Thread Number: 27858  /  Tag: Recent Vacuum Cleaners from past 20 years
How people buy vacuums. 		[Down to Last]

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Post# 311204   1/7/2015 at 18:30 (3,397 days old) by RainbowD4C (Saint Joseph, Michigan )        

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A friend of mine stopped over to say hi and see the house.  It was the first time she has been here. I was showing her each room and what we had been doing with the place and I showed her my dated laundry room and she saw my vacuum.  I have known Teresa since I was in elementary school and I used to babysit her kid when he was little. So we go a long way back.  She was actually how I found out what a Rainbow was and the reason I bought mine.

 

She commented on my Rainbow and said that she remembered her and how much she didn't like it. A few years later she traded it in for a Kirby. She kept her Kirby for a few years and realized she didn't like it and got rid of it and bought a Hoover, and has been replacing vacuums ever since. 

 

My friend Justin him and his husband recently bought a Hoover. They had a Kirby and it was to heavy to deal with so they still have it but would rather use the Hoover. My friend January they had a Hoover and recently bought a Kirby and she loves it.  Their house has a central cleaning system but they don't use it and don't like it.

 

So here is my question. For some people do you think that they go backwards if they have a expensive door to door model and do you think that some go forwards  in the sense that they have a Hoover and upgrade to a Kirby? How do you think a person makes the decision to upgrade or downgrade? To me the decision to upgrade is easy.  The decision to downgrade?  I don't always understand that except maybe money is tight and they can't afford another high end vacuum.

 

I know that when and if the day comes that my Rainbow dies I'll go with some kind of door to door model maybe a Aerus Electrolux. If our house was bigger I would put in a central vacuum system.
Post# 311210 , Reply# 1   1/7/2015 at 19:11 (3,397 days old) by Kirbysthebest (Midwest)        
I can't speak for how the market trend is now

Back when I was selling Kirby we liked to see a high end machine in a house we went in to.  My distributor always prophesied that if they were sold once, the will be easier to sell again.  In most cases he was right.  If a house had (X) a couple of years old, and you come in and show them (Y) pulling dirt pad after dirt pad of left behind dirt, they are unhappy, and trade.   

 

There was a study done, and again I have been so far away from the business for so many years I don't remember where or who authored it, but the crux was ; doesn't matter what machine someone has, a very high percentage (again I don't remember specifics)  will trade or buy a new vacuum within 90 days of the demonstration.  This is why we often worked a neighborhood a second time within a few months.  

 

Again my distributor liked to see when a van load of another brand would work a neighborhood as he would direct our van to follow them within a few days.   Our sales would soar as they had already primed them for us. 

 

So in answer, I think it would depend on the customer, but I think a high percent would buy again from a DTD.  Then there are people like me that goes down the vacuum isle everytime I am in a store, so some may have a basement full.

 

 
Post# 311229 , Reply# 2   1/8/2015 at 02:03 (3,396 days old) by tolivac (Greenville,NC)        

This may sound like a dumb statement-seems like the vacuum dept at Wal-Mart is ALWAYS busy!Few DTD vacuums sold here-only ones that has dealerships in Greenville,NC is Rainbow and Aerus.If you want a Kirby,TriStar-you have to go to the distributer out of Raleigh.For walk in shops-there is Greenville Sew&Vac They are a Meile,Sebo,Jukie dealer.They repair all types of vacuums and sewing machines-and very well at that.They are an MD central vacuum dealer.There are TWO Wal-Marts and Lowes where folks can get the latest,crappiest,bagless vacs!

Post# 311254 , Reply# 3   1/8/2015 at 10:19 (3,396 days old) by dysonman1 (the county)        

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People generally don't call on door to door salesmen (like Kirby) to come sell them a new vacuum. Most people with door to door machines had no intention of buying the day they were shown the machine. When it's time to replace, they do what regular people do, and go to Wal-Mart, Sears, etc. Some, if they've had their door to door machine repaired at a vac shop, go back to the vac shop to see what's available. Most people with door to door machines feel they overpaid, and while they want a 'good' vacuum (not a Bissell), they go 'down' to a Dyson.

Post# 311257 , Reply# 4   1/8/2015 at 10:26 (3,396 days old) by ralph123 (Little Rock, AR)        

Are there any stats for police being called to get DTD salespersons to leave? Or perhaps, do homeowners resort to violence to get them to leave after the 3-4 hour unsuccessful sales pitch? My advice would be to never let them in the door. But here you can visit the local branches of Kirby, Aerus, and Rainbow and control how long the sales pitch lasts.

Post# 311266 , Reply# 5   1/8/2015 at 11:46 (3,396 days old) by vac-o-matic (Saint Louis, Mo.)        

That makes sense to me about going to a brick/mortar store, but a high percentage of today's society is all about online shopping, and have no idea what's out there. Dyson and Shark seem to be the only ones with media advertising which is a shame really. I worked part-time for Electrolux during the Olympia/Silverado era. Fortunately I worked in an office at my other job with a lot of people, and never had to cold call for sales. Our Electrolux office had a store, complete with display window of the current models, and a demo room. Occasionally, people would stop in to see what we were all about. Our manager was pleased to demo the machine in the store, but also suggested an in-home demo, so the customer would see how it would perform in their own home, and most of the time, resulted in an appointment for one of the sales people. I know times have changed, but I wonder if there were more actual stores out there, if it would be a good thing? People in the long run would be much happier with their vacuum, if it wasn't in the shop for repairs before the warranty period was even over. Any trip to vac shop that does a lot of repairs, shows how the latest and greatest box store vacs are holding up, not naming any brands! Oh well, I digress, it is what it is I guess....

Post# 311334 , Reply# 6   1/8/2015 at 21:44 (3,396 days old) by Bikerray (Middle Earth)        

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I know of someone who had a Kirby Sentria with all the attachments that traded it to a Kirby Shop for a used Hoover lightweight because the Kirby was too heavy for them. They did it as an even trade.

Post# 311351 , Reply# 7   1/9/2015 at 03:25 (3,395 days old) by tolivac (Greenville,NC)        

Go to just about ANY DTD vacuum brands website and you will see a part where you can sign up for an in home demo.I have heard of the police or sheriff called to get rid of stubborn salesmen.The sight of the police car pulling up gets them to pack up and leave in a hurry.
In the 70's when I lived in the District Heights-Forestville,Suitland area of MD just outside of Wash DC Electrolux and Kirby had "stores" there.The shops had various types of flooring and carpet and furniture for the prospect to try the machine on.In the DC areas at the time there were undesirable neighborhoods where DTD people could not go--or were banned-esp in the multi family housing Apartments and condos and such.Fr the most part the Kirby,Lux or other isn't allowed to sell the machine from their "store"Most of these are simply a warehouse type place where the salespeople meet before starting to go out on sales drives and appointments.In large towns the place may be manned so a customer can get parts like bags,belts,or brushes.And if the customer was trying to get parts for an older machine the store guy would try to arrange a salesman to visit him to sell the newest machine.

Post# 311654 , Reply# 8   1/11/2015 at 18:28 (3,393 days old) by RainbowD4C (Saint Joseph, Michigan )        

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I have only had one experience with door to door sales. When I was in my early 20s my boyfriend scheduled a Kirby demonstration at my apartment. I had my Rainbow and I told Jeremy that I wasn't interested in a Kirby. He said it would be fun.

The guy was horrible. He was rude and wasn't going to leave until I bought. I almost called the police to have him removed. I want to get a new Aerus Lux Guardian upright. I'm not sure if I want a model off Ebay or have a sales rep come to my house. I would rather stay with a high end vacuum than down grade because I want the quality and warranty that you won't have when it comes to goingto the store.


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