Tales from the road: Just call her Mrs. Cornwell

Wife and homemaker Angelica Platero’s children were grown and she wanted to take on a new challenge. After talking about it with a family friend who is a tool dealer, Platero decided that she wanted to give the business a try.

Within her first two years driving a Cornwell Tools truck, Platero was named a top 100 dealer twice and Cornwell Woman of the Year. She had developed something of a following in her territory.

It’s safe to say Platero is happy with her decision. After raising four children, Platero jokes that being a tool dealer is a more relaxing job.

But in all seriousness, three years after she started, she loves what she does. When she first got into the industry, Platero says that being a woman presented some challenges, “but not now.”

“Everybody is very respectful, and they’re very nice,” Platero says of her customers. “I get surprised because they even ask me questions and opinions about tools.”

She enjoys learning about new products by reading and getting information from customers who have purchased and used the tools. When a customer is excited about a product, Platero says she gets excited about it as well and passes that energy on to her other customers.

Working long hours, as many dealers do, is nothing new to Platero.

“I get up early, I do what I have to do,” she says. “For me it’s not a big deal waking up early, and it’s not a big deal working late.”

When she’s on the job, she also doesn’t push her customers to purchase products that they can’t afford.

“That’s one thing that everybody likes,” she says. “They say ‘you never push us to buy anything,’ and I say, ‘I don’t have to.’”

Platero’s regular customers find in her more than just a means to purchase tools. To them, her truck is a place to confide, vent about work and just chat.

“You can say whatever you want,” she tells her customers. “Here is like Las Vegas: whatever you say, it stays in the truck.”

Her work ethic, product knowledge and relationship with her customers certainly seem to have paid off.

“She’s been a top 100 dealer her first two years in the business,” said Dave Henrie, Platero’s district manager.

She’s also developed a bit of a following along her routes, with new customers often requesting that she stop at their business.

“They call me Señora Cornwell,” Platero laughs. “I’m Mrs. Cornwell … the Cornwell lady.”

Platero’s advice to newcomers in the industry is straightforward and simple: “Keep working and don’t get disappointed, because it’s not easy,” she says. “At the beginning you have to work long hours until you get established.”

Building a favorable reputation is a good start to being successful, she says. Once dealers become established and have a positive rapport with their customers, word of mouth can help get their names out and really increase their chance to do well in the industry.

One of the best things about Platero’s job is how it makes her feel.

“For me it’s nice because I make my kids proud of me,” she says. She takes pride in her work and hasn’t let anything stand in her way. “It’s really rewarding, and being a woman is not something that has kept me from [succeeding]. Not at all.”