The Tools have finally Come. Hooray! Now I will set about organizing them and engraving them for safe keeping. Here is the whole story as told by Leslie:
Ian had been like a kid -a seven year-old, more precisely- waiting for Christmas to come. He looked forward so much to getting his tools. For months his anticipation mounted as he counted down to the day of delivery. And finally the day came! But not the tools. For weeks after Ian would go to school with his hopes high and come home just devastated. The order from Moody at SnapOn must have hit alongside an order from China because the April 15th deadline the salesman had set had come and gone, and May was only building steam; as were a few student mechanics.
When week four rolled on by and barely a word had come on the status of their order, the disgruntled yet-to-be SnapOn owners pulled out the big guns.
Now you have to understand the nature of the tool sales industry. It is highly competitive. There is no punch pulled when speaking of the enemy. SnapOn is the cream of the crop of professional-grade tools. This is the tool that everyone wants, but would be crazy to pay for without a tax write-off. SnapOn has the upper-hand on durability and professional quality, and is big in aviation and commercial use. Their rival, Mac Tools, is the heavyweight in the car mechanics’ market: A quality tool - though not as pristine as a SnapOn, but with a price one can afford. This mean that though SnapOn has the "superior product", Mac still gives them a run for their money. With each a major threat to the other's profit margin, you can see why the sparks might fly.
The SnapOn guy had given Moody an amazing discount of 60% for ordering as a class. Still, some guys preferred to go with Mac. And when the Mac Tool truck showed up on time, and boys were getting their Christmases in May, something snapped in the SnapOn loyalists. The Mac tool guy noticed their frustration and decided that this was a key moment for Mac Tools. Soon he was distributing black Mac hats and other assorted paraphernalia to the entire class, carrying on with anti-SnapOn rhetoric, and coaxing the SnapOn boys in their moment of weakness. Over the noise of the salesman and the lucky buyers ripping off their bubble wrap and tape, someone shouted, "SnapOn's here!"
The ten or so frustrated SnapOn buyers present at the time all looked at each other. Without a word, they grabbed their hats and began marching for the open shop hanger door. Before John, the SnapOn salesman, had even put the truck in park, there was a line of determined mechanics barring his entrance to the school - legs spread, arms crossed, Mac hats on. After a pause in his truck, John stepped out, and without missing a beat, said, "Well, I can see you all have your Stupid Hats on today." Ian was the first to move. "John, we need to have a word with you..." Needless to say, when their tools arrived a week later, there were a few extra goodies included in their orders, priced at well above the average Mac Tools hat.
Thank you to all you men who contributed to Ian's "Tool Fund." The total for this major purchase was the exact amount you contributed at his tool shower. You carried what would have been a great burden for us to come up with over those months before the order, and these are tools that Ian will use for the rest of his life and ministry. God is so good! Thank you so much!
