Who Replaced Phil Beckley?

[sancho57]

I was watching FT TV this morning, and its no secret Phil left FT. Who replaced him? I havent seen any new instructional videos from FT UK since he left. To Bad I really enjoyed his teaching style.

 

[AlexThePalex]

Nobody of course, Festool doesn't really care about an online presence anymore.

 

[Stone Message]

Hi Ron

I am sure that [member=11629]GarryMartin[/member] can give us an insight.

Phil is sadly missed as he was a great contributor here, was absolutely loyal to Festool and had an amazing ability to get a message across.

I am still a fan of Festool kit but have no idea what direction they are going. Festool UK have a new site in Bury and so maybe setting that up has diverted their attention from their loyal fan base.

Peter

 

[GarryMartin]

Unfortunately, I have no idea from a training/instructional perspective.

I can tell you that the various Festool UK regional representatives are a lot more active on Instagram and Facebook than anywhere else, including this forum. They tend to just post product shots and announcements though. They certainly don't interact on the level that we came to expect from Phil; he's sadly missed.

 

[Stone Message]

Unfortunately, I have no idea from a training/instructional perspective.

I can tell you that the various Festool UK regional representatives are a lot more active on Instagram and Facebook than anywhere else, including this forum. They tend to just post product shots and announcements though. They certainly don't interact on the level that we came to expect from Phil; he's sadly missed.

Hi Garry

I think it is likely to be corporate policy that has changed things rather than just Festool UK. Of course the current Covid 19 crisis will have an impact of their business as so many professionals are having to stop their normal business activity which must have a knock-on effect on the new tools that they might have otherwise been buying.

There are a lot of people contacting me either privately or via YouTube asking questions about new Festool kit. I am completely blind sided and can offer no opinion or help at all. I think that it has been exacerbated by the removal of the CMS concept which, for me, has been a fantastic concept especially for the small workshop.

I have heard from several companies that sales to the DIY and hobby market have increased and I assume that is due to people being forced to be at home and therefore using their time productively. Axminster, who are manufacturing at almost their normal capacity, are finding it difficult to keep up with demand.

Getting raw materials for projects is currently quite challenging here in the UK. There are some click and collect services running but it is time consuming and potentially risky. I am doing the site prep for a decent sized garden shed which will (eventually) be the subject of a video series. I can get the aggregates for the site work but getting a large quantity of treated timber is impossible.

I hope that everyone here on the FOG and their families are safe and well.

Peter

 

[GarryMartin]

I know what you mean Peter. I answer a lot of questions on Twitter, either directed to me personally or ones that haven't been responded to by the Festool GB digital team.

 

[bertv]

I know what you mean Peter. I answer a lot of questions on Twitter, either directed to me personally or ones that haven't been responded to by the Festool GB digital team.

I think this indicates a significant lack of understanding by Festool’s management regarding the validity of a website like FOG. IMO Festool should have a permanent presence here with a hands on attitude.
Festool - the company - is privately owned and therefore unconcerned about shareholder influence, which is a good thing in this overly corporate world, but they should consider stakeholders to be of consequence and take their needs and wishes into consideration by principle. A lot of those stakeholders are here on FOG. QED.

 

[GarryMartin]

If you look at the evidence of traffic regarding Facebook and Instagram though, it will be significantly higher than here. Festool are just playing to their widest audience. Although the people on the FOG may be slightly better informed than the public majority, I would guess the pure economics would drive attention to other platforms.

It's a shame, but it's the reality we live in nowadays, unfortunately. Festool is no longer a niche, high-end retailer of power tools, even though the comparative offering prices are higher. Festool is sold in catalogue stores here in the UK now. Specialised dealers are competing with volume box shifters, and Festool is mostly playing to the platforms that drive that sales volume growth.

 

[six-point socket II]

While Instagram, Facebook and maybe even Twitter might be beneficial for spreading the word and driving up sales & keeping folks entertained - it's a total waste of time if your objective is to transfer knowledge or build a library of said knowledge - because all three platforms are nearly unsearchable and lack any sort of bookmarks. (Yes, you can save on IG, but that works oh so well for the first 50 items, then you're lost) You either know exactly where to find something, and then maybe link it for someone else, or it's gone.

If knowledge transfer and collecting it library-style is what you aim for, Forums - as old as the concept is, speaking of the "internet age" - are still #1.

If it wasn't for (formerly) Festool employed people like Phil or Tyler who spent enormous amounts of time to offer help, guidance and expertise & knowledge you wouldn't even notice that the FOG is run by Festool at the moment.

Although, I was told on numerous occasions that Festool corporate watches the FOG and it's being used as a resource and highly regarded in that respect.

Let's hope we see some more activity from Festool corporate in the future.

Kind regards,
Oliver

 

[Stone Message]

This is the only person who could help:

View attachment 1

Not me, the good looking gentleman on the right !

Peter

PS It was the only time that I wanted to stand on a Sys 3 !!

 

[six-point socket II]

Two true gentlemen in that picture, that's for sure!

Kind regards,
Oliver

 

[FestitaMakool]

While Instagram, Facebook and maybe even Twitter might be beneficial for spreading the word and driving up sales & keeping folks entertained - it's a total waste of time if your objective is to transfer knowledge or build a library of said knowledge - because all three platforms are nearly unsearchable and lack any sort of bookmarks. (Yes, you can save on IG, but that works oh so well for the first 50 items, then you're lost) You either know exactly where to find something, and then maybe link it for someone else, or it's gone.

If knowledge transfer and collecting it library-style is what you aim for, Forums - as old as the concept is, speaking of the "internet age" - are still #1.

If it wasn't for (formerly) Festool employed people like Phil or Tyler who spent enormous amounts of time to offer help, guidance and expertise & knowledge you wouldn't even notice that the FOG is run by Festool at the moment.

Although, I was told on numerous occasions that Festool corporate watches the FOG and it's being used as a resource and highly regarded in that respect.

Let's hope we see some more activity from Festool corporate in the future.

Kind regards,
Oliver

So true six-point socket.
I’m amazed by the resources put into SOME (SOcial MEdia) by large companies. They measure in hits and not by quality. That, in marketing is a huge difference..
Educated in marketing I kind of gave up on applying for jobs that suited. I was told (Last rejection was from the native Land Rover office) that they wanted all my skills, but THE most important thing was experience in SOME marketing. I tried to tell them that that might not be THE place to market advanced products, but maybe sun glasses and so on..
- Couldn’t help it.. [blink] [big grin] So they probably ended up with someone skilled at SOME, but didn’t know a sh... about what LR is. Who cares [huh]

I have no experience of Phil Beckley, but; reading about him here, and have seen a few videos - he’s truly a loss for maybe even other companies he’s been with along with Festool.

Even before joining FOG, I became aware of @Mr. Peter Parfitt via YouTube, I’ve always rejected Google’s attempt to have me registered in order to subscribe, but seeing Peter in his videos, demonstrating Festool among other products and techniques I finally made an account to be able to subscribe. (I generally reject SOME all together as a principal) 
So if you like Peter, I would be happy to send in a recommendation to FT to be their anchor of knowledge in Europe [big grin] [wink]

 

[Dusty.House]

As someone who’s day job is working for a major software company, I can understand Festool’s challenge here.

On one hand it’s easy to articulate the value but on the other hand it’s very hard to actual measure it. We could throw unlimited resources at Github and StackOverflow and still not be able to measure the return on that investment.

Unfortunately companies like this don’t become successful by spending money on something that can’t be justified.

There’s also the people issue. You want jobs that people can do that are really valued and have career growth. Otherwise people won’t want to do the job.

That said, I would give my left arm for forum like this driven by the community. It’s an amazing asset. If I was Festool I would look to reward the community to encourage more engagement. Rewarding top contributors with perks, discounts, early access to new products and direct lines my team.

I’m sure a bunch of people will disagree with me, but this is how big companies function

I personally would love more Festool input on the forum!

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Jiggy Joiner]

Definitely miss Phil on here, and at the fairs and shows. Whenever I’ve met him, he’s always been very helpful, friendly and cheerful.
Really nice chap, and tough shoes to fill

 

[Cheese]

...this forum is an amazing asset. If I was Festool I would look to reward the community to encourage more engagement. Rewarding top contributors with perks, discounts, early access to new products and direct lines my team.

I personally would love more Festool input on the forum!

I've advocated for a much...much larger Festool presence on this forum since the first day I joined.  Shane absolutely was the best  [big grin] and if Festool was able to find & install a person of his knowledge & capabilities for the first go-around there's no reason they couldn't repeat the performance. I'm not saying it would be easy, just saying it is possible, but Festool has "got to want to" and they certainly aren't there yet.

Early on, I also suggested to one of the Festool folks, we've had several, that simply announcing discontinued products first to members of the FOG would be a wonderful Perk/reward for forum membership. The reply came back that it'd be looked into...well that was 4 years ago... [sad]

 

[xedos]

and if Festool was able to find & install a person of his knowledge & capabilities for the first go-around there's no reason they couldn't repeat the performance.

sometimes it's just plain ol luck. 

The reply came back that it'd be looked into...well that was 4 years ago...

Typical corp. speak for - shut up and get lost because 1. we have no idea what you're talking about - or- 2. we don't really care what you think.

 

[sancho57]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member]

"Early on, I also suggested to one of the Festool folks, we've had several, that simply announcing discontinued products first to members of the FOG would be a wonderful Perk/reward for forum membership. The reply came back that it'd be looked into...well that was 4 years ago... [sad]"

Youd be surprise how much pull FOG members have and how Festool knows who the frequent posters are.

EX: At the last FT Connect held in LV. I saw Sedge. Though never meeting him or seeing him in person. I walked up to him said something (trying to be funny but came out wrong) and walked away. I thought about it and realized how I must of came across to him.
I went to apologize and explain myself to him that I was only kidding but came across wrong.

He told me he found out who I was and he was good with it. So they do know who we FOGGERS are. I do believe we have some input that is taken seriously here.

Have you met your local FT rep. If not I suggest you do and tell him your a long time member of the FOG.  Tough they all give good service I think you'll see some extra attention after he finds out.

Yes I know they are not allowed to post here. But some do read the post and know who we are.

 

[jonnyrocket]

Have you met your local FT rep. If not I suggest you do and tell him your a long time member of the FOG. 

How does one find out who the FT rep in the area is? I would sure like to meet mine and get some insight into the full list of dealers in the area.

 

[sancho57]

Yer dealer should be able to tell you and give his contact info. The FT reps have days when they visit the dealers answer questions demo some of the tools. Find out when yer dealer has a day scheduled then you can meet him chat with him and he'll give his contact info.

I recently moved and I need to find out who my new rep is.

 

[Distinctive Interiors]

I spoke to my local Festool Rep earlier this week to enquire how he was doing during lockdown.....I normally hear from him on a regular basis. Whenever a new tool becomes available that he thinks may suit my work applications, he contacts me and arranges to come and demo it for me.

I got to try the new impact driver with him recently and had a look at the new STM 1800 and he brought me a KS60 to test out before it was released for general sale.

A great fella and an asset to the company.  [thumbs up]