Here's why i ask. We've had issue's with our Mac rep's not staying in business, like we've had 4 in about 6 years.. And now we have been without a dealer for over 4 months with no contact what so ever from the company to let us know if we are even going to get a new rep. Our problem, along with a lot of other shops in the area is broken tools that need to be either replaced or repaired.. We have no way to get them fixed. I checked all my paperwork and have no phone number for customer service, and don't have a catolog either. I know i can search the web, but figured if anyone was a dealer they might have a direct line i could call to find out what's going on. Sorry for the off topic post, but i'm at my breaking point. I make my living with my tools and when the're broke thats kinda hard to do. I've alway's bought both Snap on and Mac tools, but i think after this ordeal i'm going to have to stick with Snap on only at the shop... He's there every week. Thanks fella's. Tony
A LOT of franchised route tool dealers are going out of business because of fuel expenses and with these lifetime "if you break it-we'll replace it no charge" deals. If you are not (not you personally) just general terms, buying new tools but always replacing broken ones for free well it's kind of tough to make a living. Quite a few around here have gone belly up and it appears that Snap-On - Mac - Matco etc. are going to company owned trucks with a company paid guy on a salary to cover their customer base. Franchised tool guys are being phased out from what I have heard. Probably explains your 4 guys in 6 years ! Good luck, Cob
We had the exact same problem. I flat out refuse to buy anthing further from Mac or Matco for those reasons. Our Mac schmuck is in tomorrow. I'll try to get a # for you. He'll think that I'm trying to call in a complaint about him but whatever. P.S. I just remebered. The previous Mac guy (5 years ago) backed his fucking truck right into my pickup. I wouldn't even let him park on our lot after that. Made him park next door at the trans shop. Never even apologized. Fucking asswad.
from www.mactools.com: By Phone - Toll Free at 1-800-622-8665 By email at MacToolsTSS@Stanleyworks.com By fax - 614-755-7061 Tell them Jesse sent you.
i have the same prob.i have broke mac & matco tools and no dealer...havent had either in years ..my snap-on guy is pretty good .ive even e-mailed both brands and didnt get any responce
That should work Unkl, thanks a lot!!! I'll make sure to tell 'em Jesse sent me I do realise what was said about the franchise dealers and cost's, expecially when your not alway's buying tools. I became pretty good friends with our last dealer, and he was working for Mac (company owned as Cob said), not a franchise owner. He was having issue's making money at the job because the last few dealers had fucked it up so bad many tech's wouldn't do business with Mac. (Which now i can fully understand why) He did well for the time he was there, but realised it wasn't well enough. There's different tool's from both Mac and Snap on that i prefer from each, and it kinda sucks that we can't get the service promised when spending the cash we do on them, which i'm sure you all know are not cheep by any means. I can respect the guy's for backing out and taking care of themselves as the're the only one's who can.. What i have a problem with is the company itself for not even contacting anyone to let them know that 'yes' you will, or 'no' you will no longer have a dealership in that area..which,is in the city and a damn big route beside's. It's sad that a company that's been around as long as Mac has dosn't seem to care about the people who buy the're stuff..or if they do, they have a real funny way of letting thier costomer's know.. Again, thanks a lot guy's for the help. hopefully i can find out whats going on and help out some other tech's int he area as well as myself. Tony
over the past 3 years(edit:for like 6 or 7 years Mac or ocasionally Cornwell is ALL i have bought!) i have bought a bitchen box off the truck($3500) and about $1000 in tools ,for some gay reason,my tool guy transfered my account to the "mac credit card" ,,well.their rate is like 21 percent,,so,i paid it off like 2 months later,,..and i havent seen the fuck since.......,well,i did,,,i caught him at my buddies shop,,,and i hit him up about some warranty stuff,,that was about a month ago,,havent seen him since,,,,
we didn't have a mac dealer here for four years. then we finally get one and he goes around to all the shops to the guys that still owed mac money from the last dealer and talks to all of them like they are thieves. keep in mind we hadn't seen a mac truck in four years. then he bogs when it comes to warranting any of the tools. well he lasted for about 6 or 8 months. so, again we havn't seen a mac truck now for about 3 years.
Somewhat O/T but not really...... My Mac tools guys quit.......some fellas were buying Mac stuff off eBay.....broke stuff....real cheap. The eBay dealer even advertised " lifetime warranty " ...get your Mac dealer to replace it FREE... and my guy went almost broke trying to honor it......BUT it comes out of his pocket...not MACS..according to him... Takes a sorry POS to buy broke junk and then try to get a fellow to warranty it when he bought it broke & used......IMHO......
Yeah thier 21% interest rate through "mac credit" is nut's. I bought a box a couple years ago for home and it was through the dealer at first, then like you, switched over to the credit company.. I'm in the process now of getting a loan to pay it off. I wasn't too happy with that at all, but it had nothing to do with the dealer, once again it was the company. I left an email last night to thier costomer service addy, and they responded today telling me they are having a hard time finding a sale's rep for our area, but that they will. Unfortunatly they don't know when. They also gave me a number to call to get my stuff fixed. Then fax them a list of what you need fixed. Once they get it, they will send out a paid shipping label for the box to send them back in order to have it taken care of. I guess thats what we'll have to do at the shop to get our stuff repaired.. I will give them credit for getting back to me so soon, and maybe i'm expecting too much, but i still think it all sucks. Oh well, i guess thats just part of life now day's.
I've been buying Mac, snap-on etc. at swap meets lately. If I break one I'll just find another one. Not buying from the company so I don't want to try to warranty them. I do like the tools but not the retail prices. It's a trade off for me, warranty or price. jerry
I think you just hit the nail on the head as to why i'm upset with them now. I have alway's bought my stuff from the dealers, never from anywhere else. One of the reason's why is when something was to go wrong with a tool, i'd be seeing the dealer the next week and thing's would get taken care of.. The prices are high, but my feeling's on that were your not just paying for the tools, your also paying for service.
Tony - EXACTLY - Paying for service and tools. That's why I buy only Snap-on now. BTW - My mom was born/raised in Rochester. Spent my summers up there when I was a wee 'lil tyke. Hillside ave. Miss it. Good memories. Good people.
I had this exact problem except with Snap On a couple of years ago -- I know its not the same company but I would assume they are managed roughly the same. Get someone at Mac on the phone and find out your district managers name -- there is someone in your area who is responsible for having someone at your shop to look after your warranty and if you dont have a truck assigned to your area at that point in time then it is up to them to get someone from a neighboring area to look after it. I ended up having to lodge a formal complaint with Snap On about our district manager to finally get him to look after things but then he was very very nice and prompt. Your exactly right when you say its the service not just the tools you are paying for. Also unless it is different in the US than Canada the dealers DO NOT pay for warranty tools -- they box and mark everything and then send it to the head office and are given a credit for the amount warrantied it is the company not the dealer who offers the warranty -- so dont feel bad about getting warranty on broken tools you didnt buy from the dealer -- remember that when it was sold a profit was made by the company and a lifetime warranty given for the tool not the owner so that tool is always warrantable. Sorry for my long winded post but I had a real issue with tool companies and hate the fact I have to support them in order to work.
The Jalopy Journal
