There is a Cornwell truck thats been in the Bridgeton, Maryland Heights, West County, MO area for a number of years. I personally have not been on his truck but know several that have and all seem very happy with him. Say he's a great guy no issues with warranty etc.
The Cornwell anguish
- Thread starter shanny19
- Start date
Bubba Fett
Well-known member
I wonder how they stay in business.
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.
Lucid Moments
Well-known member
I actually saw a Cornwell truck yesterday. Coming out of a tire shop where I do some business.
HVACSD , I totally agree with you, I was just giving a different perspective. Anyone who has ran a tool truck should appreciate someone like you seen to be . Unfortunately all dealers have been at one time or another burned by someone who was going to be a big customer and ended up being a time waste and not buying. That may cause you to miss a good stop costing you money.
I've only been on a tool truck twice. That time was just because he happened to be in the same parking lot as I was getting lunch. And another time was in I was in the Marine Corps and we had a Snap on guy who would come by like once a month since we were a testing unit with civilian mechanics who liked to buy stuff from him. And that guy I blew off because as a Lcpl I couldn't really justify a $100 set of hex keys.
I get it but if I told a client that I won't sent a quote because they won't give me the work they'd never call me again.
Trust me in the last 21 years as a contractor I have given plenty of courtesy estimates as I'm sure you have as well . I have enjoyed discussing this and merely offered firsthand experience. I mean no disrespect to anyone on here and have learned several things from members here.
Ton ton
Well-known member
Thank you for your perspective. Thankfully, my snap on rep is open minded toward walkons that pay in full.
I wasn't trying to be argumentative or anything. It just doesn't make sense to me is all.
The thing is that most of the truck drivers don't really need your business as an outsider because they already have captive clientele base at shops who spend way more.
So while I wouldn't personally do it that way, I can see how some of the more jaded or crotchety drivers might not be super keen on entertaining private sales as lookey-loos or window shoppers.
I've been lucky so far in this regard, I just try to be polite when I ask and make sure all of their regulars go first.
It’s been beat to death here at GJ, These dealers aren’t in the business of simply driving around, burning $6 diesel to prevent customers from spending money with them. It’s 2022, The world is crazy and it’s just not safe to randomly meet strangers and allow them into there world. Does this mean that they are missing out on sales? Yes.. Are all tool truck dealers good salesman? No.. The truth is they operate in specific areas, with specific stops that need to be made to comply with franchise agreements for there specific area.
I get it, It’s logical thinking that they would want every sale they could get. I mean who wouldn’t? At the end of the day, they have to make a decision on pursuing “Joe Bob” off the street, Who according to the internet always pays Cash, Ready to drop thousands, Never asks for a discount or credit, or do they stick with there regular clientele who are addicted to regular purchases and weekly payments.
I get it, It’s logical thinking that they would want every sale they could get. I mean who wouldn’t? At the end of the day, they have to make a decision on pursuing “Joe Bob” off the street, Who according to the internet always pays Cash, Ready to drop thousands, Never asks for a discount or credit, or do they stick with there regular clientele who are addicted to regular purchases and weekly payments.
T
Thank you , I was trying to explain just this but I apparently hurt some feelings.
seagravedriver
Well-known member
I live in Puyallup. There is a dealer down the street from me, and we have a guy that stops weekly at our shops in the Bonney Lake area. If ya need something, PM me.
KnurledNut
Well-known member
Its not as bad as its made out to be here.
You answered your own question.
Ton ton
Well-known member
Just in case this hasn't been covered, tool truck marketing is about relationships. Just watch Koon trucking videos. Tool trucks in general.
Bubba Fett
Well-known member
I've come to the conclusion that tool trucks are not worth it unless you are running a business. For home gamers, or even smaller businesses, it makes far more sense to go with Wright, Williams, Proto, Klein, Malco, Wilde, etc. The quality will be near if not identical.
Don't beg them to take your money. If they don't want to do business with you, then take the hint and support other companies that will. Your time is irreplaceable.
Don't beg them to take your money. If they don't want to do business with you, then take the hint and support other companies that will. Your time is irreplaceable.
robert6715
Well-known member
I could be wrong & way off here, but I can't think of a single other tool company that has a website, but NO way & I do mean ZERO way to purchase tools online. They literally want you to fill out a form to find a dealer to purchase from, which is fine & shows that they support the franchisees. I bought from tool trucks for the first 20 years of wrenching. The bad part is that after you fill out the form, all it does is pass your info to the closest dealer. If there is no dealer in your area, NO dealer will EVER contact you & NO TOOLS FOR YOU. This is a HORRIBLE business model in 2022.
It's almost like Mcdonald's where you have to drive to a Mcdonald's to get a Big Mac, all that's right, I can order a Big Mac over the internet & have it delivered to my house. Well, I can't, I live in the middle of nowhere, but just saying, I can get a Big Mac. I can NOT buy a brand new Cornwell tool.
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Conclusion? It’s been that way for 100+ Years in reference to Snap On alone, They have never chased uncle bob changing his oil in the back yard. In regards to the other top shelf brands you listed, I absolutely agree.. The prices alone is almost to the point where unless it’s a specialty item or something I just want, I’m looking at the secondary markets or alternatives.
I’m not a old man by any means, but I despise filling out forms hoping that I get a response. I’ve read countless threads here at GJ where members couldn’t get responses in regards to dealers or warranty claims. I never understood why they just didn’t pick up the phone and call them. It was 10+ years ago and I was looking for a dealer and simply called Cornwell and got two names/numbers within a minute or two. I kinda feel like people are getting dumbed down in regards to carrying on simple conversation and requesting information. Don’t get me wrong, Cornwell of all companies should make dealer locators fully automated, especially since they don’t sell outside of franchises. It would only be in there best interest and bottom line. Dunno?
robert6715
Well-known member
I agree about the dumbing down of society. I believe America is dumber than ever & I don't text AT ALL. I prefer to use the phone for it's originally designed purpose, talking.
I live on Afognak Island in the Gulf of Alaska. No cell service ANYWHERE on the island & No landlines either, everything is sat dish based. I have to use a sat phone at $3.00 a minute to make a phone call. I HATE text messages & can barely even use my smartphone. Don't have good enough sat internet for VOIP or wifi calling. Prepaid cell phone for guys who live/work where you can't even get cell signal doesn't even support wifi calling/texting if we had the bandwidth.
All I am saying is that not offering sales via a web-based dealer/distributor is a recipe for failure.
Well obviously you have some extraordinary circumstances. I’m a bit jealous, assuming you didn’t get the 5 spam calls I received today alone on my Cell.
Cornwell definitely has a non-conventional sales approach, I’d own more of there tools if I had access to there monthly flyer deals. Unfortunately I’m pretty much reliant on Ebay/classifieds/marketplace. I think there model actually shows that the tool truck still works, I believe they are over 100 years in business even with the limited dealers.
Lucid Moments
Well-known member
I have never until this thread heard of a dealer refusing to sell to a customer. I am not in the industry but have a few friends that are and have walked onto a few different trucks from Snap On, and Mac and they were happy to do business with me. Hell one time I was in a time bind and needed a tool that nobody local had. This Snap On dealer did and told me where to meet him. Easy Peezy.
Could have been the sight of GJ member standing on the the street corner waving dealer down using a fan made out of 100 dollar bills freaked him out and he sped away.
robert6715
Well-known member
You must have never been interested in/been ona Cornwell truck/dealt with a Cornwell dealer.
It truly is an odd experience. Very odd indeed.
That is coming from a guy who has bought thousands & thousands of dollars worth of tools for myself & the company I work for.
I would have gladly filled out a purchase order or better yet just put it on the company card. Cornwell is run by CLOWNS.
gatewaysysop
Well-known member
^^^ this!
Having spoken to multiple dealers, the district manager, his boss the regional manager and corporate, it is not a fluke. These people are genuinely not interested even when you come to them part #s in hand, offering to meet at a time and place of their choosing, even a regular stop, cash money.
Some truck brands can get away with the self righteous arrogance of not needing your business, but Cornwell? Those guys are either smoking crack or genuinely allergic to money. I have no idea how they've stayed in in business this long.
3baygarage
Well-known member
Work had a nice Cornwell catalog in the mechanic lunch room. There's no denying they still have nice tools. Haven't seen the truck there in my 3+ years though. Snap-On visits the techs weekly and Mac is quite present.
In NY the Cornwell truck was a unicorn. I do see them here in FL sometimes, but spotty, and all day I go to shops.
My closest encounter was earlier this year. I was leaving a customer when the Cornwell dealer parked right in front of me. As he walked toward the shop I waved and said hello, and zero response. From what I've read here he must have been psyching himself up for a "non-sale".
The next time at that customer I mentioned Cornwell to the lead tech I deal with. He says he used to go on the Cornwell truck (older tech, so maybe he has everything) but it's been years, or something to that effect, and dealer still comes there. He and I ended up having a good conversation about tools. Told him about my tool hobby, he told me he has his father's old Snap-On.
In NY the Cornwell truck was a unicorn. I do see them here in FL sometimes, but spotty, and all day I go to shops.
My closest encounter was earlier this year. I was leaving a customer when the Cornwell dealer parked right in front of me. As he walked toward the shop I waved and said hello, and zero response. From what I've read here he must have been psyching himself up for a "non-sale".
The next time at that customer I mentioned Cornwell to the lead tech I deal with. He says he used to go on the Cornwell truck (older tech, so maybe he has everything) but it's been years, or something to that effect, and dealer still comes there. He and I ended up having a good conversation about tools. Told him about my tool hobby, he told me he has his father's old Snap-On.
Ton ton
Well-known member
Probably decided that he ( the dealer) wasn't cut out for the tool truck business.
One of the first “honey hole” estate sales that I ever went to had a lot of Cornwell. They wanted $.50 per socket. I ended up with a 3/4 full 5 gallon pail of Cornwell, MAC, Snap-on, and Matco.
I wrote lists of what I needed to complete sets and tried to find a Cornwell dealer. It never happened. It became very clear that the local dealers have zero interest in dealing with me, even though I made it very clear that I would pay in cash and buy a lot of tools.
I was over it. I am still over it. None of my sets are matching, and I do not care. The Cornwell that I have works great for me, but I am over trying to have matching sets.
Snap-on is so much easier to deal with. You can call a dealer, ask him where he will be at a given time, and drive to him. He will not have to drive one foot out of his way, either. I bring a list and cash. I usually get a deal for paying cash, too. In my opinion, it is a better company in every way. They both make really nice tools, though.
I wrote lists of what I needed to complete sets and tried to find a Cornwell dealer. It never happened. It became very clear that the local dealers have zero interest in dealing with me, even though I made it very clear that I would pay in cash and buy a lot of tools.
I was over it. I am still over it. None of my sets are matching, and I do not care. The Cornwell that I have works great for me, but I am over trying to have matching sets.
Snap-on is so much easier to deal with. You can call a dealer, ask him where he will be at a given time, and drive to him. He will not have to drive one foot out of his way, either. I bring a list and cash. I usually get a deal for paying cash, too. In my opinion, it is a better company in every way. They both make really nice tools, though.
...and if you can't make contact with a dealer you can always buy online and SO shares some of the online profit with their dealers. That seems like a reasonable model.
I can't image how Cornwell can stay alive for the simple reason that tool production is all about manufacturing economies of scale. The overhead associated with managing such low production volume and the large number of line items must be totally out of whack.
kythri
Well-known member
And this includes "I'll be at X scheduled stop at Y time - you can meet me here, or not." ??
Somehow, Snap-on makes it work, without risk of harm to themselves.
My experience with Mac, Matco and Cornwell is that they seemingly take offense to one wanting to give them money. These clowns have Facebook (and other social media) pages, but when you reach out to them via the advertising that they themselves are doing, they're anti-social wads.
Why are their phone numbers on the side of their trucks? Surely, it's not for their established, "safe" customer base?
The parking lots that I have met Snap-on dealers in are car dealerships or auto shops. The trucks are well lit and have many cameras. I would assume that the majority of dealers have a CPL and a handgun on their person.
I have never felt unsafe or scared dealing with a tool truck.
I have never felt unsafe or scared dealing with a tool truck.
I’m not going to try and justify each and every dealer in a attempt to prove a point, There have been countless threads here involved the almighty SO about dealers blowing people off. As I stated earlier some are better than others and a lot of it probably depends on the region and timeline with other regular customers. If you call Snap on customer service and aren’t working out of a shop, they will tell you to utilize the .com storefront. It’s the same reason they have two different warranty statements for Professionals and Personal Use.
If you are trying to insinuate there isn’t any risk with allowing someone not affiliated with a regular stop onto your truck with 100k worth of chrome, well we both know that’s not true.
I’m not familiar with tool truck franchise agreements enough to know if there are restrictions in place for selling to the general public. It’s food for thought, but then again maybe all truck dealers outside of central Missouri are just “clowns”.
At the end of the Day, I suspect some Dealers just don’t want to deal with the general public. It doesn’t add up to me, but maybe they are already working 12+ a day, been previously burned etc or simply flush with business/cash flow.
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82355
Well-known member
I text my Cornwell dealer all the time when looking for tools. He always gets back to me.
Martin
Martin
mailpup
Well-known member
I'm just a DIYer but I think anyone's experience with tool trucks depends mainly with the individual dealer. Some are better than others clearly. Years ago when I was actively expanding my tool collection I had three different Snap-on dealers. I found my first Snap-on dealer servicing a local Sears tire shop (back when there was such a thing). I would contact him by pager (before cell phones) and I would give him my order and he would call me back when it all came in (unless he happened to have it all in stock). He left the business eventually but he referred me to another dealer. This dealer would actually stop at my house to deliver my orders plus he would give me a 10% discount. He eventually moved to another city and then he referred me to a third dealer. For this dealer I would go to his house after he was done with his route to pick up any tools I ordered. All of them were very friendly to me, a DIYer, and were happy to sell me tools.
At the same time, I had a Mac tool dealer that I would call and meet from time to time. He was a little harder to get a hold of but I bought a fair amount from him too. I once came across a Matco dealer and managed to buy something from him on the spot but that was the only time. Now on the rare occasion that I want a Snap-on, Mac or Matco tool I go online. In my area of Los Angeles I rarely see a Cornwell truck and I have never bought a single Cornwell tool. If they sold online, I might have bought some but they don't. These days I usually buy various non-truck brands online whenever I need something.
At the same time, I had a Mac tool dealer that I would call and meet from time to time. He was a little harder to get a hold of but I bought a fair amount from him too. I once came across a Matco dealer and managed to buy something from him on the spot but that was the only time. Now on the rare occasion that I want a Snap-on, Mac or Matco tool I go online. In my area of Los Angeles I rarely see a Cornwell truck and I have never bought a single Cornwell tool. If they sold online, I might have bought some but they don't. These days I usually buy various non-truck brands online whenever I need something.
Oldsnapper
Well-known member
I have never seen a Cornwall truck in any shops I have worked in since 1983 or even seen on the road. Never had a Matco truck show up at any of the shops either but have seen a couple on the road in the last couple of years. Had Snap On at every shop. Mac at some of the shops. Some of the dealers were really good to deal with and one seemed to have the attitude that if you weren't buying new every week, he didn't want to talk to you.
Iridium rand
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It makes sense to a degree and I see it pretty often in any line of commission work (high end designer clothing brands for instance tend to be the worst offenders) but at the same time, all new customers are potential “time wasters” and it’s very frustrating as a customer to encounter sales people that immediately write you off as unworthy of their time entirely on assumption or show zero interest in interacting with you after the first time you decide to look at something and think it over instead of impulse buying it on the spot, that type of treatment especially with really expensive goods means I’m not buying from you and when I do decide to buy, the sale is going to the other guy who was respectful and helpful the whole time
jeffmoss26
Well-known member
I live less than an hour from Cornwell HQ and have probably seen their trucks twice, ever.
MooseCustomMotors
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I too have never seen a Cornwell truck but I probably would buy from them if they had a dealer near me. I also don’t have a Mac dealer but I can buy that online or drive 2 hours to meet a guy.
As far as general public going on trucks, I’m a professional mechanic but have a shop in a residential area so the trucks don’t come to me. I meet them on their route, go to their house or they will deliver after hours in their car. If you really want to buy stuff, tell them who you are, what you do and develop a relationship. If they realize you’re serious and not a crazy person they will bend over backwards to help you.
Some dealers are better than others, but all of them have worked with me. I’ve spent probably 10k this way with Snap On alone this calendar year. Probably a few grand with Matco and a single purchase from Mac since no one else makes 1/4” drive 12pt SAE Impact sockets.
As far as general public going on trucks, I’m a professional mechanic but have a shop in a residential area so the trucks don’t come to me. I meet them on their route, go to their house or they will deliver after hours in their car. If you really want to buy stuff, tell them who you are, what you do and develop a relationship. If they realize you’re serious and not a crazy person they will bend over backwards to help you.
Some dealers are better than others, but all of them have worked with me. I’ve spent probably 10k this way with Snap On alone this calendar year. Probably a few grand with Matco and a single purchase from Mac since no one else makes 1/4” drive 12pt SAE Impact sockets.
consti2tion
Well-known member
I see one almost weekly in Sulphur Springs, Texas.
kythri
Well-known member
I'm anything but a Snap-on apologist. This isn't some kind of defense of SO, it's that I just haven't had any issue with SO drivers on multiple neighboring routes being accommodating. If they can do it, so can the other companies.
As far as driver safety, I fail to see the increased risk of "guy you don't know who doesn't work for regular stop" and "guy you don't know who got hired by regular stop with likely no criminal background check of any kind" but, that's me.
I quite seriously doubt that whatever causes drivers not to accommodate non-route would-be customers is fear for their lives or livelihood.
Oh well.