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.

Vernon wrote:

For all the reasons already discussed here and elswhere on threads dealing with new product launches, I never sold a "test" model [read demo and display] to a customer.  Never.  I always recommended that the customer wait until the model was formally released by the brand maker.  I also refused to take orders for customers with deposits.  Even if customers were insistent, as some can often be.  Instead, I would advise when the new product order was expected, and told them to call/return if they were still interested.  No doubt, I lost some sales over 40 plus years.  But business is business and I ran mine my own way.

Carmine D. 

Dear Melanie,

Call up the vac shop and the rep and just ask them to log onto this forum and read this entire thread from your first post through current. And then ask the nice British lady to read it and to have her to have her supervisor read it.  This issue has grown beyond just your satisfaction. There are future sales of Miele vacuums and major appliances hanging in the balance. Tell them you did not ask for this, but you have some very vac savvy guys waiting with bated breath to see what they (Miele) are going to do to make this right. Your mantra is, "I understand what you are saying, but this is not my fault. I should have a new vacuum. ... I understand what you are saying, but this is not my fault.. I should have a new vacuum. We know the shop owner and  the Miele rep are each empowered to exchange the vacuum. It's a standoff, because whichever one says, "Uncle" first has to eat the cost of the vacuum.

If the vac shop really is as good as Miele dealer as the rep and factory say he is, then the rep should cut him a little slack and cover half the cost of the new vac. Unless of course the shop has damaged a lot of Mieles, which would be a different story.

I personally am shopping for six vacuums to use in my cleaning service. It doesn't look like they are going to be Mieles. Ask Miele if they understand the definition of pyrrhic victory? An exchange and a pack of bags tomorrow cannot give back the time and energy already expended.

You don't want a Radiance. It has far less tool suction and it has an open fan, subject to damage from objects sucked up. Did you try a LIndhaus 2 motor Diamante?

Trebor

 

You don't want a Radiance. It has far less tool suction and it has an open fan, subject to damage from objects sucked up. Did you try a LIndhaus 2 motor Diamante?

Trebor

Nope, this is the first time I have heard of Lindhaus.  With all of the research I did on vacuums I have to wonder how I never heard of Lindhaus.

I want to thank all of you for your advice in this situation.  I am frustrated, but I don't want to give up on Miele and my Vac Shop just yet.  Would it be nice to have a new model S7??  Heck ya!  But we'll see what they can do for me.  Like I said before, my current S7 still works great, but my impatience has made me a bit jaded over the last week. 

Carmine, I will ask them exactly that and if that doesn't work I will go further up the chain and ask for a replacement.

Melanie

Hi Melanie:

Excellent.  Keep us posted.

BTW, Lindhaus is an Italian made brand and top shelf vacuum.  Usually sold by vacuum dealers in upscale areas with wealthy geographics.  Rarely advertised and demoed.  Even dealers that sell, usually keep them boxed.  Excellent filtration, probably better than even MIELE.  They are usally sold exclusively by word of mouth and specifically requested by buyers.

I suspect your local MIELE dealer doesn't carry the RICCAR line, and just the less expensive sister brand Simplicity, so as not to compete with the MIELE.  Just my opinion.

Carmine D.

CarmineD wrote:

http://www.govacuum.com/livaclareset.html

Read the above link and you will find that this vacuum is not capable of cleaning the deepest BS from buildings.  The BS has only gotten deeper there.

Melanie and All,

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, this incident with Catlady's S7 is not trivial. What is on trial is nothing less than whether 'Immer Besser' is still true, or has become just another slogan. No matter how thorough quality control is, a mistake can slip through. I knew a guy who had a faulty Pioneer receiver. The three highest guys in the entire company flew to the states, personally delivered an entire new unit, along with a new LaserDisc player (state of the art at the time) plus every disc availalbe at the time and 500.00 worth of coupons good for Pioneer product. A gold embossed letter offered profuse apologies and THANKS for the opportunity to correct their mistake and for his continued patronage as a Pioneer customer!

How long did it take? Two trips to the dealer. The second only because they were waiting for a more sophisticated piece of testing equipment. They told the customer to expect delivery of a new replacement unit. He did not expect three Japanese executives bowing and scraping at his door. What was the neatest part to him? And I quote, "They showed they really cared about me as a customer. They felt obligated to earn my loyalty and my buisness. The letter and a replacement from the store would have been fine." HE HAS NEVER FORGOTTON THE INCIDENT, and obviuosly neither have I, and it did not even happen to me.

I believe Miele's days, at least in the vac market, as a premium brand are numbered. This kind of seemingly insignificant incident is exactly how it all begins. No one has the guts to just stand up and do what's right. Well meaning people caught in a chain of command are afraid to step out of line and over their designated authority. But it's easier to get forgiveness then it is to get permission.

Melanie, I would call MIele myself, and ask them to read this thread. But it will mean more coming from you, the customer. Miele better wake up, their complacency will be the end of them. Trust me, it has already begun. You can see it by the simple fact that the immediate resolution has been in front of them all along, and NO ONE anywhere in the food chain has said, "It's our mistake, sorry, here's a new vac and a pack of bags. Thanks for letting us make this right, Thanks for your business. Don't be a stranger." The cost of the vacuum is not the point. The profit on this vacuum (even at full price) and a secdond one has already been spent in leaving this unresolved for this long. Melanie's time, energy, and money (plus the rep's the dealer's and  MIele's) are being wasted. Every day this goes unresolved strengthens my resolve to steer people away from Miele. That is the terrible and glorious beauty of the internet. People can share their pain, and others can feel it.

Trebor

Trebor wrote:

Pioneer should have saved the air fare. Maybe they would not be getting out of the TV market. 

Trebor wrote:
An open fan that is factory tested by feeding over 100 drywall screws thru it while running.  In all the years we've sold the Radiance we've yet to have to replace a fan (not to say it can't happen however) and we have many out for commercial use.  I wouldn't be to quick to discount this machine just because of it's motor configuration.  Another selling point would be the hose is easy to replace :-)

Dusty

CarmineD wrote:
Catlady mentioned her vac shop carries the Simplicity line but didn't mention which model she tried.  From all I've read I wonder if the dealer was less about finding a suitable vacuum for the customer and more about getting rid of a tester vacuum before new stock arrived and would make it harder to sell.

Dusty

dusty wrote:

Your comment about the hose replacement on the RICCAR Radiance made me laugh.  I don't know if you read this post of mine from yesterday .  It summarizes my thoughts and feelings about selling "test" models to customers.

"For all the reasons already discussed here and elswhere on threads dealing with new product launches, I never sold a "test" model [read demo and display] to a customer.  Never.  I always recommended that the customer wait until the model was formally released by the brand maker.  I also refused to take orders for customers with deposits.  Even if customers were insistent, as some can often be.  Instead, I would advise when the new product order was expected, and told them to call/return if they were still interested.  No doubt, I lost some sales over 40 plus years.  But business is business and I ran mine my own way."

Carmine D.