Professional Distributor - 42

Part of the family

Mac Tools distributor Joe Matuk of Park Forest, Illinois,
finds that his customers have become more like family.

J
BY DAVID BRIERLEY,
MANAGING EDITOR

920-563-1622
David@VehicleServicePros.com

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your story?
Have an interesting
experience to
share with your
fellow distributors?
Share it with us!
Contact Managing
Editor David Brierley
at David@
VehicleServicePros.com.

oe Matuk of Park Forest, Illinois, had been
working in the used auto parts business for
about 25 years when he received a phone
call from a friend who was a district manager
for Mac Tools. He had asked Matuk to become
a mobile distributor in the past, but Matuk had
always refused. This time, however, the route was
close to home. Matuk expressed his interest, and
the process began.
Before signing on with Mac Tools Matuk looked
into other tool distribution companies, but ultimately found the best fit for him was with Mac.
"It seemed like [the company] was very friendly,
very easy," Matuk says of Mac Tools. "They were
having a district meeting a week or so after I was
looking into this, so they let me [attend], and it was
pretty interesting. The process started ... and we
went forward."
That was about 15 years ago, and Matuk is still
on the road with Mac today. He doesn't have to travel
far since his route is fairly urban with multiple stops
densely packed together. The majority of his stops
are dealerships, which Matuk says is a good thing.
"You go into a dealership, [there might be] 20,
30, 40 guys," he says. "Some dealerships, I spend a
good couple of hours there."
Matuk has a lot of competition in the area
from independents and other flags, but he's done
a good job of making himself stand out to be the
go-to mobile distributor. His tactics are simple,
yet effective.
"Make sure you show up every week, talk to
everybody, treat people the way you want to be treated," he says. "That's how I am - I'm a very easygoing
guy. I try to make it so that they're happy to see
me. I walk in with a positive attitude and smiling
and hear, 'Hey, Joe's here! Joe's here!' It's almost
embarrassing," Matuk laughs. "But it's really nice
that they do that."
Matuk found early on that he had become more
like a friend or a family member, not just someone his customers do business with. On numerous
occasions he'll be invited to parties, birthdays, even
weddings. And when he was going through a tough

42 Professional Distributor I December 2019 I VehicleServicePros.com

Matuk has been a Mac Tools distributor for about 15 years
now, and has made a name for himself among
the technicians at his stops.

time in his personal life, Matuk found out just how
much he means to his customers.
"Guys could tell there was something wrong - I
was not myself," he says. "It was just so heartwarming how [the] guys cared and came up and hugged
me. 'Hey Joe, how's it going?' and, 'Just hang in there,
you'll get through it.' It was amazing. It was nice to
know I was not just their tool guy, I was their friend."
Needless to say, Matuk loves his work. While
he has no immediate plans to retire, he looks forward to the day that he can, somewhere down the
road. His grandson, who is currently 14, rides along
with Matuk in the summer and seems to enjoy
the industry.
"He's very good with my customers," Matuk
says. "He carries my tool bag in and even does the
tool demonstrations sometimes."
Perhaps someday Matuk's grandson will want to
take over this tool route. For the time being, however,
Matuk is happy with the way things are.
"I love what I do," he says. "I've met a lot of
good people - I've made a lot of good friends
doing this."

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