Ex MAC drivers share their stories

[mudflap]

Failed drivers blame MAC for lots of things..some probably legit...some probably not..But alot of stuff on this site..

http://www.unhappyfranchisee.com/category/franchisor/mac-tools/

They claim MAC really makes their money from "churning routes" and at $130,000 for initial investment for a route..i would say thats possible..?

 

[mudflap]

Afrer reading alot more about the tool truck business...seems like they spend most of their time chasing deadbeats for their money...and trying to repair relationships with Techs on their route that have been abandoned by previous multiple failed drivers..and dealing with Corporate and the forced purchasing of tools they cant sell...seems like for less than the franchise fee..you could start your own independent tool truck and be much happier...?

 

[SS5150]

We've got a new Matco guy starting in about 3 weeks. Looks to be in his 50s, guessing a former tech. He & zone rep came in Monday for an intro. After he left, me & the 2 guys next to me talked about how few tools we've bought from Matco (and I had good dealers in the past). I haven't had a good Mac dealer in 20 years. My current Snap On guy is the best dealer I've had anywhere of any brand but he's been at it for 35 years. Not a chance I'd try to make it as a tool guy.....so little opportunity, so much overhead, so much time, gambling on the guys making payments. Crazy.

 

[purplezr2]

Afrer reading alot more about the tool truck business...seems like they spend most of their time chasing deadbeats for their money...and trying to repair relationships with Techs on their route that have been abandoned by previous multiple failed drivers..and dealing with Corporate and the forced purchasing of tools they cant sell...seems like for less than the franchise fee..you could start your own independent tool truck and be much happier...?

But with an independent truck to have to compete with the likes of Amazon and other online stores. There is no exclusivity.

Honestly I have had a few drivers and they have all been good. One was a grumpy old man, I didn't buy much cause he would never really deal, but he was a decent guy and would help you with warranty stuff etc. The guy that replaced him didn't last long, he was nice and would give deals for guys that paid in full. I almost always pay in full. The guy we have now is a corporate driver, and he gives alot of deals. I have paid retail for one item since he started. Most of the stuff new is cheaper then I can buy new stuff on ebay etc.

 

[3jakes]

From one of the articles:

“Not only are the competitors selling the exact same products as MAC Tools, but for a much lesser price.”

Here is one example I can attest to.
In my buy sell tool trade tool biz, a fella offered me this tool:
At $252.00 https://www.mactools.com/en-us/Page...lus disconnect","o":[{"d":1,"p":"Rank"}]}#d=g
Or a mechanic could research amazon & find from Lisle the same thing...
for $123.00 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MEPIRQ8/?tag=atomicindus08-20
It would take an awful lot of customer service to make me feel good about buying the MAC set.

 

[zendriver]

Seeing the year, is 2018, It's hard to imagine a worse business to get into - using a 1950's business model, in the age of the Internet, selling Over priced tools, to workers, sharing a lower standard of living, than their fathers gneration.

Besides, Won't be that long, before Amazon will be using drones, to deliver hand tools, withing minutes.

 

[mudflap]

But with an independent truck to have to compete with the likes of Amazon and other online stores. There is no exclusivity.

Honestly I have had a few drivers and they have all been good. One was a grumpy old man, I didn't buy much cause he would never really deal, but he was a decent guy and would help you with warranty stuff etc. The guy that replaced him didn't last long, he was nice and would give deals for guys that paid in full. I almost always pay in full. The guy we have now is a corporate driver, and he gives alot of deals. I have paid retail for one item since he started. Most of the stuff new is cheaper then I can buy new stuff on ebay etc.

Apparently there is no exclusivity with MAC either..much of whet they sell is rebranded (IR, etc)..and can be purchased much cheaper elsewhere..thats one of the main complaints their drivers have..but i guess thats something they should have looked into before they bought in..? But your right...

 

[BDT/NWMN]

Customers expect that truck to be on schedule, be full of tools, offer warranty and credit, take trade-ins, offer loaners, and give discounts; all with friendly service. In rural areas where the Dealer has a lengthy drive between stops, His time clock doesn't stop, and the truck is that many miles older. Then do the same thing every week, in hopes that someone will buy some tools.. Lets not mention the deadbeat buyers who skip town.

People can use the internet and avoid sharing the cost of such an operation.. Sad for the Dealers in remote areas that the internet is their direct competition.

Dealers in areas with a larger customer base still have to compete with the internet, but the word is compete.. Keeping loyal customers happy is what it takes to keep the wheels turning. Tough enough task without a hassle from corporate.

 

[bsaint]

My old Mac driver retired from his Mac route. I dont know different times I guess.

 

[Skin]

From one of the articles:

Here is one example I can attest to.
In my buy sell tool trade tool biz, a fella offered me this tool:
At $252.00 https://www.mactools.com/en-us/Page...lus disconnect","o":[{"d":1,"p":"Rank"}]}#d=g
Or a mechanic could research amazon & find from Lisle the same thing...
for $123.00 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MEPIRQ8/?tag=atomicindus08-20
It would take an awful lot of customer service to make me feel good about buying the MAC set.

Why buy it from MAC when you can pay Snap-On even more? They all do it.

https://store.snapon.com/Carburetor...onnect-AC-Fuel-Lines-Blue-Point--P862276.aspx

 

[WittHay]

That franchise fee to me looks like your behind the eight ball if you are a new Mac, Matco or Cornwall dealer in a poorer route. You have to sell enough tools to earn a living, pay operating expenses and a pay down a franchise fee loan on top of it.

The tool trucks for Snap-on around here keep getting bigger and the tools seem to sell themselves. Always somebody phoning the driver to meet up and buy tools.. Mac is a harder sell.

Recently met a Mac dealer in his 30's in a good route but quite a bit of driving time involved and was kind of wondering, how long he will be in the business before he gets tired of it

 

[firebox40dash5]

People can use the internet and avoid sharing the cost of such an operation.. Sad for the Dealers in remote areas that the internet is their direct competition.

I'm not even in a rural area, and I mostly liked my old Matco guy (he understood a discount for cash, while the Snappy guy thought I should pay full boat, including the rolled-in financing and associated risk costs) but even then, it was hard to buy from him when I had an option. He'd come by on Friday, I'd ask if he had ______, he'd say he could get me one, we'd work out a price. Next Friday, where's my stuff? Oh, it's sitting with his UPS delivery on his porch at home. Well fook, guess I get it next Friday. At 5pm. 2 full weeks to get something that was in stock at the next level of distribution. Feel like I'm mail ordering from a catalog in the 70s.

Don't get me wrong, there were times he had something I needed when I needed it, and insisted on disrupting his route to drop it by (or meet me somewhere) and I'd gladly pay what he asked. And that kept me buying from him when I could. But damn, the 2 week wait for stuff made it reaaaaaal hard sometimes. But that means you damn well better be bending over backwards for the ones who DO see the value in what you provide. I saw plenty who thought they were gonna ramble around and just make their stops every week and offer their crazy prices, and nothing more... you better have a stockpile of cash if that's your plan.

 

[alexb2000]

I remember seeing guys in the shop with no house, no car, no CC, not a pot to pee in. Yet, they would have $10K in tools on credit. If the Snapon guy didn't finance them a jacket they would have froze in winter.

There is NO WAY I would ever get into that business, because that's all it is, lending money to people that can't get credit anywhere else and then seeing if you can beat the system and actually collect.

 

[sweet victory]

I remember seeing guys in the shop with no house, no car, no CC, not a pot to pee in. Yet, they would have $10K in tools on credit. If the Snapon guy didn't finance them a jacket they would have froze in winter.

There is NO WAY I would ever get into that business, because that's all it is, lending money to people that can't get credit anywhere else and then seeing if you can beat the system and actually collect.

This is called subprime lending. Banks did the exact same thing in the early 2000's and that's what caused the housing market to collapse.

 

[anndel]

I'm a civil engineer for the U.S. Army what's called Army Master Planner programming construction for the installation that costs $10, $20, $100 million. I have to justify and even deal with Secretary of the Army, defense and/or Congress. Been do this for 15 years but my point is I'm not a mechanic any more since I left the field in 1990. I got back into it 6-7 years ago just to work on friend's and family's vehicles so I wanted to build up my shop. I sold most of my old vintage 1980's Snap on tools so I contacted a MATCO, MAC and Snap on dealers where I used to work- Wheeler Army Airfield. Only the Snap On driver returned my called and met with me and I bought tools, impacts, cordless and a box from him. MATCO and MAC didn't call probably because I'm not a mechanic despite calling and emailing them numerous times and contacting them via their Facebook page.

It's tough being a driver you have to hussle to make sale and deal with deadbeat non-payers.

 

[Wamsutta]

The truck business that fails are the dealers who keep a low stock. I've seen it many times. The mechanics hate a truck with low stock; conversely, they're very impressed by a truck overflowing with tools.

 

[mudflap]

The truck business that fails are the dealers who keep a low stock. I've seen it many times. The mechanics hate a truck with low stock; conversely, they're very impressed by a truck overflowing with tools.

Maybe thats why MAC forces them to buy 80% of the National average each month..? Is it because they know a full truck sets the stage..draws a crowd..?

 

[xin]

Broken record, just because someone has never worked at a shop and do not understand that a 'Tool truck' is not a 1950's concept.

No different than a truck that delivers uniforms/floor mats/cleaning the vat on a parts washer.

Also, they WARRANTY your tools at the SHOP you work at (they are a phone call away) never had any problems with them coming by for 1 item even. If someone works on commission YOUR TIME is a LIMITED quantity you ain't going to be trying to order from amazon....

Speaking of amazon, that 2 day delivery has more times than not delivered EMPTY packages and/or the item was LOST in shipping. So try again, it is not going to take out every business on the earth. Almost like saying that computers will eliminate all the jobs.

If you NEED a tool working on commission one needs it NOW not waiting for 'days' for a failed delivery or MISSING PACKAGE.

 

[Coach James]

A friend of mine had a Matco route for two years then called it quits. His territory was long, but narrow so he was putting a lot of miles on his truck. He said he would sometimes drive 30 miles to collect 2 or 3 $15 checks and at least 1 would bounce.

He only had one complaint about the company itself though. He said he was required to take special edition boxes sometimes even though he didn't want them. He still has a "Knight Rider" special edition box in his garage. He said when he tried to sell it to techs, they would look at it and laugh.


The Snap On route owner here told me that MAC is their main competition and that Matco and Cornwell were far behind.

Coach

 

[timdgsr]

Banks did the exact same thing in the early 2000's and that's what caused the housing market to collapse.

They're still doing it today.

 

[engineer2]

I remember in the "heyday" of the 1980's, one Snap On dealer had 7 repair shops in his territory. Obviously it didn't last long.

 

[dnschmidt]

The problem is simple. YOU ARE NOT A TOOL GUY you are basically working as a collection agency. If there is a worse business than a tool truck I can't imagine what it would be. Cleaning sewers, digging ditches, cleaning out stalls at a horse farm. Something that would show up on "Dirty Jobs."

 

[Wamsutta]

Maybe thats why MAC forces them to buy 80% of the National average each month..? Is it because they know a full truck sets the stage..draws a crowd..?

A fully stocked merchandizer always sells better than a nearly empty merchandizer; that's coming straight from Klein Tools. "Keep your inventory well stocked" they say.

 

[Wamsutta]

The problem is simple. YOU ARE NOT A TOOL GUY you are basically working as a collection agency. If there is a worse business than a tool truck I can't imagine what it would be. Cleaning sewers, digging ditches, cleaning out stalls at a horse farm. Something that would show up on "Dirty Jobs."

My plumber that comes to clean my main sewer line all the time owns three complete houses and they're all paid for. His son jokes about buying City Hall with his allowance when he was a little kid.

 

[nickjj]

But with an independent truck to have to compete with the likes of Amazon and other online stores. There is no exclusivity.

In theory a well stocked tool truck will get people buying tools they didn't know they wanted, and undercutting Amazon sellers is easy, as they have to give Amazon 20% and throw in free shipping that isn't free.

 

[Schurkey]

Tool Truck franchisees sued Snap-On.

TTFs sued Mac

I have no doubt that they've sued Matco and Cornwell. There's a frightfully long thread here on GJ about a former Cornwell dealer that more-or-less lost everything.

I like my Snap-On guy. I'm out of the business, I don't buy much from him any more...but I still see him now and then, and buy a few trinkets.

Went onto the Mac truck a year or two ago. The thing is a ghost ship. It's practically barren. I liked the Mac guy. He's been constant as the northern star for forty years. I figure he's selling out of everything and then retiring. I could be wrong.

Had Matco for awhile. Then gone. Then another guy for a year or two. He's been done for a decade. There's a Cornwell guy who used to show up from the Big City eighty miles away. Haven't seen that truck in a year.

I don't think mobile tool sales is viable in most parts of the country any more. Larger cities, sure. Shitholes like this, which are already economically stressed? Nope.

selling Over priced tools, to workers, sharing a lower standard of living, than their fathers gneration.

So true, and not just for the mobile tool business. That's what perpetual foreign wars combined with insane trade and "welfare" policy gets you. An economy drained of life, and the third world moves in next door.