A lockout is one of the few household emergencies where the price is set almost entirely by how badly you need it fixed.
The way to keep hold of that is to agree a total figure before anyone touches the door.
Locksmiths to start with
A five-star average is the norm rather than a distinction in this trade, so the stars will not rank these for you and the useful questions are where the van starts from, what the firm promises about time, and what it can do beyond getting you back through your own door.
Three below are round-the-clock call-outs chosen for the district they work from, and three keep a counter you can walk into, which is what a spare key, a new cylinder or a safe actually needs.
Locksmiths.Amsterdam
Rochussenstraat in the west is where this one starts from, and half an hour is the figure it puts on reaching a door anywhere in the city.
Rekeying, repair, installation and lock supply all sit under the same number, and 919 reviews at 99 per cent five-star make it the busiest name in the trade here.
Slotenmaker Amsterdam Lokaal & In 20 min aanwezig
The name carries its response time, twenty minutes, and the address behind it is Speerdistelstraat in Noord, which is worth weighing if you are stranded on the far side of the IJ.
Locks are supplied as well as fitted, and 456 reviews run at 99 per cent five-star.
Amsterdam Key Palace
Muiderstraat in the centre is a shop rather than a phone number, stocking car and bicycle keys, padlocks, chain locks, fittings and SKG-certified cylinders, with safes and vault work on top.
Monday starts late at noon, the rest of the week runs nine to five and Saturday closes at half past four, and 184 reviews put it at 4.7.
De Slotenwacht
Certified membership of the Dutch guild of key and lock specialists is the one credential anybody in this trade actually publishes, and De Slotenwacht holds it.
Its Tweede Keucheniusstraat base works eight until eight on weekdays and ten until ten at weekends, takes card payment, and stands on 592 reviews at 96 per cent five-star.
MasLocks
Of the call-out firms here, only MasLocks is registered inside the canal belt, at Keizersgracht 482, which shortens the run to anywhere in the old centre.
Beyond the city it works nationwide, and 401 reviews run at 99 per cent five-star.
CLS Slotenservice Zuidoost
Zuidoost has one name of its own here, working from Laarderhoogtweg, and it duplicates keys and supplies locks rather than only turning up when something has already gone wrong.
The line is answered at any hour, and its 250 reviews are 98 per cent five-star.
Before you ring anyone
If you rent, try the landlord or the letting agent first, because many hold a spare key and a taxi across town is cheaper than a midnight call-out.
In an apartment building the caretaker or the VvE’s managing agent may hold one as well.
Agreeing the price
Ask for the total including the call-out, VAT and any night or weekend surcharge, and ask for it before the van sets off.
Establish whether the lock will be opened or drilled, because a drilled cylinder has to be replaced and that replacement is a second charge people do not see coming.
Insist on an invoice carrying the company name and its Chamber of Commerce number, and treat a suspiciously small telephone quote as the warning it usually is.
Locks your insurer will accept
Dutch home policies commonly require certified hardware, and the mark to look for is the SKG star rating stamped on the cylinder or the lock body.
Two stars is the usual minimum on a front door and three is better, so ask for the standard your policy names rather than whatever happens to be in the van.
The Politiekeurmerk Veilig Wonen is the wider scheme covering the door, frame and hinges together, and some insurers reduce the premium on a home that holds it.
The day you move in
Changing the cylinder when you collect the keys is the cheapest security you will ever buy, since there is no way of knowing how many copies of the old key are still out there.
A locksmith can key several doors to one cylinder in the same visit, which is worth asking about where there is a street door and a flat door.
Bikes, safes and entry systems
Bicycle theft is the everyday crime here, and the standard that decides a claim is the ART rating: insurers generally want two stars on a city bike and three or more on anything expensive.
Locksmiths also open and fit safes and service the intercoms and entry systems in apartment blocks, so one phone call is worth making before assuming a job belongs to someone else.
The full list of Amsterdam locksmiths carries addresses, hours and numbers worth saving before you need them.
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