Customer Service

[mtolan32]

Prior to purchasing festool, I held off as my local lumber yard supplier advised me of the slow response to issues so I held off. My local paint supplier started to supply festools and after sometime I requested a demo. During the demo the festool rep advised how customer friendly festool is 3 year warranties, free shipping, speedy deliver, 30 day money back guarantee etc. At the time I was interested in purchasing FS-55 track saw with guide, 1400 EQ router and an additional track the rep advised no need to purchase the FS-3000 just purchase FS-55 as I could join the 2 guide tracks I was purchasing together to make them 110" long. So I made the plunge the tools are great, the deliver was slow/late days, and I happen to be in the store checking on it when if came in, but there was a part missing it took another 3 days for it to come in. The catalogs could be clearer with whats included I purchased the parallel guide again approx 1 week delivery, only to find out for narrow rips I needed to purchased an additional accessory to attach to the guide (frustrating) wait another week or send back ? I sent it back, also recently I went in to purchase a paralell guide for a 1400 EQ router it wasn't listed in the catalog I knew it was available and looked it up online and gave the part No. to the supplier, (this part comes standard in Europe and when doing my research online prior to purchasing the reviews showed it was included) frustrating. I also purchased a FS-3000 guide approx 2 months ago, the guide came in the box was a little damaged I check for damage where the package was damage No damage in that area, I took it home started to use it about a week later on 8 ft sheets it was fine but I noticed a slight dent/impression and when I used it on 10 ft sheets I had slight movement, I informed supplier and he advise festool i'm still waiting on replacement approx 2 months later so I have a guide sitting on the job I can't use, again frustrating for a couple of reasons (1) why i'm I still waiting. (2) adding the 2 tracks together wasn't the correct decision, yes its a great option but not if your cutting 8ft sheets regularly I feel the rep was trying to get me over a line to make the purchase. Lastly I went in to my supplier yesterday to pickup parallel guide for 1400 EQ and it wasn't in, they said if it came in today they would call but it will probably Monday, but I went online and if I ordered online I would have got free one day deliver. Since I need to get job done, I purchased the guide rail attachment online (different attachment but will do what I need) and its going to be delivered Today by 3. Why can amazon deliver it overnight and festool it could be a week. Now I understand why the lumber yard rep wasn't pushing festool as he was probably dealing with VERY FRUSTRATED customers, and the display has been pushed into the back. Festool needs to be more proactive, speed up delivers at least deliver as promised, and take care of returns in a timely manor. 

 

[PeterJJames13]

Sounds to me like you need a new Festool dealer that's more committed to the line. I'm fortunate enough to live close to FestoolProducts/ToolNut. Everything I've ever wanted and bought from them was in stock. I just drive there and pick up. The only backorder issue was on the new centrotec bit sets, but that was a Festool supply issue (they were brand new at the time) is my best guess. And even then, I had them in my hands within a few weeks. I also know they bust their butts to get orders out the door as soon as they can. If your order is being shipped direct from Festool (not too sure they do that anymore), it may take longer because they're busy wrapping up pallets for dealers, like any manufacturer would. Yes, I'm biased, but give Doug from Tool Nut a call. They'll get the products you want in your hands much faster.

 

[semenza]

    I too think this has more to do with the dealer than anything else.

    Also, when it comes to researching Festool purchases............................  this forum is a good place to get real and complete information.

Seth

 

[Cheese]

I'll echo what Peter & Seth said. Chances are it's your dealer. The local Woodcraft store places orders on Monday and receives the items by Friday. I've never ordered an item that took longer than a week to receive.

When I've had issues with a Festool tool, I've received a repaired/new tool within 7-10 days.

Festool customer service over the phone is also very good, and any spare parts that are ordered will arrive about 5-6 days later.

This forum is a wealth of information because of the varied user base. If there is some quirky thing that a Festool item does, there's usually at least one person here that recognizes it and will confirm that you're not the crazy one.  [smile]

 

[Alanbach]

I agree with Peter, Seth and Cheese. The one thing that I will say is that Festool has quite a large line of tools and an even larger compliment of accessories. My experience is that even the best dealers only have one or two sales people that know their line very well and you may not get one of those folks on the day that you walk in. The system approach that Festool takes is terrific but it requires a lot of knowledge and you won’t necessarily get that at every dealer. Doing your home work online here really helps to narrow it down before you walk into a retail Festool dealer.  Then once you have learned enough to lean towards a particular tool be sure to ask the folks here on this forum about their favorite, must have accessories (Festool and third party). This approach has saved me a lot of heartache.

 

[magellan]

    I too think this has more to do with the dealer than anything else.

    Also, when it comes to researching Festool purchases............................  this forum is a good place to get real and complete information.

Seth

I agree, ToolNutz is a great online dealer.  They go out of their way to make it right.  I once ordered the Dust Deputy and before I received it they credited my card $50 because it was going on sale in the next day or two.  WHO DOES THAT???

 

[Gregor]

In complete disregard of the topic: inserting a paragraph here and there would make the rant more readable.

 

[unixisgoodforyou]

In complete disregard of the topic: inserting a paragraph here and there would make the rant more readable.

Ditto.  I must admit that I had some difficulty in reading the post.
RWW

 

[threesixright]

Get a better dealer!

I don’t think that bad advise from a dealer can blamed on FT.

Here on FOG more people where not pleased with the FT guide extensions. Yet, TSO makes a much better one, same price. That seems to work flawless.

That said, I understand your frustration and hope you can quickly leave this bad introduction behind you.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jarbroen]

Holy wall of text, Batman!

As others have said - it's really down to your dealer if you're buying locally.
You didn't mention your location...

I've also had less than stellar experiences buying Festool locally.  First was a lumber store chain.  They knew zip about Festool and actively tried to get me to buy a crappy $150 vacuum instead of the CT26 I wanted.  :  They also argued about the 10% for buying a vac with a tool - again, know zip about Festool.
Another experience is with an independent lumber yard.  They are a great store with awesome customer service.  The problem is about half the time I need something they don't carry it.  Example - I needed D500 connectors.  They don't even carry them because they don't want stock the required 'set'.  They are a convenient store, but I can't go to them for supplies.
Oh, don't get me started on finding sandpaper.  Almost no dealer in my area except Woodcraft has a good selection.

Which brings me to the good dealer experiences.  I've purchased from Woodcraft many times.  They have an extensive selection and almost always have a guy or two that's very familiar with Festool.  The only problem for me is they are quite a ways further than any other dealer.

The other option is online.  I've had several great experiences online.  Specifically with FestoolNirvana and ShopFestool.  Super customer service when I call or email and ship asap.
As others have mentioned, there are plenty of other great vendors like ToolNut.
Online also simplifies finding accessories.  No need to dig through the printed catalog.

 

[sancho57]

jarbroen is correct,
I go to dealers who have employees that know the tools, Don at Anderson knows the tools better then anyone I know, Beaver Tools, Tool Nut/ Shane and a few others. Most dealers who are active on the FOG know the tools.

Plus you can ax here in the FOG and get peoples honest opinions of tools and accessories and suggestions of non festtool accessories which may fit your needs even better

 

[elfick]

I also purchased a FS-3000 guide approx 2 months ago, the guide came in the box was a little damaged I check for damage where the package was damage No damage in that area, I took it home started to use it about a week later on 8 ft sheets it was fine but I noticed a slight dent/impression and when I used it on 10 ft sheets I had slight movement

Since I agree with what everyone else says on the other parts of this, I wanted to point out this one thing...
The FS-3000 is only 118" (9' and change) long... how and why are you using it to cut 10ft sheets?