Pictured above: Kylie Bray (second on the right) and some of the Western Lock Services team.
Who says career pivots don’t pay off? From beauty salons to locksmith vans, Kylie Bray’s hands-on approach has stayed the same. Only now she’s unlocking growth for her dad’s business by blending personal service with digital smarts at Western Lock Services.
For Kylie Bray, the Director of Western Lock Services, locksmithing isn’t just business, it’s a bout continuing a family legacy.
Founded by Kylie’s father in 1997, the company has evolved from a one-man operation into a growing locksmith service with a dedicated team, a well-established storefront, and four vans servicing Auckland.
Kylie didn’t initially plan to take over the business and was doing a beauty therapist course, but when her father was diagnosed with a terminal illness her plans changed and priorities shifted to the family business.
Admittedly not enjoying beauty therapy, Kylie says that at the time she was looking for something more hands-on, and looking back is happy she made the right choice.
“I would have made a terrible beauty therapist,” she laughs.
“On my days off, I would be on the road with Dad, and he’d teach me to cut keys and about locks and all that sort of thing.”
From a small workshop at home to opening a shop in Royal Heights in 2001, the business steadily grew.
Eventually, Kylie’s two brothers also joined as apprentices, making it a true family affair.
Today, Western Lock Services offers a comprehensive range of residential, commercial, transport and electronic key locksmithing services.
“We have people bringing in all sorts: Bikes, scooters, motorbikes, doors, cabinets. We even have tow trucks bringing vehicles up to us and people bring a whole door on the roof racks of their car,” says Kylie.
“I still don’t know how we’ve achieved what we have, but I can tell you that it hasn’t been easy.”
Finding opportunity during a challenging 2024
Like many small businesses, Western Lock Services felt the sting of 2024s economic challenges with the team feeling a lot of uncertainty.
But rather than retreat, Kylie doubled down on customer relationships and explored new ways to attract business.
One major shift was the adoption of an AI-powered chatbot on their website with a video of a smiling and waving Kylie.
Trailing it since November last year, the team noticed it became easier to communicate with clients and they book services immediately while on the call.
“The intention behind it is when people jump on the website, you want to catch their attention within the first few seconds that they’re there,” Kylie explains.
The chatbot allows customers to ask questions in real time, book services, and even jump on a video call with Kylie.
“Rather than people searching for your number, they can just ask questions through the little chatbot or ring or video call me directly as well.”
Another key focus in 2024 was improving the company’s customer relationship management (CRM).
“One of the big things that came up was making use of the database of customers that we have, which is quite massive over all the years we’ve been around,” Kylie says.
And so she worked alongside an expert to help develop a CRM system.
“This is going to help us keep track of the last time we were at a property, what we did during that visit and allow us to just keep in touch with existing clients.”
Rainy days and rescue calls
For a locksmith, rainy days aren’t just about wet weather – they’re a sign of a busy shift ahead. “It’s always when it’s like rainy weather, you know you’re going to get those calls a lot more than usual because people are in a hurry.”
Car lockouts are one of those calls.
“Sometimes you get situations where vehicles will just lock themselves once you shut the door. Or people put their shopping in the boot, shut the boot, and ‘oh no – the keys are inside!’”
When it comes to response time, Kylie says that the team does their best to get to customers quickly. “If we can get there straight away, we can get to the site and get the door open or the vehicle open within 30 minutes.”
Keeping up with the times
However, not every job is an emergency. Some require patience, skill, and a touch of history.
Kylie shares one memorable project that involved an antique church lock that was over 100 years old.
“A gentleman transported an old villa up to Helensville and was trying to keep all the original components. He brought in this lock – it was a monstrous, heavy thing. You can’t get those kinds of key blanks anymore, so we had to go and have an engineer put together a blank that we could work with and cut down by hand with a file. It took about two weeks from start to finish.”
Compare that to today’s locksmithing landscape, where keyless locks are becoming the norm. “We get daily inquiries about people wanting to go to an electronic lock or a keyless lock, and it’s all to do with convenience,” Kylie says.
But despite the rise of digital access, she doesn’t believe traditional keys will vanish. “We always recommend electronic locks that have a key override. If the electronics fail or the batteries die, you’ve still got a physical key.”
Looking ahead, Kylie says she isn’t aiming for rapid expansion but deeper connections with existing clients. “We don’t want to get big; we just want to get better,” Kylie says.
The company’s focus is on schools, real estate agencies, and commercial clients who require ongoing maintenance and security upgrades. “We’ve got great relationships with our schools – whether it’s maintenance, property work, or putting in new key systems, I think that’s probably the big focus for this year.”
One notable school project involved installing wireless electronic locks.
“Every door has an electronic lock, and it connects to a hub in the building, which then connects the lock to the software in the office,” Kylie explains. Staff can control access remotely, eliminating the need for keys. “It’s been quite good being able to maintain that because there’s always things that need attention.”
For Kylie, there’s no doubt she made the right choice in leaving beauty therapy behind. “Oh god, no,” she laughs. “I would have been a terrible beautician.”
Instead, she found a career that is hands-on, ever-changing, and deeply rooted in family and community.
