Down to Business: Naperville biz owner says he followed God's advice and became a locksmith

Chicago Tribune

3 days ago

Business: The Lock Pros
Address: 424 Fort Hill Drive, Naperville
Phone/website: 630-428-3068; www.thelockprosinc.com
Owner: Mark Hankes, 60, of Naperville
Years in business: 20
What does your business do? 'Commercial and residential locksmith services,' Hankes said
Why are you a locksmith? 'It sounds funny, but God told me to. … I was 22. … I was going to be a printer like my dad. I saw an ad at Triton College (that said) 'Learn locksmithing.' I prayed and prayed. I heard a voice say 'locksmithing.' I'm not kidding. Some people think I'm making it up, but that's really what happened.'
And then what? 'I took the class at Triton. The teacher hired me. I worked for him about two years. I went to a bigger locksmith company. Stayed there 11 years. I did some sales stuff in the industry a couple years. Someone else hired me on for a factory warranty service company for four years. … Then, I started Lock Pros full time.'
What have you learned? 'Never put a limit on what you think you can do because you can do a lot more than you think you can.'
What does this job appeal to you? 'Originally, it was the security aspect because my father owned an apartment building. … I had to rekey the locks.'
Is it easy to pick a lock? 'I may pick half the ones I try. It's not like you see on TV. You've got to be turning it, then you move the pick in and out to move the pins up and down.'
Are you still learning? 'Oh, yeah. There are constantly new products coming out, especially the electronic stuff. … When you see a card reader, you walk up to the door with a card. You hear it click. The door opens. The part that clicks is the electronic lock. … Most of my locksmithing, 95 percent of it is commercial work. Schools. Hospitals.'
What should people know? 'Any public building requires ADA and fire codes on their doors, their hardware, which is locks. They get inspected once a year or so. … In a theater, those doors have to have a certain type of lock on them. Obviously, you can't have a lock with a key. It's a push bar. … Building owners who try to save money, they won't have the right hardware to get out.
'Illinois requires locksmiths to be licensed and insured. Their license number should be on all advertising. I can show you plenty of locksmiths who don't have a license. … Some give you a low price over the phone, '$59 to come out to open your door.' Then they say, 'Oh, you didn't tell me you had this kind of lock. It's going to be $300.' What are you going to do, call somebody else?'
Any favorite stories? 'An elderly woman called. She's locked out. I get to her house. She's in tears. She said 'I can't believe I did this. I put a cake in the oven. It's going to be all burned up.' So, I get the door open. She runs in. Like a second before she gets to the oven, the timer goes 'ding' and the cake was done.'
What does commercial work entail? 'It's mostly repairing doors and hardware so buildings are secure and upgrading doors and hardware so they meet code. … Another big thing is any big building has a KnoxBox on the outside. Looks like a little safe. Only the fire department has a key to it. In there is supposed to be a master key for every door in the building. I get a lot of calls for putting in a KnoxBox.'
How many employees do you have? 'Two part-timers.'
What do you charge per visit? 'Residential is $98, commercial is $115.'
Extra cost depends on what's needed? 'Yes. … The No. 1 problem I see with locks is door alignment. … People shove the door to lock it, putting pressure on the lock.'
What do you like about your work? 'The people. You get to know your repeat customers.'
Anything you don't like? 'The misconception of being able to open locks. If it was that easy, we'd all have problems.'
What sets you apart? 'I sell locks you're not going to pick. I don't care how good you are. (I sell) Medeco (locks). … A residential $10 lock from a big box store? You're going to pick that real quick.'
Is Naperville good for business? 'Yes, all the commercial and industrial properties.'
What's your advice for someone starting a business? 'Know who your customers are going to be. Who are you marketing to?'