A Slotenmaker Career in The Netherlands – What’s to Know
To enrol in a locksmith course and apprenticeship in The Netherlands, you have to be at least a high school graduate between 16 and 18 years of age. Different Dutch states or regions though have different requirements when issuing a locksmith training certification. While some jurisdictions require taking and passing a regional exam, some others simply recommend passing the test to gain an edge when applying for work as a locksmith.
Yet one thing is for sure when planning to open your own slotenmaker business in The Netherlands. A Dutch locksmith entrepreneur must have completed a Bachelor’s Degree, preferably related to locksmithing. The Bachelor’s Degree must be capped with a master’s degree as part of the requisites in securing a license for a locksmith business. In Dutch research institutes, college degrees can be completed in as short as 3 years.
Locksmithing in Amsterdam, an Important Trade
The Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) of The Netherlands maintains gold standards among providers of locksmithing services. The ACM does not hesitate to impose fines and sanctions on locksmith companies that have been verified to have engaged in aggressive and misleading business practices.
ACM imposes fines on locksmith service providers rendering misleading and aggressive practices. Some unscrupulous operators offering slotenmaker services online, give assurance that the company’s nearest affiliate will show up to address a lockout emergency situation. At the end of the day, the online locksmith website is merely an agent of the local slotenmaker. That being the case and in light of the commission paid to the online agent, the actual price for the locksmithing services was higher than what was quoted.
So far, the ACM has not received complaints involving Slotenmaker Dordrecht businesses. Their commitment is not to leave Dordrecht citizens out of the cold; not unless unforeseen extreme weather has prevented their locksmith workers from arriving at the scene.
ACM emphasizes as best practice, to first discuss complex lock problems with a customer, before actually destroying and then replacing the old lock.
A locksmith company must not make claims of having specialized tools, because the ACM discovered that some have been misleading customers with false information.
Unethical online locksmith operatprs see the emergency situation as an advantage, as they later send additional charges for the cost of renting a specialized modern tool but without discussing with the customer.
Anyway, The Netherlands Authority wants customers who have had the unfortunate experience of dealing with such locksmiths, to file their complaints with the ACM. That way, fines will be imposed not only on the company but also on the slotenmaker executives themselves.