Festool customer service sucks

[BCConstruction]

It shouldn’t matter how many tools you own by them. I’m curious if you are one of the thousands affected by the kapex motor burning its self out and charging you crazy money to repair they faulty design. Would you be happy if the saw you bought for $1500 burnt it’s self out and it is basically worthless and used even when fixed at Festool’s crazy repair costs you would break even with selling it!

I doubt there’s one person on here who had that happen and was happy with it and the response they got from Festool. Blaming everything but their poor design.

 

[peter halle]

If you think that posting your issues here like you did on Facebook will convince Festool to do something for you, I might suggest that contacting them directly and trying to talk to someone might be more effective.  Be calm, lose any attitude, and handle it business like. 

This is offered constructively.

Peter

 

[Vondawg]

Sound and solid advise.

 

[tallgrass]

I actually am one of the people that gave up on the Kapex when it had the table issues. They promptly sent me replacements. I went through 3 of them before I gave up and went to another saw. Even though the saw did not work out for me, they were very helpful and tried to accommodate me. When I gave up they refunded the money. I could not ask for more than that. The reason I mention that I have a ton of their tools is that my experience with their tools is broad. This is relevant in that that I have had Festool repair many different tools over the years, from drills to saws. All tools wear out and break. When my tools have broken, they have been repaired quickly in and out of warranty.

 

[AstroKeith]

I'm in the UK and fairly new to festool. Saying that in 6 months I have acquired about 8 tools and dozens of systainers. It was the quality and design features that made me dump my old stuff and build a Festool collection.

I did find a couple of issues with 'new' products on delivery, which I think was down to the dealer having opened the boxes to show or demo to others, or perhaps they had been returned by other customers. So I switched dealer and since then been 100% satisfied.

I drive a 2016 Mustang and the UK facebook page is often taken over by owners having issues. Its usually down to the dealer again. In the early days when they were just appearing in the UK my local Ford dealer clearly hadn't ever seen a 'high performance' engine and their mechanics were just trained to follow service instructions to the letter. It didnt take long for the UK mustang owners to work out which garage to go for for service!

 

[FestitaMakool]

[member=72891]AstroKeith[/member]
That’s very wisely said. So is my experience too.
The dealer is THE first place to direct a claim. Unless you are certain you have received a sealed item - whatever that might be, it could have been, used, repaired, tampered with, after leaving the factory. The dealer is then responsible to claim towards the vendor or manufacturer.

Facebook.. Social Media.. I don’t know which of the platform’s that are the worst... But, in my opinion no brand or company should interact, or maybe even do marketing on social platforms. It’s a “women’s gossip magazine” in a digital form, that worsens when readers interact to a story, it’s a no-no. Again my opinion, learned from experience and understanding of the psychology behind.
Any company should only act directly towards a “customer” that be a dealer, professional user or a private end user when handling claims.

And we are free to pick the dealers that act professionally, also in regards to claims handling.
The aftermarket is THE most important market, for any brand that be a dealer or manufacturer that wants to stay in the market at all.

 

[elliottandnolan]

I haven't used Festool service (in the UK) for a few years now, but when I last did they were excellent.

 

[kelly@kwcontracting.uk]

am disgusted and extremely disappointed that since purchasing my cordless plunge saw in November 2018 it has been in twice to have batteries replaced due to them draining whilst in storage and completely inactive. I have the same issue again and the previous repairs are not showing on your records. Many other people are suffering this issue on this forum so it obviously a recognised problem and one they seem keen to cover up and as my machine is out of warranty and previous issues have been deleted from your records my machine is now pretty much useless unless i pay out money. I will certainly never purchase Festool again and will warn as many people as possible in my industry. Never had this issue with any of my Makitas and the service is excellent.

 

[woodbutcherbower]

Why would you need to send a cordless saw to the manufacturer to change batteries?

And why register on the forum just to resurrect a 3-year-old thread?

And FWIW - I'm here pretty regularly, and I can't remember a single, solitary thread about 1st-gen TSC batteries draining to zero - so maybe you'd kindly provide links to the threads where 'many other people are suffering this issue on this forum'.

Thankyou.

 

[peter halle]

am disgusted and extremely disappointed that since purchasing my cordless plunge saw in November 2018 it has been in twice to have batteries replaced due to them draining whilst in storage and completely inactive. I have the same issue again and the previous repairs are not showing on your records. Many other people are suffering this issue on this forum so it obviously a recognised problem and one they seem keen to cover up and as my machine is out of warranty and previous issues have been deleted from your records my machine is now pretty much useless unless i pay out money. I will certainly never purchase Festool again and will warn as many people as possible in my industry. Never had this issue with any of my Makitas and the service is excellent.

Sorry to hear about your issue.  Have there been posts here about battery issues?  Absolutely.  Are they indicative of a widespread issue?  We can't know that answer whereas the posts here are a tiny subset of the big battery picture.  Batteries have a lifespan and how they are stored definitely can affect longevity.  Batteries can also have defects.

Have you contacted Festool UK directly? 

Peter

 

[luvmytoolz]

Never had this issue with any of my Makitas and the service is excellent.

The first LXT Makitas I bought had the original battery issue where if it was flat and you tried to charge it it blew an internal fuse and the battery was permanently rendered unusable. In Australia at least Makita certainly didn't honour any warranty claims on this idiotic "design feature"!

 

[Ron B]

I had a battery inserted in my 420 jigsaw.  It went dead sitting in the systainer.  The saw was Recon but I was still under the year warranty and the battery was replaced with no hassle.  But now I do not trust the batteries to hold a charge when in many of my Festools so I always take the battery out when I put them away.  I am a hobbyist with a tool fetish so my tools may sit for extended periods.    I never had that problem with my Porter Cable tools.

 

[Dirk D]

I have issue with my Kapex to the point that I'm ready to give it away.
Its not useful for anything other than very rough work.
Can't cut decent miters with it.
The table and the rotating center section are not parallel.
The fence is not straight from side to side and its squareness to the table varies from side to side.
I have replaced the original fence and the replacement one is just as bad.
I called Festool and asked about expected quality of the table and fence in reference to flatness and square and the only thing they tell me is send it in.
I would expect that they would have techs that can talk to the consumers and talk thru the issues. Everyone has different skills and abilities. Some consumers can handle replacing parts and assembling items. If all Festool is going to do is replace parts I can do that as well as they can.

Its a big and heavy item, not easily packaged and shipped.

 

[woodbutcherbower]

At least 90% of the horror stories I've ever read on this forum seem to be about the Kapex.

Fortunately for me, every Festool machine I've ever owned has been totally flawless for its entire lifetime - to the extent that I've worn them out without a single, solitary fault or breakdown, and I've always been 100% happy to replace them like-for-like after 4500-5000 hours of use. The overwhelming majority of other contractors I work with all have a similar story.

 

[Lincoln]

At least 90% of the horror stories I've ever read on this forum seem to be about the Kapex

And a large percentage of them are 110v, not 240v, from what I've read.

 

[ChuckM]

And ...am I wrong (or right) to say that the total number of Kapex failures reported to or discussed on this Forum amounted to less than two dozen? (That was based on the result of searches I once did on this Forum.)

 

[woodferret]

And a large percentage of them are 110v, not 240v, from what I've read.

Wasn't that mostly the motor and running it through the CT issue?

 

[guybo]

https://www.festool.co.uk/campaigns/microsites/retrofit#KAPEXretrofit Some were starting on fire weren't they?

 

[luvmytoolz]

We did have a Kapex issue here in OZ many years back, from memory it was something to do with a batch that had a linkage issue where under certain use cases the linkage arm would bend out of position. I believe Festool fixed them all under warranty or via a recall.

 

[BUTTER]

To OP [member=8101]BCConstruction[/member] :
Totally hear your frustration, and it sounds like there's plenty of stress beyond Festool customer service so it they're not meeting your needs it only adds to the bandwidth overload.

For my 2cts, if my contribution is to be considered...Festool is a really unique and special company, and at least in NA, seems to be working to continue the care/integrity they started with in the US >20 years ago as they scaffold their growth as a business.
I speak as someone in construction for 25 years. I resisted my colleague's excitement about this track saw bc of cost until getting one ~17 years ago, and to this day still feel such joy/satisfaction using it and my Domino.  (Though my 5 employees get to use them more than I do at this point in the cabinet business.) 
I use other brands where more appropriate, and can't claim fanboy status, but hugely appreciate their integrity and build quality.

Many other brands' tools die within 2-4 years of professional use, and repair/parts are limited or impossible.
e.g.  In my shop for workstations I have a CT36, CT26, CT15, and a more than 20 yr old CT22 that I bought used when starting out.
Festool's parts inventory supports their tools' wear and repair for decades, and no other company is doing so on their level; most company's tools are considered disposable after a short while.

If your tools need a more complex repair than you want to handle at home, it's true the time and shipping can add up.

But most updating of parts subject to wear is pretty straightforward, esp w the EKAT resources.

Last tip: find out who your regional rep is and reach out to them.  My experiences in SoCal w Jake and Alan before him have always been hugely supportive.