Problems With Snap-On Dealer

Keith Browning · February 19, 2018

What would you do?

I have been in the business 30+ years and don't see retiring anytime soon. Like all of you I have a decent amount of tools and a nice big shiny tool box with a good amount of Snap-On tools in my Snap-On tool box. At this point in time I still purchase new items and I am in the need to replace a lot of old stuff that is simply worn out, broken and stuff that has been lost over the years. My story is that for some time I was supporting my family one paycheck while my wife cared for and raised our children. With money being extremely tight there was not much funding available for tools so I infrequently purchased anything.

Almost two years ago my Snappy dealer stopped coming to visit me despite being in my shop every week and the reason is still unknown to this day so I can only assume that since I haven't purchased anything for a while that I was not worth his time... therefore he is no longer worthy of my business. I am quite pissed at this guy and have lost respect for him to the point where I really would rather not deal with him at all to be honest. I could be the bigger man and confront him but at this point all love has been lost. I am not the only one who feels this way but other guys need to buy tools so they do. But, I do go onto the Snap-On website and have entertained the idea of knocking on the door of another dealer who loves close to me in my neighborhood. Either way I am afraid of causing problems for this dealer and If I buy tools on line I do not want the dealer that is supposed to be mine to have any involvement or receive payment for the products I purchase... if that happens. I am tired of sneaking around.

I am also considering writing Snap-On corporate with my story and to seek a resolution.

Opinions?

JoeR · February 19, 2018

The Snap-on tool dealers are Franchisees. They have paid for, and own a protected territory. It is not so much geographic. It is a list of calls that came with their franchise.

If you do business with another franchisee, they could get burned for doing so.

If you purchase directly online, and they can connect the sale to your franchisee, they will pay him his commission. If they can't connect the sale to him, then he won't.

On a personal note: I've seen this scenario a gazillion times. From the Dealer's point of view, if a customer stops purchasing from them, eventually they're going to stop asking. From the customer point of view, if a Dealer stops coming to see them, it's an insult. Broken fences are tough to mend. If it was me, I'd talk to the guy about it, but I'm wired that way. It's either gonna work out, or it won't, but I hate leaving anything unsaid. I wish I could say that has been a good thing for me, but it's the only way I can sleep at night.

So you know, you can still get your stuff warrantied. Call Snap-on customer service and they will UPS you whatever you've broken.

Joe

Keith Browning · February 19, 2018

I understand the franchise thing and territories therefore I am not comfortable with turning to another dealer. I get that. But as far as I am concerned the guy who is SUPPOSED to take care of me has made a conscious decision NOT to bother with me I it is my opinion that he is not my dealer any more nor do I want him to be. Since he has decided not to do business with me he has no right to any commission or profit. This is why I am considering contacting Snap-On and ask that I no longer be tied to him and his territory. I have no problem ordering on-line but had no idea that I could warranty tools with them directly. Thank you for the tip!

exmod110 · February 20, 2018

Go to the other rep out side of work, "cold call" style. buy what you need and say no more. I cant see how anyone could catch shit for a customer walking onto their truck, but its another story if they called in to your work place. I have not seen a Snap-on dealer in over 3 years even though he is in town every other week. I do how ever see my Mac tools dealer infrequently but regularly. We don't buy much but when we do its going to be from the rep that act takes the time to visit and warranty their product. My gf got some clothing as a christmas gift from Mac tools online. My rep didn't know anything about it. With an address they would know who's territory it is in and could credit them but didn't sound like it happens that way. online orders appear to be straight corporate profit.

Keith Browning · February 20, 2018

If you have ever ordered Snap-On tools online, when filling out the information form there is a check box used to indicate if you have a dealer... which I leave unchecked but I don't trust it 100%.

batmantech · February 21, 2018

I have called snap on when we did not have a dealer. The process was very easy. Give them a part number and they send it right out no cost and did not have to return broken stuff. They did ask if we had a dealer.

I have some mixed feelings on our current dealer. My favorite quote from him recently is "are you ever going to f#$%en buy something?" and yes he was serious.

DieselD · February 21, 2018

Ive seen this many times, the dealer will start to ignore you about tools or hassle you about warranty if your not regularly buying tools. Well at some point the tech is going to have what they need and simply need to maintain what they have. IMO this is no reason not to check in on a customer(tech) from time to time to make sure they dont need anything, share promotions or new tools with them. However It is a fine line with being oversold or being ignored. I know some guys absolutely hate a tool guy coming up to their bay and interrupting their work and would rather walk on the truck or flag the guy down when they need something. I was one of these guys, I did not want to be approached to be sold something 3 times a week by 3 different dealers since it always turns into a BS session and wasting 20mins of your day. I would rather walk on the truck if I decided I need something. The snapon dealer we had at the dealer was actually pretty good about this. He would leave you alone for the most part and if he had not seen you in a few weeks would make it a point to stop over and say hi real quick to make sure you where good and didnt need anything.

I have/had a really good snapon guy when at the dealer, when going to work from my current employer we started from nothing. No shop or tool dealers. I pushed to get the same dealer over to my new employer rather then have to get stuck with whoever was closest to the shop since we had a good relationship. For a few years I simply would call him up and stop by his house if we needed anything. Eventually we got enough techs in the shop to justify needing a regular weekly stop. The dealer was actually able to make use an official route stop in someone else territory but I remember him saying it was a pain in the ass to make it happen. I think it only happened since we had just started a "shop" and had no other dealers. I doubt you could switch dealers as an individual, maybe if the entire shop felt that way and filed a complaint with snapon but you are probably out of luck on your own.

I really wish snap on corporate would hold their franchises at a higher standard for customer service