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.

catlady wrote:

Please correct me if I'm wrong but I believe you posted early on in recanting one of your conversations with MIELE that you purchased a "test" model from your local vacuum store.  To which, the MIELE person[s] expressed a mild degree of shock. 

Carmine D.

CarmineD wrote:

That is correct.  When I purchased the S7 it was referred to as a tester model and I agreed to be a test househould so that's what I keep calling it.  The proper term would probably be the prototype model.  When I told Jim what I had paid for this model (as a test household) he seemed a bit suprised that I paid for the vacuum, but then did say that he was not sure how they handled that.  I think he was just out of the loop on how they handled the prototype or test models when they first put them out during that testing phase.

Melanie

CarmineD wrote:

Carmine makes a good point.  There's something fishy going on.  It's kind of like Circuit City selling the Dysons that were provided free of charge for cleaning the store.   

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Venson,

Miele decides which dealers are allowed to sell their products.  Miele doesn't have to own and operate stores to get their products sold.  They can choose which dealers sell their products.   Even if the dealer did something unethical, ultimately Miele's reputation is on the line, since the dealer is an extension of Miele, as far as the customer is concerned.   The customer expects Miele to screen their dealers.  While it may not be fair, you sometimes have to go after the one with deep pockets.  Furthermore,  this is a test machine and she has been filling out surveys for Miele's benefit, they should be treating her like a queen. I don't think it's the dealer's fault that Catlady's Miele has had 3 defects.

Miele has got to be concerned the Catlady will say bad things about here Miele purchase all over the internet.  Potential Miele buyers, who are likely internet savvy, will likely see her complaints and consider them in making the purchasing decision.  Personally, if I had the problems she's having, I'd post my complaints about the vac store and Miele on every consumer web page I could find (e.g. www.epinions.com, http://forums.fightback.com/,  www.consumerreports.org (members only), etc.)  

catlady wrote:

When you paid for the MIELE S7 vacuum from your local MIELE dealer, you were no longer a "test" household/consumer.  You were a full fledged buyer and owner of a "test" vacuum that is not made for sale to the general public.  Unless policies and procedures [correct me authorized MIELE dealers if I'm speaking wrongly] have changed over the years, and they do, "test" models are "loaned" to dealers for display and demo.  In some cases dealers will allow their best and privileged customers to borrow the "test' models for their own use in their homes.   Hence, the surveys.   But these "test" models have to be returned to the dealer.  This is usually done [ "borrowing"] when the customer drops off a vacuum for repair and is in dire need of a vacuum to use in the interim.  The dealer has the customer's vacuum and the customer has the dealer's vacuum.  In kind exchange, pending the pick up of the repair and return of the "test." 

Carmine D.

Severus wrote:

Severus:  Thanks on the first note.  On the second, this begs the question:  Why would a consumer buy a "test" model especially with unknown and as yet unreported [by way of a formal survey] defects? 

Carmine D.

Carmine,

You now have me wondering if somewhere along the line I was not told the truth about the vacuum I purchased.  I would also like to hear another Miele dealer's take on the test/prototype I purchased.

Melanie

catlady wrote:

Why wait?  Go directly to MIELE and ask what the proper accounting/treatment is for the MIELE S7 "test" models by MIELE dealers from MIELE.  

Carmine D.

CarmineD wrote:

I'm old and have a very bad memory.  So please correct me if I'm wrong, as I usually am told here by so many posters.  But didn't you [Melanie] post here that your local MIELE dealer was kind enough to 'loan' you the MIELE S7 to test in your home [before you purchased]? As well as other new vacuums?  If so, how long was the actual S7 MIELE loaner period before you decided to buy it?

Carmine D.

CarmineD wrote:
No, they didn't loan it to me.  I bought it after testing it at the store using cat litter and animal hair to see how well it vacuumed.

The Miele company, the vac shop, and the Miele rep are all wanting to point fingers at each other. NONE of them grasps the fact that in today's lean economy where everyone has internet access, this kind of incident hurts ALL Miele dealers. If I were a Miele dealer, I would send CatLady a new S7 myself, just to stop this thread. If my rep or Miele wanted to get their noses out of joint over it, I'd say, "I did the right thing, you don't like it, tough! Try training your dealers in the service and repair of the product. Try living up to the "Immer Besser you are so proud of." If there are dealers reading this, I would hope they would have man-spheres big enough to call Miele up and say, "Hey, deal with this!"  The damage is already done, and every day it goes unresolved satisfactorily just digs the hole deeper. Another dealer should not have to make it right, but it's better than the current situation. I'd be yelling at Miele at the top of my lungs to get this resolved, and for that dealer to be cancelled.  It's just like every time a Kirby distributor makes the six o clock news it hurts all of them for awhile. By selecting retailers, Miele is putting their stamp of approval on them. They are admittting them to what is supposed to be an exclusive club. "Paying your dues" means going a bit overboard in the customer's favor, if necessary.  Why is there even any hesitation about replacing the vacuum? I can't say anything new, I am so utterly gob smacked over Miele's total indifference to this situation. The patient is bleeding while the Drs are discussing which type of sutures to use. I'm sitting here typing, while I sputtering in appalled confusion, sprinkled with healthy amounts of impotent rage. Here, a woman of modest means does what we 'vac heads' wish everyone would do, pop for a high quality vacuum. In addition she does everyone(shop, rep, corp) a favor by purchasing a prototype, (which is why Miele put them out to select dealers.) And she gets the screws put to here. This is actually the second 'beta' test. There was another beta test in which S7's were loaned to customers for purposes of garnering their feedback. Perhaps the dealer sold a prototype from the earlier batch and was not supposed to do so. Beta 2 prototypes intended for sale were offered as far east as Indianapolis and St. Louis.

If you think about it, this scenario would explain a lot. The dealer sells a machine he is supposed to loan out and get back, then he ruins it, and understandably wants to cover his tracks with Miele, so he does not have to pay for any damages, (and he can keep his dealership) when he should have never sold the machine to begin with. It seems logical and plausible that delears would be either Beta test 1 or Beta test 2 dealers, but not both. The beta test 1 units should not have been sold, and in fact were to be sent back to Miele for study. My local Miele dealer and friend told me that people were upset at having to give back their test prototypes. After the first batch is taken back, and the machine is tweaked, batch 2 is released for sale, with follow up surveys. So, if a beta 1 prototype was sold as a beta 2 prototype, with surveys sent in, the confusion on Miele's end is understandable, but the end result should still be, Melanie gets a new S7, a case of bags and a profuse apology, better late then never. And any dealer who does not grasp that is not prepared to compete in today's e-conomy. THAT, my friends is the bottom line. Remember, it was one little boy who stood up and said, "But mommy, he's naked!

Trebor