My Matco guy ***** major leaague balls

[bry@n]

can't get a return call. Waiting on a 22mm wrench for warranty, need to order something, wrench rack he sold me has a crack....

not big deals at all but when the guy can't even return a damn call, that's just rediculous!

This is why almost all of my stuff is SO.

 

[1loudsuv]

My snap on guy is terrible, I buy about $200-300 every week of stuff from him and pay him off the next but most of the time the stuff I order takes 2-3 weeks to get to me...

I even wanted to get a snap on box and he said I didn't qualify... Bs I have good credit so I called my old dealer from my old shop and now I'm buying from him and he financed me a box no hassles.....


So it's not just matco snap on does it to but it's neither snap one or Marcos fault their sales person ****

 

[rgates]

I think it is more about the dealer then the brand. I have had my share of problems with SO dealers. If you are lucky enough to have other dealers available, switch.

 

[bry@n]

Has nothing to do with the brand. The guy just plain *****.

He has alwasy been bad with calls. I would get on the truck to warranty a wrench and he'd have to order it. Its a wrench, should be on the truck. I don't have actual shop, so I have to meet him and he's flaky at best. This happened 2 weeks ago and I was ready to lose it and he called back. Lame excuse why he didn't answer.

This time, I've lost my patients.

 

[-B-]

Call Matco or whom ever the brands toos are customer service and ask why the dealer treats you this way. I be thing will instantly get better or you will have anew driver you guys need to stap taking this crappy customer service and do something about it.

 

[bry@n]

Call Matco or whom ever the brands toos are customer service and ask why the dealer treats you this way. I be thing will instantly get better or you will have anew driver you guys need to stap taking this crappy customer service and do something about it.

I have every intention of doing so. Just called Matco but they are closed till monday.

 

[Diesel_Crawler]

It's a real shame, Due to bad dealers the brand them selves get a bad rap for it.

But at least you have a dealer, I have to order all my Matco stuff over the phone.

 

[bchee]

I don't have actual shop, so I have to meet him and he's flaky at best.

I think this is the biggest problem right here. I had the same experience with a Snap on guy; I went to meet him. If you don't have a shop you're not worth their time.

 

[litljay]

Does anybody know the potential income of a SO or Matco truck? A couple years ago, I had a friend that wanted to do it, but he didn't have any cash and came to me to be a "partner".
I told him to do the research and lets look at it. He got a promotion (and raise) at his job about a week later, so everything stopped there.

I know it's dependent on the route, customers, etc., but was just looking for a round number.

 

[Stick Figure]

When i had my own shop i had to use mostly craftsman stuff. The tools guys wouldn't stop by for a single tech that wasn't buying 100's a week from them. The shop i'm at now, the cornwell guy was just crazy high prices, MAC won't show up even if you beg the guy, The first couple snap on guys were flakes at best, the Matco guy was always pretty good and ended up getting like $3500 from me last year, but since the economy has taken its down turn, he's not been stopping by and wasn't able to get a few things i ordered. Luckily the current Snap On guy is pretty good about stopping by and has been getting everything i ask for in pretty quick time frames. These companies really need to figure out a better way to take care of some of the customers in situations that don't involve 20+ employee shops

 

[Merkava_4]

What I wish is that the tool truck websites had all the dealers listed right on the site - as opposed to having to call and ask customer service all the time.

 

[rsanter]

I had a great SO guy and then moved shops which switched which dealer I was dealing with. the new dealer was an *** so I refued to deal with him and just dealt with my previous dealer after hours (he lived fairly close to me)
somehow the new dealer found out about it and complained. my prefered SO dealer told me that they were going to be taking any money he made from sales to me and giving it to the other dealer. I told him to tell the regional manager that if they do that I will not buy SO and will switch over to MAC, and told him to give them my phone number if they needed clairification on why I dont like the 'new' SO dealer.
my dealer told be that the regional decided not to move any profits and said that my prefered dealer could continue working with me

bob

 

[daveblank]

I would get on the truck to warranty a wrench and he'd have to order it. Its a wrench, should be on the truck.

Think of it this way. NO distributor can stock everything. I don't keep a 22mm in stock. I've never even had a request for one. I stock what I sell & what I feel will sell.

But at least you have a dealer, I have to order all my Matco stuff over the phone.

Forget the phone, use my website!

What I wish is that the tool truck websites had all the dealers listed right on the site - as opposed to having to call and ask customer service all the time.

Believe it or not, I can't get a list of Matco distributors. If they aren't in my district, it takes a call for me too. I wish it was easier too.

 

[sonexer]

You could set your watch by my area Matco guy. I do not work at a shop but I meet him at one of his last stops of the day about twice a month. He is there every time on time. I maybe spend $200 a month and he appears very happy for my business. Always a discount for paying cash and he takes a lot of time with me answering my questions. No complaints here. I guess that is why he has been with Matco for 15+ years.

 

[Elroy]

What I wish is that the tool truck websites had all the dealers listed right on the site - as opposed to having to call and ask customer service all the time.

How true. Elroy recently had a warranty claim with Cornwell. Contacted Cornwell direct and took them two days to put Elroy in touch with the district manager.

Three days later the district manager put Elroy in touch with the "local" distributor who was on the other side of the state.

The distributor returned Elroy's e-mail the same day.

Could have saved at least 5 days with an on line listing of distributors

 

[krusty the clown]

I think this is the biggest problem right here. I had the same experience with a Snap on guy; I went to meet him. If you don't have a shop you're not worth their time.

both snap on and cornwell come to my house............

matco doesn't, i have had to start paying them online.

 

[bowtie3]

Sometimes I feel like we are a little hard on these dealers. I would think for the most part these guys are not independently wealthy and make decisions based on a number of things. They are not Wal-Mart where they get paid for everything as you leave the store, they have to balance sales with the amount of money they collect. I would think the tool business would be about the only business you could put yourself out of business by selling too much, If you sell to much or don't collect enough, your done. They have to try to determine how much inventory they can afford to stock and which items will move fast. They have to try to have a life away from the business, so maybe they can't stop at every house on the route after hours. They have to decide who to trust and who not to trust. Put all that plus alot of pressure from big, business related debt and I don't think a lot of us would want to be in their shoes. These guys are just small business guys with everything on the line, I would say alot of them don't even take vacations because when they do the store is closed and they can't afford that. People make the decisions they do for a reason and we should respect that, because we don't really know the the whole story.

 

[Skyline]

My snap on guy is terrible, I buy about $200-300 every week of stuff from him and pay him off the next but most of the time the stuff I order takes 2-3 weeks to get to me...

I even wanted to get a snap on box and he said I didn't qualify... Bs I have good credit so I called my old dealer from my old shop and now I'm buying from him and he financed me a box no hassles.....


So it's not just matco snap on does it to but it's neither snap one or Marcos fault their sales person ****

First of all, you sound like a dream customer...buying $10-15k per year. So I can't imagine why you would not be getting the best possible service.

As far as one dealer financing a box, and another not....I would assume that if you went through Snap-on credit, the answer would be the same no matter what dealer you went through. However, many dealers will sell a box on "truck credit" and if done that way, the dealer is totally on the hook; not only if you don't pay, but also for the cash flow outlay. Some dealers are more able to take that kind of financial hit than others. $10k plus for for a box big enough for all the tools you're buying is a huge hit for a dealer's cash flow. If your old dealer used Snap-on credit to get you the box...I would agree that the new dealer is an idiot.

 

[autoace]

I have never had a MATCO dealer in my parts. I have some MATCO tools,and I have found MATCO easy to deal with via. online etc....

What I find hard to believe is you broke a 22mm MATCO wrench. I have never broke a MATCO, Cornwell, Snap-on or even Craftsman wrench. I broke a MAC 22mm on a tie rod once, was just a fluke, it can happen.

Do you buy from this dealer regularly? if you don't that is why your service is bad, if you don't patron the dealer, just warranty through corporate MATCO, and let the dealer do his job. If you are a regular, I would give the guy at least a week, or 2 before I bitched about it.

good luck

 

[porschedude996TT]

There are few good SO and MAC dealers now days. They seem to be the best they can be or they are just slugs. I wish they worked for tips like in a restaurant. That would weed out the bad ones.

 

[bowtie3]

There are few good SO and MAC dealers now days. They seem to be the best they can be or they are just slugs. I wish they worked for tips like in a restaurant. That would weed out the bad ones.

They do work for tips, so to speak. They do not work for the company's they are selling for. They buy the truck, tools and finance their customers purchases. If they don't take care of the customers that take care of them they will be weeded out. I don't have any problem at all with them taking care of their regular customers; because they are the ones putting food on their table. Its just like auto parts stores, they deliver and give discounts to shops around their store, they do not deliver or discount to "Joe" that just walks in off the street.

 

[Stick Figure]

essentially they do work for tips, 90% of the time its not a matter of tool quality (between the trucks anyway) that makes my buying decision its who is driving the truck, and if i think they are going to be around for any warranty needs, as well as how long it takes to get in things that are ordered. If company A's franchise operator is worthless, then i am buying from company B. If company A looses that person and replaces him, then i will re-evaluate the situation. I still really wish there was at least a single warehouse type store that i could go to on a weekend to do some shopping, or exchanges etc. If i were on a farm in a rural area, i would understand, but it seems odd to me that being in the outside of the LA area, that there isn't more available even in a 50 mile radius. I would be happy w/ one sears, or even a harbor freight that even stocked more than just the basics, finding a good selection of SK product would be amazing!

 

[G1GRANDEUR]

its not the company, its the guy that makes company look bad.

our snap-on guy **** too. everybody hates him. over-price, picky on replacement tools,

however, SK guy is very nice. reasonable price, friendly.

 

[bchee]

both snap on and cornwell come to my house............

matco doesn't, i have had to start paying them online.

How in the world do you get them to go to your house?

What I wish is that the tool truck websites had all the dealers listed right on the site - as opposed to having to call and ask customer service all the time.

I wonder if there is high turnover, or somehow the routes changes so frequently that they make you call.

 

[krusty the clown]

How in the world do you get them to go to your house?

the snap on guy comes by because i buy and pay well (he say's i'm his best customer) he's also a harley rider and comes by on the weekends from time to time to have a few beverages.

the cornwell lady is an old friend, she comes every other week. i have been dealing with her for 15 years

the matco guy won't even come by to collect his money and i owe them $4500.

to snap on and cornwell i'm just like any other small shop in the country.

 

[bchee]

the cornwell lady is an old friend, she comes every other week.

That's good to know, but how often does she go to your house with the truck?

to snap on and cornwell i'm just like any other small shop in the country.

There's no way I could spend enough to make it worth their time to stop by.

 

[-B-]

Sometimes I feel like we are a little hard on these dealers. I would think for the most part these guys are not independently wealthy and make decisions based on a number of things. They are not Wal-Mart where they get paid for everything as you leave the store, they have to balance sales with the amount of money they collect. I would think the tool business would be about the only business you could put yourself out of business by selling too much, If you sell to much or don't collect enough, your done. They have to try to determine how much inventory they can afford to stock and which items will move fast. They have to try to have a life away from the business, so maybe they can't stop at every house on the route after hours. They have to decide who to trust and who not to trust. Put all that plus alot of pressure from big, business related debt and I don't think a lot of us would want to be in their shoes. These guys are just small business guys with everything on the line, I would say alot of them don't even take vacations because when they do the store is closed and they can't afford that. People make the decisions they do for a reason and we should respect that, because we don't really know the the whole story.

bull i do not think you really know what big business is it solely relies on good to great customer service. Why is is that Granger , MSC, and Fastenal can get warranty replacements or restock/ fill an order in 24 hrs. It is not because of their superior dealer/ warehouse network. The tool truck companies dwarf them in dealers and warehouses it is because they all work for the same company not individually like there tool dealers. Once coperate knows of a shotty dealer and it is effecting their customer service it will ether be the end of the dealer or a whole new attitude out of the dealer. This goes for any chain or big label companies you need to push the buttons if you are not being served correctly. If you have to dial customer service right there on the spot. ( this works well in chain restaurants as it effects managers bonus wholly) big business want a good customer interface if a bad one is found and a customer finds/ reports it is is usually fixed intimidately.

 

[Vinko]

What I find hard to believe is you broke a 22mm MATCO wrench.

Yes, how did you break it?

 

[daveblank]

Sometimes I feel like we are a little hard on these dealers. I would think for the most part these guys are not independently wealthy and make decisions based on a number of things. They are not Wal-Mart where they get paid for everything as you leave the store, they have to balance sales with the amount of money they collect. I would think the tool business would be about the only business you could put yourself out of business by selling too much, If you sell to much or don't collect enough, your done. They have to try to determine how much inventory they can afford to stock and which items will move fast. They have to try to have a life away from the business, so maybe they can't stop at every house on the route after hours. They have to decide who to trust and who not to trust. Put all that plus alot of pressure from big, business related debt and I don't think a lot of us would want to be in their shoes. These guys are just small business guys with everything on the line, I would say alot of them don't even take vacations because when they do the store is closed and they can't afford that. People make the decisions they do for a reason and we should respect that, because we don't really know the the whole story.

First of all, you sound like a dream customer...buying $10-15k per year. So I can't imagine why you would not be getting the best possible service.

As far as one dealer financing a box, and another not....I would assume that if you went through Snap-on credit, the answer would be the same no matter what dealer you went through. However, many dealers will sell a box on "truck credit" and if done that way, the dealer is totally on the hook; not only if you don't pay, but also for the cash flow outlay. Some dealers are more able to take that kind of financial hit than others. $10k plus for for a box big enough for all the tools you're buying is a huge hit for a dealer's cash flow. If your old dealer used Snap-on credit to get you the box...I would agree that the new dealer is an idiot.

Both of these statements are true to the business.

 

[nissan_crawler]

How in the world do you get them to go to your house?

I've had the snap-on lady swing by my house before. I had somebody else's vehicle torn apart and needed a huge torx socket. I've also called her after hours, found out she was heading to town (lives 30 miles away) for a basketball game, and she swung by work in her car to drop off a parts kit for a ratchet.

The previous snap-on dealer...I wouldn't piss on him if he was on fire.

 

[1loudsuv]

First of all, you sound like a dream customer...buying $10-15k per year. So I can't imagine why you would not be getting the best possible service.

As far as one dealer financing a box, and another not....I would assume that if you went through Snap-on credit, the answer would be the same no matter what dealer you went through. However, many dealers will sell a box on "truck credit" and if done that way, the dealer is totally on the hook; not only if you don't pay, but also for the cash flow outlay. Some dealers are more able to take that kind of financial hit than others. $10k plus for for a box big enough for all the tools you're buying is a huge hit for a dealer's cash flow. If your old dealer used Snap-on credit to get you the box...I would agree that the new dealer is an idiot.

I went through snap on credit for both funny thing is I am enrolled with freecreditreport.com so whenever someone checks my credit I get alerted. When I tried with my regular dealer I never got an alert. Second dealer I did about 4 hours later.

I think it's cause the first guy doesn't own the route he works for someone on salary and probably doesn't even like his boss.

 

[autoace]

the snap on guy comes by because i buy and pay well (he say's i'm his best customer) he's also a harley rider and comes by on the weekends from time to time to have a few beverages.

the cornwell lady is an old friend, she comes every other week. i have been dealing with her for 15 years

the matco guy won't even come by to collect his money and i owe them $4500.

to snap on and cornwell i'm just like any other small shop in the country.

As long as you buy, they will show up, coming to a good customers house is ok, they know where you live, and unless you get foreclosed on, they always know where to collect their money.

Independent shops are dealers favorite, guys at dealers etc... can quit,get fired, and split on the dealer too often. Shop owners cannot run too easy.

 

[quattrojon]

As long as you buy, they will show up, coming to a good customers house is ok, they know where you live, and unless you get foreclosed on, they always know where to collect their money.

Independent shops are dealers favorite, guys at dealers etc... can quit,get fired, and split on the dealer too often. Shop owners cannot run too easy.

Autoace, I wholeheartedly agree

 

[Joelfke]

I don't have actual shop, so I have to meet him and he's flaky at best.

if you could...tell him the chevy dealer in eatontown is in dire need of a matco guy

 

[Art From De Leon]

If the house ever sells, and I ever go back to work, would it do any good to get a 'referral' from my present Snap On dealer to introduce myself to the new guy? Or just show up on the truck with a shitload of pictures of what I have/had?

 

[GT89mustang]

if you could...tell him the chevy dealer in eatontown is in dire need of a matco guy

Eatontown in monmouth county?

 

[bowtie3]

bull i do not think you really know what big business is it solely relies on good to great customer service. Why is is that Granger , MSC, and Fastenal can get warranty replacements or restock/ fill an order in 24 hrs. It is not because of their superior dealer/ warehouse network. The tool truck companies dwarf them in dealers and warehouses it is because they all work for the same company not individually like there tool dealers. Once coperate knows of a shotty dealer and it is effecting their customer service it will ether be the end of the dealer or a whole new attitude out of the dealer. This goes for any chain or big label companies you need to push the buttons if you are not being served correctly. If you have to dial customer service right there on the spot. ( this works well in chain restaurants as it effects managers bonus wholly) big business want a good customer interface if a bad one is found and a customer finds/ reports it is is usually fixed intimidately.

You seem to have it all figured out. Now all you need to do is pick a brand, buy a truck, borrow around 75k to 100k, shower, shave and hit the road. I guarantee you after a very short while on the route your "attitude" toward this would be totally different. Comparing Grainger, MSC, and Fastenal to your local mobile tool dealer is just stupid. Those "shotty" dealers as you call them are not always "shotty" by choice, sometimes there are circumstances that you don't know about. Go ahead and get you a truck I'll be your first customer.

 

[bry@n]

*update*

so I call from a office I am not usually in and get him on the phone. I say whats up and tell him that everytime I call lately, I get vmail and no return call.

him: okay..... chirp chirp... awkward silence....

me: You don't care and I think you ignore my calls.

him: hangs up like a little *****!.

Calling matco to complain and I will bad mouth him every chance I get.

Edit,
Just talked with his District Mgr. We'll see where this takes us.

 

[HandyManny]

Good for you man!! Money talks. Find another source for your tools if you are unhappy with your dealers. That's what I'd do and have done at times. Next time your tool truck guys won't cover ya or help you out just ask him if he wants to make a sale, if he's intersted in making a living this week? If not, tell hime to take a hike and tell him you'll fine another source for tools.

 

[nate379]

I don't even deal with dealers anymore. Go direct. Less hassle.

I could write a book on how ****** the Snap On guy was. Stole about $200 of tools even. Turned them in for warranty and I never got replacements (had to order them)... then when we never got anything months later...he said he never took them, we were lying. I had no paperwork, so what could I do??

You can talk to coporate till your blue in the face about how ****** a dealer is but it won't change anything long term. Believe me, I tried that as well. Snap On lost a $40,000 toolbox and tool purchase because the dealer sucked. Went with Matco and got the same stuff for about $10k less to boot!