I think the not listening to customers thing, is quite common the more a company evolves, progresses or expands etc?
I have suppliers that I first started using 30 + years ago, some are bigger and better than ever, and value and listen to customer feedback, and wherever they can, will act on it.
The other side of the coin are, companies that start off small and are very hands on with their customer wants and needs, and the innovation largely fed by customers grows, and with it the company.
Then these companies get a little complacent, even too big for their boots sometimes, and instead of continuing to listen to customers, they are more concerned with fending off the competition, often cost cutting too.
As we know, often really good or great successful companies, at some stage are controlled by the bean counters reports and advice. It makes for great profit margins, and provides nice bonuses but, the customer is always king, and the companies that remember this, are the survivors.
I don't know if Festool are no longer listening to customers feedback, and are now caught up in the race for top spot in business? and neither would I suggest so but, they have expanded a great deal, and in the last two or three years I hear a lot more disgruntled Festool customer stories than I used to. That could be down to percentages etc, the more customers you have, the more chance there is of some being upset.
You could say the same for other tool manufacturers but, and it's a big but, most of the other manufacturers have more realistic price tags.
I bought some new Festool yesterday, along with some must have accessories, and a couple of times I found myself wincing after hitting the "Buy" button. So to cheer myself up, I remembered how great the tools are, and the superb customer service and how they look after their customers.
So perhaps they just need to start listening a little more?
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