Brick and Mortar Rant

[Joe Jensen]

I have a Woodcraft 6 miles from my house.  I like being able to get things on Saturdays when I'm playing the shop, and I've made a concious decision to buy from them instead of Home Depot when possible.  I've also purchased several Festool from them.  No longer.

I was excited when I played with the T15+3 there Sat 4/25. 
Sat 4/25 - I placed an order for one.  They were not available for sale until 5/1 and the salesman said he would have it in 3-4 days. easily before the official launch on 5/1. 
Mon 4/27 - I called to order some Centrotec bits.
Thu 4/30 - I called to see if it was in so I could plan to pick it up on 5/1.  Not in, salesman on the phone said they would call when it arrived
Fri 5/1 - I called to see if it was in.  No, different clerk said he would call when it came in.  I'm dissappointed as I wanted my new toy, but what can you do.
Sat 5/2 - I go to Woodcraft to pick up a router bit (really to see if the drill was there).  No drill. 3rd sales person tells me they will call when it arrives.
Today 5/6 - I am now unhappy.  I wanted the drill around 5/1. I call to see why it's not here and the 4th sales person checks.  Tells me it was ordered on 5/4 so it won't be here until next week.

I'm pissed.  This is the second time this store has screwed up on ordering a Festool for me.  Last time was 2 years ago.  I'm done.

In contrast, I  ordered with Bob Marino online today.  Got a phone call confirmation on the order and an email confirmation.  I am leaving the office now to get my credit card redund from Woodcraft.  At least I will save over $50 in sales tax

 

[Joe Jensen]

Update
------------------

I went to process a refund after work. The clerk who helped me confided that the owner holds orders "until he gets enough".  I assume to qualify for free shipping or some discount.  I think it's pretty deceptive.  I'm sure the owner doesn't tell customers this because he knows that if he is honest people will buy where they can get to product in days instead of in weeks.

I will no longer try to shift purchases to them, I will only shop there when I need something urgently.  I will however feel free to window shop there and waste his peoples time.

 

[Rob Z]

Now I think I might understand the problems I have had over the past few years at Woodcraft.  I've ordered router bits and other items that I don't expect them to have, and I was OK with the fact that I would have to wait.  The problems I had were that I asked how long because we needed the items on the job, and they confidently told me such-and-such for a timeframe of when the goodies would be in the store.  The thing that really bugged me was that more than once, I called and checked to see if the item was in, they said "yes", and I made the drive to the store only to find out they DIDN'T have what I had called about earlier in the day.  Driving a good distance  in Washington DC area traffic to find out that the item is in fact NOT in the store is frustrating, to say the least.

 

[rnt80]

Joe, is this the store in Chandler?  If so I am not surprised.  In my experiences there I've found that the staff, while not always helpful, are very friendly.  I wish I could say the same for the manager.  I have had a couple of interactions with him and have decided that he must be a numbers guy.  He is certainly not a people person and can't spell customer service.  I only go there when I absolutely have to and even then it's like pulling teeth.  I wish the Rockler was closer.  Truth be told 90% of my purchases are done online now.

 

[Joe Jensen]

Joe, is this the store in Chandler?  If so I am not surprised.  In my experiences there I've found that the staff, while not always helpful, are very friendly.  I wish I could say the same for the manager.  I have had a couple of interactions with him and have decided that he must be a numbers guy.  He is certainly not a people person and can't spell customer service.  I only go there when I absolutely have to and even then it's like pulling teeth.  I wish the Rockler was closer.  Truth be told 90% of my purchases are done online now.

Yep, the guys are the store are great.  Most seem to avid woodworkers, and even though I've been at this for 30 years and know a lot, I've been able to get some great advice on finishing, and I've enjoyed chatting with them on many occasions.  I didn't know who the manager was until a couple of weeks ago.  When I saw him, I remembered him as the least knowledgable and helpful guy there.

Pretty stupid and short sighted of them.  I spend thousands each year on materials and tools.  I've steered a good portion of that to Woodcraft.  Much of that would have been cheaper online, and I had plenty of leadtime to order online.

this is the reason brick and mortar stores fail.

 

[dirtydeeds]

festool have a minimum shipping order value in england too

i dont get the problem as i deal with toucan tools in north london

one of the biggest in the area, they keep large stocks

i did however experience it in norfolk, 150 miles out of my area

 

[Joe Jensen]

Apparently Festool monitors this forum and sends issues to the dealers.  The owner of the Woodcraft called me today after getting word from Festool (Thanks Festool  )

The owner emphasized his desire to deliver consistent customer service and he explained more about the true dates.  The 5/4 date I was given was the date the order was entered into the store's local tracking system.  The actual order was phoned to Festool on wed 4/29.  He said he understood my frustration and how with large purchases like this, most buyers are excited to receive the tool as quickly as possible.  The owner was quite sincere in his words. 

 

[dirtydeeds]

such a pity festool uk dont give a monkeys, they certainly dont seem to look at this forum

i dont believe festool uk even look at their own website

festool UK certianly have little or nothing whatsover to do with the uk website

festool germany dont seem to have much interest in the UK website

perhaps the german attitude is reasonable ??

if the uk cant be bothered with their own website why should germany spend their valuable time on the uk website for them

do i have reasonable grounds to say these things ?     

i believe i do

ive had emails within the last year from festool uk which essentially confirmed it

do i have reasonable grounds to believe that both festool uk and festool germany have little interest ?

yes i believe i do

and

anybody else on the planet could be lead to the same conclusions

just by looking at the festool uk website on a reasonably regular basis

first........... many of the website page addresses are in german (this is not the case on the festool usa site)

second........... on regular occasions the pages are written in german, they didnt bother to translate it

this isnt regular, but i did email festool uk about it......... the reply ?

essentially festool uk would contact germany to alter the situation

third......... much of the uk information last year was out of date

show dates that were 11 months out of date?    i believe it means that nobody at festool has looked at the website for nearly a year (its not quite so bad at the moment)

on day, i hope festool uk will take notice and alter this situation

i DESPARATLY want festool uk to do things right

i have bought in excess of 10 thousand quids worth of their kit ( not dollars............. i mean english pounds)

so,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,  all i all, i  believe that my critisims are genuine AND meant constructivly . i havnt lost faith in their tool quality

i do SO hope that they dont see this as yet another reason to sit on their hands

with the deliberate knowlege that they can continue to give the current level of service to their uk customers because we continue to buy their stuff

or even worse ( my current theory )

that they HONSETLY believe, that because they continue to sell their kit............ that their service is "good enough"

it personally believe that it should match festool usa's commitment to service

 

[Rob Z]

Tom 

Ten thousand British pounds of Festool equipment qualifies you as a serious user of Festool!

 

[scoffelt]

Probably just your local Woodcraft, though I buy all my Festool from Bob M., I needed some bags for my vac.  WC was out of them at the moment, but said they would order them in, not on my shipping but theirs.  They arrived a couple of days later as said.

 

[mavrick1903]

My local WC (Madison WI) orders frequently from Festool, and if the order is delayed, the store staff are always upfront with the timeframe. Sorry to hear you had a problem with yours.

 

[Dave Ronyak]

Your problematic Woodcraft store sounds somewhat like my local (~18 miles away) Husqvarna dealer.  Both need to enter minimum orders to their wholesale supplier.  But my local Husqvarna dealer is open up front about that, and also will order any individual item I request without delay, and also dutifully calls me when my special order is in.  He also scrambled to find a particular model of a new saw for me by making arrangements to get it from another dealer before I "grew cold" and possibly backed out of the sale.  My local (30 miles away) Woodcraft dealer will order items he doesn't have in stock; the only issue I have had is that such items may be delivered to their store rather than being shipped directly to me, but they have always taken care of any such errors (I have prepaid for such shipping when those special orders are placed).  Sorry to hear of your frustrating experiences.  You've found a good solution.  Bob M. has always been very prompt in filling my orders.

Dave R.