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Post by jalvis on Jan 27, 2015 12:05:02 GMT -5
For Australia, wouldn't Europe be a better supplier being closer to the manufacturer as well as having more outlets? You would think so. All I know is there was a few guys in Australia getting really upset about not having access. Maybe a Europe dealer would ship but the duty was extreme. Perhaps because theres no Dealer network they won't honor the warranty period. Who knows? Some people will not like Mafell because they're red. Its hard to make sense of some people. |
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questa
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Post by questa on Jan 27, 2015 12:08:02 GMT -5
When I first bought Festool 12-15 years ago there were not many dealers and I ended up purchasing directly thru Festool, now there are a lot of dealers but honestly they do not add any value to me except quicker ship time. Locally they do not stock all the tools, hit or miss on knowledge and stock of consumables is laughable so I order online.
So the down side to timberwolf is that it is on other side of country for me. Level of service was something of an unknown but their response to tooljunkies problem is good news indeed.
I was happy with my transactions with David and best thing to do is to continue to support this site and spread the word a bit.
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Post by wrightwoodwork on Jan 27, 2015 12:35:15 GMT -5
I don't think I've had a bad custumer experience with any shop or company I've dealt with. I use the same shop for all the tools. If I have an issue with something I take it back to them and they sort it out for us. Never been told to phone the manufacturer myself. Evan though I can phone straight through to the main agent for mafell in the uk and say theirs a problem. They will just say to take it into the shop and have the shop look at or send away to be sorted. Also when I want to order anything I can either order from the shop or nma themselves. I find both companies work really well in keeping us looked after. Also occasionally ive had questions on a couple of things and sent mafell an email about it. With in less than 10 minutes I've had a phone call from nma or an email answering my question. Or if have a general comment about a tool good or bad I will email mafell to tell them. Also another company that offers good customer service is hilti. I've being working on site and the boy had problem with the battery for the nail gun. The rep come round less than 2hours and gave new battery to keep working. Obviously I don't deal with timberwolf myself, but I have found all parts of the supply chain good to deal with be it the shop, the distributer or mafell themselves
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Post by lincoln on Jan 27, 2015 15:02:18 GMT -5
I don't think its the service of Timberwolf that is being complained about. Its that theres only one dealer for the USA and Canada. There are a few Festool users on the FOG that live in Australia and are very upset that theres no dealer there and Timberwolf won't ship to them. Its a bit of a pity party. That there is only one Dealer is a legitimate claim. I certainly think theres room for more. I'm in Australia, and Timberwolf are shipping a DD40 to me, as well as quoting a MT55, so not sure what they're talking about. Timberwolf have been great, very helpful and happy to answer all questions, and offer advice. |
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Post by jalvis on Jan 27, 2015 16:33:26 GMT -5
Thats great! Not sure what there complaining about. Seems like your getting good service.
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Post by lincoln on Jan 27, 2015 17:17:27 GMT -5
I am, and pricing isn't much more than what we pay for Festool down here. The DD40G MaxiMax pack was actually a lot cheaper than the equivalent Domino pack. We pay AU$1440 (US$1142) for the basic Domino, that only comes with the cross stop and trim stop - no tenons come with it. In the US you can pick it up for $925.
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Post by jasonkehl on Jan 27, 2015 19:30:09 GMT -5
I have a good collection of Festool and Mafell and have spent more time on FOG and than anyone should, although less lately. I'm familiar with the "one Mafell dealership" fears expressed on FOG and I used to share them, I still have some concerns even though Timberwolf has been faultless in my dealings with them. Off hand I don't recall people bashing Mafell tools, they're just afraid of only one dealer, and for most that dealer is far away.
I buy almost all of my Festool from Felder Machinery Imports in Winnipeg and they too have been faultless to deal with. From reading the posts above it seems that the nice thing about Festool having many dealers seems to be dependant on how good your particular local dealer is. Duncan at Felder is awesome. I have only had 2 repair issues and both times Duncan gave me a loaner tool while mine was being repaired. I live 2 hours away and he let me keep the loaner until it was convenient for me to bring it back and pickup my repaired tool. Both times it was within the 3 year Festool warranty period but outside the 1 year Mafell warranty.
This level of service would not be possible for me to expect from Timberwolf, as good as they are it's just not economically feasible for them to ship loaner tools to Canada.
Personally I will continue to buy both Mafell and Festool, but I sure hope I don't need a Mafell repaired after the warranty period is over...
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Post by lincoln on Jan 27, 2015 20:12:36 GMT -5
Personally I will continue to buy both Mafell and Festool, but I sure hope I don't need a Mafell repaired after the warranty period is over... I agree, but like most things, if there's going to be an issue due to a fault, it's likely to occur within the first year. (In my experience, anyway) |
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Post by MrToolJunkie on Jan 27, 2015 20:38:04 GMT -5
Yep - it seems like most things happen earlier in the life-cycle - that is what happened with my P1CC. But, David and Timberwolf came through. And, they shipped to me immediately and then I returned the broken one - with Festool you have to send it in and then they fix it and return it. I got my P1CC a week faster, which is important, as I am in the middle of a project and need it.
Festool has been great on service too - I bought a new sander and had a problem and the local rep went to another store across town, picked up a new one and delivered it to my door -- that is service. I have had issues with 4 of my Festool tools - 3 of which were in the first 30 days so I could swap them out for new and one I had to ship back for repair.
I agree that the dealers is hit and miss. Some good local ones and a few online that I deal with, but once you have to get things shipped, unless it is from Amazon, it is taking about the same amount of time to get from Timberwolf to me as other Festool dealers to me. Locally there are not any dealers of Festool that have everything I need - they all have certain things and do not stock others so I am often ordering anyway.
The three year warranty in NA for Festool vs. 1 year for Mafell is the only downside. I know in Europe it is 3 year for Mafell too so that is a non-issue.
At the end of the day, service has been phenomenal at Timberwolf and really for me it will come down to the tool I need for the task at hand. Sometimes Mafell makes what I want/need and sometimes it might be another brand.
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Post by jalvis on Jan 28, 2015 11:16:12 GMT -5
If you have a good dealer product is irrelevant. My experience with Festool products are good but my dealer doesn't motivate me to purchase locally. I have two dealers in my area and the better of the two is Woodcraft. As a professional Woodcraft is a painful place to shop since its target is hobbyists. My dealer also does not have employees experienced enough to deal with professionals in the industry. I just order online unless I need something that day like some dominoes or paper. So like others I'm not loosing anything by having a Mafell dealer thats not local.
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Post by GhostFist on Jan 28, 2015 13:12:47 GMT -5
Canadians lose due to increased prices in shipping and duty fees. Other than that Timberwolf has great service
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Post by thedude306 on Jan 28, 2015 13:28:10 GMT -5
Canadians lose due to increased prices in shipping and duty fees. Other than that Timberwolf has great service That's why I went abroad to get my new rails. The shipping from the UK was only 18% more then the shipping from the US and the prices can be significantly lower (that and I couldn't get the holey bosch rail from Mafell). And the US dollar is STRONG right now against the Canadian dollar. No duty on either item made in Germany, but the brokerage is a crime, IMO. It really fathoms me why our US/CAN border has so many restriction placed on it at. |
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Post by GhostFist on Jan 28, 2015 13:41:27 GMT -5
Leo in Alberta used to handle Canada for Mafell. I loved that dude. No offence to Timberwolf but he was the BEST customer service I have ever dealt with.
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Post by Knight Woodworks on Jan 28, 2015 18:23:54 GMT -5
One advantage of Festool's widespread dealer network is the opportunity for potential customers to see and often test drive tools of interest. That, and being able to buy accessories locally.
John
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Post by MrToolJunkie on Jan 29, 2015 0:20:35 GMT -5
Local accessories is a plus if you can find a dealer that stocks the ones you need. Sandpaper is hit and miss for me as are some of the other consumables I would buy.
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