Festool Owners Group
FESTOOL DISCUSSIONS => Ask Festool => Topic started by: jobsworth on December 15, 2019, 04:18 PM
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We used to have Shane, Then Brian, and Tyler.
Phil would show up when he could.
But since Tyler left I havent seen any festool representation here.
Even the dealers aren't participating anymore we used to have Tom B (RIP), Bob and a few others to.
Now i dont see many dealers either.
We do have a good knowledge base here, but what happened to festool and the dealers?
Not complaining, just inquiring
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Hard to say for sure.
Seth
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Not sure.
But I think we got pretty spoiled with Shane.
R
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A complaint is warranted.
It is simply ridiculous that a multinational company with offices in over 20 countries can't appoint one official representative on this forum that generated over 44 million page views this year alone.
Really, the forum took a big hit when Shane left. He was very active here and still is, which is good for the Toolnut but not Festool. Back then the Ask Festool section meant something and Shane would reply to questions in no time. Now the Ask Festool section is a complete dessert.
Since Shane left user participation on the FOG also went down, and quite dramatically. From 73.000 posts in 2015 to a mere 29.000 now in 2019. That's a 60% drop.
I don't understand why Festool completely ignores this site now. You'd think losing 44.000 posts per year might have some influence on sales also.
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They are likely still a bit sore over Kapexgate.
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Keep a lookout on the Recon Site, maybe festool will get a rep back in they can refurbish and offer up to the website.
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Keep a lookout on the Recon Site, maybe festool will get a rep back in they can refurbish and offer up to the website.
Really? And then people wonder why participation is down after posts like this?
Peter
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What happened to Phil Beckley?
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What happened to Phil Beckley?
Phil is now working for Trend in the UK if my knowledge is correct.
Peter
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Having company and dealer reps on here has been a huge plus. One of the reasons I bought Festool in the first place was the direct involvement of Festool on this forum. It's something I have not seen on other tool brand forums.Having access to Shane and his knowledge and quick responses was great.
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Keep a lookout on the Recon Site, maybe festool will get a rep back in they can refurbish and offer up to the website.
Really? And then people wonder why participation is down after posts like this?
Peter
A lighthearted way (Festool themed) to say Festool could very well be looking for someone to serve the roll is a problematic thing to say?
Festool very well wants someone to help, but there might just not be people there who want to do it.
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I kind of remember a comment from Tyler about Festool USA not wanting to make this forum within someone’s job description. Which is sad considering how they went about acquiring this forum.
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Online forums are old school though. Support/interaction with many companies has moved to Social Media.
For example last year I had a problem with my EGO electric mower. The speed control was not working as it should. Sometimes with the speed set to MAX the mower would move at its fastest speed and some times it would crawl in low.
I contacted them by their website (after trying by phone and on hold for over 15 minutes) on a weekday during normal business hours but after two days no answer. But I found them on FB and posted a question about the problem I was having with the mower and had a response in less than a half hour. Called the number they gave me and had a solution that day which was take it to any authorized service center and it will be fixed for free as its under warranty.
Social Media posts get instant action, because everyone sees it in real time so they are forced to resolve the situation ASAP else they take a hit with potential buyers. The only ones seeing a problem posted on an online forum (any not just this one) are the few who frequent it or stumble across it in a search so the damage to the product's reputation is greatly reduced.
Having said all that I prefer an online venue like the FOG.
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I kind of remember a comment from Tyler about Festool USA not wanting to make this forum within someone’s job description. Which is sad considering how they went about acquiring this forum.
Something like this?
https://www.festoolownersgroup.com/ask-festool/about-this-board-7675/
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We used to have Shane, Then Brian, and Tyler.
Phil would show up when he could.
But since Tyler left I havent seen any festool representation here.
Even the dealers aren't participating anymore we used to have Tom B (RIP), Bob and a few others to.
Now i dont see many dealers either.
We do have a good knowledge base here, but what happened to festool and the dealers?
Not complaining, just inquiring
"Any dealers I know personally say that Festool has hurt their sales badly by letting anyone and his brother have a right to sell the tools. Also just observations but in the 11 years I've been on the forum the other manufactures are catching up to what Festool started as far as dust collection and some have some equal quality tools for less. Most of the dealers are multi lined and its hard to say one is superior to the others."
"Hard for Festool to justify the high wage of a knowledgeable person to monitor a forum that's a fulltime job."
<<EDIT: Moved responses out of quoted passage for clarity. No modification to typed content - P.Halle- Moderator>>
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Something like this?
https://www.festoolownersgroup.com/ask-festool/about-this-board-7675/
Hmm, not exactly. More like there wasn’t someone at FestoolUSA assigned to check this forum on a regular basis. Wouldn’t be a full-time responsibility, at least I wouldn’t think so. However there should be someone at FestoolUSA with a few hours available each day to come here and say “hi”.
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Really interesting to read the number of posts have dropped from 73K to 29K.
Indicative that this type of forum is being usurped by social media. I just started using Instagram in the last couple of months. So much good information/videos/pictures available, including info on Festool.
If you are not using Instagram you should be.
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For me, instagram or facebook don't come remotely close to the information available here.
They're fine if you like looking at pictures (which I do) or like your information dispensed in single sentences.
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OK, I have to ask, seriously, WHAT ON EARTH does make you guys think this IS NOT social media?? [doh]
This is a place where everybody can talk to each other, in more detail than anywhere else because you can write 10.000 word posts if you want to.
You should not consider this is a place for direct customer support, though a guy like Shane did absolutely make it to be like that anyway.
OK, you got a response on FB in half an hour. Ever heard of telephone? Gets a response in seconds. I mean, if they're any good and the call center isn't outsourced to Mike in India.
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Indicative that this type of forum is being usurped by social media. I just started using Instagram in the last couple of months. So much good information/videos/pictures available, including info on Festool.
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Arguably forums in general are on a downward trend. The people running them keep selling-out to advertisements and spam bots. There are a few good ones left, like here and Sawmill Creek. Many of the automotive and fishing forums changed for the worse.
Is FestoolUSA putting their tutorials on Instagram instead of YouTube these days? That might be worth me trying to figure out how to use it.
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Regardless of all the other comments concerning this subject . . .Without a Festool rep directly connected and tuned into the FOG, there seems to be no point to maintaining the Ask Festool category. Who are we asking? Who monitors the questions? Who answers?
I'm not being sarcastic, ironic, or angry . . . just wondering why an Ask Festool topic would even remain on the FOG?
Just a final comment . . . It does seem that Festool has backed out of the customer support function more and more from the point in time when I bought my first Festool, which was maybe 5 - 7 years ago. For me, support was one of the important factors in buying a Festool; meaning support on the phone, online, and on the FOG. All of those are not as good as they once were. Tools are still great; some impossible to duplicate from other companies; durable, etc. Just the support isn't quite as good.
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Regardless of all the other comments concerning this subject . . .Without a Festool rep directly connected and tuned into the FOG, there seems to be no point to maintaining the Ask Festool category. Who are we asking? Who monitors the questions? Who answers?
I'm not being sarcastic, ironic, or angry . . . just wondering why an Ask Festool topic would even remain on the FOG?
Agreed. It’s become a useless distraction. Its disingenuous to keep it given its stated purpose on the FOG itself is not being served/met.
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Indicative that this type of forum is being usurped by social media. I just started using Instagram in the last couple of months. So much good information/videos/pictures available, including info on Festool.
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Arguably forums in general are on a downward trend. The people running them keep selling-out to advertisements and spam bots. There are a few good ones left, like here and Sawmill Creek. Many of the automotive and fishing forums changed for the worse.
Is FestoolUSA putting their tutorials on Instagram instead of YouTube these days? That might be worth me trying to figure out how to use it.
I agree 100% with this. One of my other hobbies is saltwater aquarium fish and coral tanks. I actually developed a business from this hobby where i aquaculture coral and travel to shows everywhere on the east coast and sell it. Participation on the forums has also dropped there.
I also agree with everything that has been said about Shane. Back in 2007-2010 when i was very active on this forum, Shane was a great resource and i really enjoyed it and someone like him is definitely missed. Since i started visiting this forum more often within the past couple of months i can see a few other issues that would discourage someone from wanting to use this site and the biggest one for me is, all the glitches when using a smart phone. I have created a thread about this so we don’t need to hi-jack this thread and discuss it, but im telling you that the majority of people us a smart phone over a computer to surf the internet and participate in forums. Navigating this website is a absolute nightmare, at least in my case. Every time i click on something, it takes me to a page that i did not request and it happens every time. I know its not my phone as this is the only site that i have this issue with. And searching for good content does not work very well. That might be my problem, not the site, but never the less.
With a company like festool and with all the premiums we pay, you think they would have a strong presence here and spend a few bucks to update this site.
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OK, I have to ask, seriously, WHAT ON EARTH does make you guys think this IS NOT social media?? [doh]
This is a place where everybody can talk to each other, in more detail than anywhere else because you can write 10.000 word posts if you want to.
You should not consider this is a place for direct customer support, though a guy like Shane did absolutely make it to be like that anyway.
OK, you got a response on FB in half an hour. Ever heard of telephone? Gets a response in seconds. I mean, if they're any good and the call center isn't outsourced to Mike in India.
I agree with you, but at the same time when someone says "social media" they mean things more like twitter and facebook. It's along the lines of someone drinking water and saying they don't drink anything with chemicals in it. Their comment is nonsense, but in the end you know what the meant.
Any company who thinks facebook and the like is the answer is in trouble, in the end more people than not do not use those or refuse to do anything more than just view something. What does help companies is having good websites with good information, that alone can cut down the need for forums, and reps answering questions. Festools website is absolutely awful, this there is a need for forums. While sometimes contacting a company directly is the answer, often it's not what folks want to do if they are just exploring or gathering information. Additionally many/most companies make it very difficult to contact them (not saying this is festool, I've never tried, just companies in general).
For forum drop off, well, there is a lot more information else where out there. While festool is still basically an unknown name to most people even people involved in tools and construction, woodworking very well are not aware of them (lots of folks do these things and never go online for anything about them).
As others mention there are more companies out there offering products, meanwhile in the US Festool removes products. It's not like Festool has been rolling out new stuff to drive questions about stuff.
Being the interface to a company is not fun. Just gives people who are upset a target.
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Ask and ye shall receive?
https://www.festoolownersgroup.com/festool-announcements/a-message-from-the-festool-team/
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OK, I have to ask, seriously, WHAT ON EARTH does make you guys think this IS NOT social media?? [doh]
OK, you got a response on FB in half an hour. Ever heard of telephone? Gets a response in seconds. I mean, if they're any good and the call center isn't outsourced to Mike in India.
In my book, everything found on the internet which includes exchanges is social media, including blogs and forums, not just instagram, youtube etc.
Forums are a dying species as technology advances itself and we, human beings, become more pictures and videos tuned. That's partly why written words (newspapers, magazines, etc.) have been struggling. The future lies in what's in your hand -- the cell phone or whatever new device that may come and replace it. I still do online shopping using my laptop, but only when I'm home-bound; the cell is where actions take place outside home.
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OK, I have to ask, seriously, WHAT ON EARTH does make you guys think this IS NOT social media?? [doh]
OK, you got a response on FB in half an hour. Ever heard of telephone? Gets a response in seconds. I mean, if they're any good and the call center isn't outsourced to Mike in India.
In my book, everything found on the internet which includes exchanges is social media, including blogs and forums, not just instagram, youtube etc.
Forums are a dying species as technology advances itself and we, human beings, become more pictures and videos tuned. That's partly why written words (newspapers, magazines, etc.) have been struggling. The future lies in what's in your hand -- the cell phone or whatever new device that may come and replace it. I still do online shopping using my laptop, but only when I'm home-bound; the cell is where actions take place outside home.
That’s a shame.
(Not a criticism of you Chuck)
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In my book, everything found on the internet which includes exchanges is social media, including blogs and forums, not just instagram, youtube etc.
Forums are a dying species as technology advances itself and we, human beings, become more pictures and videos tuned. That's partly why written words (newspapers, magazines, etc.) have been struggling. The future lies in what's in your hand -- the cell phone or whatever new device that may come and replace it. I still do online shopping using my laptop, but only when I'm home-bound; the cell is where actions take place outside home.
That’s a shame.
(Not a criticism of you Chuck)
A terrible shame.
I've learned a lot about woodworking from YouTube. I'm glad it exists. But long form forums like this and the other FOG (Felder Owners Group), have provided far greater depth on topics specific to my circumstances. Those of us who still frequent them will grow, while others who gravitate to consumption focused\single sentence platforms will languish. The gap between the have and have nots will only continue to widen.
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I still think that Festool have some brilliant tools but things are changing and it is very disappointing that they have chosen to neglect the FOG and, at the same time, disadvantage their long term distributors by dealing with the box shifters who often offer very limited customer service.
Come on Festool - do you really want this?
Peter
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"WHAT ON EARTH does make you guys think this IS NOT social media"
Well, it IS a form of social media, and existed long before FB, IG, and the
rest, but I don't think it falls into the current definition of Social Media, at
least the way you hear it referred to currently. Ask anyone under 40 what
platforms make up Social Media and I doubt they will include online forums.
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I still think that Festool have some brilliant tools but things are changing and it is very disappointing that they have chosen to neglect the FOG and, at the same time, disadvantage their long term distributors by dealing with the box shifters who often offer very limited customer service.
Come on Festool - do you really want this?
Peter
Sorted, I guess:
https://www.festoolownersgroup.com/festool-announcements/a-message-from-the-festool-team/msg595560/?topicseen#msg595560
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"Is FestoolUSA putting their tutorials on Instagram instead of YouTube these days? That might be worth me trying to figure out how to use it."
I hope not, YT is the place for such content I think. Easier to access from various paltforms. I can sit and watch YT videos on my TV using the YouTube app right on the TV. Don't need a computer or smartphone or tablet.
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Video can't be searched, making it completely useless as a reference.
Also regarding facebook and similar kinds of brain AIDS: I hope it dies, ideally instantly, as everything endless-scrolling that is optimizing the feed for rage (as that gives more clicks) is a crime against humanity.
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Video can't be searched, making it completely useless as a reference.
Also regarding facebook and similar kinds of brain AIDS: I hope it dies, ideally instantly, as everything endless-scrolling that is optimizing the feed for rage (as that gives more clicks) is a crime against humanity.
You sound a little cranky today [unsure] but I agree with you [mad]
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"Video can't be searched, making it completely useless as a reference"
Not understanding what you saying here.
Do you mean it's not possible to search within a video, or that it's not possible to search for video on a specific topic.
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"Video can't be searched, making it completely useless as a reference"
Not understanding what you saying here.
Do you mean it's not possible to search within a video, or that it's not possible to search for video on a specific topic.
I can ctrl-F a text (or grep a whole bunch of them in bulk) for keywords to locate relevant sections quickly, skim or cross read it, copy&paste and print the sections I need later, yada yada...
All not possible with video as it's an inherently linear medium. While it has its uses the effective overall bandwidth, in regard to information density, is quite low - at least for me (but I'm a somewhat quick reader).
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Just as an FYI, this was announced about an hour ago on Facebook and I just happened to come across it. Might be interesting for some.
[attachimg=1]
Peter
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Cool good info. I liked the last one.
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Just a thought but maybe Festool could use the forum as an 'aggregator' of sorts.
Honestly I have neither the time or inclination to go traipsing all across the internet to see if FESTOOL has posted something new somewhere. A post from FESTOOL with a url however would be, in my opinion, GREAT!
Just a "Hey Sedge just dropped a new youtube video" or "check out this latest trick on instagram".
[2cents]
For clarity: I am not referring to links about Festool, I am referring to things from Festool.
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Just a thought but maybe Festool could use the forum as an 'aggregator' of sorts.
Honestly I have neither the time or inclination to go traipsing all across the internet to see if FESTOOL has posted something new somewhere. A post from FESTOOL with a url however would be, in my opinion, GREAT!
Just a "Hey Sedge just dropped a new youtube video" or "check out this latest trick on instagram".
[2cents]
For clarity: I am not referring to links about Festool, I am referring to things from Festool.
If this were to come about it might benefit from a topic area of it's own.
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Yes. And I was thinking a 'lockout' feature like the classifieds have so no one can post there. just a running topic of links.
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I totally agree with locking it, there is always that one guy that says something stupid or someone that goes off topic.. good idea