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.

CarmineD wrote:
Hi Carmine,

Actually, this "test" thing is new to me. I have only been aware of finally released vacuums being sold to the public in past. Is this a regular practice or only done on occasion? What manufacturers do this often?

Thanks,

Venson

Hello Venson:

I can't speak about the specifics of MIELE because I was never a MIELE dealer.

But industry wide, at least for the 4o plus years of my professional vacuum store experience, 'test' models were a common occurence.  Just for one brand, HOOVER, because most are familiar with it and its models I can recall having the following in my store months before the launch:  HOOVER floor washer; HOOVER lark broom; HOOVER rug shampooer; HOOVER Dial and Power Dial; HOOVER Porta Power; HOOVER portable canister just to name a few from the 50's, 60's, and 70's.  These, much like the MIELE S7 were brand new floor care products.  Never before on the market.

Here's what happens.  You learn from your reps that a new model[s] is/are on the horizon.  You get a call from the rep that he/she along with the branch/regional managers plan to visit your store with the new model for a store demo.  It happens.  Sometimes I would invite other vacuum store owners/operate too.  We provide feedback to the muckety mucks.  In return, they leave the model[s] in my store to create interest and buzz among the customers.  You may have it for several weeks, months etc. before the official product [s] launch.  Customers who see and want to buy can place orders pending the the new model arrivals.  I never took deposits.  Always told my customers when they would arrive and come back if they were still interested.  In some cases, I even loaned the 'test' models to my best customers while their vacuums were being repaired and awaiting pick up.  Usually customers who I had an ongoing business relationship with and I sensed woul be a likely buyer for the product.

I never sold the 'test' models even if customers insisted.  And some did.  That's not their purpose.  Strictly to advertise, display, demo and 'test' the new product.

Carmine D.

Melanie,

I am so very pleased for you. I am pretty sure of what happened. A few Miele dealers who are prepared to due business in this e-commerce world called and complained and probably insisted Sally and JIm and everyone in customer care at Miele log on and read the thread here. And the message sunk in. While I do not know with certainty, It would not surprise me in the slightest that your vac shop owner was gvien the choice of replacing you vacuum or losing his dealership. But the message got through, and you have a new vacuum. I'm sure everyone on their end has only one regret, and that is that they did not just swap out the vacuum at the first sign of trouble, but we take our victories where we can.

Trebor

Trebor, I don't see this as you do, and frankly my good fellow I never ever will.

Somehow, in my own limited naive way of thinking, I weighed MIELE's 80 years of family owned and operated business worldwide as singularly attributable to the company's utmost business integrity and the highest esteem in which it holds its brand name, products, dealers and customers.  Silly of me?  Not by trying to deliberately screw others whenever the opportunity arises as some here are so eager to suggest. 

I never expected any outcome short of the MIELE mantra: Immer Besser. 

Carmine D.

Carmine,

My good friend runs a vac shop for a man who owns three of them, in fact he runs the other two by proxy most days. I stop by frequently. I have witnessed literally hundreds of Miele sales. The issues with the Miele vacuums can be counted on the fingers of one hand, and still have fingers left over. The Miele rep is an affable fellow who is no nonsense when it come to customer service. A mechanical failure in under seven years is grounds for repair, no questions asked, short of general abuse and major mistreatment of the vacuum by the customer. In his own words, $700.00 vacuums should not have failures in that length of time. ANY issue in the first year, (please bear in mind the aforementioned proviso) any at all, means the vacuum is replaced, period. From my friend's conversation of Miele dealer training events, this is standard, common accepted practice. There is no quibbling with the customer, but rather a recognition that they ,the dealers, are the torch bearers, and in those rare instances of product failure, the weight of Immer Besser must be borne by the service to the customer. And they do not want the customer to have anything negative to dwell on concerning their vacuum purchase. It's not like the failure rate is so high that Miele must staunch the bleeding, but in my experience they treat every machine failure as if it were that critical. Miele has done relatively little advertising in North America. They are in a position of being able to pick and choose who they want as dealers, and much of that is due to the quality of their selected dealers.

One cleaning service using Miele vacuums puts 25 years wear on a vacuum in one calendar year's time. So in three years, the equivalent of 75 years of wear, and not one motor has been replaced. Just wear parts, wheels, roller brushes, bristle brushes, hoses, cords (not winders) So the question is why would the dealer not just say, "Sorry for your trouble, hon, here you go, just swap it out." It simply is not an everyday occurence.

I have spent a lot of years listening to customers complain. I have been bamboozled and buffaloed a few times, not often. Rarely is a customer intractable from the start. They may seem so, but it is a defense mechanism against their own fear of being given the shaft yet again, (an entirely understandable fear) If the shop owner was a reader of the forum, he should have pro-actively called Melanie to resolve the issue. He obviously was not reading it. Melanie is the sort of customer everyone hopes for, really, "here is my problem. You screwed it up,? well, ok just fix it like it was before. Her demand for a replacement vacuum grew from an idle thought just because she felt she was not being heard. There were MULTIPLE opportunities for her issue to be resolved more amicably, even in the same time frame, by calling her back when she was promised that was what would happen, "Sorry, gotta order the part. Here, use this vac until yours is ready. Here's a coupon for a free carpet cleaner rental. Sorry about the delay."  I see Melanie as being more that fair and patient. Three weeks is not a long time to wait for a satisfactory resolution. It is an eternity when you feel that your problem is of really no concern to the person whose job it is to resolve your issue. That is the crux of the matter. "Just listen, let me know you understand, and that you really care. Tell me what you can do and follow through."

I have read so many books about sales and retail. Successful businesses design their customer's experience from the first moment of interaction. Think about that, Design the customer's experience from moment one. That means being proactive, and even dress rehearsal for when things don't go smoothly. Doesn't sound like Melanie's experience with her S7. The S7 replacement should not have cost anyone anything. It is a swap under warranty, which considering it was a test model which was supposed to be sold, should have been eagerly exchanged so the factory engineers could rip the prototype apart to study it. I let slide on by more stuff than I ever comment on, but Catlady's words simply rang true. She was not faking, or dramatizing to get something she was not entitled to. She just wanted her expensive vacuum to work.

Trebor

Would anyone care for cheese with the whine on this thread?

Hardsell wrote: Would anyone care for cheese with the whine on this thread?

Are you cutting it?

Trebor

CarmineD wrote:
I fail to see Immer Besser when you have a factory authorized sales and repair center that is content to use non OEM parts to fix a nearly new $700 vacuum under warranty. On top of this they "hack the crap" (I believe that is how they described it) out of the back of the unit and then offer to melt and smooth out the plastic as a solution to the problem....but don't worry....they do it all the time.  The vac store has replaced 3 or 4 other hoses but have had no complaints. Were these machines hacked up too?  Perhaps the customers were to ticked off and couldn't be bothered to complain and instead have gone to another dealer. The end result is that even though Melanie is finally getting a new vacuum (credit to Miele for FINALLY stepping up) she is left with a dealer she is no longer comfortable with and has doubts about future service and durability of the machine.  To make matters worse, from my point of view anyway, guys like this give independents a bad name.  When a customer is made to jump thru hoops to get service it's no wonder so many people buy from Costco and Walmart.

Dusty

Perhaps, some can't appreciate the special pride that goes into an 80 year old family owned, operated and financed business not to mention the superior quality of German engineering and its vibrant and guteral language!

BTW, it was $600 [not $700] in May 2008 almost 7 months before the official MIELE model launch in the USA.  While brand new, it was a 'test' model that by all accounts was never meant to be sold to the public SO SOON and the details surrounding the sale have never been adequately disclosed here to my satisfaction despite my trying.

Immer Besser!  Das ist alles!

Carmine D.

Thanks, Dusty.

Carmine, an 80 (actually over 100, only have been making vacs for 82) company, family held, blah,blah,blah means nothing to a customer unless it means her problems are taken seriously, and addressed.

Customer buys a test model, which we are not positive was to be sold. Customer's fault? No. It was bought in good faith.

Machine has 2 minor failures, Customer's fault? No

Machine has major failure, shop butchers repair, Customer's fault? No.

It took three weeks of constant phone calls, and posts on a public forum to get a replacement vacuum. The energy, loss of productive time, and  dissatisfaction are enormous, intangible, though no less real costs. Would Miele have come through without Melanie being the squeaky wheel, Hmmm?That's putting a LOT of faith in the Miele company. I suspect the guard at Miele is changing from the third generation to the fourth, and while hopefully this is an isolated incident, it could be the beginning of a glacial meltdown. Time will tell. For the moment, at least, Miele makes excellent product. It will be interesting to see if family tradition continues to hold sway in the upper echelons at Miele.

Trebor