Mobile vs. Brick and Mortar
Category : Locksmith
Defined
Before we can compare and contrast mobile vs. brick and mortar, we must define both, even if they are self-explanatory. A mobile locksmith drives a van or other vehicle which is set up to take care of almost any job. He will have all the tools and usually a workbench with his key machines and pin kits on board. He serves his customers by going to their home and generally charges a service fee for the trip. A strictly brick and mortar locksmith is going to have all the tools to do the same job, but will also stock many more products. His customer base comes to him with the locks off of their doors or key in hand he wants to duplicate. Since DNA Locksmith’s inception, we knew that being a mobile locksmith was the direction we would want our business to go.
The Comparison
Mobile locksmiths normally have less overhead and can usually start up their business with lower costs. The brick and mortar locksmith will have a bit more overhead, but will not worry when he gets up whether his shop is going to break down in the next five miles. Being mobile gives a locksmith more of an opportunity to receive lockout calls before a brick and mortar locksmith. However, the brick and mortar locksmith usually has more to offer in the way of products. A brick and mortar locksmith has the advantage of a physical address that can help with credibility.
The mobile locksmith has to work harder at credibility because of all the scammer locksmiths that have been cropping up over the past few years (they have always been there, but are getting worse). A brick and mortar locksmith has less of a service area, but that’s the nature of being stationary I guess. The mobile locksmith can make his service area as big or small as he pleases. At DNA Locksmith, we choose to serve most of Lake, Marion, and Sumter counties, FL.
The advantage that mobile locksmiths have is that they can pick and choose the customers they serve. It’s hard to tell who’s coming through the door at any point in time with a brick and mortar setup. We choose to mainly serve Lady Lake, Fruitland Park, Mt. Dora, Eustis, Summerfield, Weirsdale, The Villages, and parts of Leesburg. We can choose these areas because we are mobile; with a brick and mortar setup, we would be stuck with a smaller service area which might not receive as much business. However, a mobile locksmith may also face more dangers with people calling them out to a house for nefarious means.
In The End
The route in which a locksmith takes and decides to run his business is up to him and his goals; not to mention many locksmiths have a brick and mortar ALONG with a mobile option. They easily go hand in hand and give the ability to offer customers the best of both worlds. This also allows a semi-mobile locksmith to stay stocked up more readily. This post was mostly just the ramblings of a locksmith at an hour far past time to hit the sack, whose tossing the idea of a brick and mortar addition to the business.
