Quote from JimB on 06/14/07 at 10:15am:

 
 
Hello again my friend JimB:
 
On a related note and from the archives:
 
Quote from Carmine_Difazio on 02/28/07 at 8:29am:

 
 
Although a sidebar, it is in the same vein as your topic.  
I recall at least one former Forum poster, a vacuum professional, who consistently bragged about buying, using and even abusing the vacuums and then returning them to a host of different retailers.  And wouldn't you know it, some Forum posters, even a pro, sympathized, defended, and condoned the heinous practice.  For shame, for shame.  
 
What does this do to the costs and prices of the vacuums at the retailers?  And I have to wonder how that's working out for him now that all the retailers have stiffer rules and regulations for merchandise returns.  Do you think these retailers read this Forum?  I'd say it's a pretty safe bet. 
 
Carmine D.

Carl:
 
I recall your responses very well.  Not one of your shining moments on the Forum.  Why?  The so called "test" was to vacuum up hot/warm fireplace, outdoor grill, and furnace ashes.  Despite the manufacturer's instructions stating clearly that the maker would not assume any liability and responsibility for the product if this was done.  And the person, a professional, knowing these instructions, did it anyway.    And bragged about doing it and returning it.  What's also very interesting is the guilty person did not defend his actions or respond to my criticism of this "heinous" practice.  I suspect he knew he was wrong even though others quickly "fawned to him" with words in his defense.   Shameful.  
 
This "professional" allowed a door-to-door salesman to plug a high priced vacuum into a 220 volt outlet in his home.  Then bragged and joked about it on the Forum saying "it fried the vacuum's motor."  Do you recall that incident too?  Shameful.
 
Carmine D.

Quote from cprohman on 06/14/07 at 11:58pm:

 
Really?  Do you know the facts of the case before you pass judgment?  I've gone over the facts before on this and other Forums.  Here they are again, 50 years later.  I take full responsibility for my actions.
 
I was in my store of business with a male customer who was torn between a rebuilt HOOVER 29 for $39 and a HOOVER Convertible for $70.  The Saltez brothers, both older than me, one a HOOVER branch manager and another a new HOOVER rep (replacing my HOOVER guy Richard Wolin who was fired by the HOOVER branch manager Richard Saltez to give the job to his brother), were there too.  They almost cost me the HOOVER sale trying to push the new HOOVER Convertible over the H-29 although the customer didn't want to go the price.  
 
When the customer left with the rebuilt HOOVER, the 2 Saltez brothers and I had words about meddling in my store business.  2 against 1.  Richard Saltez, the branch manager was bullying me to impress his brother.  He pushed and I pushed back.  I took them both on.  My store, my business.  I literally threw Richard out of my store by the seat of his pants and Ernie ran out before I could grab him too.  As they got into the car to drive away, I took the only thing I had, a large screwdriver on my desk (work bench) and hurled it through the rear window.  I would do the same thing again for the same reasons.  I took the bull by the horns.  The judge agreed with me.   Threw the case out.  
 
HOOVER stayed out of my store until Lou Ludivico, a new HOOVER rep, came by several years later and made amends (after calling first to ask if he could drop by).  The sense at the time and after was I was right despite my actions and the Saltez brothers were absolutely wrong.  Lou ultmately rose in the ranks of HOOVER management and we had a long business relationship that spanned several decades.
 
Wolin went to Westinghouse as a rep shortly after this incident in my store.  I took the entire new Westinghouse line into my store.
 
Thank you Carl for the opportunity to defend myself and my actions rather than having someone else do it.  
 
Carmine D.

Interesting you defend violence by saying "my store, my business".  Yet when someone follows the rules of a stores liberal return policy (their store, their business) when not satisfied with a product you think it an act so heinous it even stains those who don't condemn it.  I agreed with some of the tests, disagreed with some but each consumer has the right to set their bar of expectations wherever they choose.  If you want to start a thread on big box stores liberal return policies please do, but a consumer using those return policies because of argueable expectations is not the same as retail theft.

Quote from Carmine_Difazio on 06/15/07 at 7:27am:

That was your choice, but had you chosen to return it, I think you would have been fully justified.