We are getting a MAC man.

[K-Dog]

So the area rep stopped by the shop today to let us know a new MAC guy has been assigned to our area. I have not been on a MAC truck for more than twenty years. I own ONE mac tool and I got that from e-bay.

I am excited about this but I have no idea why.

 

[Skin]

Always good to have options and competition.

 

[493 scamp]

I do spread my purchases between Mac and SO now but in the past we had a Mac dealer switch to Matco and no replacement so I purchased from Matco,then he quit and a couple years later Mac came back around. SO even went away for a year or so. During the time SO was gone I owed them about $2500 and they kept calling me at work telling me they would ruin my credit if I didn't make a payment. I made them call me once a month to get their payment. Eventually we got a new dealer. We also had a dealer file for bankruptcy and the new SO dealer showed up trying to collect his truck accounts, some guys (my boss included) told them they wouldn't pay unless they had paperwork saying the debt belonged to them,and they couldn't provide it.
So now I'm stuck with partial sets and misc other items I bought from Cornwell,Matco,and off brands from an independent dealer that wenr belly up as well as old Craftsman with very few stores around to warranty them.I usually end up replacing them with Mac or SO and use the strays at home. The competition keeps the prices lower until they run out the poor guy.

 

[ptschram]

We also had a dealer file for bankruptcy and the new SO dealer showed up trying to collect his truck accounts, some guys (my boss included) told them they wouldn't pay unless they had paperwork saying the debt belonged to them,and they couldn't provide it.
.

The new dealer BOUGHT those accounts from the former dealer. Before the route was sold, a Snap-On employee surveyed the route and verified those accounts.

It's part of how the transfer process is conducted.

 

[Thax]

I had the same situation happen at my work about three months ago. MAC rep and a MAC company owned truck showed up . They promised they would be there every Wednesday. Believe it or not he has shown up every Wednesday like clockwork. Easiest tool dealer to do business with , has great deals and you can tell he loves doing his job. He has been pretty successful at my work. Everyone has bought from him , including a Tech 1004 box I bought from him. He even threw in a 1/2 Axis ratchet as thanks for buying the box from him. Before MAC showed up , I had only one MAC tool. Now I have quite a few. Ive been pretty impressed by the service and pricing. Although I realize alot of it is probably due to the fact that it is a MAC owned distributor. Id say give MAC a shot if they show back up, the new Axis ratchets are pretty nice too.

 

[magicrat]

The new dealer BOUGHT those accounts from the former dealer. Before the route was sold, a Snap-On employee surveyed the route and verified those accounts.

It's part of how the transfer process is conducted.

If that's how it went down he should have had no problem producing the paperwork.....I wouldn't want to pay money on tools that SO is suing they guy for in court.

 

[JJThrasher]

This is a derail, but truck accounts and company accounts are different. Your truck account is owed to the dealer. An account with SO corporate is a loan and is owed to the company.

If the driver changes you need to figure out with the the old dealer who you owe the money to. As stated often the new dealer buys the old debt off of the old dealer. This can also be the case if the tech moves districts and as a result gets a new driver.

If I owed on a truck account and the dealer filed bankruptcy I wouldn't pay a different driver. That makes no sense.

Imagine I have some appliances financed through a local appliance store and they go belly up, file for bankruptcy, and shut down. Now a few years later a new appliance store starts up in the same building. I wouldn't go in there and offer to pay the balance I owed to the previous company.

Now back to the OP.

Its always good to have lots of options and dealers. For a long time we only had SO and that blew. The Cornwell showed up one day and now he comes by most weeks.

 

[amlv20]

So the area rep stopped by the shop today to let us know a new MAC guy has been assigned to our area. I have not been on a MAC truck for more than twenty years. I own ONE mac tool and I got that from e-bay.

I am excited about this but I have no idea why.

Goodluck,hope it works out.ive had many Mac and matco guys come and go,last Mac guy came every Monday for two months and then disappeared.latest matco guy has shown up every Tuesday for a month so far.

 

[MDK22]

As a big rig tech I prefer Mac tools they just hold up better to the abuse in most cases.

 

[ptschram]

If that's how it went down he should have had no problem producing the paperwork.....I wouldn't want to pay money on tools that SO is suing they guy for in court.

OTOH, the customers had receipts that clearly showed that THEY owed a debt to someone and if someone shows up driving a big truck full of tools with the name of the company on the side, reasonable men would make the connection that they owe the debt to that man now.

In the case of bankruptcy, customers of the bankrupt would have received a letter from the Court indicating to whom those payments were to be made.

I've seen enough of those letters that my customers have shared with me regarding their former Cornwell dealers.

If you received the tools and did not fully pay for them and you don't pay for them, you've stolen them.

 

[Dirty Diesels]

OTOH, the customers had receipts that clearly showed that THEY owed a debt to someone and if someone shows up driving a big truck full of tools with the name of the company on the side, reasonable men would make the connection that they owe the debt to that man now.

In the case of bankruptcy, customers of the bankrupt would have received a letter from the Court indicating to whom those payments were to be made.

I've seen enough of those letters that my customers have shared with me regarding their former Cornwell dealers.

If you received the tools and did not fully pay for them and you don't pay for them, you've stolen them.

I have to agree, when the same happens here in the UK, someone from Snap-On finance, say an area manager tries to resolve the situation first with the customer, this is what I've seen, if it don't get resolved, then the legal proceedings begin.

Too many times I've seen mechanics come and go, trying to be clever with the tool trucks. That is why I prefer to buy my tools & equipment in full payment, less hassle & everybody is happy.

 

[Al Bundy]

OTOH, the customers had receipts that clearly showed that THEY owed a debt to someone and if someone shows up driving a big truck full of tools with the name of the company on the side, reasonable men would make the connection that they owe the debt to that man now.

I disagree. It would be foolish to make that assumption.

 

[BK13]

So for you guys with new dealers: do you immediately start making big purchases from the new guy, or is there a trial period before you start getting a warm fuzzy feeling? I'd be pissed if I bought, say, an 18v impact or new tool cart and the guy quit coming around after I spent a wad of cash on his truck...

 

[nes999]

So for you guys with new dealers: do you immediately start making big purchases from the new guy, or is there a trial period before you start getting a warm fuzzy feeling? I'd be pissed if I bought, say, an 18v impact or new tool cart and the guy quit coming around after I spent a wad of cash on his truck...

Usually what happens is I'll buy some teeny tiny if anything at all the first few times they come. After awhile I'll start making real purchases. We started doing this because we would have a dealer come, sell a ton of stuff and never show face here again.

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

 

[BK13]

That would be my concern as well.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[toolman9w]

So for you guys with new dealers: do you immediately start making big purchases from the new guy, or is there a trial period before you start getting a warm fuzzy feeling? I'd be pissed if I bought, say, an 18v impact or new tool cart and the guy quit coming around after I spent a wad of cash on his truck...

Make a small purchase,see how that goes ,then build a relationship with the new guy based on your own findings.

 

[ptschram]

I disagree. It would be foolish to make that assumption.

It is how it's done.

I bought my predecessor's accounts-I had to if I wanted in.

 

[chris142]

As a big rig tech I prefer Mac tools they just hold up better to the abuse in most cases.

I often see Mac stuff in big truck repair places

 

[Sco Deac]

It is how it's done.

I bought my predecessor's accounts-I had to if I wanted in.

I am not advocating being a deadbeat and anyone not paying on their valid debts are only driving the price up for the rest of us. That said, the situation described isn't a traditional change of franchisee, where the new guy had to buy the accounts from the old guy. The prior francishee is in bankruptcy. Snap-On may well have moved forward with establishing a new franchisee/route while the old franchisee's business is still ******* in the bankruptcy court. No doubt the customer still owes on their accounts, but the bankruptcy process can complicate the question of to whom they owe. The outstanding accounts are assets of the bankrupt entity and without a court order they cannot be transferred to the new franchisee. It is prudent to make sure you are paying the right person for the debt owed.

 

[Al Bundy]

^This

 

[CutterFarms]

So the area rep stopped by the shop today to let us know a new MAC guy has been assigned to our area. I have not been on a MAC truck for more than twenty years. I own ONE mac tool and I got that from e-bay.

I am excited about this but I have no idea why.

How can you not be excited everytime you can get on a tool truck. We have a snap on and mac truck that come to our little town. Snap on guy is great and will warranty anything for you. Mac guy really isn't a people person much, finally found a common interest and got him talking some and he is little better but hates to warranty something unless you just recently purchased it or still owe for it. That's my opinion about him anyway.

 

[ptschram]

I am not advocating being a deadbeat and anyone not paying on their valid debts are only driving the price up for the rest of us. That said, the situation described isn't a traditional change of franchisee, where the new guy had to buy the accounts from the old guy. The prior francishee is in bankruptcy. Snap-On may well have moved forward with establishing a new franchisee/route while the old franchisee's business is still ******* in the bankruptcy court. No doubt the customer still owes on their accounts, but the bankruptcy process can complicate the question of to whom they owe. The outstanding accounts are assets of the bankrupt entity and without a court order they cannot be transferred to the new franchisee. It is prudent to make sure you are paying the right person for the debt owed.

There are many ifs in this situation.

IF the customers received a letter from a bankruptcy court, I strongly suspect someone is not telling the truth. However, there is also a huge likelihood that the new franchisee may have those accounts assigned to him through the franchise agreement.


Unless the customers received the letter form the Court, the whole topic of bankruptcy is likely hearsay.

There is never any hearsay on tool trucks, or about Chrome slingers! I've never seen such a big and fast rumor mill.

 

[Parabellum]

Why waste your money on Mac when Proto has better stuff. Mac is more imported stuff at tool truck prices that can be had at Walmart. Snap On hands down compared to Mac and Matco is the worst.

 

[MattVette89]

My Mac guy is awesome.

Check out the Mac Axis ratchets. I prefer my 3/8 flex head over the snap on 3/8 flex. Their monthly fliers aren't that great, but you'll find some good deals here and there.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

Why waste your money on Mac when Proto has better stuff. Mac is more imported stuff at tool truck prices that can be had at Walmart. Snap On hands down compared to Mac and Matco is the worst.

The new MAC 90t ratchets look pretty nice......and I own a lot of Dual 80's. I'm also a huge Proto fan though.

 

[jd_1138]

Why waste your money on Mac when Proto has better stuff. Mac is more imported stuff at tool truck prices that can be had at Walmart. Snap On hands down compared to Mac and Matco is the worst.

This guy has a HF tool truck, lol -- can't beat the prices.

I actually wouldn't mind seeing a Tekton tool truck -- great prices, decent tools.

 

[K-Dog]

We have a Matco guy but he ONLY comes by if you owe him money. It takes three or four phone calls to get him to warranty stuff. If he doesn't have it on the truck you gotta wait a month or two. Make a few calls.

We had a Cornwell guy, but two weeks after I paid him off he stopped showing up.

We had an independant guy but he retired.

Otherwise it has exclusively been Snap-On for five or six years now. He is a real young guy and is doing real well so I suspect he will be around for a while.

 

[Skin]

Why waste your money on Mac when Proto has better stuff. Mac is more imported stuff at tool truck prices that can be had at Walmart. Snap On hands down compared to Mac and Matco is the worst.

Yep! and don't buy that Snap-On trash either its cheap junk that you can find all over Costco!

 

[53chevy5]

So for you guys with new dealers: do you immediately start making big purchases from the new guy, or is there a trial period before you start getting a warm fuzzy feeling? I'd be pissed if I bought, say, an 18v impact or new tool cart and the guy quit coming around after I spent a wad of cash on his truck...

We got burned with 2 Snap On guys in a row. They would be around for a year, go broke or something and then we would be without for a year or more. The poor third in line SO dealer really had to work to gain trust again, I think it was close to 3 yrs before I bought anything from him. Wasn't really his fault but the last dealer was so bad that when I would break a SO tool, I would trade it for a Matco, Mac or Cornwell because it was not worth trying to deal with the SO dealer for warranty.

 

[Parabellum]

Yep! and don't buy that Snap-On trash either its cheap junk that you can find all over Costco!

Its just licensing, they allow their name to be slapped on cheap *** stuff found at Ace Hardware.

 

[FergusonTO35]

When I was a tech, Mac was the least reliable of all the truck brands. The reason was, at that time (late 90's-early 2000's) Mac called their franchise an "independent distributorship", which was structured somewhat differently from a franchise. My understanding was, the company owns the truck and the route, you own the inventory. You pay Mac a monthly fee for use of the truck and you pay for fuel and tires in addition to payments on inventory, they take care of the rest. The problem is, this is (was?) not a legally recognized form of business in Kentucky. Mac would hire people to be company dealers then start pressuring them to invest their own money into something that legally doesn't exist here. Not surprisingly, the smart ones quit and the dumb ones quickly went belly up.

There was one exception to the rule, a dealer in central Kentucky who actually stayed at it for five years. He sold tons of tools and boxes, had great relationships with his customers, and a wall full of awards from Mac. At one point he was actually beating a well established SO dealer by a considerable margin. With their usual brilliant decision making, Mac decided to put the squeeze on him to buy a distributorship since that had worked so well with all the other dealers. He told Mac to shove it and last I heard his route was still empty. Probably a good thing.

 

[Skin]

When I was a tech, Mac was the least reliable of all the truck brands. The reason was, at that time (late 90's-early 2000's) Mac called their franchise an "independent distributorship", which was structured somewhat differently from a franchise. My understanding was, the company owns the truck and the route, you own the inventory. You pay Mac a monthly fee for use of the truck and you pay for fuel and tires in addition to payments on inventory, they take care of the rest. The problem is, this is (was?) not a legally recognized form of business in Kentucky. Mac would hire people to be company dealers then start pressuring them to invest their own money into something that legally doesn't exist here. Not surprisingly, the smart ones quit and the dumb ones quickly went belly up.

There was one exception to the rule, a dealer in central Kentucky who actually stayed at it for five years. He sold tons of tools and boxes, had great relationships with his customers, and a wall full of awards from Mac. At one point he was actually beating a well established SO dealer by a considerable margin. With their usual brilliant decision making, Mac decided to put the squeeze on him to buy a distributorship since that had worked so well with all the other dealers. He told Mac to shove it and last I heard his route was still empty. Probably a good thing.

This sounds like Snap-On as well...They were doing something similar during the same period, and still do requiring you to finance just about every aspect of the business through them and you don't own the route. Around that same time period (90s) there were many lawsuits from angry franchise owners due to Snap-On coming in and cutting their routes down or breaking up their territory which is akin to just taking away your income.

When you get right down to it a large part of these companies is to function as a bank giving out high risk secured loans and while they want you to succeed even if you don't they still make a pretty penny off you.

 

[jd_1138]

This sounds like Snap-On as well...They were doing something similar during the same period, and still do requiring you to finance just about every aspect of the business through them and you don't own the route. Around that same time period (90s) there were many lawsuits from angry franchise owners due to Snap-On coming in and cutting their routes down or breaking up their territory which is akin to just taking away your income.

When you get right down to it a large part of these companies is to function as a bank giving out high risk secured loans and while they want you to succeed even if you don't they still make a pretty penny off you.

If the tool co's were intelligent, they'd focus on wanting to sell to the tens of millions of technicians, mechanics, tradespeople all across North America and NOT trying to only sell to the franchise/tool truck guys (there are way fewer of them).

They don't support their tool truck drivers/franchisees. I'd give each driver a stocked to the gills truck and have them work off commission and not make these guys try to come up with all that capital. A dude who wants a tool truck route is not going to be rich/have a lot of capital. They aren't a retired cardiologist who hangs out at the country club with his wife Buffy with $10 million in the bank.

And as soon as they make a sale, the inventory system (should be automated) should automatically add 1 of that item to their next order, so they are always stocked up.

 

[Thax]

My Mac guy is awesome.

Check out the Mac Axis ratchets. I prefer my 3/8 flex head over the snap on 3/8 flex. Their monthly fliers aren't that great, but you'll find some good deals here and there.

Ive got four of the Axis ratchets. I have two 3/8th , one 1/4 and one 1/2 drive. I feel as the 3/8 are the best of the line , little backdrag with very smooth mechanism. My 1/4 which is the 9 inch flex is very nice about the same as a snappy dual 80. My 1/2 is while fine toothed , does not have as smooth and nice backdrag feeling a snappy dual 80 1/2 does. The 1/2 does feel like its built like a tank though for sure. I really enjoy using them and they are a good buy. To those who havent used one , best way I could describe their action is a perfect cross between a Dual 80 and Matco 88. My favorite out of my small collection is the 18 inch comfort flex head 3/8th , its awesome on so many levels.

 

[sberry]

You will be more handsome and self esteem will improve with a new tool guy.

its awesome on so many levels.

Tell us how!

 

[FergusonTO35]

One huge mistake all of the truck brands make is pushing franchises to techs. Most techs-myself included-are not business people. They are skilled tradesmen or artisans and there is a strong likelihood their skill set does not include all the elements it takes to be a successful franchise tool dealer. The people I see who would be most likely to succeed are folks with management, customer relations, and accounting experience. In fact, the tool guys I knew who had this background did pretty well with it and only left the business when something better came along or they retired, not because they were bankrupt.

Judging strictly from what I saw, Cornwell was the franchise that a mechanic was most likely to succeed with as a dealer. Most of the Cornwell guys I dealt with were former techs and they stayed with it as long as they wanted to and then moved on to opening their own repair shop, one of them is still at it with Cornwell and has been for 20+ years. I can remember only one Cornwell dealer actually failing to earn a living and losing his rear end as is the norm for Mac and Matco dealers.

 

[Ratchet.]

interesting to see its not just the uk who has issues with mac tools vans not covering areas or being unreliable.

Back when i started in this game place i worked had a great mac dealer, older guy who had been in the business for years (this was in the early to mid 00s when they still used the old corporate colours on their vans) he covered a huge area too, when Snap On had two routes covering the same area.

He retired a long while back and the guy who replaced him didn't last long, disappeared with a load of people still owing him money, just stopped showing up

same thing seems to have happened where i work now as well, guy just upped and vanished, guess Mac still doesn't support their drivers too well?

on the other side every place i have worked in has decent snap on guys (bar one but that was because the boss didn't like his employees spending any time at all on tool vans.. go figure) never had issues with any not showing up etc.



As for matco, well there is only one dealer in the country as far as i know, and hes attached to a certain car dealership chain, i did work for them for a while so i have a few bits of matco.. too bad if i need to warranty anything as they have no other presence in the UK

 

[ptschram]

interesting to see its not just the uk who has issues with mac tools vans not covering areas or being unreliable.

You'd think I'd know more about this given that I run a Land Rover shop and have been to UK many, many time as my mother used to have an apartment in a hotel in London, but as I understand it, don't most of the shops in UK provide tools to the techs?

I've had some Zees (franchisees) tell me that sometimes to entice a tech to jump ship, they'll promise a new box and tools to suit the tech.

I also understand that on the Mainland, places like the Netherlands don't do any credit and that everything is sold on a COD basis.

I have a colleague in the Netherlands who does vERY well with Snap-On and from some of the pics he shares, I'm pretty jealous although I don't like the thought of giving up my guns (something that I very nearly gave up to go to work in a shop in Wales and at one point, I was being recruited by JLR-China/Asia and a shop in Beirut).

 

[demeter008]

I do spread my purchases between Mac and SO now but in the past we had a Mac dealer switch to Matco and no replacement so I purchased from Matco,then he quit and a couple years later Mac came back around. SO even went away for a year or so. During the time SO was gone I owed them about $2500 and they kept calling me at work telling me they would ruin my credit if I didn't make a payment. I made them call me once a month to get their payment. Eventually we got a new dealer. We also had a dealer file for bankruptcy and the new SO dealer showed up trying to collect his truck accounts, some guys (my boss included) told them they wouldn't pay unless they had paperwork saying the debt belonged to them,and they couldn't provide it.

So now I'm stuck with partial sets and misc other items I bought from Cornwell,Matco,and off brands from an independent dealer that wenr belly up as well as old Craftsman with very few stores around to warranty them.I usually end up replacing them with Mac or SO and use the strays at home. The competition keeps the prices lower until they run out the poor guy.

If I owed on a truck account and the dealer filed bankruptcy I wouldn't pay a different driver. That makes no sense.

 

[MattVette89]

Ive got four of the Axis ratchets. I have two 3/8th , one 1/4 and one 1/2 drive. I feel as the 3/8 are the best of the line , little backdrag with very smooth mechanism. My 1/4 which is the 9 inch flex is very nice about the same as a snappy dual 80. My 1/2 is while fine toothed , does not have as smooth and nice backdrag feeling a snappy dual 80 1/2 does. The 1/2 does feel like its built like a tank though for sure. I really enjoy using them and they are a good buy. To those who havent used one , best way I could describe their action is a perfect cross between a Dual 80 and Matco 88. My favorite out of my small collection is the 18 inch comfort flex head 3/8th , its awesome on so many levels.

I haven't used the 1/2". I have a snap on 1/2" flex that is awesome and with how much use it gets I can't justify it. I'm not sure what 1/4" I like best...they are all pretty close.