A story recently described how a librarian found a young boy sitting on the library steps as the building was being locked for the night. The young boy had a computer and was using the Wi-Fi signal coming from inside the library to do his homework. Up to 20% of American homes still do not have internet access and his was one of those households.
For several years there has been a long, steady decline in book reading by Americans of all ages. The story relates how the librarian suddenly realized that libraries may need a new direction in order to continue existing. The young boy was using the library for a completely different purpose than originally intended.
The internet has changed our lives forever. As a child I can remember the Encyclopedia Britannica salesman coming to our home. First, he sold my parents the full set of Britannica volumes and then each year he had an update for sale. At that time it was the best way to search out any subject and find the answers. After existing for over 200 years, the last printed version of Encyclopedia Britannica was offered in 2010.
Websites have affected locksmiths in the same way. If your locksmith business is like our family business, we are more and more being used as sources of information instead of an outlet for selling products. How many times have you heard, "I can get it for less on the internet"? Our normal answer is that if we install locks purchased elsewhere, we will not honor any repair or replacement warranties offered by the manufacturer.
Perhaps it is the time to change our course and become repair and installation specialists and concentrate less on new product sales. As example, our family business has a good sideline of installing decorative hardware which has been purchased elsewhere. Just like libraries, if something like the internet is threatening our basic business model then a new business model is in order.