jonny round boy
Member
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2007
- Messages
- 3,227
I recently had a minor fault with my PDC drill which meant it needed to go back for repair. I've just posted my experience on another forum (I was asked by a member there how long a repair would normally take) so thought I should post it here so Festool UK can see it.
I wasn't sure what board it should go in, but as it's kind of a review of their service, I figured the review section was as good a place as any, even if it's not a tool review.
So here goes. This was a couple of weeks ago now, but here's how I remember it:
Wednesday: I was on site 2 hours from home when the drill broke, first thing in the morning. It was nothing major, just a fault with the forward/reverse switch. I rang Festool UK to try to arrange for them to collect the drill from my home the following day, but they said they couldn't do it over the phone & insisted that I sent a repair form in with proof of purchase etc. (which I couldn't do, as I was on site). They e-mailed me the form immediately, but it simply wasn't possible to fill it in on my phone, so I filled it in & e-mailed it back late Wednesday evening when I got home.
Thursday: I hadn't heard anything from them by around 3pm, so I rang them. They said collection had been arranged, and that the drill would be collected Friday. I mentioned that I needed the drill back by the end of the following week at the latest, and they said that as long as they had the parts in stock, that wouldn't be a problem.
Friday: The carrier came and collected the drill mid morning.
Tuesday: having not heard anything from Festool on the Monday, I rang first thing Tuesday morning to find out what was happening. I was told they had received it back on Monday afternoon, and it had been booked into the system. I asked if they had the parts in, and they said that because they were short-staffed, it hadn't been looked at so they didn't yet know. She said it was due to be looked at late that afternoon, and they would then know whether the parts were in stock or not.
Wednesday: I rang them first thing to see if the parts were in stock. I was told that when it was inspected they had the parts to hand; it had been repaired immediately, and was shipped straight back out Tuesday evening. About 30 mins after that call, it arrived at my door.
Now, in terms of the turn-around I think that was pretty reasonable, in fact I'd even go so far as to say it was pretty darn good - It was received, inspected, repaired, and shipped out within about 24 hours. No complaints about that whatsoever!
Having said that, the lack of communication on their part was worrying. Basically, if I hadn't contacted them I wouldn't have known anything; I wouldn't have known to be in for the carrier for either collection or delivery. Luckily I was at home for both. It wouldn't have been hard for them to call or e-mail me to keep me informed at each stage; a) when it would be collected; b) when they received it; c) when it had been looked at & diagnosed, and what was happening with it, and d) when it was shipped back (with a tracking number).
The fact that they couldn't deal with my request over the phone was a bit annoying. Having to fill the form in & send it back effectively delayed the whole process by 24 hours before it had even begun. Also, they requested proof of purchase - why? They have all that information already, on their system. I know, because I have the Festool app on my phone which contains everything they need - tool number, serial number, date of purchase, proof of purchase, where I bought it, all my contact details etc. (that information isn't held on the phone, it's linked to Festool's system, so they have access to it too).
Speaking of the app, Festool could (and should) incorporate the repair process into it. There should be a function where I could have reported the need for a repair via the app, completely doing away with the need to fill the form in & send it back. At worst, there should be a function to use the data in the app to auto-fill the form so that it could be e-mailed straight from the app to Festool UK.
They could also have a section of the app where you could track progress of the repair too, so you knew what was happening at every stage.
All in all I was happy with the process, as I got the drill back in the timeframe I needed, but it could have been a much more positive experience if they had communicated better (or at all). All the information I received was because I called them & asked; they never contacted me at any stage.
This isn't a complaint, just a means of feeding back to Festool UK about where their systems could be improved. I hope someone from Festool UK sees this (I'm sure [member=41214]Phil Beckley[/member] will!) and they improve communication regarding repairs in the future.
Jonathan
I wasn't sure what board it should go in, but as it's kind of a review of their service, I figured the review section was as good a place as any, even if it's not a tool review.
So here goes. This was a couple of weeks ago now, but here's how I remember it:
Wednesday: I was on site 2 hours from home when the drill broke, first thing in the morning. It was nothing major, just a fault with the forward/reverse switch. I rang Festool UK to try to arrange for them to collect the drill from my home the following day, but they said they couldn't do it over the phone & insisted that I sent a repair form in with proof of purchase etc. (which I couldn't do, as I was on site). They e-mailed me the form immediately, but it simply wasn't possible to fill it in on my phone, so I filled it in & e-mailed it back late Wednesday evening when I got home.
Thursday: I hadn't heard anything from them by around 3pm, so I rang them. They said collection had been arranged, and that the drill would be collected Friday. I mentioned that I needed the drill back by the end of the following week at the latest, and they said that as long as they had the parts in stock, that wouldn't be a problem.
Friday: The carrier came and collected the drill mid morning.
Tuesday: having not heard anything from Festool on the Monday, I rang first thing Tuesday morning to find out what was happening. I was told they had received it back on Monday afternoon, and it had been booked into the system. I asked if they had the parts in, and they said that because they were short-staffed, it hadn't been looked at so they didn't yet know. She said it was due to be looked at late that afternoon, and they would then know whether the parts were in stock or not.
Wednesday: I rang them first thing to see if the parts were in stock. I was told that when it was inspected they had the parts to hand; it had been repaired immediately, and was shipped straight back out Tuesday evening. About 30 mins after that call, it arrived at my door.
Now, in terms of the turn-around I think that was pretty reasonable, in fact I'd even go so far as to say it was pretty darn good - It was received, inspected, repaired, and shipped out within about 24 hours. No complaints about that whatsoever!
Having said that, the lack of communication on their part was worrying. Basically, if I hadn't contacted them I wouldn't have known anything; I wouldn't have known to be in for the carrier for either collection or delivery. Luckily I was at home for both. It wouldn't have been hard for them to call or e-mail me to keep me informed at each stage; a) when it would be collected; b) when they received it; c) when it had been looked at & diagnosed, and what was happening with it, and d) when it was shipped back (with a tracking number).
The fact that they couldn't deal with my request over the phone was a bit annoying. Having to fill the form in & send it back effectively delayed the whole process by 24 hours before it had even begun. Also, they requested proof of purchase - why? They have all that information already, on their system. I know, because I have the Festool app on my phone which contains everything they need - tool number, serial number, date of purchase, proof of purchase, where I bought it, all my contact details etc. (that information isn't held on the phone, it's linked to Festool's system, so they have access to it too).
Speaking of the app, Festool could (and should) incorporate the repair process into it. There should be a function where I could have reported the need for a repair via the app, completely doing away with the need to fill the form in & send it back. At worst, there should be a function to use the data in the app to auto-fill the form so that it could be e-mailed straight from the app to Festool UK.
They could also have a section of the app where you could track progress of the repair too, so you knew what was happening at every stage.
All in all I was happy with the process, as I got the drill back in the timeframe I needed, but it could have been a much more positive experience if they had communicated better (or at all). All the information I received was because I called them & asked; they never contacted me at any stage.
This isn't a complaint, just a means of feeding back to Festool UK about where their systems could be improved. I hope someone from Festool UK sees this (I'm sure [member=41214]Phil Beckley[/member] will!) and they improve communication regarding repairs in the future.
Jonathan
