Snap on fanchise VS corporate

[Mikemac1]

Hi guys and gals,

My son is apprenticing as an AST in Canada. He will he doing his first school stint in a month or so. I have been as helpful as I can with getting him tools. I don’t know what to make of this - a snap on franchisee comes by his shop when called, and has been good with discounts. Buuut. There is also a snap on corporate truck that rolls by about once a month.

How is a corporate truck competing at the same shop(s) as the franchisee?

Apparently this is been going on a long time.

Any insights anyone can share?

Thanks, Mike

 

[Professional Tool User]

If you aren't mixing anything up, this is weird. I highly doubt a Snap on industrial rep and a regular Snap on dealer would be visiting the same shop. The only logical conclusion I can come to is that the shop might have a Snap on industrial rep that shows up once a month unless someone calls him to warranty stuff or place a special order. I know back when I was in school, there were Snap on industrial flyers at the tool crib and the prices seemed to be lower than on the regular Snap on flyers and that the rep for the Snap on student discount program warrantied any broken Snap on tools at school.

 

[WittHay]

As far as I understand the limit for students under the Snap-on industrial program is $7000 retail and just 2 orders. With Snap-on prices that can be delivered in a Smart car.

I know up in the oilfields at Fort Murray. Snap-on industrial has a branch and makes regular deliveries. The tools required are so big and the money spent when oil prices are good is ridiculous. Proto and Snap-on are probably very competitive and fighting for the business from companys like Suncor.

I am not sure where in a regular city, what company's buy that much Snap-on hand tools that they have to make regular deliveries along side their franchisees .

 

[Skin]

Short version. The franchise is catering directly to the techs buying their own tools, the industrial rep sells tools/equipment directly to the company. Your son probably qualifies for Snap-On SEP so he can buy from both.

Longer version. Franchises don't have anything to do with SEP or corporate sales. Hes just stopping by as a normal part of his route and any discounts hes giving is on his own. SEP is either direct or through the industrial rep and will give you access to a large portion of the catalog and a select number of boxes at about half price.

Industrial reps are salary employees with commission and sales goal incentives. They don't depend solely on slinging tools for income like a franchise dealer. Purchases are drop shipped direct to your door or company. They aren't allowed to sell to individuals unless its through SEP and industrial pricing is strictly for companies so once someone is done with SEP they're shut-off and have to buy from a regular franchise. This is to stop competing business within Snap-On. That's how its suppose to differentiate anyway.

As stated there is a limit to SEP, which I think is also based on full retail, so just be aware of that. Unless you have cash burning a hole in your pocket there are things you can easily straight up avoid like chrome/impact sockets where there are many options at a fraction of even the half off price.

 

[Mikemac1]

There are three franchisees in the city, by the phone book anyway. Only one of those comes to this shop. It’s a small shop (4 lifts). I purchased line wrenches, offset long reversible ratcheting wrenches and the long handle locking flex head 1/2 drive from him over the phone and my son paid when he showed up. I should clarify he does make sales calls but not too often. He doesn’t sell a lot to this shop. Maybe every couple months. He discounted a little better than the tax.

The corporate guy definitely has a truck with inventory, and hats. it’s not his own. We know this because one driver quit, and the journeyman had to call corporate and ask why the driver stopped showing up. They hired a new one and my son bought some 3/8 ratchets from him and other goodies. At the shop they call him “snappy industrial guy”

Anyways they seem to compete with each other. The journeyman advises the franchisee will give discounts which is true. In any event I am looking forward to when he actually starts school and the instructor can sign the magic paper for the student discount. I might (will) add in some stuff for myself

Someone mentioned not buring money on chrome / impact sockets. I priced out proto Chrome and impacts. It’s about 45% less than snap on. However the difference shrinks with that student discount and add the cost of socket rails (proto comes wth the crummy clip rails) the difference in cost shrinks. There is only so much you can get at Canadian tire size wise.

The Mac guy has been good, shows up weekly, on time, but I’m getting wise on what is Taiwan. The part numbers end in T. Better off with grey pneumatic at 1/3 the cost. Mac USA made stuff costs what snap on does and then they do stupid size skips to make you buy the std size version stuff. They give 50% for student discount, but won’t sell a macsimizer box, only the tech version.

Not that I have cash burning and my son has been teriffic at paying me back. I usually ask for about 70% and he saves and pays me exactly what I ask. Very proud of him. He will eventually get his Red Seal and no tool debt. The part I am eating is chump change compared to university tuition for his other siblings. I look at it as my contribution to his “university”.

Cheers and thanks for your input

 

[gclark1]

The franchise rep is an individual who owns the route and has bought into the snapon corporation. The corporate rep does not own the route and works directly for snapon. Corporate trucks are used when no one owns a franchise route in the area. The two reps should not be visiting the same shop but it does happen. The franchise rep can offer better deals as he actually owns the business. The corporate rep answers directly to the company and must get approval to offer any deal below list price.

 

[dan360]

There are three franchisees in the city, by the phone book anyway. Only one of those comes to this shop. It’s a small shop (4 lifts). I purchased line wrenches, offset long reversible ratcheting wrenches and the long handle locking flex head 1/2 drive from him over the phone and my son paid when he showed up. I should clarify he does make sales calls but not too often. He doesn’t sell a lot to this shop. Maybe every couple months. He discounted a little better than the tax.

The corporate guy definitely has a truck with inventory, and hats. it’s not his own. We know this because one driver quit, and the journeyman had to call corporate and ask why the driver stopped showing up. They hired a new one and my son bought some 3/8 ratchets from him and other goodies. At the shop they call him “snappy industrial guy”

Anyways they seem to compete with each other. The journeyman advises the franchisee will give discounts which is true. In any event I am looking forward to when he actually starts school and the instructor can sign the magic paper for the student discount. I might (will) add in some stuff for myself

Someone mentioned not buring money on chrome / impact sockets. I priced out proto Chrome and impacts. It’s about 45% less than snap on. However the difference shrinks with that student discount and add the cost of socket rails (proto comes wth the crummy clip rails) the difference in cost shrinks. There is only so much you can get at Canadian tire size wise.

The Mac guy has been good, shows up weekly, on time, but I’m getting wise on what is Taiwan. The part numbers end in T. Better off with grey pneumatic at 1/3 the cost. Mac USA made stuff costs what snap on does and then they do stupid size skips to make you buy the std size version stuff. They give 50% for student discount, but won’t sell a macsimizer box, only the tech version.

Not that I have cash burning and my son has been teriffic at paying me back. I usually ask for about 70% and he saves and pays me exactly what I ask. Very proud of him. He will eventually get his Red Seal and no tool debt. The part I am eating is chump change compared to university tuition for his other siblings. I look at it as my contribution to his “university”.

Cheers and thanks for your input

He's not the industrial guy, he's a corporate truck. Have your son ask for a catalog, the Industrial catalogs are entirely different than the retail route catalog.

Same goes for the internet store. The Industrial/Government store is very different.

 

[KSB]

Our industrial rep at work (Government) doesn’t have a truck. He stops in every now and then (4-6 times a year) to warranty stuff and talk with the procurement and tool crib personnel.

At trade school there was a Snap On office that you could order stuff through the SEP program. As well the Mac program was available from one of the teachers.

IIRC you could purchase from them till your third level.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[greg13]

I would guess that snapon corporate is catering to the school and the independent dealer is catering to the students. The students may get better deals & service from the independent plus used tools from trade ins.

 

[1320it]

Get him craftsman tools from Lowes. Why should he spend 1000s on tools now and possibly be in debt?

 

[Mikemac1]

Get him craftsman tools from Lowes. Why should he spend 1000s on tools now and possibly be in debt?

I have some USA craftsman in my box. I looked at what the had a Lowe’s. Seemed pretty junky to me to be honest.

He has a mixture of stuff. Stanley, MAC, Canadian tire, channel lock, grey pneumatic. No debt. There are some things worth paying the snap on tax for - ratchets, line wrenches, 15 degree offset offset ratcheting wrenches come to mind which was the direction taken.

When school comes around I’m thinking digital torque wrenches with the student discount.

I’ve looked at proto for sockets - the seemed pretty good quality for about 1/4 the price of snap on. Might do a test buy for my own box at home

 

[jimindm]

I had a SO route guy for 20 years. Became really good friends. He did not quit, he went to the corporate side. Instead of a few square miles of route, he now covers most of the state. Instead of a truck full of tools that he drove around, now is a kia optima.

I asked him one time the biggest change in his business. He stated he still throws darts at a wall every day. As in prices of tools people have asked for. The difference is as a franchise the darts maybe $200-500 purchase of a socket set, impact or whatever. The industrial side is for 1000 ratchets, 200 impacts, and the like.

The other difference was he had no prices, everything is sort of priced farther up the industrial chain. He said he very seldom gave a price, because corporate would always beat his.

The biggest difference he said was the availability of tools, that were not available to the franchises. Many times that was Sioux brand air tools. They were everything snap on but the name. Stuff like drill bits, taps, saw blades and such. I would say his line covered alot of the companies that snap on owns, but just are not snap on branded.

I can say that while he was my dealer he did stop at a few places that could have bought from the industrial guy. Many times his sales were dependent on time of year and the ability to deliver the tools. Many industrial customers work with in corporate or municipal budgets. Budget that are use it or lose it.

Several years ago he was looking for a 1234A air machine for a state garage. They did not want one, they wanted two, and it was like three weeks before the end of the budget year. These were very new at the time and SO did not have them yet. He hooked up with another tool salesman and made the deal. I think it was a napa guy.

I would doubt that he carries anything that would or could be warrantied, in his kia. I would bet he may have a deal with the franchiser to do that. I would also say that franchise guy is not just stopping there if it was not good for him.

I think there are only certain tools that can be bought by students, through the industrial side. I would guess that list is made up from some department head at the school and that is how a school perhaps sets out some kind of bid process.

I would also say that lets face it, not all of the people in the program make it. I am sure that franchise guy is first in line to buy tools that went on student loans, when junior opts out.