Are Tooling Reps Doing Too Much?

A seasoned Milling Product Manager from Ingersoll Cutting Tools dropped a question that clearly hit a nerve:

"Shops keep asking our sales team to do it all—select tooling, holders, extensions, create the strategy, even provide toolpaths. I joked with one customer that I might as well come run the part. They didn’t laugh. Is this becoming a trend in the trade?"

Milling Product Manager @ Ingersoll Cutting Tools

🔧 What the Community Had to Say

📈 “Yes, this is happening more and more.”
A Process Engineer from Walter Tools said he’s seeing it too. Smaller shops especially are asking for full programming support—but only get it if they commit to buying the tooling, and even then, they’re responsible for verifying the program. Liability’s a real concern.

🧠 “Tech is moving fast—people need help keeping up.”
Tooling advances quickly, and reps often have the most current knowledge. One commenter said, “That’s half their job. They’ve helped me with problems I would’ve taken hours to figure out on my own.”

📉 “We stopped training people, now we’re feeling it.”
Multiple comments pointed out that companies haven’t invested in developing their own people—and schools haven’t helped either. As one machinist put it:

“Kids don’t want to work in shops, and guys like me are retiring. The skilled gap is only getting bigger.”

🔁 “Talent’s being pulled into sales.”
One shop owner noted that a lot of skilled machinists are getting poached by machine and tooling companies—and then getting hired back as support because their original shops can’t find qualified replacements.

📦 “Sometimes shops just want a turnkey solution.”
A product designer-turned-machinist shared that from their perspective, if a shop can pay to offload that steep learning curve, it’s often worth it.

"Each learning curve needs serious justification. Sometimes it’s better to just bring in the expert."

🚫 “This feels like overreach.”
Not everyone was on board. Some said that reps should offer support when a shop is struggling—but doing everything from start to finish?

"Seems out of scope. Feeds and speeds, sure. Toolpaths? That’s the shop’s job."

🧪 “Show me, don’t sell me.”
One machinist with 35+ years in the game put it bluntly:

"I’ve seen 100 insert grades that ‘will do this and that.’ I want to see it cut our material at our feeds and speeds—not just watch a flashy YouTube demo."

💬 Final Thought

There’s a fine line between service and over-service—and it seems like the industry is still figuring out where that line is.

Tooling reps are being asked to do more, because there are fewer skilled people in the shop. Some shops expect it, some depend on it, and some are skeptical of it.

Is this trend good, bad… or just the reality of today’s workforce?

What’s your take?