You'll see from my signature that I share some of the frustration of quick leaps to competitive products. I'm frankly amazed that Festool allow some of the things they do in relation to those sort of posts if I'm honest. If I wanted to know about Mafell, I'd go to a Mafell forum. If I wanted general experiences, I'd go to a general site such as contractortalk or ukworkshop.
However, I personally have no problem with people pointing out alternative products from other manufacturers in response to issues with Festool products that may be impacting on someone's ability to perform a task or deliver the level of quality they expect. I really enjoy using my Festool tools, and I appreciate the engineering quality, and the technical and customer support that sits behind them, but I am not so naïve to believe that every one of them can be best in class or not have problems.
But I also know that I don't always need best in class, and that sometimes, just having a common format helps because my speed to value in learning how to use something effectively and derive investment return from it is significantly reduced.
I know all sorts of tips and techniques for using the CONTURO because I read the posts. I don't actually own a CONTURO, but if I needed an edgebander, my frequenting of this particular forum would mean that I've been exposed to lots of information that I wouldn't have been for non-Festool edgebanders. So I'd probably choose the CONTURO despite the price that shocks most people, because craftsmen I respect rate it and because the controls are familiar, and my support network remains consistent, and because there is generally incremental value to be had from some of the other products I already own.
But if I needed to do something the CONTURO couldn't do, or the benefits didn't stack up against the value through use, of course I'd go elsewhere.
I don't have issues with my Kapex KS 120 and my Carvex PS 420 is fine too. But I respect that others do and I wouldn't assume that genuine users frustration isn't valid and real. Full disclosure though, I do sometimes wonder whether *all* the posts are from genuine users...
Regardless, I try my best to make sure that the problem being experienced isn't related to the way the product is being used, as I think we can all agree that not everyone reads the manuals and not everyone has excess time to research forums like the FOG for best practice and guidance. The correct process for cutting on the Kapex and gotchas such as using the rail guide for the Carvex spring to mind as great examples of where the product may not be at fault, but the way it is being used might be.
But if the product is being used as it should be and people are still having problems, then it is fair that they should sometimes be upset that their investment isn't providing the returns that they would have expected and isn't performing in the way that it should be. For some people, that has a direct economic impact that shouldn't be underestimated.
I joined this forum a few years ago because when I was looking to buy some equipment and started looking towards it coming from Festool, I was amazed at the wealth of knowledge, how friendly the people were, how forthcoming they were, how freely they would give of their own time to help people out. I was offered mobile phone numbers to call to have a chat, demonstrations, even someone who said they'd bring stuff to me so I could try it out in person. Incredible.
Over the last year, I'm sad to say that some of those very people don't visit any longer. They were turned away by posts that demonstrated a lack of empathy, lack of understanding, lack of tolerance for other people's opinions, or astonishingly just a simple lack of common courtesy. That's a huge loss.
REDUX is all about the selfish desire to get back to what made the FOG great before we lose any more.
