When Matt Rowaan found himself coming home from his job as an automotive technician more irritated than happy, he knew it was time for a change. Seeing a local route open up, Rowaan considered purchasing it. At the time, his mobile tool dealer, James Vahrmeyer, was happy to allow Rowaan to ride along with him for a few days to see if the technician would enjoy it. Though Rowaan didn’t end up buying the route, Vahrmeyer did and hired Rowaan to work it.
Seven years later, Rowaan is still running his route through the Niagara region of Canada as a part of the two-man team (himself and Vahrmeyer) that makes up the independent mobile tool dealer business, Toolbox Inc.
Rowaan predominantly travels through St. Catharines and Thorold in Ontario where he visits a mix of dealerships, independent shops, and agricultural customers. With the large number of wineries in Niagara, Rowaan also sells tools to a company that services and sells equipment to harvest grapes.
“They’re not seeing people off the street [like technicians do], but they need tools too,” Rowaan says.
Though many of the tools his agricultural customers need are the same as those a technician uses, some need to be bigger, such as larger diameter crow’s feet for use on hydraulic lines. Additionally, these customers are big on cordless, as many of them are doing repairs to equipment out in a field, a vineyard, or an orchard.
During his time in the business, Rowaan has learned some important lessons, such as how to be more efficient. Starting out, he says one of his biggest challenges was getting through all his stops in a day. Between the obligatory chit chat and the seemingly never-ending phone calls, it can be tough. To combat this, he suggests planning out your route better. Look at the stops you’re making and decide if certain stops are worthwhile. If not, maybe drop that stop or visit them less frequently. To ensure Rowaan hits everyone he needs to see, he works a two-week rotation with his customers.
For further efficiency, he’ll bring the debit terminal into the shop that has tap to pay.
“That saves me a lot of time, and it adds up every day,” Rowaan says.
Though efficiency is important, Rowaan never skimps on providing excellent customer service. He notes that you should treat people how you would want to be treated, so when a customer is in a jam and needs a tool that Rowaan doesn’t have on his truck, he’ll call another customer to see if they can borrow the tool for a bit.
Rowaan explains that he’ll also deliver tools on his way home, first thing in the morning, leave them at his house for a customer to pick up, or sometimes Vahrmeyer’s wife will help out by picking up a tool that they have at their “shop”, but not on the truck.
“The shop” is what they call Vahrmeyer’s large garage. They use it as a storage facility for larger stock such as A/C machines, transmission jacks, floor jacks, etc, and it’s large enough to park both of their trucks. They also have an area in the shop where they can sort orders.
“Customer service is a big thing,” Rowaan says. “We’ve outlasted a substantial amount of [other] distributors on the routes.”
Overall, Rowaan notes that the future of Toolbox Inc. is open to a variety of possibilities, including the potential of a new truck for him and perhaps an expansion towards Hamilton in the next couple years.
Regardless of what happens, Rowaan is happy to be running his route instead of turning a wrench.
