Rugbusters

Yes, that is my real name thank you very much, so never mind "whatever". This is not high school. Whoever Jamie is, it's not me, and by throwing around such accusations you're only serving to make yourself look even more ridiculous. Don't forget we still don't know what your name is "RS", because you haven't shared it, and people in glass houses really shouldn't be throwing stones. All we can see relating to you is a list of vacuums you've kept to use as toys. And too right I'm not giving you information about my company, it isn't a condition of membership here and the last thing I want is time wasters like you dropping by. The benefit of being independent is that we can choose our customers if need be.

What makes you think I don't contribute or share to industry web forums? Perhaps not the ones you go to, but there are plenty where membership is restricted to those in the floorcare and cleaning trades, and you have to provide credentials in order to be granted access. Unfortunately, being a vac collector doesn't count, so you probably weren't aware of this fact. Any other forums (the ones you always seem to spend so much time on) are read-only to me.

Again, you know nothing at all about my business, so to comment on what my customers should or should not be doing is nonsensical on your part. They get a good deal and they also get plenty of respect, thanks for asking. Something you clearly have no concept of, having never been in business yourself, or even sticking at a particular job for long by the sounds of things. I've said it once and I'll say it again; merely playing at something does not mean you know what you're talking about. Share your opinion all you like, I'm not stopping you. But come back to me when you've actually built up a career and a reputation in your field, and maybe you'll be taken more seriously.

Quite why you're directing me to read more of your reviews is a mystery, because I'd much rather seek information from more accurate sources with less bias and irrelevant waffling. Perhaps you shouldn't preach to me about dishing it out, because I can do that all day long, and thus far it seems you're the one who can't take it. Too used to blind adulation from fellow reviewers, you get backed into a corner when it's revealed the extent of your expertise just happens to be liking vacuum cleaners a lot, and possibly a few short term jobs loosely associated with the home appliance trade at best. Wow.

Anyway, must dash - I've got work to finish off, and you've probably got more spammy reviews to write from your parents' computer. Have fun.

Reviews and the like are fine when they come from someone who knows what they are talking about. This is, and has been, my whole point all along. Inaccuracies and glaring errors, however, are not acceptable - especially when you later attempt to position yourself as the go-to vacuum expert, or some sort of consumers' champion. Obvious bias is a very, very bad sign too. For example, complaining how it was SO unfair that Miele would not honour the guarantee on a vacuum that had been damaged by picking up wet dirt, yet claiming a broken Sebo drive belt was "totally" your own fault (despite being electronically protected and therefore supposedly break proof).

Nothing to do with Miele not being flavour of the month any more, because too many ordinary people are buying them now and they've lost their snob appeal? Hmmm, thought so.

And to then suggest that you are in a position to give this site a bad review, and the mods ought to be worrying about it? Because yes, that is exactly what you were implying by your thinly veiled threat. The hypocrisy burns! The only thing your reviews are any good for is demonstrating why you absolutely should not put too much faith in anything you read on the internet.

The rest I can't even be bothered to respond to, because it makes little sense and you're starting to waffle again like you usually do when lost for words. Maybe think it over and rephrase it a little, and we'll see where we can go from there.

P.S. Nice subtle dig at my "fingers in pies" statement by the way, but I'm afraid that's a bit of an own goal on your part. You see, we've diversified through being good at what we do, and have been running for nigh on forty years, doing the same job in the same location and with a growing customer base. Now, let's compare. You claim to have been a merchant buyer, a market researcher (i.e., someone holding a clipboard), and done lots of retail. Is this in addition to being an on-again-off-again teacher, and doing part time cleaning jobs to make ends meet? Yes, obviously very successful. Great track record. Don't call us, we'll call you.

My real name is in my profile - Steve Parry if you want it in full. What's yours? Last time I checked, RS isn't a proper name, and tells nobody anything about you. The date I joined up and began posting is irrelevant IMHO, suffice to say I've been reading and following here way longer than you've been posting. Several years before it was even called AbbysGuide in fact, not that it makes much of a difference either way.

Yes I do indeed work in the industry, and have done so all my life. Domestic/commercial cleaning equipment sales and service to be exact, so I have my finger in plenty of pies. Personally I find it interesting to seek out numerous sources of information, as it gives a more rounded view of what's actually going on in the vac business elsewhere in the country and around the world. So I'm really not sure why you would say I should find just the one forum sufficient, and to suggest as much is rather presumptuous on your part. How, pray tell, did you come to such a decision? Is there any particular website you would be so kind as to recommend, and give me your blessing to use perhaps?

I can well imagine that you *wished* you worked in the vac industry, but "doing up" vacs here and there does not make one an expert. It makes one a hobbyist, albeit one that sometimes gives out one-sided information here and elsewhere. I know exactly what a review site is, and the general impression is that certain people use them to promote their pet brands, while slamming products that are no longer flavour of the month. Therefore, I would indeed hope that people have the right to agree or disagree with much of what is written, because an awful lot of it is biased or inaccurate at best, and flat-out wrong at worst.

Regarding previous members, I know of who you speak and most of them were very knowledgeable and articulate. But, you know, people move on all the time. Sometimes it's because they get bored, other times they get bounced out, but either way it's a result of the choices they make for themselves. That, and the sheer audacity of your original statement with regard to having the "power" to review this site, is why I'm sure the moderator is absolutely mortified (not) by your threat of telling the world what a big bad meanie he is. Absolutely unbelievable...

vacmanuk wrote:

I don't normally post here, however I've been in the vac sales/service industry all my life and have been keeping up with this and other vacuum forums for several years so as to keep my finger on the pulse as to what's going on out there.

Apologies in advance to the moderator for making this my first post, and I would like to sincerely state that it is not my wish to stir up any trouble.

That said, Vacmanuk, you really do need to get over yourself. Who cares if you have the "power" to review this site and its mods? It seems to me you have delusions of grandeur, and like to make yourself out to be someone and something you are not. To be perfectly frank, I think you have a little too much time on your hands, and need to find something more constructive to fill your time with. Writing hundreds of excessively long, rambling reviews and splashing them all over the net does NOT make you an expert, it just means you like to hear yourself talk. I'm surprised you are able to even buy toilet paper without immediately logging in to tell the world, chapter and verse, why it's so great. Of course you may earn plenty of kudos on sites such as Dooyoo, but such places are full of ill-informed people with verbal diarrhoea so it's no surprise you'd fit right in there.

The other problem is your writing style. I don't know whether or not this is intentional, but it often carries a rather condescending, finger-wagging tone that raises people's hackles. That and your eagerness to put people in their place and correct them. As mentioned before, I keep up with several vacuum websites in order to follow what's happening in the industry, and every time you pop up somewhere it's the same old story. Within a short space of time you start talking down to others, threatening to report them to the mod/webmaster if their posts don't meet with your approval, and generally behaving like a pain in the neck. Perhaps that's why some people choose to lurk rather than post, which is more the pity because forums like this thrive on active participation.

Maybe you need to think about what you write, how it's phrased and how it comes across to other people BEFORE hitting the post button.

Once again, apologies to MikeW and everyone else who is reading this.