Vacuum Cleaners Discussions

Today I fortuitously stopped at the local Oreck dealer. 

Mike, the owner of several Oreck franchises and a few multi-brand stores had brought his new Edge upright from home, as stock had not arrived yet.

It has a more powerful motor, with a true  floating head. LED lights, infinite speed control AND and on-board stretch hose with a permanently attached telescopic crevice tool that is automatically active when the handle is in the upright position.  It lacks the Pilot's pivot head and the Halo's germ killing light. A model incorporating all three features is under development.  It is still easy to push, although it weighs 10 lb and requires a bit more effort than previous models.

There is a commercial OBT upright made by Stein (Sebo) that is very nice at only 450.00.  Oreck WILL be offering a bagless upright, but dealer participation is optional.  The new canister is color matched to the Edge and designed to be leaned on as the user vacuums stairs. Odd looking bare floor/crevice tool, no swivel neck. The bristles fold in to form the crevice tool, and the wand is inserted into a neck that curves more than 60 and less than 90 degrees, much like the OLD bare floor tools made of wood with the metal neck screwed on. A turbo tool is included and a dusting brush.

A cute little bagless canister is available for 49.99  Oreck has increased market share and has 89% brand recognition as a vacuum cleaner. They have become #1in  air purifier sales. (Mike did not say if that was dollar volume, or units or both.

The price of the Edge and matching canister will be about 750.00

Oreck is still marketing, still developing product, and still building a loyal customer base.

Regarding the electrolux flirtation with retail

1) the branches had complete control of all the kiosks in the retail venue
2) 96% of all the customers who stopped in at the kiosk here NON Electrolux customers, the remaining 4% had fallen through the cracks somewhere along the line, or they would not have been in the vac dept of a retail store
3) the units for sale were the lowest end, stripped down models, not available at the branch.
4) if a customer bought from a branch but was referred by a kiosk person a commission spiff was paid

All anyone wants to remember about the retail venue was the six weeks it took to deplete the stock after the program was abandoned.  When a District manager got behind the program, and had everyone on board, the retail and DTD elements complemented each other. When a salesman ran into a store bought Lux he thanked the customer for being with Lux and took note of her name and adress and checked to make sure she was added to the data base, if she was not already. bag delivery, service checks. then brought her into the branch customer base as a loyal customer.  The old timers saw it as competition rather than an opportunity. If their customers were being taken care of, they had nothing to worry about.

Lux grew to nearly 600 branches in the 70's under Con Foods when all they had was a deluxe tank, a standard tank, a commercial canister. and the B-8 polisher/shampooer. Poor management was the downfall of an American Icon

procare wrote:

Hello Procare:

Amen.  I trust the oral tradition of the old timers and what that they hand down.  In the 50's many women did not drive.  Not like today and everyone drives.  Or most families had one car and the m,an of the house used it for work.  Women were stay at home moms and parents.  Very common for them to call indies like me and ask to buy a new vacuum.  Most indies had a "road" man [ I did for many years, my business partner, best salesman I ever met] whose job it was to check vacuums in need of repair in the home/sell new vacuums on the road.  Even vacuum brands that weren't sold new/used d-t-d ended up getting sold door-to-door to these fine ladies.  Big box stores were still not part of the American way of life like they are today, except grocery stores.  Most Americans went to a local neighborhood butcher for meat, a local baker for bread and desserts, and a vegetable/fruit vendor came by sometimes with horse and cart to sell to their produce to the neighbors.  Milk and eggs were still delivered d-t-d right up to the 60's.  Local neighborhood Mom and Pop grocery stores were still part of American life as were drug stores, watch repair/clock and cobblers [shoe repairers].  Good old days as they say.

Carmine D.

Trebor wrote:

Not just Lux, but many a good company and product. 

Carmine D.

CarmineD wrote:

It's all a matter of values and unfortunately times have changed not necessarily for the better.  In past, at least in my assessment, it was a lot more about pride in manufacture and pride of ownership.

Also back at that same place in time, talking 50 years or so prior to present, the guy who gave you the shirt of his back was esteemed for his good heart.  That outlook is long gone and there's come to be a quite a reversal of perspective.  Now its all about how many shirts and fancy suits, properly branded of course, a guy has to put on his own back.  Meaning no one gives a darn about how much you can give -- any schmuck can give himself or his stuff away -- but not every knows how to get.  And so now, God bless you Donald Trump, we kneel and praise those who have a knack for drawing in money.

Though you'd have a hard time selling me on a specific vacuum cleaner just because of high sales volume, there are scads of other people more than willing to buy into the hype merely because it appears that everybody else is buying one.

It being the computer age, there's no problem in changing molds, colors, etc., to make the same old thing appears to have a new face.  Anything that will keep vacuums moving off the shelves and cash flowing is what counts now.  If quality is sacrificed, no matter, they'll sidetrack you with off-the-wall rhetoric to make you think its not.

Venson

It's all a matter of values and unfortunately times have changed not necessarily for the better.

Venson,

There is hope. I am taking  an MFA in Interior Architecture and Design online through Academy of Art University in San Francisco. A required class is Sustainable Design. Fords new plant was built by refurbishing the old one, a model of environmental and ecological responsibility. Interestingly, Ford was the only one of the big three to avoid a government bailout. When one begins to consider the earth not as resources, but as a gift, it follows that one must consider all people and life itself the same way. There is a long way to go,  but great strides are happening. Either we will reach the tipping point where enough manufacturers are on board with the green consciousness to survive in the marketplace, or we will perish as a species because we have tipped the earth so far into imbalance that our demise will be the only way to ensure survival of the planet. The jury is still out, but there is more hope than you may realize.

Peace,

Trebor

On the subject of new ORECK's, Consumer Reports [August 2010] rated and ranked the ORECK Steam-It number Third Place in Lab tests of 10 brands/models with an overall "Good."  First:  H 2 0 Mop with a CR "Best Buy" and overall "Very Good";  Second:  EUREKA Enviro Steamer rated a CR "Recommended"  and overall "Good"  BISSELL, Shark, Steamboy and Haan all lagged behind with overall "Good/Fair" ratings.

Carmine D.

I was wondering if any of you had a chance to try the new Oreck edge in store? I had the chance to try one out a few days ago, and it impressed me in several different ways, and left me yearning for more in others. The toggle up/down variable control switch is something I much prefer to multiple set speeds, and I think it would better better accommodate multiple types of carpet pile than set multi-speeds. The cleaning head with the "true floating" design adapted well from going on thick shaggy carpets to lower profile carpeting. It also felt like it had a tight seal on the carpet which was different than what I expected: I use a Hoover Platinum upright where I work, and that thing feels like it just glides; the Oreck was the complete opposite of this. The LED lighting is also a nice touch, aesthetically and functionally. The things I wasn't too impressed with was the new onboard stretch hose. I'm not sure if the fan-first set up can't product as much suction as any clean air set up, but the airflow to that hose/crevice wand was dismal. I'd much rather just use the canister that comes with it at the $800 price point. Also, I didn't like the fact that it didn't maneuver as well as the Pivot; but I suppose the maneuverability niche is something that Oreck wants exclusive to the Pivot. I also don't like how there is no place to set your foot when stepping on the floor head to pull the handle back and out of the upright position (I really like how Dyson has the recessed areas on the head to place your foot in when doing this). All in all, not a bad vacuum.

In this case, I don't think the added-on hose is intended for regular duty nor is high suction required for its purpose -- quick pick-ups.  It should serve well for easily taking quick swipes in areas out of reach or at stuff you may have missed while working above floor.  Thus you avoid having to stop the floor work you're doing to go for the portable unit.

Personally, my preference whether upright or canister, is one vacuum with most of what I need easily on hand.  There is no particular thrill for me in going after a second vacuum or lugging around tool caddies.  I even appreciated that back in the day when Electrolux XXXs and LXs had a lock-on caddy for their mostly metal AND heavy tool set.

That's not an indictment against Oreck but a statement of preference.

By the way, has anyone simply pushed the new Edge back and forth with the machine turned off to judge its ease of travel?

Venson

Venson wrote:

I always drive my car with the engine running.  However, before buying an auto I always push it around the block just to judge the ease of travel.

HARDSELL wrote:

Gee HARDSELL, if I could ride my vacuum I would.  I'd spend less on gas though more on extension cords.  But to be truthful, my car pushes more easily than some vacuums I've had -- even the Kirby in neutral.

Best,

Venson