Craftsman at Lowe's and Ace

[Dave Lehnert]

With the sale of Craftsman to Stanley, Whatever you thought of craftsman tools in the past (Good or bad) is all kinda out the window.
One should form their opinion on the quality of the new stuff.

[Frederick Skelly]

Businesses have sterilized the customer relationship down to just making the financial transaction. In doing so, they opened the door to online competition.

Roger, this is a good insight. There are also other factors, but "opened the door" is certainly accurate. Thanks for pointing it out to me.

Ole, FWIW, I've bought some craftsman hand tools at Lowes recently and thought they were fine. They aren't SnapOn, but they do what I need.

You folks have a good day!
Fred

[Mike Cutler]

. After all, if all you get at a brick and mortar store is a competent checkout, why bother going there?

Roger
I'd actually settle for that these days.
I try to do what business I can with locally owned business. There's no avoiding the chains, or online, but I try to find local businesses to support whenever possible.

My two negative dealings with Sears were many, many, years ago. I realized then, that they were doomed. They were a mess, and this was in the 90's. It's to bad really, they were once an icon brand. They just wouldn't adapt to the times.

[Stan Calow]

I was sad to see my local Sears close. They at least had older salespeople who could make change and give advice based on experience. People say they want good customer service, but the reality is 90% of shoppers only care about getting the best price. Not long before you have to go to Amazon for everything.

[Jim Koepke]

Businesses have sterilized the customer relationship down to just making the financial transaction. In doing so, they opened the door to online competition. After all, if all you get at a brick and mortar store is a competent checkout, why bother going there?

the reality is 90% of shoppers only care about getting the best price.

A major problem for brick & mortar is of their own making. Good help is hard to find. The problem is when keeping the 'good help' there has to be an incentive like increasing salary or other perks.

In the '90s many large stores felt their biggest overhead cost was their long term employees. They didn't see this as an investment or as one of their greatest assets. Many of the B&M stores in my area had great floor staff to answer my questions. They had obtained this from years of experience. Often the schedule of my favorite sales peope was known and my trip to a store would be based on being able to find a person of my acquaintance at work to help or just say hi.

One large chain, (Circuit City if my memory is working), in effect committed suicide by firing all of their long time help and hiring all new sales staff at a much lower pay. It may have saved them some money, but not enough:

Corporate leaders who think they can slash expenses without customers noticing might want to give Circuit City Stores Inc.'s top brass a call. The electronics retailer is living the nightmare of cost cutting gone bad.

The Richmond, Va., company has been in a downward spiral since it said last spring that it would lay off thousands of experienced workers it candidly said it could replace with cheaper new ones.

Too bad that service matters in that corner of the retail market. Shoppers quickly noticed and fled - leaving Circuit City's sales and profit plunging. Its same-store holiday sales, reported on Monday, fell 11.4 percent.

Yes there is a class of customer who will go in to a store to ask all about a product and then look elsewhere for the lowest price. Many times if there is a problem after the sale, they have only themselves to blame.

Often though a good sales person will also be a good source of help if a problem develops after the sale.

Yes, many of my purchases are made via the internet. Very seldom is it done to save just a few dollars.

jtk

[Frederick Skelly]

Yes there is a class of customer who will go n to a store to ask all about a product and then look elsewhere for the lowest price. Many times if there is a problem after the sale, they have only themselves to blame.

+1. If I go into a brick and mortar store to get advice on what to buy, or to compare several items, I will buy it from them up to 20% higher. If I go to a car dealership and drive multiple models when deciding what to buy, I always give the salesman a chance to beat the best price I found. Both are my way of paying them for the service they provided.

[Bill Dufour]

Several year ago CalFire decided to get rid of experienced fire fighters since they cost too much. At least one strike team died by sheltering where they should not have because of inexperienced leadership on the ground.. Claim was a more experienced team leader would have either not gone there or got out to a safer place. No idea how the state was able to fire anyone with more then 20 years experience and not lose a discrimination lawsuit.
Bill D.

[Greg Parrish]

If you want SnapOn quality but at Craftsman like prices, look at the Williams line from JH Williams (SnapOn parent). It’s their industrial line but they are basically the same tools as the SnapOn in many cases. Also the service is just as awesome as SnapOn. I found a great dealer online for them at a place called Tools Delivered. For me, it was an easy switch for hand tools like wrenches and sockets.

Roger, this is a good insight. There are also other factors, but "opened the door" is certainly accurate. Thanks for pointing it out to me.

Ole, FWIW, I've bought some craftsman hand tools at Lowes recently and thought they were fine. They aren't SnapOn, but they do what I need.

You folks have a good day!
Fred

[Tom M King]

I'm still using some Craftsman wrenches, and sockets that I bought in the 1960's. I forget when I stopped buying their stuff, but there are some later made ratchets that are in about 45 feet of water, along with an assortment of other things that were put in the "only good for seeing how far you can throw it" category.

Greg, I had no idea about the Williams connection. I recently bought some 3/4, and 1" drive impact sockets and extensions that were Williams. I bought them because the price seemed reasonable, especially since they will very rarely get used, but was really surprised with their quality the first time I used them.

[Greg Parrish]

I love them. Made in USA. Same great materials as SnapOn. In many cases I find the only difference is the finish quality or maybe the Williams design is the prior SnapOn model. Regardless the machining is crisp and accurate, the metal is good quality and the service is unreal. Everything I’ve ordered has shipped quickly and any backorders are shipped as they come available. It’s crazy but I’ve received boxes with one socket at a time as they came off backorder. Also had new ones replaced simply because I commented about a smudge or scratch on the finish. And lastly the rep called one day and offered me a free tool of my choice just for making a bunch of online purchases when upgrading my sockets. I chose and they sent me a 1/2” swivel head ratchet, like a $55 item, for free.

Anyway, I love their tools including their super combo wrenches. Back in the day, they made the Kobalt wrenches for Lowe’s (around 2001). They were awesome and that’s where I first found out about JH Williams. Still have my set and use them often.

Sorry to be be a fan boy but think they are great value and quality for the price.

I'm still using some Craftsman wrenches, and sockets that I bought in the 1960's. I forget when I stopped buying their stuff, but there are some later made ratchets that are in about 45 feet of water, along with an assortment of other things that were put in the "only good for seeing how far you can throw it" category.

Greg, I had no idea about the Williams connection. I recently bought some 3/4, and 1" drive impact sockets and extensions that were Williams. I bought them because the price seemed reasonable, especially since they will very rarely get used, but was really surprised with their quality the first time I used them.

[Tom M King]

The only reasons I bought them were because I didn't want Chinese junk, and the prices were reasonable. Using them on large Grade 8 bolts on a tractor, they took the bolts out with an air wrench, and I reinstalled with them using a torque wrench. They didn't get stuck on the bolt heads, or nuts, and no marring of the flats, or corners on the bolt heads, or nuts.

[Brian Elfert]

You have to be careful with Williams if you care about about buying USA items. They carry stuff made in the USA and also stuff made in Taiwan.

[lowell holmes]

I buy from Lowes and Home Depot. Home Depot seams to have a broader selection, but both are good stores.
I've had adjustments at Lowes with no questions ask.

[fritz eng]

A Lowe's salesman told me that there are 2 lines that bear the Craftsman name: the Lowes line and the Sears line (stores that remain opened as SEARS). The 2 are NOT the same. I was told the Craftsman line sold at Lowe's is the better/original quality line while the other line is not. Cannot verify. I also read there is a law suit by Lowes claiming that SEARS is violating a branding infringement. Cannot verify either. Good luck

[Greg Parrish]

You have to be careful with Williams if you care about about buying USA items. They carry stuff made in the USA and also stuff made in Taiwan.

Good point. The items I’ve bought were the USA made items and they are the ones that tend to mimic some of the SnapOn items.