I came in today with 3 keys I KNEW would be difficult. 2 for lock boxes I ordered on Amazon and the other for a cash drawer. The gentleman who helped me spent about 15 minutes looking through the possibilities as these keys were very difficult- I felt really bad.... He made me 2 keys of each on 2 different machines.... Wait for it.. For FREE- because we have no idea if they will work- How awesome is that?? I will be a repeat customer for sure- Even if the keys don't work it's NOT their fault- they did everything humanly possible to help me- Thank you!! read more

Fast and reliable staffs. I got my keys and car key battery replacement. Staffs are courteous and trustworthy and super nice. Lots of options and designs. read more

Lost my keys at home, thought they would finally pop up after a week. No luck. AM&K sent AJ over and this guy was right on point. Fast, courteous, careful and cool. Thank you for your help and thank you for sending AJ. HB. read more

American Lock and Key - Keys & Locksmiths Near Me - Seaside, California

The crew at American Lock and Key dropped the ball. They ordered a replacement key for our Nissan that included a fee for programming the new key fob to the car. Three different technicians attempted to program the new key but in the process our original key became de-programmed. The car would not start so we left our car in their lot overnight. 24 hours later they got to it. At some point they gave up and advised us to take the car off the property. We had it towed to a dealership. There was no apology or offer to discount the programming charges. The total for the key and programming was $215. USD. I don't know how to rationalize the myriad of 5 Yelp stars vs my opposite experience. I awarded two stars because the techs that originally helped us were polite and very nice. The decision to abandon the job and keep our cash was made at ownership or management level. The billing end of the experience was sketchy. I can't do business with people who charge but don't deliver. At a minimum a discount should have been applied down to cost of the actual key fob. The car should not have been left an extra day just because they didn't possess the skills to program in a new key. read more

Took them a while and I didn't even see them actually trying and wanted to resell me some other service and if I wanted to cancel the fee was 100 dollars. The heck y'all on?? read more

Lost my 2012 4Runner key at the bottom of a lake and these guys were able to get my family and I back on the road. Awesome service and reasonable pricing, considering what the dealership wanted to charge me. read more

Thanks so much American Lock & Key. Called this morning, got a same day appointment. Quick excellent service by Nick! Would definitely use again and highly recommend. read more

I didn't use any of your labor, just bought a used part. One person told me the price and another increased the price when I picked up the part. read more

We requested a locksmith to come out and repair a side patio door that was no longer working correctly. The repairman, Ruben, was very nice while he was at the house, but he looked at the side patio door, (a very old door) and stated he would have to contact the manufacturer of this Hoppe lock to find out about replacing the defective part. He indicated that he would then contact us with a price, and then if we agreed, he would come back and install it. After a week, with no word from Ruben, I called the office and was told, "Oh, Ruben has been on vacation", but she would let him know, and he would follow up and get back to me. Well, that was over 6 weeks ago!!! Luckily, I went with another business and have had this taken care of, but really, that is pretty lousy customer service. If you can't find the part, or you haven't heard from the manufacturer, at least communicate with the customer to let them know.... read more

I came to get keys made for a new lock set. The staff was polite and quick. I've had keys made at other places that have not been tooled properly. American Lock and Key made duplicates that slide into place smoothly. read more

The company appears to have a good reputation, but I felt fleeced after asking them to program my key fob. I was warned ahead of time that I would be charged $80 whether or not the programming was successful. I thought to myself, why offer the service if you can not offer a guarantee. The tech takes my key fobs in back and returns in less than fifteen minutes and tells me he failed. I paid my bill with disdain. Now I understand not going to the dealership was a mistake. read more

The absolute worst experience one could or should have!!!!! Without writing pages of what transpired in this crazy establishment, I will only say I spent two days, and three hours while waiting for them to install my kebab. After losing the key, trying to make the wrong key work, etc,. they finally admitted that they couldn't do what they said, and offered to refund my money. It turns out that they even got that wrong and never put through my credit card. Horrible, horrible experience. read more

Super nice employees. Took care of me when I locked my keys in the trunk of my car. Highly recommend

Unfortunately, I had a very bad experience with this company. I called to make an appointment to have service at Carmel by the Sea. Because downtown Carmel addresses are complicated, I gave the person on the phone a landmark hotel nearby and two phone numbers for contact. Since we don't live there, I had to have someone come and stay at the house on the day of the service. The locksmith called me earlier in the day (no questions about location) and confirmed he would be there at the agreed upon time. Instead, I got a call 30 minutes past the agreed upon time saying that the locksmith couldn't find the location and that I had to call them back. I did within 30 minutes. The lady who answered the phone told me that the locksmith had left to do their next job as he couldn't find my house (mind you, in one of the main streets of downtown Carmel). She allegedly didn't have the reference landmark or the other phone number written down. And she said they couldn't get back to my house for another 3 days. Or I could pay extra to have them come after 5pm that same day. Needless to say, that was incredibly frustrating as I had someone at the house all day waiting for them, had given them several ways to contact us and find the place, and requested that the service be still completed that day, with no accommodations. Net, I would recommend avoiding using them for Carmel by the Sea addresses. read more

We walked into their shop with a lock issue, and in no time at all (maybe 15 minutes at most!) American Lock & Key solved the problem for a reasonable charge and sent us away with smiles on our faces. read more

I had to get a duplicate key made for my auto, and there were several complications. I was really impressed by both the skillfulness, respect and dedication of the staff. Highly Recommended! read more

Beware!!! Save your time and go elsewhere to get your locks made, under new ownership and HORRIBLE Customer service and not trust worthy! We now have a hole that was drilled into our Pottery Barn desk with no lock. They decided they did not want to sell us the lock that our cabinet was drilled for, until we had to put up a fuss, then they decide to sell it to us for $80. When I told the owner I would be writing a bad review they then offered it to us for free. This is a small town to burn bridges with people who have lived here all of their life. This company just lost a lot of business! read more

I had to get a key made for an ATV, and AJ and his crew had it done in a matter of hours after helping me unload in the parking lot. Full disclosure, I've known AJ and several of his employees for many years, and They are all top notch people and very service oriented. If you want great service and an honest, hardworking locksmith at reasonable rates you will be happy you found American Lock and Key. UPDATE 9/16/19-just had AJ fix the trigger mechanism on our front door. He saved us $300-$400 by ordering a replacement kit that was warrantied by the original manufacturer. He's the best! read more

If I could give a "negative" star rating, I would... It's really almost comical now. I originally went to the Seaside American Lock & Key location, and inquired about help with a front door lock and home safes. Friendly, personable staff ... things are looking good so far. I took pictures of our front door lock, and then took them back to the Seaside store to go over what was needed (also sent the photos to their email address). The locksmith promised to review the photos with other staff members and then get back to me with some ideas for a solution. Days later, no call back. I called the Seaside store and inquired again about the photos, etc. and was promised a call back. A week later, still no call. I gave up at that point and tried to repair the lock myself. I ran into some issues, and so I decided to call the Pacific Grove American Lock & Key store. I talked to a courteous technician, and a locksmith came out to our house and inspected the lock (Bill -- he wasn't able to fix the lock, but made some recommendations about the repair). After a week or so passed, I called the Pacific Grove store to inquire about Bill and asked if he could call me back, so we could talk about the lock and getting it installed (I didn't have the bandwidth to do it myself, including ordering the parts needed to complete the job). I was informed that I should call the Seaside store to get a hold of the locksmith. When I called, Bill wasn't available, but the staff member promised to talk to the locksmith and have him call me back about the lock. Days later, no call back ... see a pattern here? I called the Pacific Grove store a week later, and told the person answering the phone (Josh) that this would be the last time I'd be calling American Lock & Key. He was courteous and sounded sincere about helping me out. I received one follow up call from him later in the day -- this was last week -- and then that was it. The phone went silent again and nothing more from American Lock & Key. Wow. Guess they really don't need the business... What makes this situation even worse is that the staff appears to be nice & knowledgeable, but there's absolutely no follow-up. Zero. I'd rather have them be rude & discourteous, and then at least the lack of phone calls would make perfect sense. I cannot recommend American Lock & Key to anyone for any reason. I'll be looking for a competent locksmith who'll actually call me back, and finish the job (it's been two months now since I started this journey to get one front door lock fixed). read more

Made a mistake buying aftermarket Key fob on Amazon! And an even worse experience getting the key cut at other locksmiths around town. The team at American lock and key Took care of that though and now I have 3 working keys for our new car! Super friendly and professional! I would recommend these guys anytime! I'd give them 7 stars!! read more

We decided to rekey our new house as soon as possible, and went to American within the first week of moving in. Theo and AJ helped us pick out the right set of locks and handles for our doors (most of which have glass, so needed double-key locks for safety), and ordered things they didn't have in stock with no hassle whatsoever. Once the parts were in the locksmith came out right on time and got the locks in really quickly, and even did some followup support on the phone when some of our keys were sticking. (Unfortunately I can't remember his name at the moment, but he was super helpful). AJ later came out to check out a lock that was sticking, and took care of it in the first few minutes he was there. These guys have been great to work with, and will be our first stop should we need to seek out locks again in the future. read more

Anthony was great! Came out fast and fixed the lock. Definitely recommend!!

Super crisis solved in less than 30 minutes. Tom was great and came at the exact time he said he would. They take credit cards on the spot and they are open on Sundays (which many folks in Monterey are not). Lock was 100.00 to break (totally worth it). read more

Think back to that last time in your life when you felt utterly powerless. When you were stuck. When you made a mistake, and without the help of a stranger, you were literally left out in the cold. This was my situation last week, and thanks to the knowhow, professionalism and honest care for a fellow man, AJ and team saved my ass. Making my final pit stop on a weeklong motorcycle trip up and down the California coast, I decided to spend the idyllic mid-September afternoon at the beach in Carmel. Only when I changed out of my swim suit and back into my leathers did I realize that my usual right-front pocket may not have been the best choice for a single ignition key. The beach swallowed another valuable item that afternoon; this was literally a case of attempting to find a needle in a haystack. Long story short, I was able to arrange for a lift for myself and my bike and make it to American Lock & Key a few minutes before closing. AJ immediately dug in and started pulling apart the fork-mounted ignition assembly. The challenge of cutting a new key for my '03 Bonneville clearly was an exciting one for AJ (a motorcycle enthusiast himself), and despite it being the end of his long work day, tackled the project without much more than a "let me see what I can do." Less than an hour later I was handed two brand new keys, and more importantly, a way for me to continue my journey. I can't say enough about these guys and the services they provided that afternoon. AJ literally went above and beyond, staying way past closing time and in doing so, saved me a night in a hotel and likely a missed flight out the next morning. If there was a way to give these guys 6 out of 5 stars, I wouldn't hesitate. read more

I recently visited them and it reminded me about a horrible dilemma I had a few years back. I was trying to start my beast of a car, when my key (one and only) bent and snapped in half! I was on the phone with land rover and different locksmith companies telling me it would cost a few hundred to get a new key. My friend asked if I tried American Lock & Key. She drove me down to the shop, and I handed them the lifeless, shattered key. Lo and behold to my surprise they made a new copy from the broken pieces. Costing me only $2.50. They are great, always helpful professional and honest! I wouldn't be surprised if they have some sort of magicianary Harry Potter stuff going on there! read more

At the recommendation of our community concierge I used American Lock and Key to open a safe that became faulty and would not open. I cannot begin to express my appreciation of AJ's work for me. After drilling open my safe I worked with him to install a replacement Excellent Their pricing is completely fair and honest and everyone in this shop is top notch! read more

A top notch locksmith operation. We've used them for our business for years and they are remarkable. We need locksmiths at the weirdest times and American has answered those calls and bailed us out. We own two escape rooms, so functioning locks are important. They've fixed safe deposit boxes on Sundays and consulted on mag locks with the intent of just being helpful. They charge a fair price, communicate clearly about potential solutions and deliver quality work. Highly recommend them. read more

FAST, FAIR and KNOWLEDGEABLE we had an ignition problem while visiting from out of town They had parts in stock and got us back on the road within 2 hours 2 THUMBS UP read more

After trying to get my key made at a variety of places from Ace to Home Depot, all of them recommended American Lock & Key. When I went in, Luis took a look at my key, found it's match in less then a minute and made the copy. It's a clean cut and well done. Professional, friendly and great service all in one place. Definitely going to get my keys made here in the future. read more

Too easy to schedule my home to be re-keyed. Outstanding work from the American Lock & Key team in Seaside.

We utilize American Lock & Key often for automotive lock needs. The good folks there always conduct themselves professionally and jobs are promptly dispatched and concluded. Always good knowing what to expect when dealing with foreign subject matter. The people at this business are transparent at a reasonable cost. read more

These guys went above and beyond when I lost my keys on a camping trip in Big Sur. They made new keys and went out of their way to do it in a timely manner so I didn't have to spend my entire last day of vacation waiting for keys to be made. They also provided me with the follow up information I needed to get my old key reprogrammed should I happen to find it again, which I did. I thank them and I recommend them highly. read more

We were trying to make copies of our travel trailer keys. They didn't have the blanks in stock and offered to custom order them. Within two days they called to let us know the blanks were in and ready for us. Great service! read more

Nick and team were awesome and saved me several hundred dollars on having to replace the lock mechanism on my car. Their expertise shined through as they were able to re-key my existing lock, something the dealer said was not possible. Great work guys! read more

We were looked out of a business in Carmel-by-the-Sea late in the evening. I called them to come out and unlock the door, they were there in about 45 minutes and got us back in. Awesome service and reasonable pricing. Thank you for your help. We highly recommend this company. read more

When we needed help, American Lock & Key saved us QUICK. Friendly and competent service!

We had a great experience with this company two days ago when traveling to Carmel for a weekend vacation. On the way down, we could not get our car trunk lock to open and we needed to get to our luggage. Panicked. Decided to deal with the problem when we got to Carmel. Found American Lock & Key online and called them. They were on-call because it was a Saturday. A guy named Duff showed up quickly after the call. He was calm and calming. He figured out how to get into the trunk from inside the car (which didn't have easy access to the trunk), popped the trunk open, and figured out the problem. Fixed it. Showed us how to avoid the disconnected wiring in the future. The cost overall was not bad and was much less than what the dealership quoted (just for a diagnosis)! We paid $125 total for his visit, time, and fixing the problem. I know everyone's experiences with companies are different, but we were very happy with our decision to call this place and happy with the work Duff did to save the day. read more

I made an appointment to have my entire home re-keyed and to get duplicate keys. Telephone scheduling staff were so courteous and so willing to accommodate my difficult schedule. She called me back to offer me a cancellation time slot to which I took. Duff came out and was so professional, offering all the options available to me, was patient and polite in explaining and answering all my questions and got the job done quickly, given that I had a tall order for him. He completed the job quickly and I was able to get back to my office and finish out my day. What a great company...if you want to feel secure and confident that the job will be done well, efficiently and with professionalism, call American Lock and Key...they are wonderful! BRAVO American Lock and Key! read more

I was locked out and unable to get in here in Monterey when the weather is cloudy and cold and tried calling every locksmith around and even when I first called American Lock and key they said it could be a few hours and I am sitting outside cold ...no bathroom, nothing on but a small robe and yet I had to take what they could offer.... I hung up expecting to have to wait a couple hours when I got a call from the tech saying he was on his way and would be here in 15 minuets!!!!! I wanted to cry I was so happy and grateful he got here and had me in my house in no time!!! If I ever need a locksmith again ( lord forbid) I will definitely call these guys..... thank you from the bottom of my freezing heart read more

We asked the locksmith to come, he told us it would be 3 hours, unlike their 15-30 minute promise. He then never showed up! I would NEVER use or rely on these people! We could not understand them on the phone and then they were unresponsive or unavailable via text message. Poor service and no followthrough with their promises. read more