venting from a kirby sales demo

[audiovibe]

If anyone has bought I hope it works for you they appear to work while changing out the filter every 30 seconds. here is how my afternoon went on 11/3/06A young lady knocked on my door yesterday afternoon and offered a free carpet cleaning for word of mouth advertisement for their new company, (presenting me with this flyer click link).http://images19.fotki.com/v358...82089I have a sinus infection and explained that I wasn't interested and that my house was a mess, She stated thats OK we will clean it, it will only take 45 min. I'm thinking to myself ok my wife will be home at 6:00pm and it was 2:30 at the time, So whatever clean the house. She replies ok let me get my guy in the van. About 2 min later 2 guys walk in carrying Kirby boxes and I'm like whats going on (to my self. They both introduce themselves one is the salesman and the other is his manager. His manager spends about 5 min admiring my possessions acting like he was my child hood pal then leaves saying he will be back in 35min. Well time goes on and he continues cleaning the living room only, (I dint think there was a piece of furniture he didn't hit in the process). About half way through he demo he went outside to have a smoke, then returns and keeps vacuuming, and dusting then moves to the tile in the kitchen, About 4:30 He finally gets a hold of his manager (using my phone of course), and he keeps relaying messages to me via his manager I.E. monthly payments, I can take possession now whats there to think about. I keep saying I want to do some research on the product and he shows me a book then I pull out the old I need to discuss buying practices with my wife. his boss asks for the address (cant even remember where I live) and says he will be there in 5 min.He shows up at this time its 5:00pm and is trying for the life of him to con me into this vacuum not realizing that I am wasting their time with the lamest excuses I can think of. He asked me at least 25 times if he could welcome me to the Kirby family and every time I kept saying that I had to check with my wife to discuss the option to buy the vacuum He looked at my T.V. and asked if I discussed that with her I said no and that I bought her a new fridge that she wanted when I got the T.V.. He asked If I could call her at work and discuss it with her. I said she never gets her messages till later in the evening. Tried to con some more asking if the price was $10 if I would still discuss it with her and I said yes (he had to know I was B.S.ing him at this point) so he asked again if he could welcome me to the Kirby family and you guessed it I said I had to discuss it with the wife, (and if he noticed I didn't have my wedding band on but that might have raised a flag) and he askedagain if I could call her at work, I gave him the same story, she never gets her messages. then he asks what time will she be home I said 9pm he asked if they could come back (who wants to be bothered at 9pm) I said no she wouldn't be interested. He asked if I wanted the vacuum, I said oh yea that thing rocks. then he asks if I will sign the contract and they will come back in 3 days to show her how to use it, (knowing that he just wanted me to sign the contract so he could make a sale sticking me with a $2000 vacuum that I know a not so smart friend of mine bought one for $1000) I said I need to talk to My wife. Once again he asks me to contact my wife, then if they can come back at 9. I state that he should give me his contact info so I can call and set up a time with him when my wife will be home, (his exact words were "I have been called a (removed)-head, a jerk, and many more much worse names, but I have never been called back"). I assure him that I was going to call himback Then the manager asks to borrow my phone to!call his boss, he gets all excited on the phone of how much I want this vacuum like he is talking to someone, (I can check the last 10 numbers dialed from my home phone the number the manager dialed was to the same cell phone number the sales man called to talk to the manager I.E. the manager called his own cell, very shady. I called the number and it went straight to his voice mail) then he offers me to take the vacuum and let her use it until Monday and he will come back I stated that I still need to talk to her. Finally about 6:00 He writes down the price stating he can only give a price on the first day of contact, (meanwhile the salesman is just tossing the Kirby stuff back in the box like he is throwing a fit that I wasted his time). At this time it is 6:15pm and im am worried that my wife will be strolling in. They finally get boxed up and I get them out of the house, I looked out the window and they are just standing outside on my driveway. I called my wife to ask where shewas and she stated she was on the way to her friends house and asked why so I told her the story. So it is a day later I am thinking of calling him back to waste some more of his time I like how the 45min carpet cleaning turned into an almost 4hr. Kirby demo. I did ask about the financing, he tells me that it is simple interest not letting me know the interest rate but telling me it is $10 per $1000 and he stated it as a loan. he showed me the application for a creditcard the numbers he wrote down were2049.00-vacuum-179.00 free shampoo=1870.00-100.00 trade-in on vacuum I said I couldn't find.=1770.00 with 0 down for $62.00 a month for 36 months and no payments till Feb 07so with an interest charge of 10 per 1000 I would pay 17.70 in finance charges but at the end of my loan as he put it I would have paid 2232 (without the compound interest that I will get from the creditcard) So even before Interest where does the other $444.30 that was unaccounted for go? these guys are very deceptive and try to work a good con but but Iv seen street hustlers with better game. I will admit that the vacuum did work good (while replacing the filter every 30 seconds which he left for me to pick up) I will never buy a Kirby because of their sales tactic's, but I might invite him back to give my wife a demo to waste some more of his time or set up an appointment when no one will be home cause it is an hour drive for him one way!so to make a long story short the vacuum did a wonderful job I didn't buy nor will I ever buy one based on these deceptive sales practices I think it is cowardly and not a smart way of doing business. if there are any Kirby sales reps on the form I'm sorry and wish you the best but I hate you allif you read this long post thanks and Please share any Kirby related storiesAron

[AKLGT]

(removed)! i'm sorry... i'm just envisioning all this! my ex was a kirby salesman.. of course he sucked at it cause he got tired of the whole trying to con people into buying over priced vacuums!however, as a sales person (supposedly door to door but i don't) i will say that this is a poor example of a very very BAD sales person. it pains me to know that people such as this are out destroying the reputation of my PROFESSION! sales is a fine art where most rational and intelligent people prefer a rational and intelligent sales representative, not one who is trying to force a product that may not be needed. these SOB's make my life miserable because their bad habits and cliche' sales tactics make it that much more difficult for PROFESSIONALS such as myself to sit and discuss products or services that may actually be of value. for every 10 BAD SALESPERSONS, there is only 1 good one IMO. I'm very sorry you had to endure such feable attempts and unprofessionalism. i will say that Kirby vacuums are very good quality, however I don't believe them to be worth the pricetag they place. A good USED kirby works just as well, not to mention Rainbows or Orecks. I distrust ALL door to door salespeople (LOL). I am one (sorta).

[audiovibe]

110% agree the person has alot to do with it I was a sales man at one time also (sold caraudio) so I know how people see people in even the retail sales fieldAron

[GrayFox]

Wow, that guy was persistant... one thing tho, how the hell does a vacume cost $2000?!? I'm so glad I don't sell stuff for a living, lol

[Mavrik]

I wouldn't have let them in the door and would have called the cops if they refused to leave lol.I remember as a kid we had one stop by trying to sell us one. My mom let him vacuum the house then showed him the kirby we had already. heh... he couldn't sell her a second one and we got a free cleaning.

[zionzr2]

i thought Kirby's were supposed to sell themselves!!ANd it is for the story you told that a sign on my door reads NO SOLICITING!

[JohnC]

Pretty funny. Kirby salesmen SUCK. You could probably substitute vacuum for encyclopedia, water softner, cleaning solution etc etc. My wife will let them in the door and then is too nice to boot em out, and of course they will not listen when you tell them no. More than once I would come home from work to find an obnoxious salesman there. I actually got pretty good at gettin rid of them...just tell them you have no money and are thinking of bankrupcy. I finally broke the wife of this habbit by just going to bed and letting her get rid of them. Now if I could just get the Jehova Witness guy from coming around. Thanks for the laugh.

[scherry2]

my mother (82) has always owned Kirbys she loves them. but she went to a kirby store in her town to buy them, as a matter of fact she just bought her 2nd one in 45 years. thats the truth too. she paid a little over $1200.00 with all acc. a year ago and this baby is heavy (cast iron head) but with the power assist it glides. LOL listen to me . not to sound mean but I told my mom one day that when she passes on I want the kirby. I have to agree with you on their door to door sales though pretty sad my neice in-law tried selling them to much pressure from above she didn't last

[audiovibe]

I did some research on the vacuum and found a complaint site there were some people that paid $2500 for one.If this starts to be a problem Ill just treat them like telemarketers (no offence if there are any here) I will pick something in my house and try to sell it to them now who could resist an empty fivestar binder for $500 But I do admit the vacuum does work awesome, I know 4 people that have owned Kirbys. A friend bought his last year, My sister in-law has one thats 5 years old. My sister has one that is a couple years old, and my father in law has one that is like 15 years old and they all work great. I also tried to research the company searched the internet phone book the BBB and this company isnt even registered I did do a reverse lookup at yellow pages and the number and address came to a different business name so I just think there is some shady practice going on somewhereAron

[Houston]

The Kirby people have been cleaning my carpet or furniture every year for the past twenty or so years. They've always called on the phone and I tell them I don't want it, but that if they want to clean my stuff it's fine with me. They've never been a problem and there's no need to make up excuses. Just say no.

[CAN-AWD-VIBE]

best vacuums... worst salespeoplethey are trained to be that way because this happened to us this past summer... almost exactly.Guy knocks on door, goes to van, claims 45 mins... 3.5 hours later he and his "manager" are still pushing the lead brick in my living room.Finally my daughter started crying, my son came home from a bday party and I got to loose it on them... that was fun.Didn't buy it... but I borrow my friends to shampoo all the time. The thing is amazing.

[AKLGT]

Quote, originally posted by Mavrik »I wouldn't have let them in the door and would have called the cops if they refused to leave lol.I remember as a kid we had one stop by trying to sell us one. My mom let him vacuum the house then showed him the kirby we had already. heh... he couldn't sell her a second one and we got a free cleaning.ha ha! that's funny because YOU let door to door sales people in the house! you're way too nice! i just tell them no thanks. and when they persist, I tell them if they don't leave, i'm gonna get my loaded gun and help them to leave.... that usually works.

[808 Vibes]

They always come door to door asking to come in to clean the carpet. (Soliciting is not allowed in our area, but these Kirby people do it anyway.) I always say "no thank you." Then they try pull a guilt trip on me..."oh please I just need to do one more demo or my boss is gonna be mad/one more demo and I get a raise/one more demo and I get neighbor island trip..."

[CAN-AWD-VIBE]

Quote, originally posted by HawaiiPontiacLover »one more demo and I get neighbor island trip..." for us on the mainland:is it me or does the Kirby guy here saying to me "i get a trip to Hawaii" seem a lot better for him then "i get a neighbor island trip?but when you live in paradise... I guess thats the best you can expect. Better then a trip here Oct-Jun

[audiovibe]

I also posted this on another forum I belong to here was a response I gotQuote, originally posted by lez;957715 »Sales people like that are all scum and best offered coffee with lots of laxatives.......(removed) I never thought of that but door to door people should stay away from my house now. Ill let them in offer them a beverage pour in some laxative then let them know that I forgot about an appointment so apologies leave then invite them back and do it again except this time have a buddy dressed as a plumber over fixing the toilet Man I am easily amused who needs the moviesAron

[ZubenElGenubi]

Geez, maybe I'm just paranoid, but I won't ever let a stranger in my house. EVER.$1200+ for a vacuum? Nothing is that good. Unless you only have to vacuum once a year, then maybe I'd think about it.

[AKLGT]

ha ha. door to door sales people are annoying. so are telemarketers. honestly, i have do both, however, i figure most people are like myself and don't really want to talk to some lame (removed) person who's reading from a script. so if i do make phone calls, i usually start with, "sorry, but this is one of those annoying calls from a salesperson..." they usually laugh and at least hear what i have to say. i thank them for their time and one in a lot will actually be interested. imo, the worst thing you can do is read a script. i believe consumers (such as myself) are intelligent people and therefore prefer someone of intelligence to speak to. same thing with door to door sales. however, i will say that i am lousy at door to door since thus far i've never sold a single thing doing it. people won't answer their door nor will they give me the time of day, even when it's 20 ;deg& outside. guess i look too threatening! LOLreally, the only door knocking i prefer (and so far have mostly done) is knocking on someone's door that's expecting you and actually does want to see you there. I work off referrals and word of mouth. i network network and network more! in fact 80% of my business is from networking or referrals and MAYBE 20% is from walk in customers. when i do come across a very poor salesperson (either by phone or in person), if i have the time, i like to do a little "sales schooling" on the importance of honesty, integrity, and well... just politeness and express to them how poor of a salesperson they are and how they make me very upset by ruining my choice profession!

[audiovibe]

I dont know what I would do If someone called and told me they were selling something Thats a good hook I think I would give them the time just for being honestAron

[Atomb]

they still sell vacuum cleaners door to door?i thought that stopped when Leave it to Beaver went off the air and started showing re-runs?!?!

[slvrvibes]

Nope, they still go around selling those Kirby's door to door in certain parts of the country. I've never experienced it, but my friends mom bought one years ago from a sales person. She still has it too.

[rebbierae]

My roommate when I first moved to SFSD got a job making appointments for Kirby. She had to make so many appointments a night and if she was short she would call me at our apartment and set up an appointment for such-and-such a time, and then I would either have to NOT be home (which was tough because I didn't have a car at the time), or sit at home and be quiet when the guy showed up. I've heard they are great vacuums but like a lot of you, their business practices would stop me from buying one of those. In my opinion that borders on harassment--what part of "I have to discuss this with my wife" do they NOT understand?!

[AKLGT]

well, as i've said. i hate their sales tactics! they (removed) me off to no end because they really make a mess out of my profession. just because you go knock on someone's door doesn't make you a professional salesperson! every other profession takes time and training to become a professional. unfortunately, someone slaps on a tie or button up shirt, maybe slacks or a suit and instantly they are a professional salesperson? (removed)?? and what makes me even madder are the companies TRAIN their employees to deceive, lie, and do whatever they can to sell their overpriced system. how on earth is that ethical? not knocking the product, because it really is a good, however, if they actually learned to let the product sell itself, they wouldn't have to resort to such pathetic behavior! ok.... sorry.... i just really hate crappy salespeople. as if my job wasn't hard enough, i get these bozo's screwing it up!

[kcorona]

Heh heh, a coupla years ago my then 20 y/o brother in law got suckered into making payments on a Kirby. He can't say 'no' to people. (removed) does a 20 y/o kid need with a $2k vacuum?Two years later and he finally got out from that. Now there's a girl who's hot for him but he doesn't feel the same way about her. She calls him 2-3 times a day and he just went out with her again last night, cause he can't say 'no'.I told him to tell her she'd make a great Kirby salesperson.