Higher prices for faster service is just the nature of any professional services business. Look at PCB fab and assembly there is a premium paid for shorter lead times. Likewise if call out a plumber or locksmith or whatever in the middle of the night it is going to be more expensive than if you can wait until the next business day.

Granted the tactic of quoting a very cheap price like in the story and then charging substantially higher on the spot is not ethical but I would be suspicious for any on demand professional service that responds immediately and quotes a low price.

Avoiding all this pain sounds like a great idea for a startup.

Tellng a couple of kids to disrupt the lock picking industry would probably end up with a situation less scam-like, but equally terrible.

At least it would be cheaper until the VC money ran out.

I was going to say uber locksmithing but the uber method for fee calculation would but their fees way higher. :-)

uber for locksmithing would basically be having people come over to your house who happened to have lockpicking kits handy.

And would have the associated effect of providing a very clear analogue for the protesting licensed taxi operators.

Actually an uber like surge pricing would be quite a good idea.