Festool Seeking Opinions on Warranties and Service

[Christian93117]

Thank you for all the posts so far. The feedback is appreciated.

The main intention of this post is to learn about the warranty and service of other companies. We
want to know which company is setting the benchmark in warranty and service from your point of view.

We are especially interested in examples from other industries, not the tool and woodworking industry.
Our feeling is that other industries are a lot more innovative when it comes to service and warranty
and we want to learn from them.

Thank you.

Christian Oltzscher
Festool USA

 

[John Stevens]

Oakley has a great guarantee--if you're the original owner and there's a defect in the materials or workmanship, you get a free replacement, no time limit.  You pay $25 for a replacement if you can't prove you're the original owner, or if the damage was not caused by a defect in the materials or workmanship (i.e., it's like an insurance policy if you break your glasses), or both.

It's a generous guarantee, but its cost is built into the purchase price of the glasses.  Same is true of the Festool warranty, but I find it well worth the price.

Regards,

John

 

[mastercabman]

what about ,be able to purchase extended warranty?for 5 years?10 years?for the life of the tool? (if the price is right) .another tool company that i really like for warranty is HILTI,great customer service.

 

[Bob Childress]

Okay, I'll put in a plug for BMW. Their warranties include all the maintenance and service for the entire warranty period. I would love to be able to send in my Festool XXXXXX and get it cleaned and recalibrated once or twice during the warranty period.

As for Festool itself, the web site descriptions of the various accessories is a joke (there are none to speak of). I want to know what the blamed thing does and will it help me do whatever.

 

[John Langevin]

I think the Dealers (in my case Woodcraft) should be better educated about the tools. Now that Woodcraft is a stocking dealer I don't think it is unreasonable to be able to exchange a faulty battery or chuck, the simple stuff so that you don't have to ship it off. Also in the case of the MFS they should have extras of the attaching screws etc.
As for other companies, Sears comes to mind with their handtool's Lifetime Warranty with no paperwork involved, bring the tool in and they give you a new one. Obviously in the case of Festool power tools this would have to be in the form of an extended warranty, perhaps give us the option to return the tool for inspection prior to the original warranty expiring and then purchasing the extended warranty. Another option would be returning the tool to be factory refurbished for a fee.
Many of the American knife makers (i.e. Schrade) offer a lifetime repair or replacement warranty.
In terms of power tools I think Fein and Festool have the best warranties but they could still be improved.

 

[ScooterX]

Since the question is what sort of warranties do I think of when I think of exceptional companies, then the answer is:
lifetime satisfaction guaranty

Here are the companies:
Northface (outdoor gear and clothing)
Jansport (backpacks)
REI, Inc. (outdoor sports/clothing retailer)
LL Bean (outdoor/clothing retailer)
Buck Knives (pocket knives)

I remain loyal to those companies because they have stood behind their products. I've had excellent experiences with all of them. If a backpack, sleeping bag, canoe, or shirt can come with a lifetime satisfaction guaranty, then so can a $350 circular saw that requires $100 of accessories to be useful (longer cutting track).

To be honest, when I heard that Festool had a 3 year waranty, I thought it was pretty lame. My Visa card gives me a 3-year waranty when I pay for something with the Visa. Festools' 3-year waranty seems like the minimum they needed to come up with to seem better than most of the other small tool makers. That makes it better than the others, but it seems like a cheap way out, to me.

Here's how I'd write the waranty:
If your tool ever fails to give you complete satisfaction, return it to us or a dealer (with proof of purchase) and we will refund your purchase price, replace it, or fix it, at your choice.

--

 

[Bob Childress]

In fairness, Scooterx, you named companies that sell products with no moving parts or motors to wear out. Motors, blades, arbors, etc. will wear out, no matter what. Lifetime warranty on a power tool would be a bit much.

 

[mastercabman]

Since the question is what sort of warranties do I think of when I think of exceptional companies, then the answer is:
lifetime satisfaction guaranty

Here are the companies:
Northface (outdoor gear and clothing)
Jansport (backpacks)
REI, Inc. (outdoor sports/clothing retailer)
LL Bean (outdoor/clothing retailer)
Buck Knives (pocket knives)

I remain loyal to those companies because they have stood behind their products. I've had excellent experiences with all of them. If a backpack, sleeping bag, canoe, or shirt can come with a lifetime satisfaction guaranty, then so can a $350 circular saw that requires $100 of accessories to be useful (longer cutting track).

To be honest, when I heard that Festool had a 3 year waranty, I thought it was pretty lame. My Visa card gives me a 3-year waranty when I pay for something with the Visa. Festools' 3-year waranty seems like the minimum they needed to come up with to seem better than most of the other small tool makers. That makes it better than the others, but it seems like a cheap way out, to me.

Here's how I'd write the waranty:
If your tool ever fails to give you complete satisfaction, return it to us or a dealer (with proof of purchase) and we will refund your purchase price, replace it, or fix it, at your choice.

--

with a warranty like that how do you expect them to make any money?basically i can buy a festool,use it for 5-10 years, then send it back, and get my money back?if every body did this festool will have to go bankrupt!      festool does have a 30 days return policy.you don't like it?return it for a full refund. for power tools,3 years warranty is pretty good IMO. 

 

[Matthew Schenker]

I'll add an example of my most recent positive warranty situation.

This is about Calphalon, the company that makes cookware.

My wife and I are really into cooking, and we bought a five-piece set of calphalon pots back about 10 years ago.  They were one of Calphalon's middle-grade sets.  We used them extensively over the years.  A few weeks ago, we noticed that two of the pans were flaking (the anodized surface was coming off).  One quick e-mail to Calphalon and I had a reference number and an address to send the old pots to.  They also asked that we send the whole set to them, even though three pieces were not affected.

A week later, a huge box arrives from Calphalon.  Inside is a 10-piece cookware set worth about $600!  (Calphalon One Set on Amazon)  They also included a letter explaining what happened to the anodization. 

To me, this goes beyond just a written warranty.  Yes, Calphalon does have a lifetime warranty, but it's the classy way they lived up to it that counts.  They could have replaced our pots with another "decent" set, but instead they chose to go an extra step and give us their best, so we were even better off than we started.  And they handled our inquiry quickly and easily.

Of course, I don't mean to say that a tool company and a cookware company are in the same warranty situation.  As Bob Childress said:

In fairness, Scooterx, you named companies that sell products with no moving parts or motors to wear out. Motors, blades, arbors, etc. will wear out, no matter what. Lifetime warranty on a power tool would be a bit much.

But the moral here is this: whatever the company's warranty contains, there's what's literally written in the warranty, and then there's how the company actually handles the warranty.  That applies to any company.

Matthew

PS: Partly, this might also have to do with how a customer relates to the company.  In my e-mail to Calphalon, I emphasized how much my wife and I use the cookware, how often we have friends over who see the cookware, and our interest in remaining loyal customers.

 

[Llap Goch]

hope never to have to use the Festool warranty and having lied, deceived and sold my soul to buy them I would be mighty hacked-off if anything did go wrong.

But I am reassured by the experience of a friend of mine who uses his Festools for a living. Whilst working up a ladder he inadvertantly tested the aerodynamic qualities of his 150/5 sander. Its a great sander, but flying is not one of its better qualities*. He phoned Festool and the very next day a man delivered a loan sander, took away the deceased one and returned it repaired within 48 hours. Excellent service.

I have seen the way he (ab)uses his tools. He uses them in the rain and puts them away wet. I wouldn't give him a weeks warranty let alone 3 years.

But this was the first time in 8 years of using Festools that he has ever had to use the warranty service. Which is why he wears the invisible pair of ski's that come in every Systainer to assist you as you hurtle down the slalom of the slippery slope.....and boy do they do work as he has just ordered a Kapex.

As for other firms warranties and service I would only add two that are worthy of the Llap Goch seal of approval (the Golden Daffodil):

1. Honda - nothing, nichts, niet has ever gone wrong with my beloveds Honda Jazz ( Honda Fit to you guys). Super car (a design lesson in packaging), super dealers but, very clever Soichiro, I am now caught on the Honda slippery slope.  New Civic Type R on order for moi. Vroom vroom.

2. Meile - 10 year old washing machine, bit of rust came through the enamel. Phone call, visit by technician, panel replaced FOC. 'Nuff said.

As for the badies out there, how long have you got?

* "Fly Army..... not Festool!"

 

[woodshopdemos]

My Visa card gives me a 3-year warranty when I pay for something with the Visa.

--

Yes, I thought my Visa had a good warranty policy until 1 week ago. Three months ago, I purchased an editing program and used VISA for that protection. I got the program and over 5 days couldn't get it to work. The CS support gave me 5 different answers and ways to make it work. Each method took about 5 hours of unloading and then loading. At try number 6, their suggestion was absolutely the same as Number one. I requested and RA number. "Have you opened the box?" "Of course I have, how else would I have been able to load the program?" And the back and forth went this way for two days at which time I reported case to VISA. They promptly credited my account the $355 that I had paid. They then sent me a one page questionnaire for me to complete and send back. I did. Next they debit my account the $355 and I called their customer service and they have no idea why it was re-debited. I had to write the reimbursement office that has no email just a PO Box. I sent a letter and they returned a form letter that basically said "on further review we found that the seller...." BULLDUNKIE.  Don't count of the credit card companies to be your friends when it comes time to test the charge back.
PS - A software program is soon to be listed on Ebay.

 

[Tinker]

My take on the warrantee is that for power tools, it is a great one.  I hear so many complaints about the cost to buy Festools that i can see only more cost involvement if the warrantee is increased to a greatr time span.  I try to take good care of my shop tools as I am sure many others do the same.  One rsponder told of a friend trying the aerodynamic qualities of one of his tools.  When I was in construction, several of my tools were tested in just such a way.  I have dropped them from high scaffolding and from the back of trucks when somebody forgot to check the load before driving off.  I found that it was Milwaukee tools that stood up the very best to such performance tests.  I would not try the same treatment with my Festools, or any other tools i now use.  I would not expect Festool to warrantee tools against the treatment my tools so often received when i was in construction and had many others useing and testing the potential to stand up to abuse.  I would not expect Festool to warrantee such treated tools without a substantial increase in already substantial initial cost. 

About the manuals, I am sure that some of the ideas Work, Christoferson and some of the FOG members have come up with and written/photographed for the benefit of all are often beyond what Festool designers had dreamed of.  Years ago (sort of off topic) I bought a skidsteer loader.  There was a backhoe that hitched to the front of the tractor frame and you ran the hoe with the loader bucket overhead.  I took one look and made the mistook of mentioning to the company rep that the back hoe should be mounted right in the loader bucket.  "Impossible!" he told me.  I brought the machinery home and within a few days, I gave the idea to my fabricator.  He improved on my idea and a few days later, I was in business with a back hoe mounted in the front bucket.  a much safer application.  within 6 months, anoter company came out with a quick hitch to do the same as my design, only better.  I designed a way to mount a york rake to the front of my skidsteer and was told i was crazy.  within a year, all skidsteer comanies were mounting all sorts of tools to the front of their machines. I don't really know as i was the first to come up with the ideas involved, but i got a lot of questions from a lot of strangers in a very short time.  The ideas did not come from any handbook or manual.  Somebody figured out what was going on.  good ideas can come up from anyone anywhere.
Tinker

 

[Brent b]

"Years ago (sort of off topic) I bought a skidsteer loader." ;D
Jeez Tinker, skidsteer loader and Festool kit, what else you got in that shop?  Who are you, Bob the Builder? ;D
Brent

 

[Tinker]

"Years ago (sort of off topic) I bought a skidsteer loader." ;D
Jeez Tinker, skidsteer loader and Festool kit, what else you got in that shop?  Who are you, Bob the Builder? ;D
Brent

Uster be
Tinker

 

[EdL]

Dillon Precision is the best I've ever dealt with. All of their reloading equipment has a lifetime "NO B.S." warranty. Call them up, tell them what broke or wore out and a new part is on the way.

Dillon

Leupold is another company with an excellent warranty. From their website-
"Leupold and Stevens, Inc. is an American, family-owned, fifth-generation company that has been designing, machining, and assembling precision optical instruments for 100 years. Leupold?s? success has been built on our commitment to your absolute satisfaction, and our commitment to building the best optics for the shooting sports and for the law enforcement / military community. It?s for these reasons that we offer the Leupold Full Lifetime Guarantee.

If any Leupold Golden Ring? product is found to have defects in materials or workmanship, we will, at our option, repair or replace it. FREE. Even if you are not the original owner. No warranty card is required. No time limit applies.

Certain special purpose products are covered by specific warranties in regard to their own individual features.
"

 

[bill-e]

Believe it or not a good warranty and customer service are fairly low on my priority list when I buy something.

What I look for is product reliability and only resort to warranty if I must.

I don't care how good the warranty is or how great the customer service is, I don't ever want to experience either!

So when I shop I look for reliable brands first, warranty second.

That being said free shipping is a plus especially since companies can get much better deals that private individuals and if you're like me and live in rural America, shipping from a Ma and Pa shop is always twice as much.

 

[Ned]

I've always favored Channellock pliers and cutters.  A few years back I bought some small wire cutters for my wife.  They were about $20, which made them about mid-range for that class of tools.
[attachthumb=1]
After using them for a bit, my wife told me that some Taiwanese cutters ($3.99) cut better at the tip than the Channellocks.  In email exchanges with Channellock, I quoted my wife and asked if perhaps their cutters were not intended for jeweler's work.  The company asked us to send them the cutters, and wanted to know exactly what was being cut.  We packaged up the cutters and included six-inch (150mm) samples of the materials (except the sterling silver  ).

Channellock is in Pennsylvania, at the other end of the USA, so it was a full week before we heard from them.  Yes, they felt the cutters were not up to their standards.  They were sending us three cutters as a replacement.  All three cut well.  My wife has the one she thinks the best, and I've got the others.

Applicability of this anecdote to Festool:  If my Rotex ever breaks, I don't expect Festool to send 3 replacements.  As someone else has posted, different standards should apply to hand tools and power tools.

I think Channellock's behavior is on a par with Festool's, which is to say, quite satisfying to the customer.

The only reasonable suggestion that I've seen posted here, where "reasonable" means that the customer would value it and Festool wouldn't go broke implementing it, is the idea of making the current warranty transferable during the 3-year period.  Not extended, just that the tool had a warranted 3-year life no matter how many owners.

We were so pleased with Channellock's handling of this that we told them we intended to spread the word.  And this post is part of that promise.

Ned

 

[Michael Kellough]

I don't care how good the warranty is or how great the customer service is, I don't ever want to experience either!

I know what you mean but...do you have airbags in your car Bill? 

 

[Ned]

.do you have airbags in your car Bill? 

If he wants to drive anything newer than an '89, he doesn't have any choice.

Ned

 

[bill-e]

.do you have airbags in your car Bill? 

If he wants to drive anything newer than an '89, he doesn't have any choice.

Ned

Airbags are a bad analogy, they're there in case I screw up...not the same as a warranty.

I stand fast in my belief that the best warranty is the one you never have to use and the best customer service is the one you never have to call.  Now customer support for help using your tools is where the ISA's shine and ranks high in priority.