What's the point of retail stores?

[Crispy]

WIth the 2 stores that hold stock of festool up here, neither really know much about things ( the first hose i purchased i was told by thte sales assistant 'they'll both fit, it comes down to cost' - i now know better and should have gotten the 36mm hose).
I could be wrong, but im not sure they would let you test things... especially the kapex.
And they dont discount anything for fear of festool finding out and then losing that brand from that shop. I found a ct cyclone with a $75 off on the floor, i didnt need it at the time it was a want, they panicked, told me they couldnt honour the price, so i left on the counter.
We apparently do have a festool rep for up here, but ive never seen him/her, end up watching sedge tools to learn.
I normally try to purchase locally, but when they dont have what i want in stock, or it will be in the next monthly festool order, its just as easy to go direct and have it delivered to my house.

 

[Cypren]

Let me reassure you that you dodged a bullet not getting that cyclone. It works fine for small tools that don’t need a lot of suction (like sanders), but the hit to the airflow it imposes on your CT is absolutely enormous. About 50% airflow loss versus using a direct 36mm hose if I remember correctly. If you search around here on the forum, I did some anemometer measurements on it a few years back and posted the numbers here.

 

[Crispy]

Let me reassure you that you dodged a bullet not getting that cyclone. It works fine for small tools that don’t need a lot of suction (like sanders), but the hit to the airflow it imposes on your CT is absolutely enormous. About 50% airflow loss versus using a direct 36mm hose if I remember correctly. If you search around here on the forum, I did some anemometer measurements on it a few years back and posted the numbers here.

I remember reading that thread, which made me keep looking for comparisons, and alternatives, but they just dont look as pretty
I did recently find a you tubes vid that showed ct-va against a couple of other brands, ive been looking at the lo-pro ever since for when i get a second shop vac, or upgrade my work one to cordless.

 

[leakyroof]

Was that Danny as your original REP? Or someone else?. And yes ,having the sweet spot of knowledgeable Sellers, and the drop-in of the Regional Rep at the right time can really boost Festool Sales and Product knowledge for Retailers and Buyers. I was SUPER spoiled to have both for a number of years, which explains how much easier it was to talk myself into more Festool purchases...

I didn't hang out with Danny too much, when he was in town, he spent time with Retailers like Wood World Staff or they'd head out to talk to larger Commerical Accounts. But for the time I was around him, it's as you mentioned. I also remember him patiently talking with a jerk at Berlands House of Tools out in Palatine area. Danny was doing a Festool Demo, I walked in to buy something, unaware that he was going to be there. The guy hassling him had no intention of buying any Festool, but yet couldn't leave Danny alone to do his demo without constantly harping on how expensive Festool's were, and how they weren't worth the money.
Danny kept his cool, went right on with what he was doing. I was impressed, not sure I'd be able to handle that idiot with as much grace as Danny wielded that day.
Last Demo that I remember was a special one, the revised Planex was coming out, and I got to play with the Pre-Production Model. The Randon Orbit change from the then current Rotary Action of the old Planex, and the added LED worklights were really nice. Didn't have the money to even think of trading up from my Gen 1 Planex, but it was still fun to try it out.