Every missed locksmith call, answered and booked — for a flat $199/mo.
Lockout callers are the least patient customers in any trade — they're standing outside their home or car, sometimes at night, sometimes in the rain. If you don't answer in 30 seconds they've already dialed the next locksmith. You win or lose the job before you even know it existed.
RetainCall fixes the structural problem: Sara, our AI dispatcher, answers every missed call in under 60 seconds, holds a real SMS conversation, qualifies the lead, and books the job straight into your Google Calendar, Outlook, or Housecall Pro. She knows the trade — rekeys, deadbolts, smart locks, master key systems, and high-security cylinders — so your callers never feel like they're talking to a generic bot.
What a missed midnight home lockout actually costs
Typical miss rate: ~30% of inbound calls
Missed callers who book a competitor: ~70%
At just 40 calls/week that's ~15 lost jobs and ~$2,619/month walking to your competitors.
Run your own numbers with the missed-call calculator, or read the full breakdown in our missed-call math post.
What Sara does for a locksmith business
- Answers in under 60 seconds — every missed call gets a real reply before the caller dials a competitor.
- Talks the trade — she recognizes rekeys, deadbolts, smart locks, master key systems, and high-security cylinders and mirrors your customers' language.
- Triages emergencies — a midnight home lockout is treated as urgent; routine work books normally.
- Books into your real calendar — Google Calendar, Outlook, and Housecall Pro, only slots you actually have open.
- Works 24/7 — nights, weekends, holidays, storm surges. No queue, no hold music, no PTO.
- Flat $199/month — unlimited calls, no per-call fees. Your busiest month costs the same as your slowest.
Common questions
How fast does Sara engage a lockout caller?
Under 60 seconds from the missed call. She confirms it's an active lockout, gets the location, and either books your first available or escalates to your cell if you take emergency dispatches. Planned work — rekeys, smart-lock installs — books as routine.
How much does an answering service for a locksmith business cost?
RetainCall is a flat $199/month with unlimited calls — no per-call or per-minute fees. Human answering services typically run $315+/month with per-minute billing; other AI services add usage fees as your volume grows. See the full side-by-side comparison.
Do I have to change my phone system?
No. Your existing number forwards to RetainCall when you don't answer — one carrier setting, about 5 minutes. Setup end-to-end takes under 10 minutes and there's no card required to start the trial.