Totally Frustrating Dealers

[Programmergeek]

I needed some festool parts and went to a new dealer Dryers Lumber in NJ.  I ran in 4:40 and asked for some Dominos, the guys looked at me and 3 of them said they never herd of a domino, finally after spending 10 minuts hunting I found them but the guy said it was 5 and he already closed the register so I had to come back tommrow.  I also was looking for a ts55 blade which they told me 3 weeks ago they should have it in, in a week.  I can't understand why festool would give a great line like this to a dealer with no training, heck none of them in the store ever herd of the domino tool and one asked me why I just could not use the standard circular saw blade on my ts55 that he was trying to sell me.  Now I am home again with no festool parts frustrated at the tools again. 

 

[fritter63]

I needed some festool parts and went to a new dealer Dryers Lumber in NJ.  I ran in 4:40 and asked for some Dominos, the guys looked at me and 3 of them said they never herd of a domino, finally after spending 10 minuts hunting I found them but the guy said it was 5 and he already closed the register so I had to come back tommrow.  I also was looking for a ts55 blade which they told me 3 weeks ago they should have it in, in a week.  I can't understand why festool would give a great line like this to a dealer with no training, heck none of them in the store ever herd of the domino tool and one asked me why I just could not use the standard circular saw blade on my ts55 that he was trying to sell me.  Now I am home again with no festool parts frustrated at the tools again.   

my local dealer is the same way. They don't seem much interested in promoting the system. Lately, I've given up on even waiting for them to get stock. I call, if they don't have what I want, I just order it from Sean or Bob.

 

[Programmergeek]

Yea this is a poor lumber yard at best, the display is horrable it is packed in a small spot.  They have no intrest or should not be selling this it is horrable since it is 3 blocks from my house I wish it worked out.  I know Bob who is Sean and what state is he in, I am lookin for someone a ups day away from NJ.

 

[fritter63]

Sean (toolnut.com) is in NY, I think Bob (http://www.bobmarinosbesttools.com/) is in NJ.

 

[Bob Marino]

Sean (toolnut.com) is in NY, I think Bob (http://www.bobmarinosbesttools.com/) is in NJ.

For better or worse; I'm in NJ.

Bob

 

[nehardwoodfloors]

I needed some festool parts and went to a new dealer Dryers Lumber in NJ.  I ran in 4:40 and asked for some Dominos, the guys looked at me and 3 of them said they never herd of a domino, finally after spending 10 minuts hunting I found them but the guy said it was 5 and he already closed the register so I had to come back tommrow.  I also was looking for a ts55 blade which they told me 3 weeks ago they should have it in, in a week.  I can't understand why festool would give a great line like this to a dealer with no training, heck none of them in the store ever herd of the domino tool and one asked me why I just could not use the standard circular saw blade on my ts55 that he was trying to sell me.  Now I am home again with no festool parts frustrated at the tools again.   

Totally agree with this. Most the guys at my local woodcraft have no idea what's what. It is aggravating to have such communication issues with "the experts".
On the other hand these guys cannot be expected to know executing in the store but come on man if I worked there I would know how many teeth were on any given festool kigsaw blade  [eek]

 

[peter halle]

I needed some festool parts and went to a new dealer Dryers Lumber in NJ.  I ran in 4:40 and asked for some Dominos, the guys looked at me and 3 of them said they never herd of a domino, finally after spending 10 minuts hunting I found them but the guy said it was 5 and he already closed the register so I had to come back tommrow.  I also was looking for a ts55 blade which they told me 3 weeks ago they should have it in, in a week.  I can't understand why festool would give a great line like this to a dealer with no training, heck none of them in the store ever herd of the domino tool and one asked me why I just could not use the standard circular saw blade on my ts55 that he was trying to sell me.  Now I am home again with no festool parts frustrated at the tools again.   

Totally agree with this. Most the guys at my local woodcraft have no idea what's what. It is aggravating to have such communication issues with "the experts".
On the other hand these guys cannot be expected to know executing in the store but come on man if I worked there I would know how many teeth were on any given festool kigsaw blade  [eek]

We - and I include myself here - are lucky to have the wealth of information from so many individuals as well as the manufacturer, etc. here.

As a contractor I can not hold my assistant to the same level of knowledge if I have not given it to him.

The FOG is about supplying knowledge.  Next time you go to your Festool dealer tell them about the FOG.  Use the excitement you feel about the tools to your advantage thru knowledge.

Peter

 

[mouppe]

Tooltown in Paramus NJ is an excellent Festool dealer. I bought an OF1400 from them soon after they first started stocking Festool in March 2009 if memory serves correctly.

They have a good-sized space dedicated to Festool and have posted a few videos on youtube showing them using festools. This is always a good sign because if the dealers use the tools, they will surely know more about them.

 

[allen r austin]

so sorry about your bad times with your local dealer.
this is why some of us do so good and others well don't. As for the woodcraft stores
a simple email to the big dogs will do wonders
Allen

 

[Joe Smith]

Next time you go to your Festool dealer tell them about the FOG. 

I tried this, but a sad fact is that woodworking has a majority of older people and, at least in my experience, they have not embraced the internet.   My local dealer is staffed with older people who know their stuff, but they are having a hard time staying current in new products. I tried to tell them about FOG, but they look at me like I am crazy.

 

[Steve R]

Sorry to hear you are ticked at a Dealer but I think you are right for feeling  [mad] that way.

In another tread about dealers, I mention that I have 4 store and three dealer in my area. The one with two stores is lame.

I emailed employees here on the site and I was contacted by Festool USA. They are listening and want to know about dealers both with store fronts or internet that are not meeting customer needs.

I never named the bad store in my post...but Festool knew who I was talking about....

Email Shane about this and ask him to push it up the ladder... bad dealers cost Festool sales.

Cheers,
Steve 

 

[Programmergeek]

I aggree I totally am just not going there anymore and if I can't get parts for my tools quickly when I need them I will just use other brands, festool is not the olny tool in my shop and I don't need to use them infact they cast more to operate than others so i trathor through the workers cheaper things.  But I don't mind spending the cash I will just not give it away though to people that do everything they can to not sell the stuff. 

 

[Brice Burrell]

I aggree I totally am just not going there anymore and if I can't get parts for my tools quickly when I need them I will just use other brands, festool is not the olny tool in my shop and I don't need to use them infact they cast more to operate than others so i trathor through the workers cheaper things.  But I don't mind spending the cash I will just not give it away though to people that do everything they can to not sell the stuff.   

It only takes a very modest amount of forethought to order in advance through a online dealer....

 

[semenza]

I do think we need to be careful about bashing new dealers. It takes a while to really get a handle on the Festool system especially if it is not the only line/ merchandise  they are selling.

Do not take that as though I am excusing bad service. I am not. More than one business has lost me on that account and worse.

However it does seem that if no one in the store knew what a Domino is, that is a problem. That means that not a single one even  looked through the catalog for ten minutes. Or apparently even at their own display. If you ask me the two tools that should at least be known to a dealer selling Festool are the TS saws (OK three tools) and the Domino.

Just curious though, were the three guys lumber yard workers , maybe, as opposed to in store employees? Should they have known something or maybe not for some reason?

Seth

 

[Sean7a]

I aggree I totally am just not going there anymore and if I can't get parts for my tools quickly when I need them I will just use other brands, festool is not the olny tool in my shop and I don't need to use them infact they cast more to operate than others so i trathor through the workers cheaper things.  But I don't mind spending the cash I will just not give it away though to people that do everything they can to not sell the stuff.   

Programmer Geek - I'll be a UPS day away for you (we're in Westchester, NY ... Southeast NY) and they'll be no tax as we're out of state obviously.

 

[pugilato]

Yeah... that's why they made the internet.  I do think that Festool needs to be selective with their dealers, and at the very least, give them some training.

 

[greg mann]

I need to put in a good word for Glenn Wing Powertools in Birmingham,MI. they rep the line very well, carry a lot of inventory in tools and abrasives and are great folks to boot. They have two dealers within a few miles of them and I believe they outsell them both by a wide margin. They know the line very well and usually know as much about new products as I do, and I have the advantage of hanging out here at the FOG. ;D

 

[Frank Pellow]

I need to put in a good word for Glenn Wing Powertools in Birmingham,MI. they rep the line very well, carry a lot of inventory in tools and abrasives and are great folks to boot. They have two dealers within a few miles of them and I believe they outsell them both by a wide margin. They know the line very well and usually know as much about new products as I do, and I have the advantage of hanging out here at the FOG. ;D

Greg, it's good to hear the other side of this becuase I know that there are many good Festool dealers.  But, all it takes is a few turkeys to give Festool a bad name with some people. 

And, you should suggest that they hang out here too.

 

[Wim]

Living in Allentown, PA, I feel quite happy with a Woodcraft on biking distance away. But the good service of Bob Marino (and the 6% discount for being out of state) made me order the bigger stuff from him. Consumables I buy from Woodcraft and they seem to know the Festool line very well.
In general, if I have a bad experience in a shop and they are not willing to rectify this, that shop comes on my blacklist and I take my business somewhere else. With the Internet you can get almost anything online and deliverd at your doorstep.

 

[upscale]

I need to put in a good word for Glenn Wing Powertools in Birmingham,MI. they rep the line very well, carry a lot of inventory in tools and abrasives and are great folks to boot.

And, along the same lines, I'm very happy with the service I've received from Atlas Machinery Supply in Toronto. I don't know if it was me or just a coincidence, but the first time I went to buy a Festool product at Atlas, I could only get partially into the store because of the narrow isles. (I use a wheelchair). When I came back a week later, the entire store shelving had been rearranged and most of the store was accessible.

My only complaint about Atlas is Shawn. Several times when I've gone into the store, Shawn has talked me into buying some new tool costing me hundreds of dollars. Now my cat has no food and I've cashed in all my retirement savings.  ;D