Vacuum Cleaners Discussions

How about another story about the friendly folks at Kirby vacuums? After work, my wife tells me that she is beyond frustrated because Kirby reps stole 3 hours of her life.  The reps came to the door and told her they were from Kirby.  The wife informed them that she had no money and would not be purchasing a vacuum until her current one broke down.  The reps told her they understood and asked if they could clean just one section of carpet so they could get paid for the demonstration.  [At the end of the day the wife does not believe that they get paid for demonstrations at all.]  After 30 minutes she told the reps that she was not buying a Kirby and that they should go sell to a neighbor who has money. Two and one half hours later, after several lies like, "I just need 15 minutes so I can clean xyz" the reps left after a hard sell. Thankfully the wife did not put any money toward them.  She was mislead to believe that she was going to waste 30 minutes of her life to help a man get credit for a demonstration.  In truth she wasted 3 hours so she could be lied to and hard sold.   Her recommendation is that unless you are lonely  - don't let a Kirby salesman into your home. Do Kirby reps get paid for demonstrations or just a commission on sales?

Marcbike,

  Kirby sales people get paid on commission. You were lucky it was only three hours. If they stayed past the time they asked for and you were not interested , they should have packed up and left. Once they get in it is hard to get them out. Several customers of mine said they bought just to get rid of them. All door to door salespeople get paid commission. I offer a nice gift for the 15 minutes of time and leave if they show no interest in what I have. A good salesman will know if there is interest. It doesn't pay to overstay your welcome. The chance of you getting again 6 months to a year later to show again the same product or new is better. They may be ready tobuy at that time. There are some that get paid for the demo but if a sale is generated they must decide if they stay demoing and get paid or take commission. College people are the source for a lot of Kirby people during summer and they can be quite rude.Oh by the way if the wife feelsn like seeing the Kirby and they won't take no, call the police or Sheriff and tell them people are there and won't leave after you said no numerous times. This is what I tell potential customers.

                                                                                                                            Procare

They story you tell is not just Kirby, but most of the D2D sales people.  I have heard stories about Filter Queen that were just terrible. 

As for getting paid for the demo, some newbees do get paid for the first week.  My Niece sold (ok demo'd ) Rainbows for a few weeks.  The first week she got $25 for each qualifying demo.  I think her sales manager managed to Dis-qualify all but about four of her attempts.  After that she was on her own.  It is very difficult in this economy to get someone to let go of $2,800 even if they have it. to let go of.  With gas at nearly $4 a gallon expenses added up quick; she is doing better working at Walgreens financially and stress wise.

  

Sanitaire is better than Kirby

Sorry, but you wife's time wasn't stolen -- she gave it to those sales people. If you have kids, did you often negotiate a "no."

Remember that old gal who loves to wear red? What about just saying no to D2D people you don't want to talk to? What about saying, "If you're not off my doorstep in one minute, I'm afraid I'll have to call the police?"

Saying uh-uh is getting to be a thing of real importance lately as some supposed D2D sales persons are out merely to get a look at what you've got in the house. It is also becoming a ploy used by "push-in" robbery artists.

If indeed it is true that God helps those who help themselves, it's time to learn say a short, sweet and polite, "Thanks, don't call me me, I'll call you," and shut your door.

Venson

Frankly, I would not have let them in the house.  There's being nice and then there's being a "door matt" where people will walk all over you.  I called Kirby for a demonstration and had a great time.  The distributor was a really nice guy and did not pull and punches.   He always says to call him if I have any questions.  I have contacted Kirby with questions and they have been very pleasant and helpful.

The only way to buy a Kirby is used. Nice used Kirbys sell for a hundred and fifty to five hundred max for a squeaky clean professionally refurbished one while new ones sell for more than two grand. Let the first owner take the depreciation. Buy it used and see if you even like it. They are great if you have lots of big rooms and long halls with wall to wall carpet. They deep clean and groom the carpet nice. But for hard floors and especially any kind of dusting or stairs nearly any other brand of vacuum is a better choice. I have picked up decent running Kirbys at thrift stores for $20 and cleaned them up myself. It's silly to let a sales person talk you out of more than two large like they do. The machines simply aren't worth that kind of money. No vacuum is.