Hi I saw your other thread about this,I'm sure Festool will do the right thing I would give them a week to get back to you as there are  bound to be some emails bouncing between the German and south African hq's and having spent some time in Africa I know things take time.
just keep at it.... and keep us posted. I think if it was Festool US it would have been sorted by now...............

Hi just a thought do you have the thirty day return policy down there??

Sigh. So it looks like I shouldn't hold my breath.

You should  phone festool in Jo buburg ask for Craig Kallis he is the area sales for cape town 0027-11-390-70 00

Chris,

That's a great freebie!

As you say, there's a lot of value in that. I'm not sure if they're exactly the same as yours, but I've seen similar sets before here in the UK, and they occasionally pop up on eBay UK. Your conclusion that it's probably discontinued stock is likely correct.

I'd say that settles the issue of you not being happy with the sander. You said initially that you weren't bothered about the edge protector, and in your last post you said you'd been asking about polishing pads so I guess for you it's very useful and you've come out of this well. I think after this gift it'd be pretty churlish to argue for the newer model...

Chris

That is a nice set.  I have some of the pads, lambswool bonnet & cutting compounds for my RO 150 & they work great.  The advise to me was not to use the lambswool bonnet on your car though, use the microfibre cloth to buff up.

Good luck with it, Woodguy.

You should have read some posts with more care. I already suggested this as a solution in the thread of your review.

But that systainer is a great gift. You said it is over R1000. I think it is a LOT over R1000. R1000 is 105 euros. Only the systainer and the black pad together already cost 105 euro here, and then add all the foam pads and the polishing liquid.

After this gift I wouldn't push it, exactly like you also said, but would just shell out the 30-40 dollar for the parts and convert the sander myself.

I think you'll need to be careful about replacing the housing on the sander yourself. You have to open up the sander and that in theory, will void your warranty. Well, that is the case here in the States.

i have also emailed them about a problem i had and they never got back to me. Pretty pathetic service really if you ask me. I also had a repair to a tool and it took a few weeks to get back, also unacceptable!

With the exeption of brice there have been no comments on this thread by our American cousins bit odd isnt it???

Chris,

You are correct in your statements that a situation like yours would probably have been resolved differently here.  Here we have the 30 day return period.  We also have a network of dealers who compete based on service not on price.  We are also lucky that the Festool operation here is larger than in many countries and the customer service has proven itself to be top notch.

About two months ago I ordered an ETS150/3 from one of the dealers mentioned here consistently because of his customer service.  I spoke to him on the phone and in conversation mentioned that I wanted the new model, not the old, and that I would need the new style paper for it.

He told me that when a new model comes out, he automatically switches to shipping the new model and will not sell the older model unless requested by the purchaser.

If I were in your situation, in your country, I would do some research and find out who is in charge of customer service for Festool in South Africa.  I would then compose a polite, non emotional letter  - not email - describing your situation, your previous efforts to get it rectified to your satisfaction, how others have attempted or have not attempted to assist you...  Then I would request their assistance in getting this rectified to your satisfaction by replacing the product you purchased with the model that you thought you were getting.  Make a copy of it and mail two.  Mail one in the normal method.  Mail the second in a manner that will provide you proof of receipt.  Then wait a couple of weeks for a response.  If you don't get a response, do a second letter and enclose a copy of the first letter along with a copy of the proof of delivery.  Again mail it as above.

I honestly doubt that you will be unhappy with the outcome.

Best of Luck,

Peter

Excellent advice Peter, I agree that Chris does need to be more proactive in his approach.reading his earlier posts he is not used to dealing with such problems.

and while I have had no problems with my festool's I have spoken to festool UK on the phone, on several occasions and have found then to be very helpfull.


Chris why not phone or if you are not comfortable with that ask your father.

Chris,

I'm not from the USA, but I'd still like to react - and hope it won't get you depressed.
I'm aware of the fact that I'm somehow going against the grain here - be advised however, that it's well meant.

Regardless of the suspected level of service, you've been well compensated. The real world value of your "gift" is way higher than the cost of a new housing + sideguard.
Besides, it WAS something you were interested in, as you and/or your father inquired about this exact set.
You may be unhappy with the outcome, but I think your dealer did you a favour.
I hear the service in SA is somewhat below average. That probably also applies to the service your dealer has to put up with from the SA importer.
Tough luck. We can't change that, so you'll either have to live with it or start a crusade.

Meanwhile, your dealer has expressed his annoyance with SA Festool HQ to you ( not very professional, but it's always nice to feel you have an ally ) and has offered you something to compensate for your "loss".
While this may not be exactly how it should be, can you imagine how the outcome could be better still?

Let me exxagerate this a bit, to get my point across. Say you bought a case of oranges but the fruit proved to be a bit bland once you peeled it. You confront the seller with the blandness, and with the fact he advertises with "fresh taste - the best  oranges around".  He acknowledges the fact, and states that his supplier has scr*wed him - as has happened before. Knowing it's his responsibility not to getr scr*wed, he apologises to you, and offers you the keys to his Mercedes - he has seen you eying it before you bought the oranges.

Unless you happen to passionately hate Mercedes automobiles, or dislike cars and/or driving in general, you'd probably be very happy with the outcome.

Was the problem solved? No, the oranges are still bland.
Were you compensated ? Yes, very much so.
Every driveable Mercedes would be worth much more than any case of oranges - however tasty. Besides: the oranges weren't fake fruits or poisonous - they were just a bit bland.
Should you desire so, you could sell the Mercedes and buy a couple of  crates of the best oranges money could buy.

In my book you're lucky, the dealer has gone to great length to compensate you for the fact that your Rotex wasn't the newest model.
Had you been given the opportunity to buy the "old" model unused and fresh in it's Systainer for say Rd. 750 less, You'd probably have taken it.
You've been compensated with a polishing systainer that you were clearly interested in, and it's real world value is probably way more than double that amount.

Hug your dealer, and offer to mow his lawn as a return favor.....

Just my Euro 0,02


Regards,

Job

And almost no amount of complaining. Look I've said this before, I do consider this as a cop out/weak buy off but the machine does work. I don't want to become an annoying customer and thats what is going to be needed if this is to be sorted out.

Oh and just so we are clear my dad and I were looking at a polishing kit to polish varnish, not cars.