primitives discuss vacuum-cleaner salesman

[franksolich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/11582013

Oh my.

The primitives always on the lookout for freebies.

CountAllVotes (11,850 posts)   Sat May 25, 2013, 05:27 PM

My Gawd - Kirby Vacuum salesman

A guy came around from the local Kirby store and offered to clean the rug in one room of the house for free.
 
I needed to have this done, and done badly.

So, I went for it.

He tried to sell me this machine, a Kirby Salina II. At first, it was $3,000.00, then it was $2500.00 and finally $1,000.00.
 
I declined and I was the one, crappy old me, that ended up doing the "work" so to speak.
 
He left the house a mess but yeah, at least my living room rug got cleaned by dumbo me.
 
Anyway, I liked this vacuum I must admit but how practical is this for me? Not at all practical.
 
This happened a couple of hrs. ago and I can barely move now from having to move too many things around (not easy w/disabled pain pain pain believe me).
 
Anyway, can any one recommend something else similar to this that might be a lot cheaper and easier to handle?
 
Please advise if you can.

Ugly butts in right away:

Warpy (69,222 posts)    Sat May 25, 2013, 05:34 PM

1. Dunno about rug cleaners, I just roll the homemade ones up and cart them over to the laundromat. The Axminster gets a professional cleaning once every 10 years because it's wool. It will skip the next 10 years because with a geriatric cat, I have not been able to use it. The supermarkets around here rent cleaners for wall to wall and maybe they do in your area, too, check it out.
 
However, for my kitchen and bathroom, I finally caved and got a Hoover floor scrubber that spits hot, soapy water, scrubs the floor and then vacuums the mess into another container for dumping. I can't praise that highly enough, it's a wonderful gadget and worth every cent I paid for it. It's one cave to my overall gimpiness that I don't regret.

n2doc (26,140 posts)    Sat May 25, 2013, 05:35 PM

2. I don't know about the Kirby, but that is an outrageous price

I've had good luck with this:
Shark Navigator Professional Lift-Away Vacuum Cleaner

Bought it on Amazon based on recs, and it really sucks (in a good way). It isn't self propelled (at least not directly, when cleaning on carpet it does pull itself along pretty well) and is mostly plastic, but it is easy to clean, not too heavy and does a great job. Haven't used the attachments, just on floors.

CountAllVotes (11,850 posts)    Sat May 25, 2013, 05:46 PM

3. I'll tell you, it was BIZARRE

In my house I have an assortment of small rugs that I bought before 9/11 happened.
 
They are all from Persia and the cost was almost nothing as there was no demand for such an item at the time I bought these small rugs (which are beautiful btw ...).
 
The salesman saw these rugs and wondered where I had gotten them from and I told him they were from Iran and that were not so easy nor cheap to get these days. He wanted one of them badly and was persistent; offered me $$$ for it and still wanted to sell me that damned vacuum/rug shampooer thing for $1,000.00 on top of it. I was getting ready to totally lose it ... not good at all.
 
I told him NO and he got angry with me. His cell phone was dead and he tried to use my phone but I have it blocked so no call he was attempting to place was going through.
 
So, he left alright and was pissed as hell at me and frankly, I was ready to tell him where to go if you know what I mean.
 
I check into what you suggest -- $1,000.00 for a perhaps huge piece o'shyte ain't worth my time nor my energy and add pain factor to it, I'm DONE really.
 
*sigh* & pissed too ...

Shame on me for being such a damned fool. He almost got me but I shredded up the papers he had me fill out in front of him before he left ...

[Bad Dog]

Quote: "Shame on me for being such a damned fool. He almost got me but I shredded up the papers he had me fill out in front of him before he left ... "

Why do I suspect the primitive may have purchased a new vacuum cleaner?  And, of course, will be bitching about it and seeking free legal advise later when the first bill arrives.

[franksolich]

Quote: "Shame on me for being such a damned fool. He almost got me but I shredded up the papers he had me fill out in front of him before he left ... "

Why do I suspect the primitive may have purchased a new vacuum cleaner?  And, of course, will be bitching about it and seeking free legal advise later when the first bill arrives.

Kirbys are pretty good, right?  I have the impression they last forever.

In fact, I have some friends who have Kirbys older than they are.

<<<but not sure; grew up with Electrolux.

[Bad Dog]

I don't know much about vacuum cleaners (except shop vacs) but I remember a long....long time ago, a guy coming to our house and offering us a free vacuum if my parents contacted ten friends to set up appointments for him.  Over about an hour, my dad insisted on buying the vacuum on the spot for cash and the guy wouldn't sell it to him.  I think most vacuum salesmen are slimeballs.  But, then, so are DUmmies.

[Carl]

There are door to door vacuum sales people in 2013?

[I_B_Perky]

There are door to door vacuum sales people in 2013?

They masquarade as the Mormons now.   


 

[miskie]

Kirbys are pretty good, right?  I have the impression they last forever.

In fact, I have some friends who have Kirbys older than they are.

<<<but not sure; grew up with Electrolux.

I own a Kirby. They are indestructible, and covered by Kirby forever. Unlike this primitive, I did my homework beforehand, and I knew exactly what it was worth, and I got my Sentria with all the extra attachments for something like $600.

The included lifetime guarantee covers everything but bags and belts. Even if the unit is destroyed by a house fire, it will be replaced.   

[RobJohnson]

There are door to door vacuum sales people in 2013?

In some cities. They all seem to use the free carpet shampoo pitch via telemarketer to set up the appointment.

[thundley4]

There is a Kirby sales and repair center here in town and it's been in the same location for as long as I can remember.

[vesta111]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/11582013

Oh my.

The primitives always on the lookout for freebies.

Ugly butts in right away:

We bought one of them damn things years ago that came with every attachment one can think of.  

Didn't take me but a week to realize I could have bought a used car for the price of a vacuum.

Damn throw away bags, we had to drive to a store that sold them 30 miles away. Problem with the bags was there was no way to check if you accidentally sucked up a missing earring stud or small ring.

We had to clean the bristles every week as the road in had not yet been paved, summer, and a dry one at that ,sent waves of fine dirt in the windows, it was a clean the carpets every day for a couple months.

Mom had a small Vac with a dust cup, she paid $30.00 for and loved, small upright , did as good a job as mine and found my contact  that she fished out of the bucket.

I went out next day and bought one like hers and never used the big, heavy, clumsy, expensive Vac again. I do not know how anyone with more then one story can heft that Vac up stairs to clean a second story or drag outside to Vac  out the car.

[Celtic Rose]

My mom uses a Kirby.  The vacuum must be 20 years old now (I remember her buying from the salesman) and it is still going strong. 

[BattleHymn]

My mom uses a Kirby.  The vacuum must be 20 years old now (I remember her buying from the salesman) and it is still going strong. 

Same here.  My parents have two Kirbys, one was made in the late 50's, and the other is about a decade newer.  They stripped out most of the carpet in their house, so they don't use them anymore, but to the best of my knowledge, they both work.

[USA4ME]

How polite of the primitive to waste the time of a member of the working class who is struggling to make ends meet with the jack-boot of multi-national corps standing on his neck. Why do liberals hate the common worker so?

But I see the primitive has already rationalized her getting something for free was worth disregarding the liberal/progressive set of rules regulating how one is to look after their fellowman.

What a mooch.

.

[miskie]

There is a reason this Nintendo character is named Kirby - any guesses why ?   

[freedumb2003b]

We bought one of them damn things years ago that came with every attachment one can think of.  

Didn't take me but a week to realize I could have bought a used car for the price of a vacuum.

Damn throw away bags, we had to drive to a store that sold them 30 miles away. Problem with the bags was there was no way to check if you accidentally sucked up a missing earring stud or small ring.

We had to clean the bristles every week as the road in had not yet been paved, summer, and a dry one at that ,sent waves of fine dirt in the windows, it was a clean the carpets every day for a couple months.

Mom had a small Vac with a dust cup, she paid $30.00 for and loved, small upright , did as good a job as mine and found my contact  that she fished out of the bucket.

I went out next day and bought one like hers and never used the big, heavy, clumsy, expensive Vac again. I do not know how anyone with more then one story can heft that Vac up stairs to clean a second story or drag outside to Vac  out the car.

We were stronger and tougher in the days before Dustbusters, Swiffers and Dirt Devils.  25 lb canisters were the vacuum equivalent of iPads.

[jukin]

What a pathetic excuse for a human.

[DumbAss Tanker]

There are door to door vacuum sales people in 2013?

Actually it sounds like the transaction may have been structured to fall outside the 'Door-to-door sales" rules of the FTC, since she called them in response to an ad, and then the salesman showed up in response to her call...which would mean the 72-hour cancellation rule wouldn't apply.

 

[thundley4]

Actually it sounds like the transaction may have been structured to fall outside the 'Door-to-door sales" rules of the FTC, since she called them in response to an ad, and then the salesman showed up in response to her call...which would mean the 72-hour cancellation rule wouldn't apply.

 

Kirby vacuum cleaners are only sold door to door.

http://www.kirby.com/how-to-buy/still-door-to-door/

Why Use Door-to-Door Salespeople?

For nearly 100 years, The Kirby Company has sold its home care systems through in-home demonstrations by authorized, independent Distributors.

It’s the only way we sell our product.

We firmly believe that every buyer deserves the opportunity to try our cleaning system in the comfort of their own home. There’s simply no better way to experience the superior cleaning power of the Kirby home care system than on your floors and your furnishings.

 

[DumbAss Tanker]

Kirby vacuum cleaners are only sold door to door.

http://www.kirby.com/how-to-buy/still-door-to-door/

That is completely not my point. 

Most Federal and State consumer laws which allow a buyer to bale out in 72 hours after a D2D sale apply in an UNsolicited sale, NOT one where the consumer calls the vendor and invites the vendor in by appointment.  Meaning, if the salesman got out of there with anything signed at all, the DUmmie may still be on the hook.