What does your tool guy bring in?

[78C-10]

I don't know if the tool guys are trained to bring in the basics or they just don't know what to bring in. Our Mac, SO, and Cornwell guys always seem to bring tools in that I bought 20 years ago and try to get me to buy them. They bring in screwdrivers, ratchets, pliers, seal picks, impact tools, basic drill bits, etc.. These guys need to bring in some off the wall tools, bring in half moon wrenches, torque adapters, any length air combs, ratcheting flex wrenches, something besides the beginner's basics. Do any of you techs that see tool guys bring in the basics?

 

[whitetrash1]

The basics probably generate more pay with less static overhead

 

[Gidge]

The basics probably generate more pay with less static overhead

My thought as well. How long is the turn-around time if you were to have your regular guy order a specialty tool ?

 

[3 Gun Shooter]

I run into the same thing. Snap On guy would be pushing sockets I bought 30-40 years ago. But if you ask about something different like 5 side Torx bits or Power-Torque sockets you get a deer in the headlights look. You give him a part number to order and 2 months later he still can't figure out how to get one. Call Snap On they have it to you in one to two days.

This dealer has been in the business over ten years and still can't figure this out.

 

[d.mcfarland]

They probably don't consider them basics, but rather "essentials". That's how they make their living. Selling stuff people need.

 

[RedneckWelder]

Our tool guys have a mix of the basics and more specialty/advanced stuff.

The only thing our guys don't keep on the trucks are large amounts of 3/4 drive stuff or larger wrenches, and that's understandably so. Anything else their is a good chance of having.

But then again both our Cornwell and Matco dealers are excellent, our Snap On guy is new but I think he will be OK- he is enthusiastic and has no problem ordering stuff.

 

[canuckian]

it's all about inventory turnover. 1 in 5 techs that walk on the truck will buy the common stuff whereas maybe only 1 in 25 will buy the oddball stuff. Specialty tools sitting on their truck don't pay their bills. The trick is if a customer asks for a specialty tool, the driver needs to have his ordering abilities and credit line in check and get it in the techs hands in short order. My last driver had every story in the book as to why it took weeks or months to get something ordered in when all the while the reason was that Snap on wouldn't send him any more tools until he had his account with them under control. The newest guy can have anything I ask for in my hand in a couple days if it's available and not back ordered.

 

[cliftonbros89]

My former dealer, who quit a couple months ago, was having trouble getting things besides the basics. He said he would try and get things to have on hand that weren't your everyday basic tools. But he said he had trouble getting things from Snap On. He said Snap On told him he should sell what he has on his truck. But like he said, what's he supposed to do when someone isn't interested in what he has on the truck? What if they need something different? He was having several problems with Snap On. Part of the reason he quit.

 

[Skin]

My former dealer, who quit a couple months ago, was having trouble getting things besides the basics. He said he would try and get things to have on hand that weren't your everyday basic tools. But he said he had trouble getting things from Snap On. He said Snap On told him he should sell what he has on his truck. But like he said, what's he supposed to do when someone isn't interested in what he has on the truck? What if they need something different? He was having several problems with Snap On. Part of the reason he quit.

Not for nothing but when dealers say they cant get tools or they take weeks to months to get items that are readily available they're in financial trouble and Snap-On has shut off their credit. Tool truck franchises are a rough business but at the same time your dealer was spinning stories to save face.

 

[cliftonbros89]

Not for nothing but when dealers say they cant get tools or they take weeks to months to get items that are readily available they're in financial trouble and Snap-On has shut off their credit. Tool truck franchises are a rough business but at the same time your dealer was spinning stories to save face.

I wouldn't be entirely sure about that. He really was having issues with Snap On. It wasn't everything I ordered that he couldn't get either. Not to mention some how 2 other dealers ended up on his route and were getting away with it.

 

[Skin]

I wouldn't be entirely sure about that. He really was having issues with Snap On. It wasn't everything I ordered that he couldn't get either. Not to mention some how 2 other dealers ended up on his route and were getting away with it.

Believe his tales if you like but ultimately Snap-On is in the business of financing and tool selling. They don't benefit from sabotaging dealers, not to mention they'd be yanked into court in a heart beat. Again the main reason dealers start blaming supply chains is financial issues then they go out of business.

 

[cliftonbros89]

Believe his tales if you like but ultimately Snap-On is in the business of financing and tool selling. They don't benefit from sabotaging dealers, not to mention they'd be yanked into court in a heart beat. Again the main reason dealers start blaming supply chains is financial issues then they go out of business.

The other dealers did go to court. They lost their franchise over it.

 

[blown94conv]

Believe his tales if you like but ultimately Snap-On is in the business of financing and tool selling. They don't benefit from sabotaging dealers, not to mention they'd be yanked into court in a heart beat. Again the main reason dealers start blaming supply chains is financial issues then they go out of business.

Snap On sells tools to Franchisees, Franchisees sell them to customers. If he can't get tools, he's over his credit limit, plain and simple. Works that way with every tool company out there, and most other retail businesses as well. Your restaurant stops paying it's food vendors, you don't get the food. Your car repair shop doesn't pay the parts house, no parts to fix cars. Not hard to see what's happening, and they all have excuses as to why.

 

[colin39]

Mine always brings in ......
An invoice :-D

 

[toolman9w]

Mine always brings in ......
An invoice :-D

Free receipt with every purchase and payment!

 

[skipnay]

When I worked in the garage we had a guy that would bring everything in. Stuff for the new guys, stuff for the guys that been there for a while and stuff for the guys that should've retired 20 years ago. LOL He was promoted and the new snap on guy didn't bring in anything. It wasn't long before management told him either help the mechanics out or get someone else that wants to sell stuff. My uncle still have the guy 15 years later and he still doesn't have a clue. The sad thing is most the guys at my uncles work want to buy stuff.

 

[otis66]

I deal with two diff snap on dealers. Both have been in business for over 25 years. What ever new tool comes out they have it on the truck right away. My Matco dealer never has anything on his truck but I believe it is because he is new and has not built up his inventory yet. I've seen more than 8 Mac tool dealers in my 27 years as a mechanic. I've been dealing with the same two Snap on dealers since 1988 and 1999.

 

[ibedayank]

Snap-off Mac Matco and the rest won't come to my work but that's ok they don't sell the tools to work on vintage British motorcycles anyway

 

[HighPlainsWrencher]

Our Snap On driver doesn't bring anything in but he does keep a good sized shelf on his truck for new tools, deals, bogo and tools that are in the ad. The Cornwell guy brings in a lot of automotive specific tooling. If your looking for bigger tooling like what you would need working on heavy equipment he cant get it through Cornwell because they dont make it but he can get off brand cheese grade stuff for 4x's the price of what you could buy it for online.

 

[SuzukiGS750EZ]

My matco guy saw me struggling to get a crank pulley off a diesel 6.0 one day while I was doing a water pump. Walked out to his truck, grabbed the fly wheel locking tool and gave it to me to keep, said he didn't want to see me get hurt lol. The shop paid him next time he came around, as we had to help him fix his truck that day, he gave me a free pass, but I didn't feel it was right. If your gut has been in the business long enough and knows your shop or shops he visits, he should stock the tools you'd need.

 

[softailgarage]

My former dealer, who quit a couple months ago, was having trouble getting things besides the basics. He said he would try and get things to have on hand that weren't your everyday basic tools. But he said he had trouble getting things from Snap On. He said Snap On told him he should sell what he has on his truck. But like he said, what's he supposed to do when someone isn't interested in what he has on the truck? What if they need something different? He was having several problems with Snap On. Part of the reason he quit.

Not for nothing but when dealers say they cant get tools or they take weeks to months to get items that are readily available they're in financial trouble and Snap-On has shut off their credit. Tool truck franchises are a rough business but at the same time your dealer was spinning stories to save face.

Snap On sells tools to Franchisees, Franchisees sell them to customers. If he can't get tools, he's over his credit limit, plain and simple. Works that way with every tool company out there, and most other retail businesses as well. Your restaurant stops paying it's food vendors, you don't get the food. Your car repair shop doesn't pay the parts house, no parts to fix cars. Not hard to see what's happening, and they all have excuses as to why.

Thats not always true. Having been a Cornwell dealer, at times my biggest problem was not being able to get tools for 2 reasons: 1. Back orders, I don't knoiw why but they would put specials in the monthly flier and not have enough to go around. Talking to other dealers, like my old SO guy, they had the same problem. There were times when I waited for 4-5 months for tools customers had ordered and I had no control over it, it didn't have anything to do with financial problems, but, that's what the customer thought. Every week it was the same thing, "my wrench come in yet?", "Nope, still on backorder", "Ahh, you ****, I could have had it 2 weeks ago from SO, cancel my order". Great, cancel your order for the tool I have already paid for, see, most guys think we get tools on consignment or pay after they're sold, wrong, we pay once a week for what we've ordered that week. But this is another story. 2. Personally, I had a computer issue, where I would put in the order (which was a 3 phase process) and the order would get stuck in limbo during phase 2. Sometimes the order wouldn't go thru for a whole week, by that time the customer is looking for the tool he ordered last week and the order is just now going thru. Used to piss me off to no end, what was even worse is nobody knew how to correct the problem. It got to the point that when somebody ordered something I always told them 2-3 weeks, cause I didn't want to hear it and I didn'[t want them to be waiting for something that 9 out of 10 times wouldn't be there. Now, the latter problem was exclusive to me, most dealers don't have that problem, but it doesn't always mean the dealer is having financial problems.

Believe his tales if you like but ultimately Snap-On is in the business of financing and tool selling. They don't benefit from sabotaging dealers, not to mention they'd be yanked into court in a heart beat. Again the main reason dealers start blaming supply chains is financial issues then they go out of business.

You want to bet? They are not in the business of selling tools, they are in the business of selling dealerships and loans...thats it. The first day on the route my District Manager looked at me and said, " remember, your not in the business to sell tools, your in the business to sell loans, thats it". And they benefit greatly from sabotaging dealers and do it every day. Took me for every thing I had including my retirement, $140,000 and didn't bat an eye. BTW, Cornwell sued 45 of their own dealers last year...and won. Want to know more? Check it out...http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=217037

 

[softailgarage]

Now,back to the subject. It's called "tote n promote" and yes, dealers are trained to do it. I always hated it for several reasons, 1. trying to figure out what to bring in that the techs didn't already have. It was easy when something new to the market came out, but how many screwdrivers and socket wrenches can you sell? And haviong to lug around a bag full of tools is a pain. I preferred catalogs, I could get more specific with catalogs and cover a wider choice of tools. For instance, one shop would be a dealer ship and your kinda limited as far as what you can sell, most dealerships already have the heavy equipment , scanners, etc. plus they have a lot of Master Techs that have everything they need. Dealerships are also moving towards supplying toolboxes now (for insurance and aesthics reasons) so no box sales. Whats left? Specialty tools, stuff the dealship leaves up to them to buy, so its specialty catalogs, where they get good choices and I don't have to hold stock, I can order direct for them. Dealerships can be huge too. I had some where the guys would ride bikes to the parts dept and my customer count was 40+ techs at a single dealership. The next stop would be a body shop, you ever see some of the tools body shop guys use? It ***** toting around a 4 ton, 10 piece ram set. Catalogs. besides the idea is to lure you onto the truck, thats why we all have candy, soda's & water...just like a drug dealer. (seriously, thats what we're taught to do) BTW, when I was running shops, not once did I ever have a dealer, whether it be SO, Cornwell, Matco, Mac or the German tool guy bring in anything other than your weekly bill.

 

[RedneckWelder]

I don't knoiw why but they would put specials in the monthly flier and not have enough to go around. Talking to other dealers, like my old SO guy, they had the same problem. There were times when I waited for 4-5 months for tools customers had ordered and I had no control over it, it didn't have anything to do with financial problems, but, that's what the customer thought.

Something's fishy here IMHO. No, not you, but somewhere in the supply chain between the warehouse and you.

My Cornwell dealer never has any trouble getting tools on special, or anything else for that matter. Are the people you talked to that were having the same issues in your region or around the country? B/C it sounds like maybe your district people were ******* up if it's the first case.

Our Matco dealer is similarly excellent, but I prefer to buy from my Cornwell dealer b/c he has the best specials and promos. Our SO guy is a greenhorn but a nice guy and so far haven't had any trouble getting stuff yet, I just can't afford to spend a lot with him at this moment.

It's called "tote n promote"

I think that is useless BS. Everyone at my shop loves to jump on the truck and see what's new or find something they are looking for...and check out the sales flyers.

 

[bobcatdan]

I have noticed most of the time they bring in stuff in the sales flyer. If test lights and screwdrivers are on sale, that's what they bring in. Some guys will also bring in new released tools. Other guys don't bring anything.

 

[cliftonbros89]

Thats not always true. Having been a Cornwell dealer, at times my biggest problem was not being able to get tools for 2 reasons: 1. Back orders, I don't knoiw why but they would put specials in the monthly flier and not have enough to go around. Talking to other dealers, like my old SO guy, they had the same problem. There were times when I waited for 4-5 months for tools customers had ordered and I had no control over it, it didn't have anything to do with financial problems, but, that's what the customer thought. Every week it was the same thing, "my wrench come in yet?", "Nope, still on backorder", "Ahh, you ****, I could have had it 2 weeks ago from SO, cancel my order". Great, cancel your order for the tool I have already paid for, see, most guys think we get tools on consignment or pay after they're sold, wrong, we pay once a week for what we've ordered that week. But this is another story. 2. Personally, I had a computer issue, where I would put in the order (which was a 3 phase process) and the order would get stuck in limbo during phase 2. Sometimes the order wouldn't go thru for a whole week, by that time the customer is looking for the tool he ordered last week and the order is just now going thru. Used to piss me off to no end, what was even worse is nobody knew how to correct the problem. It got to the point that when somebody ordered something I always told them 2-3 weeks, cause I didn't want to hear it and I didn'[t want them to be waiting for something that 9 out of 10 times wouldn't be there. Now, the latter problem was exclusive to me, most dealers don't have that problem, but it doesn't always mean the dealer is having financial problems.









You want to bet? They are not in the business of selling tools, they are in the business of selling dealerships and loans...thats it. The first day on the route my District Manager looked at me and said, " remember, your not in the business to sell tools, your in the business to sell loans, thats it". And they benefit greatly from sabotaging dealers and do it every day. Took me for every thing I had including my retirement, $140,000 and didn't bat an eye. BTW, Cornwell sued 45 of their own dealers last year...and won. Want to know more? Check it out...http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=217037

I know things being back ordered was part of the problem as well. I know it wasn't his fault. Not to mention I'm pretty positive it wasn't cuz he was going under. But like I said he told me that was one of the reasons for him quitting. He was tired of dealing with Snap On.

 

[rodsnratfinks]

Our Snap On guy is very well stocked. He's been in the business a long time and makes a killing. He doesn't even need to work anymore, actually, but it gives him something to do and he has a very loyal following. He gives some of the best deals I've ever seen or heard of and he has a lot of stuff on the truck at any given time. It's too bad meet him so late in the game (when I was about to get married and already had most of my stuff). Otherwise, I would likely have spent my paycheck there for shiny toolsets I don't really need instead of on things that actually matter.

Sent via homing pigeon using methamphetamines