07/27/2023
We all like to make jokes about the cost of Snap On tools. “The R**e Van”, “Uh oh, here comes Strap On” all that stuff. I’m guilty of it too, but let me tell you a little story about this ratchet.
I’m pretty sure this ratchet is the very first Snap On tool I ever bought when I was just an 18 year old kid. Way back in 1996, this ratchet by itself cost almost as much as the rest of my entire Craftsman tool set and about half of what I got paid for a whole week’s work. Mike Gerrald was my dealer and set me up on weekly payments.
Just holding it in my hands and feeling how the mechanism worked I could tell that my Craftsman ratchet was not even from the same planet. This ratchet was really nice, but my old ratchet did the job. If it broke, it would be replaced free of charge. Why spend money that I didn’t have just to do the same thing?
Well, here we are almost 23 years later. My dealer, Mike Gerrald is still in business. Comes by every week. Craftsman? Still waiting on a Craftsman truck to show up. I have used this ratchet almost every day since then to fix something of my own or for a customer. How many dollars do you think it has generated in all these years of almost daily use? Divide the initial cost by 23 years. Doesn’t seem too expensive when you look at it that way. As long as I don’t lose it, it will be here working 23 more years. I’m typing this on a $1000 phone that is only good for a couple years at best. My grandchildren most likely will be using this same ratchet to make a living or work on their own stuff.
It’s not exactly the same ratchet, it’s been worn completely out many times, but I never had to buy another. The Snap On man comes to my shop and replaces what’s broken or worn out, free of charge. It still gets used on almost every job that comes in my shop.
It’s fun to pick at the Snap On man and make jokes about how much his tools cost. I still do it from time to time, but take a second think about what exactly you are joking about. I think about my own business, and how I feel when people say the same things about me. I think about all my success over the last 23 years and how Snap On tools have been such a huge part of it. I have always put quality ahead of everything else here. Well, time to pick up this ratchet and get back on it! Michael Gerrald Stuart Jacks
