St. Phillips came to Sonic looking for professional tools to help train professional technicians
St. Phillips College, located in San Antonio, Texas, first discovered Sonic Tools at the GM ASEP National Conference in Detroit. Ben Birkenfield, a faculty member at St. Phillips said, “St. Phillips College has a strong Automotive Department that believes in training a ‘professional grade’ automotive technician.”
THE ULTIMATE WORKFLOW
Birkenfield explained what it takes to train a professional grade technician, “For a student to obtain that type of professional training, there are a few qualities that are essential. First, they have to be organized. Second, they have to be efficient. Next, they need to be dependable. Finally, our students need to gain experience from our highly experienced instructors here at St. Phillips College. When we put that all together, our students really exhibit that ‘Professional Grade’ quality. This is what we saw in Sonic Tools.”
Birkenfield continued on why St. Phillips chose Sonic, “They are organized with their tools and they’re personal. Their tools are efficient in our lab when we are training our students. They’re dependable, not just the tools, but the employees that assist us. Sonic Tools has always been there to assist us and our students. Finally, they have not been around as long as the big-name tool companies, but they have employed experienced employees that are well versed in the tool industry.”
Speaking from a personal level, Birkenfield said, “I have had the liberty of working with Sonic Tools in my lab with my GM ASEP classes. I find myself way more efficient as a teacher because my tools are well organized, and students can easily obtain the right tools and return them back for the next student to use. When you only have so much time per class to finish, it really helps not having to look for tools. The other thing I like is that if a tool does break, it is a ‘no questions asked’ return policy that can be done on your phone and you have a new tool on its’ way in 24 hours. Very few companies do this and none of our big tool companies provide for us. There is no waiting on a tool truck to show up to exchange the tool out.”
I find myself way more efficient as a teacher because my tools are well organized.
Ben Birkenfield – Teacher, St. Phillips College
LOOKING AHEAD
Creating an environment for students to succeed while learning the skills they’ll need throughout their career is the best thing a school can do for its’ students, that’s why St. Phillips College saw the opportunity in working with Sonic Tools and invested in quality tools that would help the students learn life-long skills.
