Who it is for / Locksmiths
An AI receptionist for locksmiths.
While you are fitting one lock, the next customer is standing outside their own front door. While You Work answers the calls you miss in your business name, finds out what the job is, where it is and how urgent, flags lock-outs, and sends you the details a minute later.
Hear a sample call free, no card needed, and you keep your own number. Ready to put it on your own line? Start a free 7-day trial, no card.
The first 50 UK businesses get Pro for £49 a month plus VAT for their first 12 months, then £69. Plans start at £39. Your line switches on as soon as you finish the set-up form, with a 7-day free trial first and a 14-day money-back guarantee once you pay.
On every call
What your receptionist asks
- What the job is, in the caller’s own words
- Where it is, at least the postcode or area
- Whether they are locked out right now
- The best number to ring back, read back to check it
- Your call-out fee, only if you have set one and they ask
Urgent jobs
Lock-outs go to the top
- Someone locked out of their home or business
- A lock broken after a break-in
- A caller who says it cannot wait
On Pro and Business, urgent calls are texted to you straight away, and every call is emailed to you.
An example week
A week of calls to a locksmith
Half of a locksmith's calls are someone standing outside their own front door. The receptionist gets the address and the situation first, then the number.
- Monday, 11.20pm: a woman locked out after a night out, phone at 4%. Urgent, postcode and door type taken, texted to you straight away.
- Tuesday, 9am: a letting agent wanting five locks changed between tenancies. Address list requested by email, details taken.
- Wednesday: a shop owner whose shutter lock has seized. Urgent because the shop cannot open, texted.
- Thursday, 2pm: a homeowner asking whether you fit British Standard locks for an insurance policy. Question noted for your callback.
- Saturday, 7.30am: keys snapped in a uPVC door. Urgent, caller told roughly when you will ring back.
The maths
What a missed call costs locksmiths
Say you miss 5 calls a week and two in five of those callers would have booked a lockout call-out worth about £90.
5 calls × 40% × £90 = £180 a week. × 52 weeks ÷ 12 = £780 a month of work going to someone else. An example: put your own numbers into the missed-call calculator.
A lockout call answered by voicemail is a job lost in under a minute; the caller is already dialling the next number on the search results.
Setting your own prices? See what locksmiths charge in the UK, with rates and job prices from published price guides.
Timing
When a locksmith's phone rings
Late evenings, Friday and Saturday nights, and Monday mornings when tenancies change. Almost all of it happens while you are on another job with tools in both hands.
What callers hear
An example call, word for word
The receptionist asks one thing at a time, checks the number back and never makes up a price. The details reach you by email a minute after the call, and by text straight away when it is urgent, on Pro and Business.
Texted to you straight away on Pro and Business
URGENT. Jordan, 07700 900842, M20 Didsbury. Locked out, keys inside.
Receptionist: Hi, you’re through to Secure Locks. Sam is out on a job, so I’m the automated assistant taking the details for a call back. Calls are recorded so nothing gets missed. What’s your name?
Caller: It’s Jordan. I’ve locked myself out and my keys are inside.
Receptionist: Thanks, Jordan. That’s urgent, so I’ll make sure Sam sees it straight away. What’s the postcode where you are?
Caller: M20, in Didsbury.
Receptionist: And what’s the best number for Sam to ring you on?
Caller: 07700 900 842.
Receptionist: So that’s 07700 900 842. Is that right?
Caller: Yes, that’s right.
Receptionist: Thanks, Jordan. Sam will ring you back as soon as they can, and I’m sending you a text now to confirm.
Set up
Three steps, and you keep your number
Tell us about your business
A short form made for locksmiths:
- Your business name and first name
- Working hours and the area you cover
- What you do, in plain words
- Your call-out fee, only if you want callers told
- Whether you take emergencies out of hours
- Anything else callers should know
- Whether you cover lockouts 24 hours
- Your call-out fee for daytime and for out of hours, if you want callers told
- Whether you do uPVC, safes, or commercial work
Switch on divert
One code on your mobile sends calls you do not answer within 20 seconds to your While You Work line. Turn it off whenever you like.
Get the details in a minute
Every caller is greeted in your business name. You get the details a minute later, and the caller gets a text saying you will ring back.
Questions
Questions from locksmiths
Does it handle lock-outs out of hours?
Yes. Lock-outs are flagged as urgent and, on Pro and Business, texted to you straight away. You choose whether callers are told you take emergency call-outs out of hours or that you will ring back in working hours.
Can it put an urgent caller straight through to me?
Yes, on Pro and Business, if you switch it on. Once the caller’s name and number are confirmed, it rings your mobile for up to 15 seconds, and if you do not answer it takes the message as normal.
Can it book jobs into my diary?
Yes, on the Business plan. It offers the caller your real free times, books the job and texts them a confirmation, with your deposit link if you take deposits. On Pro it can text the caller your booking link instead, and on Starter it takes the details and tells the caller you will ring back.
How much does it cost?
Starter is £39, Pro £69 and Business £129 a month + VAT, for 50, 150 or 400 calls a month. The first 50 UK businesses get Pro for £49 a month + VAT for their first 12 months. There is no contract, and if you cancel within 14 days of your line going live you get a full refund.
Will it give my out-of-hours call-out price?
Only if you have set one in the form and the caller asks. It reads it exactly as you wrote it and says the final price depends on the lock. It does not haggle or guess.
Does it ask for proof the caller lives there?
No. It takes the address and the situation so you can ring back and do your own checks at the door, the way you do now.
More detail: how the AI receptionist works, the call answering service behind it, what a virtual receptionist does, what to charge as a locksmith, what a missed call costs, UK call answering prices and how we compare.
Source: Fix Radio survey of more than 220 UK tradespeople, reported by PHAM News, October 2022.
Try it on the calls you miss this week
Free for 7 days, no card, and you keep your own number. The next time you are under a sink or up a ladder, your receptionist takes the call and the details are in your inbox before you have washed your hands. Plans from £39 a month plus VAT after that, and the first 50 UK businesses get Pro for £49 plus VAT for 12 months.
Also set up for carpenters and joiners, painters and decorators, landscapers and gardeners, tilers, plasterers, handymen and property maintenance, and for every other kind of business.