Answering service for locksmiths

By Shadman Chowdhury, founder of Pulsemint · Updated 5 November 2026

Pulsemint is an answering service for locksmiths. When you're on a job and a lockout call comes in, it answers, gets the exact address and whether the caller is standing there now, asks about the door and lock, and texts you the details within about a minute so you can ring back before they try someone else. It costs £199 a month including up to 50 captured calls, and you can try it free for 14 days with no contract.

Locksmiths have the least time of any trade to win a call back. This page covers what the agent asks, how it handles a child or vulnerable person locked inside, and why security upgrade calls matter just as much.

Why every minute matters for locksmiths

Someone locked out of their house isn't comparing quotes. They're standing on the doorstep, often in the dark or the rain, ringing down a list of locksmiths on their phone. If you don't answer, the next one does, usually within a minute.

That's why the text matters more than the answering. The agent keeps the caller on the line long enough to get what you need, tells them you'll ring straight back, and has the details on your phone within about a minute. If you can ring back in two or three minutes, you've usually still got the job.

What Pulsemint asks on a locksmith call

Where and how urgent

• The exact address and postcode, and whether they're there now
• Whether anyone is inside: a child, an elderly relative, someone unwell, or a pet
• If a child or vulnerable person may be in danger, the agent tells them to ring 999 first. You can set exactly what it says.

What the job is

• Lockout, lost keys, lock change, lock that won't turn, broken key in the lock, burglary repair
• Door type: uPVC, composite, wooden, or a commercial door
• For uPVC doors, whether the handle won't lift or the door won't lock, which often points to a failed gearbox or mechanism
• Vehicle lockouts, if you do auto work, including make and model

What it won't do

It won't quote a price, promise a date or agree to anything on your behalf. Those are your decisions, and an agent that guesses at them creates problems. It tells the caller you'll ring them back, and if someone asks whether they're talking to an AI, it says yes straight away.

Security upgrades and burglary repairs

Not every call is a lockout. After a burglary on their street, people ring to ask about anti-snap cylinders. Landlords ring for lock changes between tenants. Shops ring after a break-in.

These are planned jobs, often more profitable than an emergency lockout, and they're easy to lose because the caller is happy to book whoever answers. The agent takes what they want, such as TS007 3 star or SS312 Diamond rated cylinders if they've been reading up, and how many doors. If you're MLA approved, it can tell callers that too.

What a call looks like

Does it pay for itself?

Use your own numbers, not anybody's industry statistics. Open your phone and count last week's missed calls. Take out the suppliers, the spam and the people who rang back later. Be realistic about how many of the rest you'd have won, then multiply by what a job is worth to you.

Evening and weekend lockouts are usually charged at a higher rate, and they're exactly the calls you're least likely to answer. If Pulsemint catches two extra out of hours jobs a month that would otherwise have gone elsewhere, it has paid for itself.

If the sum comes out small, you probably don't need an answering service. A better voicemail greeting and missed call text back will do. I'd rather you knew that before you sign up for anything. If you want to put your own figures in, the calculator on the Pulsemint homepage does the sum for you.

Setting it up

You keep your number. The number on your van, your website and your Google listing doesn't change. Your phone diverts the calls you don't answer, after however many rings you choose, and Pulsemint picks up instead of voicemail. Most UK networks let you set that divert in a couple of minutes, and I'll walk you through it for yours.

The setup itself takes about ten minutes of your time. I ask what you cover, which areas you work in, what you never want it to say, and what counts as urgent for you. Then I build the agent and you ring it yourself to test it before a single customer hears it.

If anything ever goes wrong at our end, the divert fails safe: calls ring your mobile exactly as they do today. You're never worse off than you are now.

Common questions

How fast does the text reach me?

Within about a minute of the call ending. For lockouts that matters, because the caller is usually still ringing round.

What happens if a child is locked inside?

The agent tells the caller to ring 999 first if anyone may be in danger, marks the call urgent, and texts you straight away. You choose the exact wording when we set it up.

Can it ask about the door and lock type?

Yes. It asks whether it's uPVC, composite or wooden, and what's happening, such as a handle that won't lift or a key that won't turn.

Will it say I'm MLA approved?

Yes, if you are and you want it to. It can also note which cylinder rating a customer is asking about.

Does it cover nights?

Yes, 24 hours, at the same price. That's when a lot of lockout work happens.

Can it quote my call-out fee?

No. It doesn't quote prices on your behalf, because a wrong figure on the phone causes arguments on the doorstep. It tells the caller you'll confirm the price when you ring back.