When Wayne Liebnitzky refers to Monkey 1, Monkey 2, and Monkey 3, he’s not talking about the cute, furry friends at the local zoo; he’s talking about his staff. Liebnitzky runs a mobile tool dealer business called Monkey Tools — named by his wife as a play on monkey wrenches — that serves central Florida. He has three guys working routes for him — Jeff Jennings, CJ Irizar, and Nigel Clarke — serving mostly dealerships, small shops, and heavy duty truck shops. Recently, business has exploded in large part because they know how to have fun.
“Everybody sells steak, but nobody quite gets the sizzle on the steak like we do,” Liebnitzky says. “We’re selling the sizzle, not the steak — you’re selling your personality.”
Monkey 1 drives a 2007 MT45 18' Freightliner; Monkey 2 drives a 1997 C6500 20' GMC Topkick; Monkey 3 drives a 2004 MT45 18' Freightliner; and Liebnitzky himself drives a Rover 2018 Ford 250 with 16’ trailer when needed. However, he spends most of his time behind the desk chasing products for customers.
“I will do some deliveries myself or fill in when one of the guys is on vacation … but I stay pretty busy in trying to find products — it’s a huge advantage. When you’re on a truck, you’re depending on whoever you’re ordering from to chase it for you and get back to you and they might just put it on back order and you’re never informed,” Liebnitzky says. “Let me do the hunting.”
Liebnitzky went independent in the height of the pandemic — June 2020 — after being let go from Mac Tools. With 15 years in the business under his belt as well as a marketing degree, he felt confident he could start up his own independent business. At one point, Monkey Tools was the only tool company running in central Florida, Liebnitzky says, and he tried to be as accommodating as possible to his customers given the challenges posed by COVID-19.
“There were guys out there who had to work, they had to feed their family, and if they were scheduled to pay 50 percent but they could only pay 25 percent, then that’s what we did because I knew they would make it up — and they did,” he explains.
On the truck
Monkey Tools’ customers are given complimentary soft drinks or water when they step on the truck, and while they like that added touch, what impresses them the most is the large amount of inventory on the truck.
“I get so many people who come on the truck and say, ‘Finally, a tool truck that has tools…’ We have three trucks that are fully stocked — you need to have the truck fully stocked to overtake the competition,” Liebnitzky says. “There’s one stop we go to and there’s six to eight people standing outside waiting in line to get on the truck.”
The tools are displayed on shelves and on the ceiling — Liebnitzky and his team are constantly putting up new products. They also try to rotate some of the items around the truck.
“Some [customers] have a natural habit of looking on the left side for things and if they are walking out, they might look on the left and say, ‘Hey, I need one of these’ and it’s been on the truck for maybe four months in a different spot."
Each truck has an entire top shelf dedicated to Milwaukee because Monkey Tools moves a ton of Milwaukee products.
“We take care of your Milwaukee repairs. We even take care of Milwaukee cordless if you bought it elsewhere," Liebnitzky says, adding that most folks do not realize that buying Milwaukee products online does not have a warranty.
Each Monkey Tools truck is outfitted with barcode-reading software to manage inventory and customer information. The "monkeys" simply slide the customer’s credit card to capture their information.
“Instead of taking 10 minutes to add a customer’s information, it takes 10 seconds,” Liebnitzky says. “It’s so much more efficient.”
He also has a scanner gun that he takes around the truck and scans all the products for inventory purposes and to quickly identify the price.
Branding and marketing
Monkey Tools has been so successful that it now has its own branded tools. Word of mouth works fantastic in this industry, Liebnitzky says, adding it’s all about brand recognition. He hands out an annual wall calendar and many of his customers get quite the shock when they realize it’s monkeys on every page instead of pin-up girls!
“Most of these guys probably take the calendar home and their wives love the calendars because it’s cute monkeys, and they will call us if they want to buy their husband something or get a gift certificate for the truck,” he says. “My approach to marketing is not just for the guys.”
The company’s tagline, "Retooling America," has helped it gain traction as it instills the philosophy that “we are constantly building with innovation,” Liebnitzky says.
“The tool trade is evolving, and we must adapt to technology,” he explains. “The mobile tool trade needed to adjust to survive and streamline in order to compete.”
And while Liebnitzky describes his business as “comedy on wheels,” his guys know when to get serious.
“It’s all about humor. You have a little fun, but then when it gets down to business, it’s business,” he says. “It’s about getting [our customers] the right product as quickly as they need it.”
