What should you do first if you're locked out of your business?
Stop and look at the situation before anyone starts pulling on the door. Most business lockouts get more expensive when someone forces a handle, kicks a door, or pries at a frame out of frustration. A bent strike plate or a cracked storefront stile turns a simple opening into a hardware repair.
Call us at (213) 577-1366. The line is answered around the clock, every day of the year, and you will talk to a person who can ask the right questions about your door rather than a call center reading a script. Tell us what kind of door it is, what kind of lock is on it, and whether an alarm is armed inside. That information shapes how we approach the opening.
- Check whether another entrance, such as a rear or side door, is unlocked and safe to use. Do not climb through windows or force anything.
- Ask whether a manager, owner, or landlord has a spare key before you call. If they can reach you quickly, that may be the simplest fix.
- If an alarm is armed, have the code and the monitoring company's number ready.
- Stay with the door if you can. An unattended, unlocked, or half-opened business is a different problem from a locked one.
What does a business lockout actually look like?
A business lockout is any situation where the people who are supposed to be inside a commercial space cannot get in. It sounds simple, but the causes vary a lot, and the cause decides the method. An office lockout caused by a lost key is a different job from a storefront lockout caused by a lock that has seized overnight.
The situations we see most often fall into a few groups. Someone locks keys inside while stepping out to take a delivery. An employee loses the only opening key and the owner cannot get away from another location. A key snaps off in a deadbolt on a cold or busy morning. An electronic keypad or access reader fails and the door will not release. Or a door closer slams a door shut behind someone who had propped it with a foot while carrying inventory.
Commercial doors also differ from the ones on a house. A glass storefront door may have a narrow-stile aluminum frame with a small cylinder and a rail-mounted latch. A back-of-house steel door may have a heavy mortise lock or a rim cylinder with an exit device. A suite door in a shared building may sit on a master key system, which changes what we can do and who needs to be told. We treat each of these differently, and we tell you what we see before we start.
Locked out or need a locksmith now?
We answer around the clock, every day of the year.
Call (213) 577-1366How do we get you back into your business, step by step?
The goal on every call is to open the door without damaging it and to leave you with a lock that works properly. Here is how a typical business lockout call goes.
- You call (213) 577-1366 and describe the door, the lock, and any alarm. We tell you what to expect and give you an honest idea of when a technician can arrive, based on where the van is and the traffic that day.
- A technician arrives in a mobile service van carrying the picks, tension tools, bypass tools, and hardware needed for commercial doors.
- Before touching the lock, we confirm that you are authorized to be there. We may ask for ID, a business document, a lease, or a call to the owner or property manager. This protects the business, and we do it every time.
- We examine the door, frame, and lock to choose the least invasive method. That might be picking or a bypass technique for a standard cylinder, or a latch-slip approach on a spring latch. A lock that is jammed or damaged may need a different approach.
- If non-destructive entry is not possible, we explain why, show you the alternative, and tell you what it would involve before proceeding. We do not surprise you with damage.
- Once the door is open, we test the lock, the latch, the strike, and the closer. If a key broke, we extract it. If the cylinder is worn or compromised, we explain whether repair, rekeying, or replacement makes sense.
- Before we leave, we make sure you can lock and unlock the door with a working key and that the space is secure.
What affects the cost of a business lockout?
We do not publish flat prices for business lockouts, because the same phone call can lead to very different jobs. What we can do is tell you honestly what moves the cost, so nothing about the quote feels like a mystery.
The first factor is the door and lock type. A standard keyed deadbolt on a back door is usually quicker to open than a high-security cylinder, a mortise lock on a glass storefront, or a door with multiple locking points. Higher-security hardware is designed to resist exactly what a locksmith does, and that takes more time and skill.
The second factor is time of day. A call in the middle of the night, on a weekend, or on a holiday involves pulling a technician away from rest or family, and that is reflected in the quote. A weekday call during business hours is usually the more economical route.
The third factor is distance and traffic. Our base is at 10740 Wilshire Blvd in Westwood, and La Cañada Flintridge is about 22 miles from there. Travel is part of any job in a city this far from the storefront, and we say so up front.
The fourth factor is what happens after the door opens. If the lock simply needed to be opened, the job ends there. If a key is broken inside, a cylinder is damaged, or a lock needs to be replaced or rekeyed, those are additional pieces of work and we price them separately and tell you before we do them.
Finally, pay attention to the difference between an opening and a repair. If the underlying problem is a failing lock, the lighter-cost option today may not be the best option for next week. We will say plainly when a quick opening is likely to be followed by another lockout.
Locked out or need a locksmith now?
We answer around the clock, every day of the year.
Call (213) 577-1366Why call Wilshire Lock & Key for a commercial building lockout?
We have been in business since 1987, which means we have opened and repaired a great many commercial doors over the decades. That history matters most when a door is old, unusual, or poorly documented, because experience tells us what to expect inside a lock before we see it.
We are a single company with a storefront in Westwood and our own mobile service vans. When you call, you are not being passed to a dispatcher who sells the job to whoever is closest. The people who answer the phone work for the company that sends the technician.
David, the owner and lead technician, oversees the work. That means someone with long hands-on experience stands behind how a job is done and how a customer is treated.
We serve 140 cities across Los Angeles and Ventura counties, including La Cañada Flintridge, and the phone is answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, all year. If you need a broader picture of what we do for businesses, our commercial locksmith page covers the full range.
What does a business lockout look like in La Cañada Flintridge?
La Cañada Flintridge is a foothill city in ZIP code 91011, and its housing is almost entirely single-family, with very little multifamily. That shapes the kind of business lockouts we are likely to hear about. Rather than large multi-tenant office towers, a call here can involve a small shop or office on the Foothill Boulevard corridor near the town center, a professional office, or a home-based business on a larger property in Flintridge or Alta Canyada. We would not assume which; we ask when you call.
Access can be its own issue. Many properties in the area have long gated driveways and estate perimeter gates. If your business or home office sits behind one, a lockout may involve more than a door. A failed gate lock or operator can leave staff, clients, or deliveries stuck outside, and that is a different repair that we handle separately through gate lock repair. When we arrive, we sort out whether the problem is the gate, the building door, or both.
The climate matters too. The foothills run hotter and windier than the basin during Santa Ana events, and strong sun on south-facing slopes can dry out wood doors and trim. Dried wood can shift, swell, or warp with the seasons, which puts stress on latches and strike plates and can make a door stick or a bolt bind. Winter storms can hit the canyon edges hard as well. If your door only fails in certain weather, tell us. It may point to alignment, not a lock failure.
We also hear about lockouts from people working along the Angeles Crest Highway corridor or near La Crescenta, where addresses sit at the edge of our service area. If you are in Paradise Canyon, the Sagebrush area on the west side, or by Descanso Gardens, give us a clear address and any gate code or access instructions, because finding the right entrance can take as long as opening it.
If you are locked out of a home rather than a business, our house lockout page is the right place.
Locked out or need a locksmith now?
We answer around the clock, every day of the year.
Call (213) 577-1366What if the lockout is a sign of a bigger lock problem?
Sometimes a lockout is an accident. Sometimes it is the first symptom of something that will keep happening. A key that sticks, a cylinder that needs wiggling, or a latch that does not catch are all signs that a door is close to failing, and they are better dealt with on a calm day than during an emergency.
After we open your door, we will tell you what we saw. If a storefront lock is worn or the latch is out of alignment, our storefront lock repair service is the next step. If the lockout happened because a former employee still has a key, or because no one knows how many keys are out, rekeying the locks is usually the more economical route compared with replacing all the hardware.
- If several people open the business, consider a master key system so that the right people have the right access.
- If keys are constantly lost or borrowed, access control installation lets you change who can enter without chasing physical keys.
- Keep a spare key offsite with someone you trust, not hidden near the door.
- Replace or repair worn hardware before it fails, especially on the door you use first each morning.
How do you know a locksmith is legitimate?
California requires locksmith companies to hold a license from the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services (BSIS), called an LCO license. You should ask any locksmith you call for that license number, and you should expect a straight answer. A legitimate company will give it to you without hesitation.
Other things are worth watching for. Be cautious if the phone is answered with a generic greeting that does not name a company, if the quote on the phone changes sharply when the technician arrives, or if a technician insists on drilling a lock without first explaining why. Ask who is arriving, what vehicle to expect, and whether the company has a physical address. Ours is 10740 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90024.
We will always tell you what we plan to do before we do it, and we will always ask you to confirm you are authorized to be at the property. If you want to talk before booking anything, you can also reach us through our mobile locksmith page or by calling (213) 577-1366.
Frequently asked questions
Can you open a business door without damaging it?
In most cases we try to, and we always start with the least invasive method. Picking, bypass tools, or latch techniques often work on standard commercial doors. Some high-security locks, jammed cylinders, or damaged hardware do not allow it, and in that case we explain the situation and the options before we do anything that could affect the door.
Do I need to prove I own or work at the business?
Yes. Before we open any commercial door, we ask you to show that you are authorized to be there. That could be ID, a lease, a business document, or a call to the owner or property manager. It protects the business and the building, and we do it on every call.
How much does a business lockout cost in La Cañada Flintridge?
It depends on the door and lock type, the time of day, the distance from our Westwood base, and whether anything needs repair after the door opens. A standard lock opened during business hours is usually the more economical route. We explain what applies to your situation when you call (213) 577-1366, before the technician starts.
Are you available at night and on weekends?
Yes. The phone at (213) 577-1366 is answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year. After-hours calls cost differently from daytime calls, and we tell you that up front. If you want to understand our overnight service in more depth, the 24-hour locksmith page for La Cañada Flintridge covers it.
What if my alarm is armed when you open the door?
Tell us when you call. Opening the door may trigger the alarm, so have your code and your monitoring company's number ready. We open the lock, but resetting or disarming the alarm is something you or your alarm company handles. Having the code available keeps the process calm.
My key broke off in the lock. Is that a lockout too?
It often is, because the door cannot be opened with the key. We remove the broken piece, open the door, and check whether the cylinder is still safe to use. If it is damaged, we explain whether repair or replacement makes more sense.
Can you help if my business is behind a gate or on a long driveway?
Yes, but give us as much detail as you can. Many properties in the area have long gated driveways and perimeter gates, so we need the exact address, any gate code, and a contact who can open the gate if needed. If the gate itself is the problem, that is handled as a separate gate repair.
Should I rekey or replace the locks after a lockout?
It depends on why the lockout happened. If a key was lost or an employee left, rekeying is usually the lighter-cost option and changes who can enter without replacing the hardware. If the lock is worn or damaged, replacement may be the better choice. We tell you what we find and let you decide.
Do you serve areas near La Cañada Flintridge, like La Crescenta?
Yes. We serve 140 cities across Los Angeles and Ventura counties, including La Cañada Flintridge and the surrounding foothill area. Call (213) 577-1366 with the address and we will confirm that we can reach you. You can also see the full list on our locations page.
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Reviewed by David, Owner & Lead Technician, Wilshire Lock & Key — in the locksmith trade since 1987.
Last updated 2026-10-11.