Sales Tip: How to beat online competition

The online deal doesn't include in-person warranty service, nor does it have the benefit of breaking the full purchase price into affordable weekly payments. Being a dealer with a motto of "I'm sorry it broke," rather than that all too common, "How did you break it?" makes you the go-to tool dealer of choice.

That's not to say that if I had a customer bringing me a bent screwdriver every week, I wouldn't try to help them with the purchase of a pry bar set. Even if the customer's tool is covered by warranty, the inconvenience of having a non-working tool until your next visit to the shop is an aggravating issue for your customer. That's another reason it's never acceptable to skip a shop. It's so easy now to text a reliable person in that shop to let them know you can't make it by that week. In the "old days", I'd call the shop and talk to the service manager to tell them I couldn't make it in. Service managers usually have so much going on that my message would seldom make it to the techs. They'd want to know where I was. Make sure they understand, if they have a warranty or a need tool, you'll figure out how to take care of them. They need to know that dependable, weekly service is a top priority for you.