Why you should buy tools from Hilti!

Why you should buy Hilti tools!

As the operations manager at Village Builders Inc. I buy all the tools for the company. The busier we are the more tools that require for the growing number of employee’s. The busier you are the more your existing tools get used and abused, thus you have to repair and replace them more frequently.

If you have ever been in a big box construction store you would know that the verity of tools and tool companies has exploded in the last 15 years. Other than the price for a lot of people it’s really hard to tell what good tools are and what are cheap handy man tools. In a business that relies on their tools to bring in the money, buying the wrong tool or tool brand can cost you a lot of money.

The next time you are in one of these big box stores and see dozens of different tool brands, look closely and you will see a lot of similarities in the tools. Parts on one drill look like they’d fit on another that is a different brand, the reality is that they probably would. Those dozens of tool brands are actually owned by only a couple of companies. I will give you an example; if you buy Dewalt tools you are actually buying from Bosch. Bosch bought Dewalt in the last couple of years, Dewalt was owned by Black and Decker. Which means Bosch now also owns Black and Decker. There are other tool brands that Bosch also owns, more than you would think.

All these companies have one thing in common, volume sales. If you buy these brands they come with a warranty of about a year. If you want that warranty the tool has to be sent to facility that repairs them. The average turnaround time to get your tool warranted is about a 4 to 6 weeks. To people that just use their tools on the weekend that probably doesn’t sound like a long time. To a construction company that is an eternity. If I have to lose a tool for 4 to 6 weeks, that means I have to go out and buy a new tool to replace it for that month. Then when the tool returns I have two of them, when I might only need one. If you have ever rented a tool for a week or longer from a rental store you would have realized that for the price of the rental it’s actually cheaper to buy the tool outright.

So for construction companies like Village Builders I found the solution, it’s a company called HILTI. You probably have heard of them, they are the company that pioneered the powder activated nail gun the “HILTI GUN”. It basically uses a 22 gauge load of gun powder to shoot nails into concrete and steel, saving you the time of having to drill a hole and drive or screw a faster in. They are also famous for their large breaking hammers and drills.

Hilti sells a wide variety of tools now days. They are heavily invested in the cordless tool market. Hilti is a company that is constantly striving to perfect their tool and are never afraid to reinvent a tool or tool design. Hilti tools are known in the construction industry as an extremely well built tool. But where Hilti stands head and shoulders above the other tool companies is there customer service. I will give you an example, if you send in your cordless hammer drill on a Monday by Purolator, they will assess the tool and if it’s under warranty still fix or replace the tool and have it back in your hands for Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning. If it’s under warranty even the shipping back and forth of the tool is free. I the tool is not under warranty, they will call you on the Tuesday and tell you the price to fix it. If you agree to the price of the repair then you will still have the tool back to you by Thursday morning. This allows companies like mine to have tools repaired or replaced in less than 4 days instead of months.

A lot of the tools that Hilti sells come with multiyear warranties, so there are a lot of times when the tool is a year and a half old and it is fixed or replaced for free. This comes in handy for cordless tools because the warranty applies to the batteries and the charger as well.

If you send them a tool no matter how old and the cost of the repair is too high for the age of the tool. They will offer to buy the broken tool from you if you buy a new tool to replace it. That’s right Hilti will pay you for the broken tool!  There are a couple of reasons for this;

·         Hilti wants to encourage you to buy more of their product

·         Hilti believes that happy customers will spend more money with their company, recreating customer loyalty.

·         Every Hilti tool that is bought from Hilti has a serial number that is recorded in their computers. This helps them track your warranty, it also helps stop theft. If you take a tool you bought to Hilti, they will first check to see if the tool is stolen or not! If it is they will give the tool to the police. So they don’t want you selling Hilti tools to other people that aren’t in there system.

·         The bigger Hilti tools have a record of use; this will give Hilti valuable information on how the tool performed in its life time and changes that need to be made in future models to extend life.

·         Hilti doesn’t want you selling a tool to someone else if it’s faulty because that can reflect negatively on Hilti.

To add to the customer service of Hilti, they have reps that service the area in which you run your business. Once the rep gets to know your business, he will stop in and let you know of any deals or sales that are happening. He also carries around in his red truck all the latest Hilti tools, big and small. So if you want to try out a tool for a couple days before you buy it he will lend you that tool. He will also be able to give you the Hilti catalogue. Hilti doesn’t just sell tools; they also sell a wide verity of construction materials, such as spray foam and different adhesives. They sell blades for every cutting and grinding tool that they make. The Hilti rep can also show you how to properly care for and proper operate your tools, to extend the life of the tool. I am on a first name bases with my rep, his name is Chris and I’m pretty sure he has me on speed dial these days for the amount of product and tools that I buy off him.

Hilti also allows you to buy anything you want from them on their website, allowing you to purchase anything they sell hassle free, shipped straight to your door.

So the next time you are looking to buy a tool, try looking at Hilti, you will be surprised!

Rob Abbott

Operations Manager

Village Builders Inc.