Festool Customer Service is the Greatest? What other companies have great service?

[PaulMarcel]

I have had excellent customer service from Sawstop.  Both when needing any kind of technical support and in product support.  Without going into details, they have provided me some of the best service I have ever had from a product manufacturer - on an issue, which turns out was my issue and not their product....

New Festool user so have not had an opportunity to experience their customer service.

+1 for SawStop

 

[upscale]

Along with LV, I'd like to nominate Atlas Machinery (Toronto, Ontario) as having one of the best customer service policies. Not that I've had to go back to them very often with a problem, but when I have, Atlas has always gone above and beyond to help me out.

Almost exclusively, I shop at these two companies for my hand tools and my power tools. Customer service makes visiting these two companies always a pleasure, even if I do have a problem.

I'd nominate Festool, but for the few Festool products I've bought, I haven't had any problems with them so don't have any real experience with their customer service.  [laughing]

 

[euphline]

My limited experience with Festool customer service has been exceptional. As well, the hospitality offered to those training in Lebanon is also of note.

A few years ago, my wife and I bought a Bunn coffee maker. When it failed under warranty, I telephoned, and the call was answered by a human on the first ring. She quickly made me a customer for life. In fact, when they later improved upon my coffee pot, they emailed and offered a compatible upgrade kit.

Nice to have a few good apples around.

 

[peter halle]

Welcome to the FOG Euphline!

Peter

 

[NYC Tiny Shop]

Festool USA has been terrific and is an important consideration when purchasing a new tool.  I can also commend the customer service which I have received from: Toolnuts, Lee Valley, Woodcraft, Rockler, Home Depot, Hartville Tools, Carbide Processors, DeWalt, Lie Nielson, Fastcap, Amazon, and Woodpecker Tools.  Also, UPS and local lumberyards such as Rosenzweig and Condon's.  In the past ten years, or so, most American companies have improved their customer service dramatically.  Competition is good for the economy and its consumers.

 

[ShawnRussell]

Every Festool dealer I have dealt with has been beyond excellent; what that means to me is responding to questions outside of business hours, giving product advice and usage, and following up with communication after the tool was delivered. I have dealt with Bob Marino and Toolnut.

The hands down best service I have ever received is signing up for a Festool class. Minnie Gleb deserves a raise! Steve, Sedge, and Greg are top notch trainers. My wife works in adult education, finished her masters in Distance Education, and after hearing me talk about my Festool class she wants to attend a class just to experience the training first hand for ideas to incorporate into her training curriculum.

I have not had to use any Festool repair services and as odd as it sounds I am looking forward to when I do have to use them. Every interaction I have had with Festool USA has always exceeded any expectation I had. I may sound like a fanboy, but I am sure if you have used their services you would agree with everything above.

Outside of Festool Lee Valley, Lie Nielsen, and Highland Hardware are always home to friendly service and good advice. I have been very happy with Apple service though I have had to use their repair services a few too many times. Blaklader provides excellent communication. I enjoy shopping at REI. The food and service at Seasons 52 is top of their class.

 

[iamnothim]

I appreciate the kind words. My request for them was a bit tongue in cheek. I am just one part of a greater whole. I'm lucky enough to have great colleagues/friends that do most of the heavy lifting to take care of our customers. I am just a facilitator of sorts. That includes members of the team from other countries.

My passion for Festool is because I think Festool represents something special. For those of you who are customers or dealers or who have come in contact with us, I think you'll agree. We do business in an honorable way and this topic is part of what differentiates us from most companies.

Sorry I couldn't address Festool Customer Service.  The products are so good, I don't need customer service.

 

[iamnothim]

Festool USA has been terrific and is an important consideration when purchasing a new tool.  I can also commend the customer service which I have received from: Toolnuts, Lee Valley, Woodcraft, Rockler, Home Depot, Hartville Tools, Carbide Processors, DeWalt, Lie Nielson, Fastcap, Amazon, and Woodpecker Tools.  Also, UPS and local lumberyards such as Rosenzweig and Condon's.  In the past ten years, or so, most American companies have improved their customer service dramatically.  Competition is good for the economy and its consumers.

Woodpecker  ++1

 

[NuggyBuggy]

I have had excellent customer service from Sawstop.  Both when needing any kind of technical support and in product support.  Without going into details, they have provided me some of the best service I have ever had from a product manufacturer - on an issue, which turns out was my issue and not their product....

When I saw this quote, I thought I had written it - because I wrote something very similar before.  I also don't want to get into details, but Sawstop went way above and beyond what reasonable customer service would have been expected, and way beyond what I asked for.  Additionally, when they found out what model saw I had, they informed that they had upgraded some parts and would ship them to me free.  These parts were not small.  I will not hesitate to buy a Sawstop in the future.

Beyond Sawstop, Lee Valley is always great and a pleasure to deal with. 

It's hard for me to imagine these  two companies being surpassed in customer service.

 

[HowardH]

Although others may say otherwise, I have had great service from Felder.  They forgot to include something in an order and they sent it right away.  They also called each time after I purchased a couple of machines to make sure they were working properly and that I had set them up correctly. 

 

[ccarrolladams]

Even back in the days when Festool USA was located near Santa Barbara, all of my contacts with them have been outstanding. Since 2006 I have not needed to send any Festool in for service, nor have I returned any under the 30 exchange plan because during those 30 days I convinced myself I needed that tool!

Besides Festool I own woodworking machines from many firms. Reps from Felder, Stiles, SawStop, TigerStop and others come by to make sure things are going well. I have maintenance contracts with Felder and Stiles and they arrive on time, smell good and keep those machines running.

My primary local dealer is Eagle Tools of Los Angeles. On-line I have also had outstanding service from In-Touch Tools, Tool Home and K119. I consider my primary plywood and hardwood dealer to be a virtual business partner, as is the case with my principal suppliers of cabinet hardware. We have a drawer making department but we also source from three marvelous drawer firms.

Outside the woodworing industry let me give a huge shout-out for outstanding service to: Panavision for professional film and digital cameras; Mole-Richardson for set lighting and grip equipment; and Big Time Editorial for Avid computer editing equipment.

 

[PaulMarcel]

-snip-

Outside the woodworing industry let me give a huge shout-out for outstanding service to: Panavision for professional film and digital cameras; Mole-Richardson for set lighting and grip equipment; and Big Time Editorial for Avid computer editing equipment.

I should find out from you where I could dumpster-dive for tossed digital cameras... their garbage is probably leagues away from what I use!

 

[Peter Durand]

Rather than start a new thread, I changed the title of this one. Feel free to talk about other companies that provide exceptional service, as well as you experiences with Festool customer service. Be sure to say nice things about your interaction with me.  [tongue]

Yes, I have nice things to say about you. You were patient and had a sense of humor when we were dealing with the problems regarding the return and fixing of the TS55R.

So to add another manufacturer that has an excellent culture of customer service, it is Leigh Tools, the maker of dovetail and other jigs. In spite of their excellent manuals, I have had the odd problem getting some things into my head. They were most helpful over the phone. When I went over to the factory (luckily I live only about 10 miles away)  one of their engineers took me into the shop and walked me through the process I was having trouble with. Great company.

 

[festnoob]

I would also have to add Lee Valley. I bought a planer that arrived hanging out of the box. They overnighted one and sent the return label no questions asked.

 

[andy5405]

There's been some mention of poorer dealers. I have noticed my local dealer's Festool display getting much smaller over the last 2-3 years. I spoke to them about it and they said that a Festool tool purchaser may want to discuss it for up to an hour. If they do make a sale they might only make £20-£30 with the increased competition since Festool's bottom smacking. The chances are that they will walk out and then buy it on the net. It simply doesn't make as much economic sense to put the effort into Festool that they used to. 

 

[UncleJoe]

I have to add Fast Cap to the list. I had an occasion to email them about an issue. They were extremely responsive and the owner got involved and even called me on the phone to discuss how he could make everything better. I feel that his whole company is committed to a great customer experience. YMMV but from my experience I will always go there if they have what I need.

There are some very good business operating in the wood working industry. As a consumer it is nice to have all the choices and with the internet and quick shipping we are no longer held hostage to the local guy that is unresponsive. In general terms I think one of the great side affects of the internet and forums like this is that it allows consumer to choose vendors that really get it and we are no longer forced to deal with companies that think we are lucky they are here for us. For businesses it means that if you are not on top of your customer service game you face extinction if your competitors are customer oriented

 

[Custard]

There's been some mention of poorer dealers. I have noticed my local dealer's Festool display getting much smaller over the last 2-3 years. I spoke to them about it and they said that a Festool tool purchaser may want to discuss it for up to an hour. If they do make a sale they might only make £20-£30 with the increased competition since Festool's bottom smacking. The chances are that they will walk out and then buy it on the net. It simply doesn't make as much economic sense to put the effort into Festool that they used to.   

You make a good point Andy, and it flags up a potential problem for Festool. The products are terrific, the customer service is generally excellent, but they could go a lot, lot further in helping their customers get the most out of their tools. And without really knowledgeable dealers this will become even more important in an online future.

When you see things like the "Unofficial Manuals" or the "Half Inch Shy" blog, you realise that Festool have basically abandoned product education. IMO that's a massive mistake because excellent though these efforts are, they'll never have the resources to cover every tool and every accessory. IMO this leaves Festool wide open to a competitor who says, "I'm going to offer you first class tools, but I'm also going to give you first class guidance in getting the very best from them."

 

[andy5405]

You make a good point Andy, and it flags up a potential problem for Festool. The products are terrific, the customer service is generally excellent, but they could go a lot, lot further in helping their customers get the most out of their tools. And without really knowledgeable dealers this will become even more important in an online future.

When you see things like the "Unofficial Manuals" or the "Half Inch Shy" blog, you realise that Festool have basically abandoned product education. IMO that's a massive mistake because excellent though these efforts are, they'll never have the resources to cover every tool and every accessory. IMO this leaves Festool wide open to a competitor who says, "I'm going to offer you first class tools, but I'm also going to give you first class guidance in getting the very best from them."

I think the support is there for Festool products and it's all over the web. There's Festool TV, lots of guides on the country websites and of course the FOG. There is no way the average dealer (nothing wrong with being an average dealer, someone has to be) is going to match the knowledge someone can get from just here.

I was at the KBB exhibition in Birmingham on Sunday where Festool launched a few new products. I asked about the Vecturo which wasn't there and the Festool UK guy said all they knew about it was from the leaked pictures on here. It will apparently come out sometime in May.

So I actually disagree with you to a point. Name any other tool manufacturer that has a resource a comprehensive as this one and the other online Festool offerings. However though Festool probably has more info on the web than any other manufacturer the support at dealer level if you want to walk into a store isn't likely to improve with purchasing being more internet based and price conscious. Who plugs and funds that gap, Festool or the dealer?

BTW, I wasn't bothered by the battery TS or the edgebander but I did see a great accessory for the new 18v SDS. It comes with a dust catching accessory which fits the end of a 27mm hose. The vac then provides suction to hold it to the surface (provided it is relatively smooth)  and then also removes the dust through an 14mm diameter round steel insert. I think I have got that about right?? Anyway it will be available as a separate part no and apparently only about 20 quid.