How I become brand loyal

[HanShotFirst]

I don’t know about you, but I buy the best I can afford when I need tools. I have brand preferences, but from time to time, I have become brand loyal.

SK – Now I have had SK tools all my life. They have always been a preference, but I wouldn’t say I was “brand loyal” to SK until somewhat recently. Their handling of the issues related to the 80 tooth upgrade kits for their classic round head ratchets has turned me into a dedicated SK tools advocate. It wasn’t the free ratchet (but that was nice), or anything free. It’s the fact they reached out to me (I had no intention of doing anything really), and then once the process started, their communication has been absolutely outstanding. All this effort to make sure I was happy for something I really wasn’t going to sweat. Since then, I have diverted most of my tool buying to SK brand. I have been upgrading my pliers and was buying Crescent, but now it’s changing to SK (even though they're probably made by Crescent). The price difference isn't much at all, but the peace of mind is worth it. There are a few specialized screwdrivers I wanted,

BTO Sports (motorcycle stuff) – Here’s a company that rocks. My son received a gift bought from BTO (I wasn’t even the customer). Turns out, it didn’t fit. They sent an RMA, and shipping label for what wasn’t their fault. Then, they didn’t have what was ordered in the size he needed. They upgraded to a more expensive set of riding clothes, threw in a matching pair of gloves, and again…It was the communication. The rep called me, and then sent me daily emails to let me know the status of the orders. When it arrived, there was also a 30% discount coupon for our next order…which did get used. So for the past 8 years, ANYTHING I need that’s motorcycle related, I go to BTO first. And since my whole family rides, that’s several orders per year, and pretty big at Christmas. Prior to that, I had never even heard of them...they’re great!

I also have other brands I tend to always buy, but that’s just brand preference in my book. But when I see a company who values their customer, and treats them like they’re a family member… well that’s a company I will ALWAYS do business with.

What say you?

 

[Empty Pockets]

SK has impressed me, as well. It's all about customer service

 

[bcradio]

I don’t know about you, but I buy the best I can afford when I need tools.

That's cool and all, but the truth is you don't KNOW what the best is that you can afford (or anyone for that matter). All you can do is make educated guesses on each tool you purchase as to what that is. Then all you can do is hope that the tool meets your needs. Some people use brand names and reputations to determine this while others use friends recommendations and yet still others may use online reviews to determine this.

I use a combination of these things to determine what I think the best tool for me is.

 

[crewchief888]

That's cool and all, but the truth is you don't KNOW what the best is that you can afford (or anyone for that matter). All you can do is make educated guesses on each tool you purchase as to what that is. Then all you can do is hope that the tool meets your needs. Some people use brand names and reputations to determine this while others use friends recommendations and yet still others may use online reviews to determine this.

I use a combination of these things to determine what I think the best tool for me is.

yea i kinda do the same thing, all depends on what i'm buying, how much it's gonna get used, home use or work use...

i hesitate to buy anything without laying my grubby hands on it.

brand loyalty? not really

but there are some brands of tools that i avoid like the plague...

 

[visionguru]

The best customer service I've experienced was from IBM. When I was a poor student many years ago, I spent $4,000 for a ThinkPad with Pentium 500MHz CPU. Got a harddrive crash. One simple phone call, IBM immediately sent me a shipping box with overnight shipping, I received the box and put in my computer the next day, free overnight shipping back, 2 days later, I received my computer back, everything was cleaned and looked like new.

3 overnight shipping of a big box would cost $150+ at the time. Not sure if IBM indeed treats people better, or because I already paid for the nice customer service.

I guess it's quite similar to tools or anything. If you pay extra, you get extra, simple as that.

 

[mikebaker1129]

SK has made me loyal to their brand by sending out a couple ratchet repair kits a few years back. They were upfront about the DT80 ratchet kit issues when it came out,they did not deny or cover- up anything . They owned it and SK Eric reached out to me to let me know they will send out replacements when they get the issue sorted out.
They get a lot of flack for being slow to bring product to market, but they seem to be trying to grow slow and on solid ground. My Xframe ratchet wrenchs have been amazing with no issues to date!
I also respect that when almost all others have become "Global companies" ,they have been committed to domestic manufacture here in the USA. I also respect that they had the forethought to pull out on Sears as a supplier with Sear's ultimate demise!
I don't blame them for not wanting to get stiffed out of a large amount of product.
I miss my WF made Craftsman pliers, but I can get they same thing branded SK or Ideal in the future.
I too will continue to support them!

 

[sberry]

Doesn't matter to me as long as it works. If it will do the same job the cheaper the better, takes so much pain out of getting stuff you really need when you need it vs saving for some eventual day when.
There is a place for a few good tools, I have them but the staple is generic stuff, simple combination wrenches and don't care if they are imported or not. I have some from all of them, a handful of imports for 10$ has really saved the day and some paid for themselves at every use vs making the first payment.

 

[Gmonkee]

I first knew SK under old management during the bad times in their history. Well before Ideal rebuilt the name.

It was nothing to be proud of, probably why dad got partial sets for us so damn cheap. That stuck in my head.

Later when I was buying tools Ace hardware and Stanley were available.. The stuff -I bought never let me down. Never broke in use. Unlike my past experience with others. Decades later I can still trust in Stanley, new and old products. The just do not fail in normal use.

A move later on and Truper, Pretul and Wurth entered the game. The first has been bullet proof, the 2nd trustworthy when chosen carefully and the last had a few products with a wow factor in performance and price. Obviously not all of any brand is perfect
but I got a kit made up I won't need warranties on. Nothing breaks.


Loyalty is as solid as the product lines each offered, some long term and some newly earned.
Any of them cheap out I will just use the existing as long as possible. They should last my lifetime.

 

[ken w.]

Even though I'm a Snap On guy , I'm very impressed with SK Tools customer service. I sent in a flex head ratchet with a broken retaining ring and got a new ratchet in return. Rebuild kits get to me in 4-5 days. You can't ask for any better service than that.