What's the purpose of a warranty when you have to pay for the parts

[bmoberly]

Yesterday, I received a MFT3 multipurpose table, which I ordered from Amazon.com.  The box wasn't in good condition and one of its long side rails was dented in two places. This means that the included sliders will not travel along the rail.

I contacted Festool support this morning, and they are sending me a new rail, but they charged me for the rail. They told me that I should contact Amazon about the damaged part.

Amazon, of course, can't replace the part. They offered either to replace the table or refund 20% of the purchase price.

This is more than generous, and will more than cover the cost of the replacement rail, so, financially, no worries.

But I have to admit that I am still a little annoyed. What if something else breaks on the table?

At any rate, I always budget extra money when buying new Festool things -- there's always the inevitable accessory that I seem to need to integrate the tool into my setup -- but this is the first time that I've had to spend money to replace something that should have been in working order with the original item.

 

[bkharman]

Short story is that it either amazons fault or the fault of the shipping company. If you bought it from a local dealer and took it home and dropped it on the ground and something got bent, should that be under warranty?

I am not trying to be a jerk, I buy thousands of dollars of items off of amazon each year, I just don't always buy large items. Not because I don't trust amazon, I don't trust ups or fedex or other shippers.

Hope it gets sorted out. 20% sounds like a pretty good compromise to me.

 

[Luzzy]

Yesterday, I received a MFT3 multipurpose table, which I ordered from Amazon.com.  The box wasn't in good condition and one of its long side rails was dented in two places. This means that the included sliders will not travel along the rail.

I contacted Festool support this morning, and they are sending me a new rail, but they charged me for the rail. They told me that I should contact Amazon about the damaged part.

Amazon, of course, can't replace the part. They offered either to replace the table or refund 20% of the purchase price.

This is more than generous, and will more than cover the cost of the replacement rail, so, financially, no worries.

But I have to admit that I am still a little annoyed. What if something else breaks on the table?

At any rate, I always budget extra money when buying new Festool things -- there's always the inevitable accessory that I seem to need to integrate the tool into my setup -- but this is the first time that I've had to spend money to replace something that should have been in working order with the original item.

Is Festool responsible for things damaged in shipping? And if Amazon offered to replace the table , why wouldn't you say yes? Am I missing something? Warranties cover defects not damage incurred in shipping or in handling by dealer....

 

[stvrowe]

Warranties only cover manufacturing defects or workmanship defects.  Shipping damage does not fall into either category and this should be filed with the shipment company or the shipper.  Warranties also don't cover misuse or abuse by the end user.

 

[wow]

Yes, the simple answer is that the Problem doesn't belong with Festool - it belongs with the shipping company. Amazon is being kind to offer to replace it - which is what I'd do if I were in your shoes.

 

[John H]

I would tend to agree - this is not a 'warranty' problem...

I buy a LOT of stuff from Amazon.  20% off is there standard refund from misc shipping damage so depending on the item, I will either take a discount or get a replacement.

If something was damaged in shipping - I would never contact the manufacturer, I would contact the vendor and work it out

 

[Kev]

If the damage was Festool to Festool (Europe to US) it's a different thing, to Joe the truck driver contracting to retailer X (or web retailer A).

Generally here I would refuse an obviously damaged delivery.

Buy from a Festool specialist and you're likely to have a better experience.

I've had very poor packaging on a number of international deliveries from Amazon (to my post box) ... they're a lot more problematic to deal with!

 

[tjbnwi]

When I ordered my last MFT from Tom it came on a pallet LTL, along with a 118" rail. I was told this was done due to possible shipping damage to either or both the pieces.

Tom

 

[grbmds]

I would have let Amazon replace the table. It seems to me it is similar to buying a TV at Best Buy, getting it home, and finding there is some damage. Best Buy would take it back and give you a replacement TV. In those types of situations, I have never been asked to deal with the manufacturing company unless I bought the item at store closing and they told me up front they weren't responsible.

 

[RKA]

To the original poster, there is a lesson to be learned here.  Amazon does a shoddy job of packing items.  Large items are frequently sent as is with no additional work to keep the contents safe.  They weigh the cost to properly pack vs. the calls they will get for returned items and have calculated it's cheaper to deal with the damaged items after the fact.  On large, bulky or fragile items though, the rate of damage is quite high if the manufacturer hasn't provided bomb proof packing.  That's what you get with Amazon, by your own admission, they held up their end and refunded more than the cost of the replacement part.  But consider whether you want to be bothered when you make that next heavy or bulky purchase from them.  I love amazon, but with items like this, I'll shop elsewhere. 

Now that doesn't mean you have to buy from a brick and mortar if it's inconvenient.  I frequently don't because the nearest dealer that is open on a weekend is further than I'm wiling to drive on a regular basis.    When I ordered my MFT last year, it arrived with a giant hole in the side.  UPS decided to make a handle where none existed previously  I can't really blame them, a box this size and weight SHOULD have a handle cut in the side.  But what impressed me was Tool Nut took the extra 5 minutes to tape hard reinforcements to the corners of the box to protect it from real damage.  And those reinforcements were tested by UPS and they did their job.  No damage.  All the loose bits inside the box are packed in a separate cardboard box by Festool, so those were all present as well.  I've also seen and read of countless comments about Bob Marino and the packing jobs his guys do.  If I could find fault, it would be that it took me too long to tear through all the packing to get at my new toys!    So you do have some online alternatives as well. 

 

[semenza]

Yesterday, I received a MFT3 multipurpose table, which I ordered from Amazon.com.  The box wasn't in good condition and one of its long side rails was dented in two places. This means that the included sliders will not travel along the rail.

I contacted Festool support this morning, and they are sending me a new rail, but they charged me for the rail. They told me that I should contact Amazon about the damaged part.

Amazon, of course, can't replace the part. They offered either to replace the table or refund 20% of the purchase price.

This is more than generous, and will more than cover the cost of the replacement rail, so, financially, no worries.

But I have to admit that I am still a little annoyed. What if something else breaks on the table?

At any rate, I always budget extra money when buying new Festool things -- there's always the inevitable accessory that I seem to need to integrate the tool into my setup -- but this is the first time that I've had to spend money to replace something that should have been in working order with the original item.

Hi,

    Welcome to the FOG!  [smile]

  It seems pretty clear that it was damaged in shipping which would be the responsibility of the shipper. Which is why it wasn't covered by the Festool  warranty. If some thing else breaks that is covered by the warranty I am sure Festool will come through.  In any case it appears that  Amazon stepped up to their responsibility on the shipping.

    Sooooooooooo ...............  what do you plan on building?  [smile]

Seth

 

[bmoberly]

Thanks everyone for taking the time to respond to my post.  I was very frustrated when I posted it, but now that I've slept on it, I think that you have raised some pretty good points.  In the future, I will probably look for a dealer to work with when ordering things like this.  Amazon, I feel, treated me pretty fairly, but they are what they are.

At any rate, the new rail arrived today and I installed it, and the table looks very promising.  So all is well!

What will I build?  One of the first really ambitious projects that I undertook was this entertainment center:

It turned out ok, given the tools that I had at the time and my general skillset, but I would like to revisit it, and make a taller version of the same for the back wall of my living room.

One of the challenges that I had (aside from the staining -- uggh) was cutting and assembling everything squarely -- if you look closely at the right door, for example, you can see that it's not quite straight. 

I didn't really have a great work-surface at the time.  I'm hoping that the new table will help with this! 

 

[leakyroof]

When I ordered my last MFT from Tom it came on a pallet LTL, along with a 118" rail. I was told this was done due to possible shipping damage to either or both the pieces.

Tom

. Gee, that's quite the pallet [eek]

 

[tjbnwi]

When I ordered my last MFT from Tom it came on a pallet LTL, along with a 118" rail. I was told this was done due to possible shipping damage to either or both the pieces.

Tom

. Gee, that's quite the pallet [eek]

3 ganged together.

Tom