Greg Dempster is a multi-route operator out of a small town, Barrie, in Central Ontario, Canada. Dempster’s routes cover the surrounding rural areas north of Toronto, where he works in an area with a population of around 250,000. His business takes him in and out of the city and around the outskirts as he works to get automotive tools and equipment to those who need them.
Dempster has enjoyed the independent distributor life since 2017, though he’s only more recently begun making a name for himself as part of the Milwaukee Tool team. Dempster runs a 2007 GMC C5500 truck with an 18’ box, which he stocks with a variety of sockets, impact wrenches, rubber gloves, safety glasses, and everything in between.
This distributor saw an opportunity to improve the local scene, a niche market that he felt was underserved. With that in mind, Dempster decided to start an independent business to see what happened, but found things quickly taking off from there. Now, he’s taking his neck of the Canadian woods, so to speak, by storm.
But he wasn’t always running routes. Before crossing over into the distribution game, Dempster cut his teeth on tire shops as a service manager at Harper Tire, putting his skills as a technician to good use to ensure visitors always came away satisfied. In addition, he worked at a few big box stores during that time. He’s always been one to make sure anyone he interacts with comes away feeling good about their time spent together, especially when he’s providing goods or services.
The customer experience is an important part of the business for Dempster. He finds there’s a real lack of meaningful customer service across the industry, as “everybody’s in a hurry.” Still, it’s a tenet that he aspires to keep alive in his line of business, even when it seems the mindset is dwindling.
“Nobody wants to take the time to help a customer out,” he said. “I’m a big fan of doing that. I like to make sure that the customer is happy when he’s got his product. I carry a lot of demos on my truck as my big theory is ‘try before you buy.’”
It’s likely clear by now that when it comes to a fantastic experience for the people he serves, Dempster always delivers — literally. As he works with around 13 additional drivers, he can make tools and equipment accessible to those who need them without having to make buyers wait by making deliveries on a regular basis.
“We have the ability, especially in the low and high seasons where we have drivers standing around and we aren’t very busy,” Dempster said. “We’re lucky to have the ability to pick a product up from our warehouse and drop it off to the customer in that same day,” he said of the unique option he offers his customers.
“I don’t want to be the same truck as everybody else,” said Dempster. “I want to be something unique and something different.” He believes working with Milwaukee Tool is a great arrangement that helps him provide that type of experience as his business grows and evolves.
But even though he enjoys working as part of a fruitful partnership, he’d never trade his independence for a position within a company. He values the freedom he has to create positive, beneficial services for the customers he deals with day in and day out.
“I’ve worked for corporations over the years, and you beat to their drum. If you don’t like their philosophy, you’re stuck with them,” said Dempster. “I don’t feel any business should be like that. Working with Milwaukee helps me keep a good handle on [things], for sure.”
