General Tool Company Question

[wrenhandtools]

I know that at the moment my website is barely useful, so please I know it needs work and I know that the new format is almost ready to launch.

But beyond a tool business having a good website,.....and having a good warranty, is there anything that you all see that is missing from most tool companies that you would like to see??

I know service is always important...but is there a certain type of service or something 'else' that a tool company could do to impress the customer?

Sincerely,

 

[Fedwrench]

For me it's being there after the sale. Don't disappear once I have a large pile of your tools. Secondly, I would rather have strong and durable tools than a good warranty. I know tools wear out and break but, I'd rather not have to use a warranty often. Lastly, selection. A tool company has to have the tools I use in the sizes I need. For, example, I can't understand how Toptul made the long zero offset wrenches without a 13x15mm or a 16x18mm wrench.
Consistency is also important for a tool dealer, especially mobile dealers.

 

[krusty the clown]

But beyond a tool business having a good website,.....and having a good warranty, is there anything that you all see that is missing from most tool companies that you would like to see??

i hate to say this mike and i don't mean to pee in your cherios but US made is my first criteria.................


it does seem like your a stand up guy and obviously doing things right with all of the compliments you have recieved here.


perhaps a specialty line would be a pleasant addition. companies like schley, stallwille, thexton, lisle, hoffman star, etc? that way you can gain customers like me who maybe aren't interested in your base product but would like some of the other things mentioned and are looking for someone they trust to deal with...................just my.02 yen

 

[HandyManny]

Warranties on handtools are of little value or comfort to me. I too would much rather have a quality, strong, functional, and durable hand tool rather than a great lifetime warranty.

When you have more warranty claims being made than you have sales of tools, you know something is severely wrong with the company or manufacurer. (speaking in general here, about any company)

All I expect from a good tool company is a quality, functionality, durablility and availability. A fair and reasonable price is nice too. Barriers to buy and difficulty to find does your customers no good(speaking in general here about many professional grade tools). Asthetsic of the tool are great too.

 

[kmorgancraw]

Mike, I have found your level of service to be outstanding, beyond flawless. It would seem that you have it down, in terms of how to run the business and how to treat your customers. I know your question was about tool companies in general but I have to speak to wrenhandtools specifically. Yes your website is lackluster, but it is navigable. The real problem with wrenhandtools is that I go and find tools that I want to order and you don't have them. I want to be able to order anything I find on your website and get it reasonably quickly, like within a week. Whenever I visit your website now I look at items and think, I'd like to order that, but I doubt you'll have the item, or in the all the sizes I want, and so I don't even bother asking. You're a pro when it comes to service and accessibility Mike, but you gotta have what I want when I want it.

 

[Wood]

Mike, I have found your level of service to be outstanding, beyond flawless. It would seem that you have it down, in terms of how to run the business and how to treat your customers. I know your question was about tool companies in general but I have to speak to wrenhandtools specifically. Yes your website is lackluster, but it is navigable. The real problem with wrenhandtools is that I go and find tools that I want to order and you don't have them. I want to be able to order anything I find on your website and get it reasonably quickly, like within a week. Whenever I visit your website now I look at items and think, I'd like to order that, but I doubt you'll have the item, or in the all the sizes I want, and so I don't even bother asking. You're a pro when it comes to service and accessibility Mike, but you gotta have what I want when I want it.

+1 on availablility of products.

When I tried to place an order, I was really surprised at all the things you didn't have available, enough so that I decided to wait until you got your next shipment in to see if you could fill more of my wishlist. I'm not tryingto be hard on you. I understand that starting a new, one man distribution business is a little different from being a major esatblished retailer, and there's no way we can expect you to have every single item in stock all the time at this stage of the game. Hopefully your business is becoming succesful enough that you will be able to carry more and more inventory as time goes on. In the meantime, it would be nice if your website could reflect whether or not you have something in stock so we would know without having to call/e-mail.

 

[wrenhandtools]

I really do want the general "if you could have most everything in a tool company" comments....but here's a question.

Since I can tell for sure that there is some frustration as to what I have and don't have in my inventory.......would it be helpful to you for me to concentrate on carrying 100% of a certain category?? For example, make sure I have ALL the items from the socket section in stock, and then move to other categories?? At least this way you would know that if you were looking in a certain category the odds would be very high that I would still have the tool you wanted? There would still be frustration with items I didn't have, but at least as I build the business you would know your answer quickly. Sometimes better to know as quickly as possible if I DON'T have something???
Just a thought.

 

[CatfishXpress]

your already on the right track,

as you know the website needs work,

other than that you just need to get your name out there and get your tools in the hands of as many people as possible.

 

[jlenander]

Mike,
As a start-up tool company, you have already done very well for yourself (and us) bringing in new tool brands to our market. Why not continue? Koken and other Japanese tool companies are poorly represented here in the US. As you can tell by the GJ chat, there is considerable interest in some of the "unique" tools made by these companies. Most European products are too expensive these days, but maybe there are some other Taiwanese lines that would complement your Toptul offerings.
As an online retailer, having real time inventory available on your web site would allow for more impulse buys (or I'm up late and will be leaving early to work tomorrow buys).
If I could give any "generalized" advise, it would be this: Yes, you need to get your web site to a more usable condition, but remember, there are lots of tool companies with great websites out there. What will make Wren Tool succeed and grow amongst this competition is excellent customer service, longevity, dependable warrantee service, and a wide variety (more inventory and brands) of high quality tools that are well priced. I am highly driven by value; keeping a presence on this board by offering "GJ specials" will keep regulars coming back and introduce you to new customers.
Good luck, I hope you're having a good time as a pro tool guy!
Jon

 

[Wood]

I really do want the general "if you could have most everything in a tool company" comments....

Apologies, I did get distracted from what you actully asked. Let me try again. What I want in a tool company is what I want in any company.

1) I want a good product. If you don't have this then nothing else matters, but it sounds like Toptul is definitely quality.

2) I want good service. I haven't even bought anything from you yet, but I can already tell that you have this in the bag.

3) I want a good price. Good price doesn't mean cheapest. I recognize that if I want quality and service I need to pay for it, I just want to feel that it's in line with what I'm getting. If Toptul is as good as people here say it is (and I have no reason to doubt that) then I think you have this covered too.

4) I want it to be easy to buy from you. This is the only problem you seem to have, and it really isn't all that bad, it's just the only area where it seems like you could realistically make a significant improvement.

5) I want good service after the purchase. In the case of tools, this basically comes down to warranty issues. I don't expect a craftsman style "you can return it if you're having male PMS that day" warranty, but I don't want to be hassled about a legitimate problem or have to buy more stuff to get warranty service on what I already bought. I also don't want the warranty to only extend to the original purchaser because I expect tools to last for (many) years and there's no f'ing way I'm keeping receipts for that long. Also, I would much prefer not to have to mail the broken item back on my dime, but I realize this might be an unreasonable expectation.

6) I want to deal with an ethical company. I won't buy from a company that I feel mistreats its employees or customers.

I guess that's about it. I don't want free **** (t-shirts, pens, hats, whatever) because nothing is really free. I don't want a 50% off sale around the holidays, I want your best, fair price all year long. I don't want interest free financing, because again, nothing is free, that just forces up the price of the tools.

 

[wrenhandtools]

Just wanted to say thanks for all the input so far!!

 

[LGMechanical]

You need a larger tool storage selection! Also some work on the website would definately help. Listing the prices is also important. No one expects this over night, but that definately needs some work.

 

[wrenchr]

Hello Mike,
Your customer service is second to none!! I would do like Krusty suggested and add a US brand tool to the mix. I do not know how hard that would be or if possible? I know the more inventory you keep the more $$$ you are into this. Also do you have 3/8 drive 6 point short 15 and 18 mm sockets in stock? I still need to add those to my set!!

 

[X1 Mike]

Along with what everyone else said my suggestion is to accept Paypal. I have about $500 in my PP account that I'm trying to spend. Another suggestion is to sell groups of tools with a nice discount. For example I am looking for a good mini pliers set. If you came up with a bundle of 5 or 6 with a price of 20% off the cost if individually purchased I would be interested.

 

[billymade]

This is a interesting article about Snapon and their marketing, distribution, history, selling, product etc.; you aren't snapon but there are some good things in here... check it out:
http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cach...+brand&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=safari