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Thread Number: 28083
/ Tag: 80s/90s Vacuum Cleaners
Horror stories! |
[Down to Last] |  |
| Post# 313789 , Reply# 1 1/30/2015 at 12:34 (3,367 days old) by stricklybojack (Southern California) | ||
As i recall..
The company who makes Kirby vacuum among many other products and services, Scott Fetzer -which itself is now part of the Warren Buffett mega conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway -sells it's products only to the authorized dealers who are independent distribution entities who no doubt vary in quality. This keeps them, Berkshire> Scott Fetzer>Kirby, "an arm's length" distance from what you are talking about.
Nonetheless all of what you mention, plus more you haven't mentioned, is why many people should never open their door to DTD sales people. The sales tactics are advanced, so you should be as well or invite them to leave and save yourself the headache. Before the roof caves in from former or current DTD salesmen, let me hastily add many people are very happy with their DTD buying experience, being savvy customers who knew what they were doing. Not everybody is ready, is all i am saying. Like they say, "if you don't know who the dumb money in the room is, it's probably you.." 
This post was last edited 01/30/2015 at 15:24 | ||
Post# 313800 , Reply# 2 1/30/2015 at 14:44 (3,367 days old) by gottahaveahoove  (Pittston, Pennsylvania, 18640) |
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I've heard all kinds of horror stories about many
companies. Not bashing, (do I bash)?
Although I'm not a "Kirby lover", I've had to use one or two in my lifetime. One being when I worked at a church. It was an enoemaous cathedral type. They had a Kirby "Omega". It wasn't my favorite machine, BUT, I can't say it gave me problems. It is a shame how some DTD people do awful things, giving so many others a bad name. Our own Rob Shore, 'Zippy" worked for both Filterqueen and Rainbow. i can tell you; HE was/is as honest as they come. No "dirty" tactics ( sorry, had to use that pun) ever. He even did a "demos" (knowing a sale would never occur) in my home. It WAS great entertainment, I must add, to see Bill Wood's 1964 HOOVER Convertible model 70 (Delft Blue) take that brand new vacuum "to the cleaners". Again, HAD to "pun". Some DTD tactics are a reflection on the person, too, not always the company. Car salesmen can be like that. I NEVER buy a car the first day I see it. I tell the salesperson that. Then, when he asks, "What can I do to get you to buy this car today"?... I reply, "NOTHING". Some people just don't get it. I hope Kirby doesn't tarnish its reputation. It HAS been around for 100 years now. | ||
| Post# 313802 , Reply# 3 1/30/2015 at 15:24 (3,367 days old) by kirbymodel2c (Nottingham, England) | ||
Hi Daniel, Why you hear the horror stories you don't hear about the good sales people out there. When I worked for a big company when I was at college they always told us... "Do one good thing for someone they might tell one possibly two people if your lucky. Do one bad thing and they will probably tell 10 people."
Also you have to remember if your mean to people they more than likely won't buy off you. In sales people buy from people they like.
I've meet some really nice people in Kirby and some who was not so nice. This is the same for all big companies. Also remember Kirby is the biggest of the direct sales vacuum companies now still going. If you go looking for stories you will find them about Tristar,Filter Queen and Rainbow etc. Mind you if you look at sales jobs across the board you will find lots of horror stories.
Alex Taber 'Caligula' on here use to be a training manager for a Kirby office. He's a really nice guy and can tell you what it's like. I also worked as a Kirby dealer. There are bad people, but there are lots of good guys also.
James
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| Post# 313810 , Reply# 5 1/30/2015 at 15:57 (3,367 days old) by Kirbyloverdan (Egg Harbor Twp . NJ aka HOOVERLOVERDAN ❤️) | ||
Wow Fred I love this paragraph  | ||
| Post# 313811 , Reply# 6 1/30/2015 at 16:05 (3,367 days old) by ronni (USA) | ||
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Thanks, Dan. Glad you liked it. | ||
| Post# 313816 , Reply# 7 1/30/2015 at 16:21 (3,367 days old) by Kirbyloverdan (Egg Harbor Twp . NJ aka HOOVERLOVERDAN ❤️) | ||
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Fred you are so welcome | ||
| Post# 313818 , Reply# 9 1/30/2015 at 16:36 (3,367 days old) by stricklybojack (Southern California) | ||
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Danielsand, | ||
| Post# 313887 , Reply# 13 1/31/2015 at 10:44 (3,366 days old) by dysonman1 (the county) | ||
The Kirby Company has no control over who is hired to be a salesman. In all honesty, the Factory Distributor buys the machines with certified funds at the public warehouse, then either sells it to an 'area distributor' (who also has a sales office) or he signs the machine out to one of his salesmen.
The salesmen are hired on Monday, but are not told what they are selling. Only that they are hired for 'display of a household appliance'. On Tuesday, they are told it's Kirby and told how much money they "can" make. About half the salesmen hired on Monday don't show up on Wednesday, after finding out it's "Kirby". On Wednesday and Thursday, the new 'salesmen' are taught the basic demo, and are asked to set up "practice" demos with their friends and family. On Friday, they spend half the day with the training manager, before beings allowed to sign out a machine and begin their practice demos. The salesman must call in before starting, after getting to the home. He must call into the office at the end too. The Practice Demos are actually designed to get two or three sales out of the new salesman's family and friends. When the new salesman comes in on Monday for the morning meeting, they all clap and praise him for his good sales job. Most of the new salesmen quit sometime during their second week, when they have to demonstrate to people they don't know. Many ride in vans with other salesmen and a 'manager'. The manager goes to the doors in neighborhoods and tries to "knock them in" (knock on doors and ask to be allowed to shampoo one room of carpet free). The van crews are notorious for smoking pot and drinking while in the van (You Tube has some great videos of this). Once all the salesmen are in the homes, the manager rides around until he sees the Kirby box on the front porch. This means its time for him to come in and try to strong arm to 'close the deal'. After all, no one gets paid if no one buys. The strong arm tactics are very heinous. There are just two jobs the salesman must do. Get into the home. And make the prospect unhappy with their present vacuum. Very very few people "shop" for a Kirby. Virtually everyone who buys one new, didn't wake up in the morning thinking "I'm going to buy a Kirby today". The Kirby Company makes about a thousand machines per day in Cleveland. So about a thousand people per day will be conned into buying one. I say 'conned' because so much of the Demonstration is based on tricking people. "He who goes first...loses" is the name of the demonstration used by all Kirby salesmen to show the dirt you old vacuum is 'leaving' in the carpet. Complete trickery. Kirby cannot stop the door to door sales of their machines, as they wouldn't sell a thousand per day if the Kirby were at Wal-Mart next to the Sharks. Virtually no one would buy a Kirby over a modern vacuum, left to their own devices. I've never seen another brand of vacuum that is so universally bad mouthed by the owners. I talk to hundreds of people, the general public, every week. The Kirby is always mentioned, as they are all around the Museum. In five years, I haven't had ONE person tell me they love their Kirby. Almost everyone, universally, hates it. | ||
| Post# 313893 , Reply# 14 1/31/2015 at 11:48 (3,366 days old) by kirbymodel2c (Nottingham, England) | ||
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Allot of | ||
| Post# 313895 , Reply# 15 1/31/2015 at 12:01 (3,366 days old) by kirbymodel2c (Nottingham, England) | ||
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Here's a | ||
| Post# 314235 , Reply# 17 2/2/2015 at 16:59 (3,364 days old) by bisonian (Where the buffalo roamed! (Ocala, FL)) | ||
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Info Update Ralph Schey hasn't been the head of Scott-Fetzer in 15 years. He retired in 2000, and died in 2011. | ||
| Post# 314262 , Reply# 18 2/2/2015 at 22:33 (3,364 days old) by sptyks (Skowhegan, Maine) | ||
Here's my 2 cents worth... Daniel, I own 5 Kirbys and I love them all. One of them is a Sentria and I can assure you it is a very well made machine. I replace the belt once a year even though it is not fully worn out.
I take Dysonman's comments with a grain of salt. He works for Tacony, another vacuum Company which makes the Simplicity and Riccar line of vacuums and is located in St. James MO. He, therefore is prejudiced against Kirby.
There are many Kirby distributorships that have been in business for many years. It's Those distributors who hire shady individuals as salesmen who have closed up shop in a couple of months because of shady, tacky and dishonest sales tactics. Those are the people who give Kirby a bad name. The Kirby is a very complex machine and therefore must be demonstrated in the prospective buyer's home since a proper demonstration can take 2-3 hours. There's no way it can be demonstrated properly in a vacuum shop.
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| Post# 314275 , Reply# 19 2/3/2015 at 01:51 (3,363 days old) by Ultralux88 (Denver, Colorado) | ||
The more reputable distributors tend to work off of pre-arranged demos, so the person knows they are having a vacuum salesperson come do a demo, I know this is how Rainbows are sold these days, and Filter Queens. The Aerus guys are the only DTD people aside from Kirby that I talk to regularly that go out and knock on doors, but the owner of the store is a very honest guy, so I doubt their customers will be likely to complain.
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| Post# 314371 , Reply# 23 2/3/2015 at 16:20 (3,363 days old) by FantomFan (Rochester, New York) | ||
The way I see: It all depends on the user
Many people are not a fan of Kirby. I have sort of a "love-hate" relationship with Kirby. I LOVE how well they clean and how sturdy and reliable they are, but I HATE how heavy they are and how they are sold. Thus, I don't own that many Kirbys, and don't intend to buy a new one. But, I know many people that are happy with their Kirbys: 2 teachers at school, my aunt, my neighbor and my grandma's friend. It really depends on the person. It is possible though that they DON'T like it, they just don't want to admit it. I would never pay "retail" for any high end vacuum. It is just a waste of money.
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