The Cornwell anguish

[Shocker]

I see our local Cornwell guy pretty regularly around town. I saw him once at a shop near our house. I figured I would drop in and see what was on the truck as I have never been on one.

I just hung out while he finished up with the shop guys and he was totally cool! I told him I just bought a Cornwell 1/4" master socket set but it was missing a 6mm shallow and I would like to buy one. He opens up the drawer and hands me one says "On the house".

I later went back and bought a 1/2" master socket set. Gave me a nice little discount as well.

I have also chatted with the Matco and Mac guys that are in our area and they were cool as well. Never had a chance to chat with the Snap On guys as they are always driving. There is also a generic tool truck here as well. He carries a bunch of other tools like Lisle, Gearwrench etc. Never chatting with them as well.

So my experience differs greatly from others here.

 

[cannuck]

There are no Cornwell dealer I am aware of in Canada, but I travel extensively in US. I needed a set of 3/8 torque adapters on one job, and called around to locals and the Cornwelll guy had both metric and US on hand, so bought them. He made a genuine effort on a weekend to get to his truck with me to supply. BUT: I have never had anything different from Mac or Snap-on tool trucks (or Hazet when we had one of those around). Going back a decade or two, the Mac guys didn't seem to last long, but I have NEVER encountered a tool truck that didn't make an effort to get what I wanted....until last week at our DesMoines office. The Snap-on truck there did not have much of a selection and when I asked for a specific thing (flare nut wrench set) he just blew me off with a "none in my truck" comment. Only tool truck guy (or gal) I have ever encountered that was not absolutely top drawer.

 

[Ton ton]

I see our local Cornwell guy pretty regularly around town. I saw him once at a shop near our house. I figured I would drop in and see what was on the truck as I have never been on one.

I just hung out while he finished up with the shop guys and he was totally cool! I told him I just bought a Cornwell 1/4" master socket set but it was missing a 6mm shallow and I would like to buy one. He opens up the drawer and hands me one says "On the house".

I later went back and bought a 1/2" master socket set. Gave me a nice little discount as well.

I have also chatted with the Matco and Mac guys that are in our area and they were cool as well. Never had a chance to chat with the Snap On guys as they are always driving. There is also a generic tool truck here as well. He carries a bunch of other tools like Lisle, Gearwrench etc. Never chatting with them as well.

So my experience differs greatly from others here.

Thank you for sharing your experience.

 

[Snaparxon]

Saw this dealer almost a year ago while visiting a town 80 miles away and posted it in this thread. (post #8)

Just last week I actually saw him IN MY TOWN! HOLY ****!!!! Hasn't been a Cornwell dealer in my town since the 70's. Last MAC dealer was late 90's
He is stopping by my shop today. At least something new to look at. Not big on Taiwan but their USA stuff is nice and the new ratchets look good also.

 

[ecotec]

I get the time thing but if I'm coming up to you willing to pay your price then what's the issue? I'm not trying buy it on credit, no haggling, just want to buy it and be on my way.

Cornwell ended my interest in having matching sets…

I had about 25 Cornwell sockets and a couple wrenches that I needed to complete some sets of Cornwell. I talked to three dealers about buying them. None would give me the time of day. I just filled the sets in with whatever USA truck and industrial brands I could find in good condition and cheap.

To this day, only a few of my sets match… and I am okay with it.

 

[dchawk81]

Good wrench set and if you're ever able to acquire it I think you will be happy with it. I got mine from my local dealer who is also local to Cornwell's manufacturing and warehouse so he can get stuff very quickly.

I have a Capri 1/2-9/16 that looks identical. Maybe more squared off on the beam but hard to tell.

Hope the Cornwell fit is better than the Capri which, quite frankly, *****. Glad I didn't buy a set.

 

[CHI_Tool&Die]

There has got to be a Cornwell guy in or around Orland Park because our apprentice (he came from being a Honda mechanic) has a boatload of Cornwell stuff and still gets things every so often. I've personally never seen any trucks outside of Snappy and one Mac truck cruising down LaGrange Rd a few months ago.

 

[M635_Guy]

I saw a Cornwell truck in the Raleigh, NC area recently - I did a big double-take.

Unfortunately it was going the other direction, though honestly there's nothing I'd buy from them.