Missing Snap On dealer part 2

[scott37300]

I find it humorous, as well as ironic, that a Snap-On distributor would take up for a company that has exhibited poor customer while having a link in his signature that shows his experiences with a company that exhibits poor customer service.

Both of the snap on dealers on this site are good guys that take the time to share lots of good info. They have only stated the facts. I am not a die hard snap on fan but do like some of their tools. The bottom line is that the dealer screwd this guy over. Snap on doesn't have any obligation to the OP, but I would have thought snap on would have tried a little harder to figure this out and make the OP happy. Even though snap on doesn't have an obligation, I. Would think they would want to re assure the OP that when something like this happens they will not leave him hanging. When a dealer pulls something like this and the OP is left hanging, I would sure think twice about buying snap on tools again.

 

[jeffk14]

Hell Icant even park my tool truck at the local sears store. they meet me at the door and tell me to get the hell out of their area. Gotta love a company that does that to someone who was looking for a new dishwasher. Lowes got my money along with a carpet sale and a new dryer. way to go sears.

Now that's some crazy 5h1t right there. I think I would have gone up the management chain on that one. AFTER I bought my dishwasher elsewhere.

 

[Davefr]

I don't blame them one bit. If I was in the tool business I wouldn't let my competitor park and advertise in my parking lot either.

But apparently Sears makes exception at the Auto Service Center. The techs there seem to buy more SO tools then Sears Craftsman tools.

There are images of SO trucks selling to the Sears auto center techs.

 

[Daddy_Rabbit]

I do not recall seeing one positive thing come from any of your posts. Someone must piss in your cheerios every morning.

and what exactly does this have to do with the subject at hand?

more than once I have seen you resort to personal attacks when someone rebuts to one of your comments and you do not agree. please show me where I have done the same.

p.s. - if you do not like my posts, feel free to add me to your ignore list.

 

[MattT]

what i DO understand is that snap-on charges AT LEAST 4x what i can buy the SAME craftsman wrench for...i can exchange those in the same DAY - even if my closest store doesnt have it, i can go to the next closest.

Folks don't buy professional tools because their warranty is better than Craftsman. They buy 'em because they're less likely to need warrantied. There's a reason everyone knows how wonderful Sears warranty is

you pay a premium to wait 3-8 weeks for a waranty exchange - AND you pay to send it in

It was only $5 for a flat rate box and took all of 10 minutes. Closest decent sized Sears to me is a 3 hour round trip. Do Sears reimburse mileage for all the trips you make to their stores?

 

[mrshaun]

the guys at the service center meet one of us 3 dealers in town when they need something. they are not allowed on the trucks at all. .

 

[Daddy_Rabbit]

the guys at the service center meet one of us 3 dealers in town when they need something. they are not allowed on the trucks at all. .

so you were upset because Sears won't let you park and advertise your Snap On truck in their parking lot yet you won't let Sear's service techs on your Snap On truck?

Is that correct?

 

[jeffk14]

so you were upset because Sears won't let you park and advertise your Snap On truck in their parking lot yet you won't let Sear's service techs on your Snap On truck?

Is that correct?

I think he means Sears won't let their techs on his truck when they're at work. I don't see how you came to any other conclusion, really.

Idiot lower and middle managers make the same mistakes over and over again. By making some insignificant thing the "forbidden fruit" they induce rebellion in the ranks. I bet that the Sears techs buy just as many S/O tools sneaking around as they would if these idiot pea-brained managers would just let them go on the damned truck.

If Sears were serious about this, they'd PROVIDE everything that the techs need (Craftsman, of course) and not allow any other tools on the property. Oh wait, can't do that! THAT would cost a little bit of MONEY. Idiots.

Well, I'm done now. I think. How's THAT for rambling off of the original topic???

 

[Daddy_Rabbit]

gotcha.

 

[bushpilot]

Folks don't buy professional tools because their warranty is better than Craftsman. They buy 'em because they're less likely to need warrantied. There's a reason everyone knows how wonderful Sears warranty is

couldnt agree more & in 30+ years of wrenching i havent broken a craftsman
wrench YET - ive busted a couple of pin/punches (ground 'em down, used 'em
and returned/exchanged 'em)...on my LUNCH hour...but that was tool abuse,
even in MY pea sized brain.

i rounded off some phillips bits and snapped the tip of a screw driver...
but again cause i was too lazy to get the PROPER sized screw driver
or was using the tool for a job it was NEVER intended to be used for

i even broke a 3/8s ratchet once...but thats cause i had a 4ft FORK TUBE
on the end of it using it as a breaker bar...again abuse/mis-use...everyone
of 'em was replaced on my lunch hour, no questions asked !

It was only $5 for a flat rate box and took all of 10 minutes. Closest decent sized Sears to me is a 3 hour round trip. Do Sears reimburse mileage for all the trips you make to their stores?

yup...as i said, SO knows their <captive> audience !

 

[bushpilot]

Idiot lower and middle managers make the same mistakes over and over again. By making some insignificant thing the "forbidden fruit" they induce rebellion in the ranks. I bet that the Sears techs buy just as many S/O tools sneaking around as they would if these idiot pea-brained managers would just let them go on the damned truck.

if a SEARS employee is doing this he's only hurting himself - after all
hes only hurting his own employers longevity ! Even if a sears employee
doesnt actually OWN stock, he/she is STILL a share holder - they get
a discount <thanks to their employer> - seems to me they should
SUPPORT their employer (assuming the tools are available for purchase
and equal quality...which i believe they are)

In my mind, if your a sears employee buying non sears tools youre looking
to be UNEMPLOYED and showing a lack of confidence in your employer !

I work for a software company - i dont use a competing companies
products (it's the equivalent of putting myself out of a job) !

If Sears were serious about this, they'd PROVIDE everything that the techs need (Craftsman, of course) and not allow any other tools on the property. Oh wait, can't do that! THAT would cost a little bit of MONEY. Idiots.

you willing to hold pepboys and other independent shops to the
same requirement ? they make employees buy uniforms...why dont
they jsut give 'em to them ?

if im a mechanic - for a shop - why am i expected to supply my own tools ?
my software company <today> doesnt expect me to bring my own laptop !

 

[chadster1]

.... in 30+ years of wrenching......


.....

....I work for a software company ......

Are you a professional mechanic or a software engineer?

 

[jeffk14]

In my mind, if your a sears employee buying non sears tools youre looking
to be UNEMPLOYED and showing a lack of confidence in your employer !

I work for a software company - i dont use a competing companies
products (it's the equivalent of putting myself out of a job)

I'm glad you're such a loyal employee, but if you work for ANY large corporation, you can bet your sweet *** that that loyalty is a one-way street.

Your logic about the uniforms is flawed. I didn't say Sears should purchase techs' tools. I said that they should do that if they had a problem with their techs using other brands of tools.

Mechanics tend to think of themselves as professionals. I know I do. I don't need some ******** idiot who's not PROVIDING my tools of the trade (and probably has no idea what my job involves) micromanaging where I source those tools from.

 

[daveblank]

For a large portion of my route, the nearest Sears is 30 miles away. For one town in my route, its probably 60 miles to the nearest Sears. You are obviously lucky enough to live in close proximity to a Sears and dont mind dealing with the traffic and parking issues of going to the nearest shopping mall.

Come on Chad, everyone wants to go to Town East Mall this time of the year!

 

[bushpilot]

Are you a professional mechanic or a software engineer?

you might do good to remember some of my short post/history - youre running out of FUD <quickly> !

are you a SALESMEN or a Professional Mechanic ?

 

[bushpilot]

Come on Chad, everyone wants to go to Town East Mall this time of the year!

I'll choose that over waiting 8 weeks for a replacement !

 

[seagravedriver]

This is a sadly amazing post to sit down and read. Reminds me of road rage. Ordinary people doing and saying things when they are behind the wheel that they probably not do face to face.

 

[JC23]

This is a sadly amazing post to sit down and read. Reminds me of road rage. Ordinary people doing and saying things when they are behind the wheel that they probably not do face to face.

yeah. Kinda like a Facebook ******* contest...

 

[bushpilot]

i state my opinion no different here than i would in person !

i think snap on prices are ridiculous & their distribution model
leaves LOTS to be desired. IMO they are not the end all be
all that so many make them out to be !

 

[chadster1]

you might do good to remember some of my short post/history - youre running out of FUD <quickly> !

are you a SALESMEN or a Professional Mechanic ?

I'm not sure what FUD means. It seems that you took my simple question as a personal attack. I was just trying to figure out your persepctive. Usually someone who posts about how long they have been wrenching is a professional. I see from just glancing at some of your previous posts that you are a shadetree mechanic (your words).

 

[Davefr]

I'm still awaiting an update from the OP.

Is corp. trying to help him or have they told him he's on his own.

 

[mikester]

The local SO guy vanished near the end of the summer. He was taking the cash and pocketing it. Ive heard rumors that Snap Ons looking for him and hes got the truck stashed somewhere. Some of the guys that I know were lucky to have saved receipts from all the purchases they made.

 

[Daddy_Rabbit]

This is a sadly amazing post to sit down and read. Reminds me of road rage. Ordinary people doing and saying things when they are behind the wheel that they probably not do face to face.

says some anonymous guy on a back-woods internet message board ...

 

[bushpilot]

I'm not sure what FUD means.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=FUD

 

[MattT]

Are you a professional mechanic or a software engineer?

Did you really need to ask that

just a shadetree / diy'er here....own a couple motorcycles, a couple diesels - f350 & 300cd and a couple gassers - miata & subaru

I cant afford to take the stuff to a shop <sometimes i have to> - so i
twist the occasional wrench just to get away from the boredom of my
day job (server virtualization) !

 

[jeffk14]

i think snap on prices are ridiculous & their distribution model
leaves LOTS to be desired.

There's no arguing with that. As I've stated elsewhere, their "business model" IMHO is not long for this world. It's grossly outdated. I don't hate the tools or the folks who sell them though. They're danged nice tools. I even own a fair amount of S/O stuff, even though I haven't bought any in over 20 years.

In aviation, there's just not an ongoing demand to get new tools. You buy your SAE stuff and other common hand tools with a few specialty items thrown in when you're young and use them forever.

The trucks still have some "specialty-highpriced-wigglywobbly-timesaving-get-up-under-yonder" items that the auto techs need but even some of those type items are now becoming available from cheaper sources.

 

[daveblank]

I'll choose that over waiting 8 weeks for a replacement !

That's 1 mall you won't want to visit this time of year. It served the east side of the Dallas metroplex & it's suburbs. People drive from 60+ miles out to come here. The last time I showed up during the season, it took an hour to get from the street entrance to the parking area in front of the sears. It gets crowded enough there, that traffic jams will occur on US80 & I635 for miles.

 

[Davefr]

There's no arguing with that. As I've stated elsewhere, their "business model" IMHO is not long for this world. It's grossly outdated.

I think SO was touting APAC as a high growth area for them in the future. (ex: major growth in autos in China, etc)

I'm curious if the same SO pricing model will result in success over there. I just can't see a Chinese auto. tech. paying the huge prices for SO when that country is flooded with lower cost alternatives.

 

[jeffk14]

I think SO was touting APAC as a high growth area for them in the future. (ex: major growth in autos in China, etc)

I'm curious if the same SO pricing model will result in success over there. I just can't see a Chinese auto. tech. paying the huge prices for SO when that country is flooded with lower cost alternatives.

Hey, have you noticed? We're pretty "flooded with lower cost alternatives" here too!

 

[chadster1]

I think SO was touting APAC as a high growth area for them in the future. (ex: major growth in autos in China, etc)

I'm curious if the same SO pricing model will result in success over there. I just can't see a Chinese auto. tech. paying the huge prices for SO when that country is flooded with lower cost alternatives.

In a LOT of other countries, the employer provides the tools for the auto mechanic. Its a totally different business model.

 

[Robert Haas]

Snap On has asked me to be patient. I am sure trying to do so.

FYI, I will continue to buy, use and desire snap on tools. They are that good IMHO.

 

[Davefr]

In a LOT of other countries, the employer provides the tools for the auto mechanic. Its a totally different business model.

That's interesting. The US model for techs supplying their own tools is very wasteful. If a dealership has 10 techs and each tech has their own full set of tools then there's a huge tool investment waste since it's unlikely each tech needs the same tools at the same time.

I know some companies have tool cribs where techs check out the companies owned tools. That doesn't seem pefect unless the tasks can accurately predict the tools needed. It's wasteful for techs to run back and forth to the tool crib. (a factory can probably use this model but I doubt it would work well for automotive service).

In HVAC the techs usually supply their own small hand tools. (sometimes with a company allowance). The expensive tools are supplied by the company.

Now if an employer totally distributes tools for the techs to use I bet there would be a lot of theft. Im curious how this works in other countries?

However this is way off topic!!

 

[MattT]

I know some companies have tool cribs where techs check out the companies owned tools. That doesn't seem pefect unless the tasks can accurately predict the tools needed. It's wasteful for techs to run back and forth to the tool crib. (a factory can probably use this model but I doubt it would work well for automotive service).

Every plant I've worked in that had a maintenance tool crib it was only for higher dollar occasional use stuff. Guys would have their own regular use tools.

FWIW I think some dealerships operate a similar, crib, system for some specialty stuff.

 

[BillK]

Anything new on this one ??

 

[larry_g]

That's interesting. The US model for techs supplying their own tools is very wasteful. If a dealership has 10 techs and each tech has their own full set of tools then there's a huge tool investment waste since it's unlikely each tech needs the same tools at the same time.



Now if an employer totally distributes tools for the techs to use I bet there would be a lot of theft. Im curious how this works in other countries?

However this is way off topic!!

I spent 30 years in the hitech manufacturing here in Oregon. All tools were provided by the company. Each tech was given a basic tool set and as skills and job requirements expanded so did the tool box. We treated that box as our own and if tools were not in it as we required then we did not get the job done and it reflected in our performance, so theft was minor. My only regret was that I could not talk them into giving me my box as a retirement bonus..

lg
no neat sig line

 

[wrencheshurt]

Its hard to believe that grown men really be as petty as this. Everyone on here always wants to play the "Boy Scout" role, nobody is perfect. The constant villanizing of the Snap-on man on this website is truly nauseating. For a bunch of guys that hate the product you sure do talk about it incessantly, Snap-on was around before you and it will be after you. We don't need you ******* and moaning and always thinking your important and special on the truck demanding freebies because you paid a retail price.
For the Dealers, I appreciate what you do, thanks for always putting up with with these divas with a great attitude.

 

[nissan_crawler]

In my experence they are out to pile on debt to guys that make not enough anyway. And they love to pray on the kids. A little story: So here is a guy right out of tech school newly married, making a house payment, and about the same to the truck guy...and he just found out that he and his wife are having their first baby. Yes the guy bought the tools, but they where tools that he did not need, they where just shiny and new, the old craftsman and hand-me-down tools he had did his job just fine, but that SO man fed him such a line of BS about productivity and such that nice new orgnizied tools bring...this kid bought it hook line and sinker. He started doing work for used cars just to make extra money, family life started to suffer and one day he put a bullet in his head.....and you know after all that the SO man went after the ex-wife to get his money and the tools back.

Sorry, doesn't sound like it was much of a loss to me. Only one person to blame there, and it was the one that ventilated their skull.

I don't think you understand how dealer service works. They don't drop everything and rush across town when you break something. You get your warranty replacements on the next scheduled visit for the most part.

It's very unlikely you'll break the only tool you can use to finish a job. First pass you use what's easiest, fastest, or closest and if that doesn't work try a different tool.

I call my dealer's cell phone as soon as I break a tool, and leave a message so it can be ordered before the next visit, if need be. She lives in another town, had one in stock that I really needed, and on her day off, delivered it to me at work on her way to her daughter's softball game.

Last month, I got a few tool sets, and once I got back to my box, discovered that two tools were damaged. I called her cell, told her, and she sent them in with another mechanic, and told me to just get the other ones to her next time.

In the 6 years I've dealt with her, she's probably made a special delivery for me 15 times.

So, some dealers will go out of their way.

The dealer before her, I walked on his truck once, asked about a bunch of prices, and picked out about $120 of stuff. He gave me a sneer, and said "after all that, that's ALL you're going to buy?!". My reply was "No, I'm not f'ing buying anything from you! I wanted to know the prices so I could save up for them, idiot.". I dropped the tools on the floor of his truck and walked out. I was 19, and spending over 20% of my weeks pay, I expected a little respect.

As for the OP, call it a wash and forget about it until he decides to surface. Buy the tools elsewhere, and if he shows up, give him his $75.

 

[catfish]

I think SO was touting APAC as a high growth area for them in the future. (ex: major growth in autos in China, etc)

It's unlikely IMO , did anyone see they cut the allowance for new car registration in Shanghai to 1/3 of the last years figure?

 

[MrMark]

Snap on may seem like it is acting poorly, but the legal reality for SO is that it has to tread lightly in this area and it can't really tell the customer much about why it is treading lightly. Although SO could have done a better job communicating to Mr. Haas, who is a very good customer.

The legal question of whether a franchisor can be held responsible for the actions of its franchisees is not so clear cut as one of the dealers posted. There are numerous exceptions to the general rules of legal independence. It depends on the facts: what did SO do, what did it know, when did it know it? Did SO continue to allow a franchisee to operate that it knew was harming customers? Did SO not enforce its franchise agreement? And most importantly here, did SO take actions that showed it was legally responsible for the actions of its franchisee?

The problem for SO is that it has to try to maintain the legal separation that exists by virtue of the franchise agreement between SO and its franchisee so that it cannot be held responsible for the franchisee's bad acts, as it would be held liable in the case of an employee it could control. The reality is that it would be sued anyway, but it would have stronger arguments with facts that showed that this dealer was truly independent. If SO takes over and makes Mr. Haas whole, it begins to take away from the distinction between franchisee and SO.

You have to remember that it is not just this one situation that SO has have to think about. Anything SO does with regard to Mr. Haas is discoverable in future cases where dealers have injured consumers and SO is brought into court on it.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

That's interesting. The US model for techs supplying their own tools is very wasteful. If a dealership has 10 techs and each tech has their own full set of tools then there's a huge tool investment waste since it's unlikely each tech needs the same tools at the same time.

I know some companies have tool cribs where techs check out the companies owned tools. That doesn't seem pefect unless the tasks can accurately predict the tools needed. It's wasteful for techs to run back and forth to the tool crib. (a factory can probably use this model but I doubt it would work well for automotive service).

In HVAC the techs usually supply their own small hand tools. (sometimes with a company allowance). The expensive tools are supplied by the company.

Now if an employer totally distributes tools for the techs to use I bet there would be a lot of theft. Im curious how this works in other countries?

However this is way off topic!!

Employers providing tools thru a tool room for every little thing is crazy. Its not efficient, and as you can see on this board, everyone has personal preferences as to the type and feel of wrench or tool to do a job. Handing them a few tools and expecting them to do the job, "thats it, you don't get anything else" is simply tying their hands behind their backs.

What you are describing does NOT work in a Maintenance and repair environment. In a PRODUCTION environment it works well. Hand the guy a tool kit will all the stuff to do a certain job, because you can predict what he will need, but in a repair there is no telling, too many variables, dirt, rust, non standard configuration, damaged or non functional components, things that contribute to the need for a different tool every time you do the same job.

Charles