Matco is starting to listen

[daveblank]

We get surveys on a regular basis. Todays survey of about 20 questions contained 3 that related to country of origin. The one that surprised me was,
Would a customer expect to pay the same, more, or less for a tool if it was non USA made. I immediately thought of the members here & checked the more box....just kidding, I checked less. Another question was if the country of origin makes a difference to our customers....yes to that one too.

Trust me, I campaign for this cause at every chance I get. Hopefully they'll get good & correct feedback from my fellow distributors. Hopefully they'll take this information & put it to good use.

Thanks for reading this & I hope that what little I can do will make a difference.

 

[cashishift]

My friends think I'm crazy for trying to find USA made tools.. they just buy whatever's cheap to get the job done.

I've found most USA made tools are of higher quality, and last longer.

 

[mrshaun]

snap on has been doing the same type of surveys.
and yes they too are listening.

 

[Avgas]

Would a customer expect to pay the same, more, or less for a tool if it was non USA made.

What kinda fckin question is that in the first place??

 

[Zrexxer]

What kinda fckin question is that in the first place??

A carefully loaded one, I suspect. There are quite a few people here that are happy to pay more for Non-USA tools... Knipex pliers, for example. You assume it means China... but it may not.

Surveys are not constructed willie-nillie, there's a lot of careful planning that goes into how questions are worded.

 

[Mickey O]

My friends think I'm crazy for trying to find USA made tools.. they just buy whatever's cheap to get the job done.

I've found most USA made tools are of higher quality, and last longer.

I'll never understand that mentality, and it's more than just the quality of tools, how about supporting the home team.

 

[Jononon]

snap on has been doing the same type of surveys.
and yes they too are listening.

No, Snap-on is not listening to the idea of producing a larger part of its range in the USA. It's a worthy campaign, but anyone who thinks it's having the slightest success is either ill-informed or delusional.

 

[daveblank]

It's a worthy campaign, but anyone who thinks it's having the slightest success is either ill-informed or delusional.

No delusions here. I saw the survey with my own eyes. This was the 1st one that I've seen that asked about the importance of the country of origin.

In other words, if they're asking--they're listening!

 

[autoace]

Since Matco is Danaher, I find it hard to imagine origin changing. KD is going Asian, as well as the Asian GearWrench line, at least the Danaher Asian tools are top notch.

 

[Merkava_4]

Would a customer expect to pay the same, more, or less for a tool if it was non USA made.

1 Chinese yuan = 0.146497 U.S. dollars

Why should an Asian tool cost the same as an American tool if their yuan is worth 14 cents to our dollar?

 

[tonydanzah]

While your talking to matco tell them to make a 88tooth 1/4 drive 8-10" locking flexhead

 

[Sokoloff]

1 Chinese yuan = 0.146497 U.S. dollars

Why should an Asian tool cost the same as an American tool if their yuan is worth 14 cents to our dollar?

If a countries currency was 1 schneech to 10 US dollars, should we expect their tools to cost 10x as much?

Or if China said, "We're retiring the yuan in favor of the yuan2 and for every 100 yuan you have, we'll give you 1 yuan2." meaning a yuan2 would be worth $14.65 US dollars. Would Chinese tools all of the sudden be 100 times more expensive in US dollars?

It's an arbitrary ratio in isolation.

 

[t100]

it's not gonna be a big difference. these companies were used to be run by mechanics and engineers, now they are run by professional corporate executives.

what's the difference? I don't know if they teach this in school. the #1 rule for a doctor/lawyer/CPA isn't to help people, "THE" #1 is: Don't do anything that will cause you to lose your license. the #1 rule for a mechanic/engineer/contractor is you can let that thing you build fall apart, someone dies, you go to hell.

now days these tool companies are publicly traded enterprises, the #1 rule for the head of these companies is: making the most money for their shareholders in the shortest time possible so he/she can be either re-elected or be hired by a bigger company with bigger power and of course bigger pay. it's a very tricky business, bigger profit doesn't mean higher company stock prices, higher quality of product doesn't mean higher-profit sometimes. company ownerships change all the time, management come and go everyday, that's the nature of how large companies run. that's a fact.

like I said before, the best tool America ever made is called "free market", if all these companies turn their production to Asia, well, I bet someone, will look at it as an opportunity to start made quality tools in the U.S. and be successful.

who knows, maybe ten years down the road Danaher would sell Matco to Walmart, and Harbor Freight will be a high-end store selling U.S. made tools only.

 

[Jononon]

I'm not suggesting the manufacturers aren't surveying on CoO. I am suggesting that the idea that it is currently impacting where Snap-on et al have their products made is fanciful.

If I received strong feedback that 'country of origin is important to our customers' and I could make, say, toolboxes in Mexico at 50% of the US production price, I'd maintain US production of premium boxes, heavily advertise their US manufacture, and take CoO information off the junior lines that I was importing. This may not be an entirely hypothetical scenario

 

[Jononon]

1 Chinese yuan = 0.146497 U.S. dollars

Why should an Asian tool cost the same as an American tool if their yuan is worth 14 cents to our dollar?

1 Swedish Kroner = 0.143019 USD

Meaningless in isolation.

ETA: As Sokoloff said.

 

[Zrexxer]

If I received strong feedback that 'country of origin is important to our customers' and I could make, say, toolboxes in Mexico at 50% of the US production price, I'd maintain US production of premium boxes, heavily advertise their US manufacture, and take CoO information off the junior lines that I was importing. This may not be an entirely hypothetical scenario

Cough*GERSTNER*Cough

 

[Merkava_4]

Or if China said, "We're retiring the yuan in favor of the yuan2 and for every 100 yuan you have, we'll give you 1 yuan2." meaning a yuan2 would be worth $14.65 US dollars. Would Chinese tools all of the sudden be 100 times more expensive in US dollars?

If their single yuan all of a sudden was worth 14.65 of our dollars, Chinese imports to this country would come to a screeching halt real quick.

 

[Rocket1]

Dave I laughed when you said we would pay more for foreign made product.

 

[old salvage]

A carefully loaded one, I suspect. There are quite a few people here that are happy to pay more for Non-USA tools... Knipex pliers, for example. You assume it means China... but it may not.

Surveys are not constructed willie-nillie, there's a lot of careful planning that goes into how questions are worded.

It also assumes everyone will buy an import tool.

 

[t100]

No delusions here. I saw the survey with my own eyes. This was the 1st one that I've seen that asked about the importance of the country of origin.

In other words, if they're asking--they're listening!

Dave,

do you know how they gonna use the survey data?

for example, let's say there are 3000 dealers like you in the U.S., 2/3 of them say CoO is important, 1/3 say not. they can say "as we expected, 1000 of the dealers surveyed don't see their customers care about where the tools are made, let's go ahead move forward outsourcing more production to overseas as we planned."

 

[mrpowderkeg]

I'm glad that some companies are listening. I will not buy any more tools made in china, I'll consider something from Germany, Canada, or the UK... That's about it. As a matter of fact I need to get a new Jacobs Chuck, so I can get one that's still made here... cause I've got an email confirming that they are going overseas... Am I **** about this? yup you bet.

 

[daveblank]

Dave,

do you know how they gonna use the survey data?

for example, let's say there are 3000 dealers like you in the U.S., 2/3 of them say CoO is important, 1/3 say not. they can say "as we expected, 1000 of the dealers surveyed don't see their customers care about where the tools are made, let's go ahead move forward outsourcing more production to overseas as we planned."

I don't have a clue how they'll use it. I just figured since it was a hot topic here, I'd share that they are at least wondering if it makes a difference.

 

[norry]

Thanks for sharing it. Something for Matco to consider is that if Snap-on starts moving production to China, and Matco could advertise "We do NOT make stuff in China," you might be able to grab some market share that way. It would sure get my attention.

 

[t100]

I don't have a clue how they'll use it. I just figured since it was a hot topic here, I'd share that they are at least wondering if it makes a difference.

make sure to ask for a copy of survey report.

 

[Joe H]

While I am not a big "everything I own has to be made in the USA" kind of guy, I do think it is utterly ridiculous that the big tool companies want to charge us the same old made in USA type prices for tools that are made in Asia. It costs them a lot less to make but they want to still charge us the same? Seems kind of crappy to me.

 

[krusty the clown]

it's about time they started to listen........

 

[Fedwrench]

The survey is a nice step towards gathering information on what the customers want. However, the reality is all of the tool trucks are hurting some because most techs across the country are flagging fewer hours. If there is no money for techs to cover the household bills, there's no money to pay the tool guy. People may be keeping their cars longer but, that doesn't mean they're fixing their heaps. In my area the number of cars disabled on the road has at least doubled in part from people neglecting their cars.
The other reality is the tool company's bottom line. As the recent SK labor dispute showed, manufacturers are trying to cut costs wherever possible. A company may ask about country of origin but, when it comes down to it, will they choose US made over imported if it costs more to make, I don't think so. We are so fickle that we ***** about imported tools but, drive imported cars.

 

[chromemoly]

I do think it is utterly ridiculous that the big tool companies want to charge us the same old made in USA type prices for tools that are made in Asia. It costs them a lot less to make but they want to still charge us the same?

There just trying to keep there doors open and recoup from what they have lost and are still losing in this time of economic crisis. At least that is what I keep telling myself. I just bought my first Matco ratchet not too long ago from wrenchr, and I love it......I am now waiting on another one to arrive, hopefully they will keep most of there stuff US as I like there quality and feel......NiCe

 

[chromemoly]

We are so fickle that we ***** about imported tools but, drive imported cars.

What a Coincidence, my feet drive import shoes

 

[Joe H]

For me it is just too tough of a pill to swallow. If am paying Snap-On, Matco, Mac, Cornwell, etc. prices I expect made in the USA products. If I am getting good quality Asian tools I expect the pricing to be more in line with Gearwrench, Toptul, Genius, etc.

 

[krusty the clown]

There just trying to keep there doors open and recoup from what they have lost and are still losing in this time of economic crisis.

it started way before the current economic problem. it's simply a way to make more money for the stockholders who could care about anything except how the stock performs. they want money NOW and don't give a rats *** about quality or warranty rates, they will sell off the stock and move on and let someone else clean up thier mess.

 

[Rigmaster]

1 Chinese yuan = 0.146497 U.S. dollars

Why should an Asian tool cost the same as an American tool if their yuan is worth 14 cents to our dollar?

If their single yuan all of a sudden was worth 14.65 of our dollars, Chinese imports to this country would come to a screeching halt real quick.

Merk, stop, please.


Your examples make no sense at all, I think I know what you're getting at, but you need to come up with a better way to say it.

 

[autoace]

The survey is a nice step towards gathering information on what the customers want. However, the reality is all of the tool trucks are hurting some because most techs across the country are flagging fewer hours. If there is no money for techs to cover the household bills, there's no money to pay the tool guy. People may be keeping their cars longer but, that doesn't mean they're fixing their heaps. In my area the number of cars disabled on the road has at least doubled in part from people neglecting their cars.
The other reality is the tool company's bottom line. As the recent SK labor dispute showed, manufacturers are trying to cut costs wherever possible. A company may ask about country of origin but, when it comes down to it, will they choose US made over imported if it costs more to make, I don't think so. We are so fickle that we ***** about imported tools but, drive imported cars.

There is no such things as domestic or imported cars anymore, domestics are made of many foreign parts, foreign cars are made here is some cases, and GM to VW get alot done in Mexico. There is no way to buy a USA, Japan, European............100% purebred anything in cars theses days. I bet even the high dollar Italian cars are made with out sourced parts.

 

[oldtools]

The survey ain't gonna do much. Shareholder return is top priority which mean high profit margin which mean production in China. Don't worry though. China labor rate is increasing so they will move production to India, Paskistan, Afganhistan, etc...

 

[daveblank]

make sure to ask for a copy of survey report.

They've never given them to us. We're mushrooms!