Everyone is in this thread is making very good points.... and I have to say I feel strongly both ways..... LOL... to a point.
I too want the best deal when I buy…
There are both good and bad: internet sites/stores and brick and mortar stores.
How you look a dealer is determined by your view; are hobby/home shop user or a pro using the tools day in and day out? Another factor is how far away are you from a dealer?
I use my tools to make me money. I’m in the Twin Cities, MN market, we are 3.5 mill in population and we have 3 dealers for a total of 4 locations within10 miles to 25 miles selling Festool.
The dealer with two locations has no trained staff that I have ever encountered that knows Festool at a level that is of any help other than checking stock and getting it out of the back room. Once you read the catalog you have more knowledge than they do. They do more damage to the Festool brand, IMHO than good as a customer, can't get an answer about the product. If you haven’t used Festool it is hard to know the value and from a store standpoint sell the product to a customer. Festool is expensive, but worth the money if you know what it will do! This dealer can't toss the ball over the fence of value vs. cost. Heck they can't put in an order without getting three people together to figure out how to do so with their computer system... and you as a customer need to double check they are entering the right Festool product number. I use to frequent this store enough that my experience is not a one-off event. When I was first looking to get into Festool other pros I have run to there and just around have been of far more help. And don’t get me started about their “banker hours”.
Another dealer that is a hardware store that is my favorite hardware store as they have everything!!!! But the people I have run into working the tool area have not used Festool and can sell you anything, but explain it beyond tell me it a quality product... nope! At least the several time I have been to them they do have a great body of knowledge of the more common products.
The third dealer is actually the only store that I have found that the staff knows the product. The new and PT workers will hand you over to the Festool trained employees when they know the question is out of their skill range. They know what they have, will hold it for you....yea...put down a CC to hold it... that is normal. I can email in with a list and say get this for me and they do. They will loan out tools for real world work/test.... and they only ask for feedback about how I used it and how it worked for me, so they can add to their knowledge base. If they don’t have it in stock when I purchase or if I were ever to send the send in a product for service they will loan me their demo to get the job done. I don't sit on it if I'm not using it... pick it up for the job site work and return it ASAP in respect to my other pros.
Not knowing the market share that Festool has. I have to guess it has to be very low when compared to the common tools you find at the big boxes and other stores.
I question how many stores a market like the Twin Cities really should have and can maintain. For the tools and big accessories I’m willing to drive and pick it up after work on the weekend and have it loading in the vehicle ready to go. I also like to be rid of the packaging. I will open it there and use their classroom to test it and know out of the box it works and has all its parts. Also it is nice to have people that have been trained by Festool, right beside you to offer the tips and tricks they learned in training.
I would have to say...that I would rather have the "third dealer" as the ONLY dealer in the Metro. It might be a longer drive for some of us...but it might mean that they could afford to carry a larger inventory and depth of stock, as they would have more inventory turns. What really is the cost of a 30 min. longer drive to get the product when you know they have it? They, like anyone, can also ship it to the site if that is what is needed.
If you have not been following marketing trends.... you need to know this... at this time there are some stores that now charge people if they want to try on clothes/product. They will credit that fitting charge/ product test amount to your purchase if you buy. This is result of too many people thinking they can use a stores staff time and resources then order online to save tax. I don’t want stores like that in my backyard.
When I go to a store and the people know the product and can answer my questions. I buy from them! To save 8-10% tax by going online after visiting a good dealer that gave you service, is disrespectful. That 8-10% helps the local economy and keeps people employed in a local area that helps me stay in business.
Now if your miles and miles away for a dealer, use FOG and other online sources to learn about the product, and the website/and their sales staff can answer your questions and don’t visit store about it… shop online.
I’m lucky and have one really good dealer close that supports my local economy and that is worth a lot to me. They are the best deal for me. I won’t buy from the other two vendors.
Cheers,
Steve
I too want the best deal when I buy…
There are both good and bad: internet sites/stores and brick and mortar stores.
How you look a dealer is determined by your view; are hobby/home shop user or a pro using the tools day in and day out? Another factor is how far away are you from a dealer?
I use my tools to make me money. I’m in the Twin Cities, MN market, we are 3.5 mill in population and we have 3 dealers for a total of 4 locations within10 miles to 25 miles selling Festool.
The dealer with two locations has no trained staff that I have ever encountered that knows Festool at a level that is of any help other than checking stock and getting it out of the back room. Once you read the catalog you have more knowledge than they do. They do more damage to the Festool brand, IMHO than good as a customer, can't get an answer about the product. If you haven’t used Festool it is hard to know the value and from a store standpoint sell the product to a customer. Festool is expensive, but worth the money if you know what it will do! This dealer can't toss the ball over the fence of value vs. cost. Heck they can't put in an order without getting three people together to figure out how to do so with their computer system... and you as a customer need to double check they are entering the right Festool product number. I use to frequent this store enough that my experience is not a one-off event. When I was first looking to get into Festool other pros I have run to there and just around have been of far more help. And don’t get me started about their “banker hours”.
Another dealer that is a hardware store that is my favorite hardware store as they have everything!!!! But the people I have run into working the tool area have not used Festool and can sell you anything, but explain it beyond tell me it a quality product... nope! At least the several time I have been to them they do have a great body of knowledge of the more common products.
The third dealer is actually the only store that I have found that the staff knows the product. The new and PT workers will hand you over to the Festool trained employees when they know the question is out of their skill range. They know what they have, will hold it for you....yea...put down a CC to hold it... that is normal. I can email in with a list and say get this for me and they do. They will loan out tools for real world work/test.... and they only ask for feedback about how I used it and how it worked for me, so they can add to their knowledge base. If they don’t have it in stock when I purchase or if I were ever to send the send in a product for service they will loan me their demo to get the job done. I don't sit on it if I'm not using it... pick it up for the job site work and return it ASAP in respect to my other pros.
Not knowing the market share that Festool has. I have to guess it has to be very low when compared to the common tools you find at the big boxes and other stores.
I question how many stores a market like the Twin Cities really should have and can maintain. For the tools and big accessories I’m willing to drive and pick it up after work on the weekend and have it loading in the vehicle ready to go. I also like to be rid of the packaging. I will open it there and use their classroom to test it and know out of the box it works and has all its parts. Also it is nice to have people that have been trained by Festool, right beside you to offer the tips and tricks they learned in training.
I would have to say...that I would rather have the "third dealer" as the ONLY dealer in the Metro. It might be a longer drive for some of us...but it might mean that they could afford to carry a larger inventory and depth of stock, as they would have more inventory turns. What really is the cost of a 30 min. longer drive to get the product when you know they have it? They, like anyone, can also ship it to the site if that is what is needed.
If you have not been following marketing trends.... you need to know this... at this time there are some stores that now charge people if they want to try on clothes/product. They will credit that fitting charge/ product test amount to your purchase if you buy. This is result of too many people thinking they can use a stores staff time and resources then order online to save tax. I don’t want stores like that in my backyard.
When I go to a store and the people know the product and can answer my questions. I buy from them! To save 8-10% tax by going online after visiting a good dealer that gave you service, is disrespectful. That 8-10% helps the local economy and keeps people employed in a local area that helps me stay in business.
Now if your miles and miles away for a dealer, use FOG and other online sources to learn about the product, and the website/and their sales staff can answer your questions and don’t visit store about it… shop online.
I’m lucky and have one really good dealer close that supports my local economy and that is worth a lot to me. They are the best deal for me. I won’t buy from the other two vendors.
Cheers,
Steve
