Today was the first time I've ever been on a Snap-On (or any other) tool truck. The owner of our small town's gun shop also does Cerakoting and has an Epic Utility Vehicle box in his shop. Awhile back I asked him who the local Snap-On dealer was. He gave me the dealers number and I texted him asking if he deals with DIYers. He responds that he does and I told him I got his number from the local gun shop. He said that's one of his regular stops and said to drop by anytime. He said his usual time was 12:30. I live just a few miles away and he was kind enough to text me to say he's running about 10 minutes late. Now granted, this guy has never met me before and we've only texted once and for him to take the time to let me know he's running a few minutes behind told me he's very professional and is the kind of person I want to do business with. I arrive at the gun shop just before he pulls in and he invites me onboard. I introduce myself and ask if he has a few minutes and I'd like to purchase some tools. The dealer looks in his mid-30, clean cut and well spoken. I tell him that I'm not a professional tech, just a hobbyist DIYer who likes nice tools. I tell him that I'd like to build a relationship with a Snap-On dealer as I want to steadily replace lesser tools with quality stuff and I'm a cash buyer.
I've read numerous stories about how Snap-On dealers don't like DIYers, but he was extremely polite. It was a very pleasant experience quite unlike some of the stories I've read about dealers being rude to non-professional techs or not even wanting to deal with them at all. I complimented him on this nice truck (class 7 Kenworth) and how I'm used to seeing the typical box van. His truck was packed with inventory. He had everything I was wanting in stock.
My toolbox is yellow and the two ratchets I purchased are not offered in Hi-Viz. I asked him if I could purchase separate Hi-Viz handles and swap them out. He said no need to buy as he would order Hi-Viz handles and swap them out for free and warranty my orange handles.
He said he makes this stop the same time each week and I told him I will be regular buyer. It was a great experience overall and we chatted about tools for about an hour. To top it off, he offered, without me asking, a generous discount on the tools since I was a cash buyer and threw in a pair of socks and a #2 Phillips bit.
Here is today's haul...