Cowboy boots, blue jeans
and BUSINESS-SAVVY
Mac Tools distributor Carrie Lake wins over
rural Michigan route in six years.
As a self-titled ‘garage girl’
who’s clearly big on business,
but never ‘all-business,’ Mac Tools
mobile distributor Carrie Lake has
found her stride in being herself.
When she walks into a shop, most
likely in her blue jeans and cowboy
boots, you know she’s going to ask her
customers about their weekend, and
then they’re going to ask her about
her big Fourth of July party — or some
other thing she’s getting herself into —
and she’s going to be there to do that
every week. Rain or shine, Lake shows
up for her customers and hands them
their tool flyer.
In 2013, when Professional Distributor
first featured the then-newbie tool
distributor, Lake had just taken over a
territory that hadn’t seen a Mac Tools
truck in six years. The 2008 recession
hit Northeast Michigan hard, especially
in the automotive arena. But shortly
after taking over, she had just doubled
the routes’ customer base and was servicing
everything from independent
repair shops to aircraft maintenance
facilities. For the past six years, she’s
stayed on pace, even taking on a portion
of another distributor’s route.
A major part of Lake’s territory is
servicing the Kalitta Air cargo airline
in Oscoda, Michigan. It takes Lake one
full day every week to service the 10
airplane hangars and 200-something
maintenance shops. Kalitta Air is a sister
company of Kalitta Charters, which
26 Professional Distributor I October 2018 I VehicleServicePros.com
In 2013, when Professional Distributor first
featured the then-newbie tool distributor,
Lake had just taken over a territory that
hadn’t seen a Mac Tools truck in six years.
SPECIAL FEATURE
/VehicleServicePros.com