Author Maya Angelou has been quoted as having the following perspective: “Hoping for the best, prepared for the worst and unsurprised by anything in between.” This can apply to multiple areas of our professional and home lives, including security.
No one likes being locked out of their home, business or vehicle, but it happens more often than you might think. And you have to be prepared if you want to handle it properly (or avoid it happening to you in the first place).
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Avoiding Residential Lockouts
Getting locked out of your own home is a frustrating experience. It may seem like an uncommon occurrence based on how much time people spend at home and their resulting familiarity with their home locks. You would think this familiarity would help mitigate locking oneself out of their own home! But people manage, so you’re not alone if it happens to you. Here are some tips for avoiding residential lockouts:
- Invest in keyless technology: there are locks today that you can open using just a combination or other device instead of an easy-to-lose key.
- Keep a smart spare: you can have a spare key ready for these situations, just make sure you’re smart with where you hide it and who knows of its existence.
- Hang up a lock box: a hybrid solution between a key and combination, if you hide one of these, you can have peace of mind knowing only you have the code to access it.
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Avoiding Automotive Lockouts
While home lockouts may be one of the most frustrating lockout experiences, automotive lockouts can be one of the scariest. After all, you’re often away from home and can be in a potentially unsafe situation or unfamiliar part of town (or the country). Here are some tips for avoiding automotive lockouts:
- Upgrade your locks: you have fingerprint, combo or digital entry options.
- Get new keys: if you still have a standard key, upgrading to a fob or proximity key might be a wise investment. (Especially modern models that don’t lock inside the vehicle.)
- Never lay keys down while on the go: always make a point to put them in something, like a pocket, purse or keep them in your hand.
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Avoiding Commercial Lockouts
Lastly, getting locked out of a business isn’t uncommon. Just one instance of this can impact the peace of mind of both employees and customers. Here are some tip for avoiding commercial lockouts:
- Get a master key system: upgrade your entire security situation and control who has access to what areas of your facility.
- Perform a security audit: call a professional locksmith and have them do an inspection to see if there are any issues that could leave you more prone to a lockout.
- Have a spare key created: the simplest approach is to have a spare key made and give it to the person who is second in charge.
If you have any security questions or are interested in upgrading the security of your home, vehicle or business, stop by any of our Dallas-Fort Worth A-1 Locksmith locations today.
