Vacuum Cleaners Discussions

First upright from Miele

29 February 2008 This summer, Miele will launch its first range of upright vacuum cleaners – the S7.  It will consist of about six models, all of which feature ultra large dust bags and  “a unique swivel body, which makes it easy to manoeuvre in even the trickiest  of room layouts”. According to the company,  the decision was made following  numerous requests from customers that wanted to buy Miele  but would only use  an upright model. Text: courtesy ERTweekly.com Picture: courtesy Miele.co.uk, 2009 Edited 21st March 2009; reason: loss of original image.

Dear Melanie aka CatLady,

Lindhaus USA is a small company. The parent company is Rotafil of Italy. Lindhaus has a focus of vacuum cleaners and just recently hard floor washers/carpet extractor combos that look and push like upright vacuums. Lindhaus was chosen as the supplier of vacuums for the cleanup in DC after 911 for performance, ease of use, and filtration. The newer Lindhaus models are called the Diamante (residential) and the Dynamic (commercial) They look identical in pictures. The 15 with it's little 'L' projection seems like it would be handy for under toe-kicks, etc. I do not know about the cost of Lindhaus bags. They appear smaller, however, they are paper and biodegradeable. Lindhaus adheres to a standard of (I'm going from memory of a conversation I had with Al Carpenter years ago.) of about 95% effectiveness down to 5 microns in the bag, and leaves the rest up to the filter. The clean air filter really is sufficient for all but the very worst allergy sufferers. If Al remembers me at all it would be as the Electrolux man from Ft. Wayne, IN. I inquired as to whether they had any positions open as a rep, but they really don't have reps, people call them. In any case, the people there were all pleasant and helpful.

Here is a link  to a quick video demo. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3-uoh5LmrQ  You can get accessory 'shoes' for hardwood, and other hard surface floors. I have seen Diamante for nearl 1000.00 and Dynamic for right at $600.00 the Lindhaus website does not post prices and the two machines are so close in appearance the prices may have been mixed up.

I hope, Melanie, that someone steps up to the plate and helps you. No, a vacuum cleaner is not on the order of people starving, or being homeless, but life is full of enough aggravations. It just is not supposed to be this difficult to get a fast stress free resolution on something this simple. Miele has abused your trust, period. You paid a premium price for a premium product and were promised fast hassle free service if you ever needed it. Immer Besser and all that. Well, they got your money, now what?

I hope with all my heart that Al seizes this opportunity, sends you a Diamante, that you absolutelly love it and he says, "Hon, just send us your expensive piece of crap and write us a good review, and call it even."

And if anyone reading this thinks I'm being a bit harsh, remember the facts:

Melanie's expensive purchase failed under warranty, authorized repair center caused damage due to impatience/incompetence, and from minute one, Miele customer service, Miele rep, and Miele dealer have all had complete authority to just exchange the vacuum and send the customer on her way to sing their praises. Done. Finished. Over. Resolved. with best possible outcome, customer ecstatic and telling everyone. These are the opportunies that make or break a company. These are the  'vampire stories', because they just never die, and they get worse with each retelling. The smart person/company makes sure they are driving the stake, not getting the sharp end of it.

Trebor

Melanie,

One more option to consider. I sold Lux central vacs to customers who installed them in their existing homes, and then moved them to a new home they had built. The tubing is there for a buyer, to use or not as they choose. You may e-mail me privately for questions about number of inlets, etc. if you wish. Go with MD, AMERICAN MADE, easy to change bags/filters, quieter by far.

Trebor

I spoke with Jim at Miele this morning and explained how the Vac Shop wanted to do the repair on my vacuum.  I asked if this was acceptable to Miele and he said he could see it from both of our prospectives, but agrees that with this being a new machine it should be repaired properly by replacing the part.  At that point in time I did ask if they could replace the vacuum since it was a test model and I've had 2 hose issues and the repair because the vacuum would not lean down all of the way.  I didn't even mention the indicator not working properly.  He told me that he did request a replacement for me a couple of weeks ago but it was not authorized.  He said if he had it his way I would already have a new vacuum, but it is out of his control.  He then told me that he will have his Supervisor call me (Sally) if anything else to consol me about this.  Hmmm, I don't think there's going to be  much consoling at this point in time.  I'm pretty close to ripping into someone, but I know that won't get me anywhere. 

I'll update after I speak with Sally.

Melanie

Hi Melanie,

I was under the impression that the shop could do the back panel replacement. Have they refused flat out or are they hemming and hawing?

Tell them that is what you want and what you are due as this is their mess. It should be possible to handle this as before. Either, keep the cleaner at home and use it until the part comes in or insist upon a comparable loaner machine if they say they need to keep yours. Also, get their repair schedule (estimated time for the part to arrive plus time estimated to complete replacement.)

Refuse the "melting" offer and insist on a part replacement.

Venson

Venson wrote:

catlady wrote:

This is what should happen!!!

Miele should send you a NEW S7, shipped to your house with a ups pick up for your old machine,The new machine should be New and factory sealed. Bosch did and does this as they want to build their customer service reputation, If this was handled right from the begining with your machine [You'd Be happy as a clam and send them customers ,but no miele is all about miele. So much for emmer-besser.......

regards

MOLE

Hmmm, I'm confused.  I replied to Venson and somehow that started a new discussion.  I'm not sure what I did wrong.  Does anyone know how to fix that?

Melanie

catlady wrote:
I don't know but I was wondering how you did it. It may have been me as I noticed my post to you looks like a quote. Well, not to worry -- message received.

Venson

Just reading through this blog, I would be very hesitant to purchase any Miele product given the shoddy treatment she's received.  I used to think that it might be nice to buy a Miele someday, but that will never happen.  There are too many other companies who stand behind their products.