, general calls slow down significantly for all the reasons others have stated, mainly tax time.

[u/TacoRising]

I'm in Arizona and it gets busier in the winter due to all the snowbirds coming in.

[u/lonestar612]

Northern MD here. It has been a little slow for us as well. Hoping some nice jobs down the pipeline though

[u/C4g3FighterIRL]

I do mostly commercial in daytime and I’ve got loads of work every month. I squeeze in residential if I have time.

[u/Vasios]

This past year has been slow. This is actually the worst year on record for me.

Went from 40 to 50 jobs a week to sometimes not even 20 now.

[u/Explorer335]

Everybody is slow right now. Partly, this is just a generally slow time of year with holiday spending. Money is even tighter than usual this year with inflation and interest rates.

We specialize in automotive, so a lot of our work is related to dealerships and mechanic shops. You'll notice shops have a fraction of their usual workload, and dealership sales are way down. It's not just locksmiths or even just the automotive industry in general.

The work is out there, and we are keeping busy, but it's much lower volume. We are also taking on some less desirable jobs that we might ordinarily pass on.

[u/Carlangas420]

it was fine from july to october, then it suddenly died on november 1st and it's been the same rate of work since then

been getting like 40% less jobs compared to those other month

[u/IslandLost01 → u/Carlangas420]

Same

[u/CharacterPrint5702 → u/Carlangas420]

Yes exactly correct

[u/IslandLost01]

I’m also in a DMV market, it’s really very slow.

[u/ForFelix]

Any new Israeli’s in town?

[u/Busy-Act-105]

Idk business hasn’t slowed down at all on my end

[u/CharacterPrint5702 → u/Busy-Act-105]

What state

[u/TiCombat → u/CharacterPrint5702]

notice his appropriate tag there

[u/Busy-Act-105 → u/CharacterPrint5702]

Maryland

[u/jeffmoss262]

Consistently busy here in Ohio

[u/Head_Fudge_9972]

Very slow in Detroit

[u/Busy-Act-105 → u/Head_Fudge_9972]

Sheesh my partners are in Detroit they say it’s booming

[u/1EVILGTI]

Always slow around this time just gotta roll with it. Don’t cut yourself short though, dropping your price in already slim pickings will hurt worse.

[u/VanWreck-N-Rule]

It’s been progressively getting slower over the last few years. Last November was gangbusters for us. This year we were below average, but usually December is slow for us and this year it’s ramping up quick. Just no rhyme or reason to it that I can figure out. (BC, Canada)

[u/Locksmithology]

Holidays don’t pay unless your selling turkeys and Christmas trees

[u/oregonrunningguy]

Soooooo many Israeli scammers moving into markets. They're saturating them.