"To the Internet!"

[JBird]

I'm accustomed to seeing this elsewhere, but it seems like a troubling trend here on the FOG, and for my needs it unnecessarily clutters up the feed, and ultimately makes me less and less likely to check in.

I don't think "cluttering up the feed" is a persuasive argument against posting tool or customer service problems. I think this argument may sometimes (not saying in your case) be a cover story for a more interesting phenomenon. More commonly it seems that some readers are just very defensive of the Festool reputation. It is not enough for them to be alone in their satisfaction with their tools. When someone else posts a problem that they feel casts a negative impression of the Festool ownership experience then it somehow threatens them. This might be because it causes internal doubts about the wisdom of their purchase decisions. Or it may cause fear that others, perhaps their peers, will question their purchasing decisions if the Festool reputation is not protected. People have a lot of money and emotion invested in their tools. The stakes can seem very high to them. But this is usually more true of the person having the issue than it is about the person who is made uncomfortable by reading about it.

The faulty premise at the heart of this discussion is that a post about an issue which may have been effectively helped privately offline, but instead is handled publicly, is harmful to the brand or forum. It is not really tenable to sustain the illusion that Festool customers don't have problems. In practice these are opportunities to showcase good customer service publicly. It is in the nature of corporate PR to provide better service to public issues than to private ones. My experience is that Festool's private customer service simply doesn't live up to the responsiveness of the publicly demonstrated customer service which is sometimes provided here. It makes sense to me that this is the first place some people turn when they need results.

I myself had a very bad experience during the recon sale that involved Festool sending me a tool that was misrepresented by them. They dragged their feet in responding to my concern for a week before ultimately failing to deliver customer satisfaction. Having watched this forum closely over the past couple years I feel certain I would have had a lot better shot at receiving customer service had I aired the issue publicly. But not wanting to pee in the Cheerios of all the posters enjoying the recon sale, and not wanting to have the fanboys add insult to my injury, I kept the issue to myself and my dealer had to eat it(underservadly). Now I carry a CT MIDI sized chip on my shoulder and wouldn't waste a minute defending the Festool brand. I have learned my lesson and if I have issues in the future I will bring them forward publicly for the benefit of other customers.

 

[peter halle]

As a non-moderator - I would never post a customer relations issue on the internet without going to the company first.  Customer relations is just that.  I don't think that internet readers were involved in my transaction.  I also have been on the opposite side of the equation and not appreciated at times the unrealistic expectations of the other parties.

This morning I sent an email to the general manager of a restaurant that I ate at 3 times when I was recently out of town.  I noticed after the first night that I was overcharged for beverages based on the menu.  I went back two more times and the same thing happened.  That company urged people to use their Facebook page and I certainly could have created the fray there by posting my discovery, but instead I sent an email and notified them of the issue - once I was certain that I was correct.  I informed them that I wasn't interested in a refund but rather wanted to bring it to their attention.  I decided to do what I would hope others would do if they had an issue with me or my work.

Just call me different I suppose.  Not saying that others' approach is wrong, I just have to look in the mirror everyday and try to see all sides for my own personal balance.  But then I also realize that when I send an email that takes 30 seconds to compose I might not get a response for a day or two.  Call me gullible.  Call me crazy.  It is all ok.

Peter