How far do you go for a fellow keycutter

[slippy]

Problem.

I have a fellow repairer in my town. We both do shoe repairs & key cutting. The difference is he does trophies and I do locksmithing, Locks & bags.

He has recently aquired a Zedbull and a laser machine and has started doing car keys.

He is coming in with a car key that he cannot get to work and as a fellow trader I just help him out.

 

Q. When do you say enough is enough.

[StevenB]

In a similar situation, I always helped out the fellow trader (where possible) but the amount I charged increased appropriately to the situation - to the point where the fellow trader was not making any profit on the job & eventually stopped taking the pi$$.

[Phil Morland]

Difficult one this, and I know exactly where you are coming from. I've got 3 competitors cutting keys nearby but none are true locksmiths like me. One, a big national company, come in quite often with key and lock problems and I help him out with a small discount as they send people to me for lock purchases. I'm happy and he is happy. The other two have got a bit of an attitude towards me because we are all on the same patch, I don't do work for them and they don't send customers to me. I think it is down to how you are treated by your competitors and wether it is a viable commercial decision to help them. I think you say enough when it hurts either your income or he takes customers from you.

 

Phil.