We did a thing with Milwaukee where they supplied one of our technicians with their entire tool suite and, with him using nothing but their tools, we monitored his productivity before and after the change. They then did a promotional video with us.
For two days there were people with Steadicams taking video and drones flying all over the place. They did an amazing job of putting this together.
Cool! I'm dying to know the answer to the productivity difference. Will that be reported somewhere?
In reply to pkingham (Forum Supporter) :
I honestly don't know, other than it was positive. Zach loves them.
The trial period was for a year, and the technician choices were me or Zach. At the time, I had only been working there for two months, so in the interest of scientific rigor I said it should go to Zach.
I am not in the video much since the only Milwaukee tools that I use at work are my 1/4 hex driver. With that and an extended bit set (and a Snap-On 8/10/12/14mm driver set) you can get a lot done. I have two batteries and have to swap one for the other about once a month.
My bit set includes socket adaptors, so I can use it like a 1/4 or 3/8 impact. Makes a lot of things go faster compared to air tools.
And the first time I did a cabin filter in an Escape with it and my barrel ended Torx bits, I was in love 
Congrats, very cool. Nice looking shop and great video. Cordless tools today are amazing. I have been an electrician for 40 something years, I remember when I got my first cordless drill, it was such a huge deal to be able to drill a hole without having to find an outlet and run a cord. One of my kids is an auto tech and he has gone all cordless as well. It is so convenient to be able to take the tool to the project and not be tethered by a hose or cord.
I love ya man...
Now, with that out of the way, were you used as the "poster child" for inefficiency.? 
At the 1:25 mark we see you walking and the voice-over is something like, "every time a tech has to walk equals inefficiency" However you are later redeemed when the voice-over says something to the effect of, "increased efficiency allowed us to add staff."
Sure, there are some "brand shots" but my favorite part of the video is that some of the tools are actually dirty, scuffed and most importantly...used.
Is Milwaukee part of the Ridge Tool empire which is HQ'ed in your general neighborhood? Did that have something to do with your shop being chosen? Proximity? If not, any idea why they came to you? Either way, very cool.
In reply to John Welsh :
I'll have to ask Corey tomorrow for a reminder at our morning meeting, but fuzzy memory says that it came about when he was at some big repair shop trade show last year. It may also be RSOT related, which we are a member of (as was my former employer, who you are familiar with). Milwaukee is based in Wisconsin, it's not just a clever name
One of the funny things about the video is that they didn't like how clean everything was (which is part of the Hollywood grimy gross optics that we as a company do hard to avoid) so they had Zach find some brake dust and CV grease and other nasty crap to make his hands and tools dirty 
Our staff is five technicians, on two teams with our own specific service advisors. And a service manager who can pinch hit if necessary. And a couple CSRs who do nothing but CSR stuff. Right now we are starting to implement a system where people can see our service board in real time, package delivery tracking style, so they don't need to waste their time and ours calling to ask if their car is done.
You may not have been in the video much, but what there was, was Classic Pete.
RBCA said:You may not have been in the video much, but what there was, was Classic Pete.
Are you saying I talk with my hands a lot?
In answer to John Milwaukee Tools is owned by Techtronic which also owns Ryobi, Hoover and Dirt Devil.
I got rid of my air compressor years ago, I was wondering if most shops had as well.
Nice video! Milwaukee is one of (and probably the, but I don't want to overlook something) the best batteries for quality of construction in the tool space. Ryobi is one of the worst, but easiest to reset/repair. I believe this was done for Ryobi to maintain backwards-compatability. I pull tons of Ryobi batteries out of recycling to fix and give away (I don't have any of their tools) or strip for cells. I do encounter Milwaukee on much rarer occasion, and am always struck by the difference in quality. Much thicker copper, higher grade of cells, better quality chips, and conformal coating on the BMS. In the photo, Ryobi is the whole pack, Milwaukee is just the BMS.
pinchvalve (Forum Supporter) said:I got rid of my air compressor years ago, I was wondering if most shops had as well.
We talk about that... we actually have a cool setup with a double throw switch and two air compressors that we alternate which one we turn on, and if one fails for any reason there's a backup. It's a lot more reliable that way, no downtime ever.
Switching to all electric would require a significant cash outlay at first, but the elephant in the room is that you still need air for mounting or just inflating tires, and the heavier duty lifts (we have two heavy truck lifts and an alignment rack) require compressed air for the safety locks to unlock. So we will always NEED air compressors in some fashion.
The really nice road force balancers also require compressed air for the forcing rig, but we don't have one of those yet. Soon, maybe.
In reply to bbbbRASS :
I love my Milwaukee tools but whatever Ryobi does with their batteries must be working. I use the hell out of them and my "new" pair is from 2017 and shows no sign of giving up. I think the hardest thing for lithium batteries is to sit dishcharged; so many people barely use their tools and don't charge them after use so they end up with batteries below the safe charge cutoff. I've only had one Ryobi lithium battery go bad and that was when I loaned it to a friend and - you guessed it - he used it a bunch and let it sit for a really long time when dead. Nowadays I could probably rescue it.
Milwaukee stuff is better but it's also multiples more expensive. I'll never begrudge a $40 battery it's thin copper if it works for 7 years just fine when it's $100+ for an equivalent Milwaukee.
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