dirtydeeds said:
bad festool dealers rubbish. being a customer is an art. you simply dont cross the threshold of bad dealers, you can suss them in seconds and leave the shop for ever
this is MY way of doing things, it works for me
dont touch small dealers with a barge poll they dont carry stock so you cant do the touch feely thing with two or three models and makes, they have little knowledge and dont do deals
use one dealer for all your tools, get to know the local festool rep as well
i go to one of the largest in the area in Leyton (NE London) they have staff dedicated to only one brand and, i buy all my tools from them
i know its a shock to some of you green bloods but festool dont make lamello cantex's or makita impact drills
this approach gets me what i want when i want it and at the best price avaliable, stock is put aside for me and i dont need to ask for discount i get it automatically
because i know my festool rep ive borrowed tools on apro from the importers and even collected tools direct from the importers with just a signature
bad dealers do exist but youve got to learn the art of being a good customer
I don't agree wholy with DD, but I do have another story to illustrate his point. (I'm a small town guy who appreciates small town operators trying to get ahead. I'll stick with somebody like Bob>fast talking and all.)
A few years ago, i was looking for a cullinary knife set for my SIL. He is a gourmee chef, not by trade, but mere enjoyment. There was a new culinary store on mainstreet in my town and i decided, since i like to trade locally whenever possible, I would give them a try. It was a week or so before Christmas and parking spaces were VERY difficult to find, especially when driving a truck.
I had planned to go home and then return to make my purchase. It just so happened that a space capable of fitting my dump truck just happened to open up and i took quick advantage of the situation. Since I was still on my way home from work, i was still in my work clothes.
I walked into the store and the girl behind the main counter took one look at me and disappeared into a back room. i waited a few minutes and finally went over to the cabinet where I noticed the best quality knives were kept. Immediately behind that counter was another room. I moved around the cabinet to see if anybody was around to help me. There were two women sitting in a couple of chairs just chatting. i said nothing, but stood in the doorway for another minute or two and decided those two "ladies" were not counter people. I then went to the other doorway where the first woman had previously disappeared thru. There were three women sitting around a small table sipping coffe (or whatever) and just chatting. Again, i stood there, saying nothing. I decided they were on their break and did not really care if i bought anything or not. They were not going to move for anybody, especially a working guy who looked like he could not possibly be interrested in anything to do with gourmee until they were finished resting, or whatever.
I went back out to the knife cabinet and started looking the wares over. after five or more minutes, still nobody came out to help or even sell, but i discovered the cabinet was not locked. I decided to make closer inspection and started removing knives and laying them out on the side counter.
Still no service. My orneriness just took over completely, and i finally unloaded the cabinet, scattering knives in unrelated order over two counters. Still nobody came out, so i left. :
A half hour later, still in my same dirty workclothes, i entered Williams & Sonoma in the mall at Danbury. AS soon as i was in the door, a very nice lady came up to me and asked if she could help. i told her what i was looking for and she took me to another lady who was in charge of that area. I quickly decided on the knife set I wanted and that lady went looking for the correct package. she came back to tell me she could not find what i wanted but would check with the manager. the manager came and spoke with me and the two ladies disappeared, only to return after five minutes or so with the correct package.
that home town store eventually went out of business stating "poor customer base" as a reason. I suspect i was not the only person to have been so snubbed, but i never went near that place again.
No, it is not my habit to go to the big stores first unless i cannot find what I want locally, but once in a while, things just line up a little differently.
Tinker
