Back in the 1950s, stay at home moms were much lonelier than they are today. Today we have blogs, Facebook, Twitter and cell phones. I think Kirby needs to change their techniques just a smidge. I mean, it has been 50 years and we are just not as easily duped today!
Let me just say, I live on 20 acres. Our driveway is 1/4 mile long. They still found me. I was so shocked! When I was a kid, a Kirby salesman came to my house. I remember the entire speal and it was the exact same thing that they did today. Seriously people, that was 15 years ago!
Here is my story, that happened just a few days ago!
First thing that happens is someone that makes a fab first impression knocked on my door. For me, it was a sweet gal in jeans and a t-shirt. She shows me over and over this pamphlet that says “Free carpet cleaning!” Her line? They are being paid by Warren Buffet to put demos on in the home. (Heard it, lady! But for sake of this post, I endured it) No obligation to buy, no fees. All they ask is that if they do a good job I tell my friends about them. “Because word of mouth advertising is how we make money. We don’t sell ads on TV, we depend on you to spread the word.” Those were her exact words. I thought, “Hey, I have a blog! I can spread the word like you wouldn’t believe. Go right on and do your thing.”
She waves to someone in the van, and two guys walked up. They introduced themselves and then only one remained and the gal and the other guy left. The gentleman that was in my house had a ton of Kirby Sentria boxes he was setting up in my living room. I told him I only had hardwood floors in my house, but he said he could buff my living room as his demo, no carpet necessary. YAY! I didn’t have to mop today!
First, he showed me this flyer (that I kept LOL)
click image to see it bigger
So I knew I was getting the demo and going to be asked to buy a Kirby. Been there, done that. What I didn’t realize was how expensive it was ($3k!) and how long it would take to get these people out of my house.
This guy had to suck up dirt on a certain number of white and black pads before he could call his demo complete. I accidentally threw one of them away and he got worried, telling me he needed to show his boss the pads of dirt! Ok, your vacuum sucks up stuff mine doesn’t. Got it.
Of course I heard over and over how NASA developed it, how it had a trademark on their super duper vacuum seal to the floor, their HEPA filter is better than in hospitals and it can groom my dog and paint my house. (Not kidding. He said it can be used as a leaf blower, house painter, and massager) But for all this research and patents, why is it still as loud as a freaking jet engine?
Then, after two hours of cleaning my TV, my living room, my dog (yes, Rufus just laid there while he used the vacuum on his backside), he moved to my bedroom. His boss guy (who kept referring to his boss? When the only other person I met was a woman?) kept driving back to my house to check on him. And this poor salesman dude had to use my phone to call him once, cause his phone didn’t have service. Strange….I don’t live that far out in the sticks.
This is when it started to get really fun.
He started to shampoo a dirty part of my bedroom floor. While that was soaking his boss told him he had to fill out the questionnaire so he could have proof that he did his demo and get paid. He didn’t know that he left his questionnaire at my house. It is basically a script with leading questions that reel the customer in so they buy the Kirby.
They started at $3K as the price. I (of course) balked at that price. I told them it was way too high and no way. They tried to get the monthly payment amount down low. “How much per month can you pay without taking away from other expenses?”
How about nothing?
That didn’t fly.
Then somebody came home. They started to really go on and on about how low they could get the price down. Finally, they want down to $800. By this time, they had been in my house for nearly 3 hours! In my head, I knew their job totally sucked and I wanted to do something for them. If I was a millionaire I’d buy that rocket-ship engineered vacuum to help them out!
And get this! They used the same worn-out line they used 15 years ago! “Your neighbor up the road just bought one for $2500, so please don’t go telling people we went down to $800.”
Oops. Cat is outta the bag dudes.
Then I remembered, my blog! The lady said she needed help spreading the word about their company. So I pitched them.
Not kidding.
“I have this blog that gets thousands of visitors each month. Can you please leave your business card so I can hand out the name and number of your company? While I cannot afford to buy another vac today, I am sure someone out there needs one.”
They were speechless. They stammered and said, “Um. well. We don’t have cards.” That is when they reached for a flyer with their name and number on it.
Nearly 4 hours later, my living room floor was shiny, but I was exhausted.
Totally not worth the non-effort.
But I knew someone else out there has dealt with Kirby salesmen before. So I thought this post would be fun.
What is your experience? I want to hear all your stories – did you or someone you know work for them? What did you do when they showed up at your door? Did they vacuum your dog? Do tell!
my stupid ass ex-husband actually bought one, I was so pissed when he did–I knew I would be the one paying for it forever, and it never ever vacuumed my carpets like it should have. It was heavy as hell and made such a loud noise. I threw it in the dump about 10 years later.
LOL Karen! Oh I am dying of laughter right now!! Yes! The “new” Sentria is as heavy and loud as it always has been. You’d think for $3,000 and being engineered by NASA and it being 2011, they’d come up with a lighter, quieter version? I am baffled by the size and noise! It’s awful.
I’d be very mad too if Josh bought it. Funny enough though, he was seriously asking me “Annie, how much would you buy it for?” UM NOTHING DUDE. I’d like a Dyson, thank you very much.
I believe everyone that wants to be clean deserves a Kirby. U can’t sell a pig a bathtub unless u re-market it as a feed trough!
A Kirby salesman was at my house this fall and you’re right it took like 2 hours for him to go through the whole spiel and he insisted that my husband and I both be home when he called to schedule the appointment. I wanted him just to clean the room and leave but he insisted that we BOTH stand there and watch him get copious amounts of dog hair and dirt out of my carpet. When we said there was no way we could afford to buy it he tried to reason that we have a fancy fridge we must be able to afford a vacuum after all all fridges are the same but not all vacuums could compare to a Kirby. I mentioned that we got the fridge for $1,600 and paid 0% for 12 months paying it off, we didn’t exactly walk in with cash and buy a 3K fridge, nor did we buy his vacuum.
I love that he even tried to compare his vacuum to your fridge. They will do anything won’t they? And yes, their interest rate is like 25%!! It’s awful
The guy came in my house yesterday, and I was home alone……! Thank God all my family members live around me and they were all coming from near and far to see why this guy was in my house. He kept saying that we have internet that we pay 100$ for a month (which is phone and internet) and that we have a TV that we pay 60$ for a month SO we must be able to get this vacuum. HE EVEN TOLD ME THAT I DONT NEED MY CELL PHONE!!!!!!!!! I told him I only pay 10$ a month for it and he was like….”well you can put that 10$ a month toward something better, like this vacuum! And when are you gonna start saving!” I Was like I cant save if I am buying you d*%& vacuum!!!” Finally when my fiance got home and my redneck step dad walked in he realized he wasnt welcome anymore and packed his stuff up so fast and left!!! hehehe!
LOL Tara!! Oh thanks for sharing your story! I think my favorite part is,
I can’t save if I am buying your D***ed vacuum! It is soooo true! I wish I had a redneck stepdad to scare these guys out when they were here….oh that would have been fun to watch 😉
That’s why I love doctors. They are not as useful as a vacuum, but we pay them whatever they ask us, for we really think they will do miracles.
I have never personally dealt with them but a friend who was at my house this weekend has and was talking about how long it took and how high pressure it was. Another friend that was there has one but said its so heavy and complicated to put together that she never uses it.
It really is super heavy. Forget using it on stairs, you will break your back! It is perfect for one level houses though. I will admit, if you don’t have to pick it up and don’t have kids that are scared of the noise, it is a wonderful (albeit overpriced) vacuum.
When I was young my older sister’s boyfriend work for them and he came over and did his “demo” for my mom and I. My mom ended up buying it but I’m not sure what she paid for it. I think around $1000.
The funny thing was that I loved (and still do) sales so much that every time someone would come over I would “demo” the Kirby for them! I would even remove the handle to use it on the mattress to show just how much nasty stuff could come out of it. I’m sure my mom loved that I was cleaning everything all the time!
She still has her Kirby and it still works just as well now as it did then!
Melissa, this made me laugh! Seriously, this vacuum does a tremendous job. If I had more money I’d buy it for sure. But $800? Just a huge pill to swallow.
No kidding! I sure couldn’t buy one! Maybe my mom will give me hers one day 🙂
Love my Kirby.. always will be a part of the Kirby family ?
how in the world did they find you way out there? do you get other salesmen too?
Honestly, these people scare me. I was visiting my daughter’s in laws in Ohio a couple of years ago and we had the exact same situation. At one point, I was starting to get scared as these men kept walking into bedrooms and bathrooms and commenting on my laptop and their TV. I am not a gun lover at all (quite the opposite) but I was starting to ask around for the family’s gun to display as a warning. Glad they didn’t take anything from you and that they cleaned up your house:)
Yup I hear ya. I called my husband on the phone and said out loud “Ok, see you in 5 min!” and told the salesman that my husband was coming and worked down the road. Which he does, I didn’t have to lie.
I feel so sorry for these salesmen. Kirby needs to redo how they operate, it isn’t 1950 anymore.
When they came to my house we started talking about guns also 😛 And shooting rabbits out of our garden and how we could slaughter them so no other rabbits would come. The guy got the warning and left ASAP haha
It’s midnight here, and I’m still staying up to read this…this is AWESOME! soooo funny!
And I can’t believe that pitch sheet (are you honest, a man/woman of your word???????)
It sounds like they are selling a car.
They apparently forgot that Electrolux can be gotten for $400 and who in their right mind would pay monthly for a vacuum??? There are vacuums that sell for less than their monthly fee (that you have to pay for 24 months, lol)
LOL thanks Penelope! Oh yes, this little “cheat sheet” of theirs really opened my eyes. I think my salesman was like totally new….cause he had no idea what to say. His boss guy kept talking to me over him. I felt sorry for the fella and if I was a millionaire I’d a bought a vacuum just to help him out 🙁
Annie, this made me laugh so much!! I’ve never dealt with a Kirby salesman but I have all sorts of ideas how to respond now if they ever do. heehee. 🙂
I’ve never experienced one bc we live on base but I had a great time laughing as I read your blog. I remember my friend almost buying one then backing out and how much we laughed at the salesman who went to go ‘call his boss’ about the price. Another acquaintance bought it but then changed her mind so they called to return it but Kirby never came and picked it up. They got their money back from their CC AND got to keep the very expensive Kirby.
Oh wow, really?? That story really makes me laugh! I have read online lots of stories of Kirby being a tough company to return a vac to. This just ads believability to that fact!
I would never spend that much on a vacuum unless it was made out of gold LOL.
Really my MIL had a similar experience with something like that. she just wanted them out of the house after like 5 hours. She was shocked they were there that long!
Well, it’s been about a year since I’ve had a visit from the Kirby sales people, but my last experience was not pleasant. First, I had my front door open, mind you we have a full glass “screen door” that was not open. I’d just laid my daughter down for a nap, someone knocked and then just walked in to my foyer. Yes…just walked in.
It startled my, but I said something like “Get the &^%$ out of my house before I call the police”. Did they? NO! They went on with their pitch and I stated that my daughter was sleeping directly underneath this room, I have wood floors and I wasn’t interested in buying an overpriced piece of crap. I suggested he leave and leave quickly and walked over to the phone.
Not a good experience at all and no, I’d never buy one. Their method of pitching is outdated and a real pain in the arse.
OMG I’m dying laughing. They are kidding with those prices right? I wouldn’t even trade my Dyson for that dinosaur they’re using.
Years ago when we lived in an apartment my husband got roped into one of those 3 hour pitches and the carpets barely improved. These door to door sales people are a joke. Well, not the people themselves (them I feel sorry for) but the companies that try to push products on you in this invasive and pushy way. They’re worse than car salesmen.
I used to work for them as a cold caller. They are honestly very shady as a “whole”. A lot of the companies are owned by families. They are full of lies and will do anything to guilt you into a sale, even get on their knees and beg claiming their “boss” would fire them and they have kids to feed. It’s awful.
Ugh i worked for Kirby, as an “Appointment Setter”. It was horrible i remember my whole “script” Hi is ____ There?! Is this __?! My names alyssa and im calling from the leominster kirby office, we just had our grand opening and to help spread the word we are giving out free gift certificates for a free carpet shampoo, or a furniture deep dry clean! Which one do you think your family can use the most!? do you want the shampoo or the furniture? “im busy” Oh thats okay! we work 7 days a week, we are very flexible and we can work around your schedual! Would days or eveings be better for you?! UGH IT WAS AWFUL. POSTIVE blah blah blah!
I had never heard of Kirby before I read this, so I guess word-of-mouth is working! LOL Are they for real? They expect people to plunk that kind of money down when they type up their marketing material in MS Word and don’t even have cards? And I thought Dysons were expensive. Yikes. What a weird weird business.
This makes me laugh!!! two years ago we had a Kirby salesman stop by. He said he wanted to vacuum our floor blah blah blah, we were nice and let him in, he waved to the guy in the car and another guy came in. They were in our house for like four hours! Like yours, the “boss” in the car left to go to another house. The one guy here vacuumed our floor, then he vacuumed my son’s mattress using about 50 of those white pads on each, it took forever. The other man kind of just sat there making me nervous. The vacuum guy also had to call his “boss” several times from our phone.
Then his boss got lost…. lost. We do live on a dirt road but it’s only a few miles from a main road. We ended up watching Wrestling on tv with the two guys that were here for like 45 minutes while they waited for their boss to find them. They showed us pictures of their kids, told us about where they lived (Cleveland), and chit chatted awkwardly for too long.
It was after 10pm when they finally left! My kids still think this is the strangest thing that’s ever happened to us. We all just looked at each other when they left.
I was starting to question whether or not they were actually salesmen, especially after the “boss” got lost and we were sitting there watching wrestling with them. I don’t know it was odd. Anyways, one came last year and I politely stepped out onto the porch and told them that no we were not interested. I do not want a repeat of that night lol!
I thinks its weird that they have to call their boss’ from “your” house phone. He used my phone like 3 times to call his “contest desk”. Thats why today I am reading all these…its nice to know that he really was a salesman but they will NEVER be back in my house.
The women who wrote this blog is a complete idiot. The kirby is the best vacuum cleaner on the market and you were not forced to buy it. There are sales tactics for cars, etc. Kirby has been around for 97 years. A company to be around that long must do the right things (which they do). If you didnt want them in your house, just ask them to leave. Very simple. Anybody who posts on this blog must need a life and a real job *probably why you cannot afford $70 a month for a great piece of equipment. I had a kirby my whole life and my son actually started selling them and has become rather successful within the company. He made over $100,00 a year for 3 years and counting. No one else can say that on this board.
So in closing, stop posting stupid comments about a great machine and great company. They do things ethically, fairly, and in a timely matter. Anyone who thinks otherwise is clearly a moron.
I was wondering when someone was going to say something that actually made any sense on this blog. I totally agree that the Kirby Sentria vacuum is BEYOND amazing and the only reason anyone here is talking badly of the it or the salesmen is because they’re all jealous they can’t afford to own one themselves. I guarantee you that not a single person here is in the least bit really worried about cleanliness, because if y’all were, y’all would have purchased the Kirby a LONG time ago and published nothing but praises about this wonderful machine!
The majority of women on this planet are disgusting anyway and could care less about personal hygiene let alone how clean their surroundings are.
Actually, I make over $120,000 a year and I’d never buy a Kirby. I have a $89 Hoover and guess what? It’s awesome.
If you think the author of this blog is such an idot why would you waste your time even commenting here?
And you don’t know anyones personal finances on this board so don’t say that nobody here makes $100K a year.
Been selling vacuums my whole adult life door to door. Sells tons of machines. Make 200k plus a year in doing so and have very happy customers. Store bought vacs are all junk. they blow dust and only surface clean. you get what you pay for.
O.M.G! SO this past spring we had the doors and windows open and this woman knocks on our back door (we live in a townhouse so the parking lot is in theback). She says she just moved to the area and just opened her own business. They are a rug cleaning company and would like to come in and clean a small area – like by our front door for free as long as we promise to keep them in mind next time we want our rug cleaned. So this woman was in capris and a T-shirt, nothing fancy and we wanted to support local business so we said sure, as long as it didn’t take long because we had to go out soon. She said no problem and went to “go get the cleaning stuff”. So this huge guy comes to the door with a kirby vacuum ( neither of us had actually ever heard of kirby before). We were like um can we help you? he was like yeah im here to clean your rug? so we explained that we thought it was going to be the woman cleaning a small area with a shampooer not a vacuum. So for whatever reason we let him in. So he plops on the floor and begins the long process of setting it up. The entire time his phone keeps ringing and he is texting. Very unprofessional. So he cleans by the front door. Then he starts doing my couch and pillows. He wanted to try doing the cats but gave him the “what are you nuts look” so he did our stairs instead. He wanted to go into our bedroom and do our mattress and we were like, “look dude, we thought she was with a SMALL, LOCAL business who cleaned rugs, we don’t have time for the demo, we can’t afford it”. So he starts this sob story of how his life sucks and he really needs the money from the contest blah blah blah. So my fiance is like ok well ive been out of work 2 years due to a major injury so we are on one income right now and we REALLY cant afford it so sorry you wasted your time. So kirby man plops on the floor again and is like buy I didn’t even show you how it can be a shampooer. We are like we aren’t buying it no matter how fantastic it is because we have NO MONEY. so his boss just walks in to check on him which kind of pisses us off – at least knock first. So the boss gave us an attitude for trying to end the demo early. So boss leaves and the guy sits at our table working the numbers. He was like can you afford $200 a month? We were like no. He was like can you afford $100 a month? we were like no. So he was like can you put it on a credit card? we were like NO we can’t afford it! So we look at the clock and realize he has been there close to 3 hours. We had to leave to pick up my fiances daughter so we are like we have to go, so you have to go too. So hes like ok how about $50 a month? we were like like sorry, we didn’t realize you were going to spend all afternoon here on something we cannot possibly afford. So he calls his boss and he purposly turned the volume up loud. We could hear his boss laughing at us for not being able to afford it. So we really had to leave so we were like look unless you want to deal with his ex for being late picking up his daughter we HAVE TO LEAVE so get your stuff and go. So he was all pissy and took his sweet ass time. and then he was like well i have to wait for my boss to come back and pick me up. We were like then wait outside. So i peeked outside – the boss was actually already parked right behind our place – we were like there he, is thanks for trying, good luck with that contest good bye!
Oh my goodness! The annoying kirby lady “had” to use mt phone as well and totally appreciate lied and said she didn’t have service and her husband wouldn’t let her bring her personal phone to work. Totally creepy! I invested in a ton of no soliciting signs!
Sounds like you guys dealt with a lot of bad salespeople that’s all. I had a really nice guy knock on my door talking about a free carpet shampoo and I’m under no obligation to buy but if I see something I like, just to let him know. When he came back, his boss was with him and he introduced himself. Both very polite. The boss then left and the salesperson then proceeded to do an in home commercial which I loved because it was kind of like being in the old days. Salespeople just aren’t as personable as Kirby salespeople. Now when I say I like my house to be clean, I have six vacuums and a steamer to do this. I have an electrolux, a rainbow, an Oreck, two Dyson Animal Balls, and a Miele. I’ve literally spent almost $5000 on all my vacuums plus the steam cleaner I have. I use all of these to clean my house on a daily basis because I’m a stay at home mom with two kids and three huskies. My son has always had bad allergies so I clean all the time to help him. I could not believe all the dirt they got out of my carpets and around my house! I’m disgusted that my vacuums are all designed the same way and don’t pick up close to anything the Kirby picks up. My vacuums couldn’t even pick up baking soda after going over a spot a million times. Plus they’re all made of plastic so you can actually feel how cheaply they are made. If the Kirby went for $10,000, I still would have bought the thing. It cleaned my floors more efficiently than any vacuum I have ever seen and the shampooer got stains out of my carpet I scrubbed on my hands and knees to try to get out. I could care less if the thing was a little heavy, loud or old time looking. My house is clean and that’s all that matters. If you guys are okay with living with that dirt and replacing your carpets every five years because regular vacuums can’t pick up dirt, go ahead and waste your money. I like knowing I’m in a clean house and that my vacuum is doing what I paid for it to do. The salesperson was really nice throughout the whole presentation. Cleaned a lot of my house for me for free and when he was done, he told me my options and I very nicely declined because I just couldn’t afford it. His boss came back in and he gave me a couple more options and we came to an agreement of how much I could put down and how much I could afford monthly so I got it. I love it and the fact that my sons allergies are so much better since we bought it is more than enough to know I have the right vacuum to clean my house. On a side note, when my husband came home and saw I got it, he was super excited to find out we only had one vacuum now.
I already like you! lol I wish I had more customers like you! 🙂
Hi there! My name is Jackie and I am a Kirby saleswoman! I love this yes it’s true, it hasn’t changed much at all. I have only been with them for three weeks but the program works! 99 years of business and still selling tons of “home care systems” not vacuums a day! One of our distributors sold a total 347 Kirbys in a month! If the program didn’t work we wouldn’t use it! 🙂 But some has changed just a bit. The T-comparison is different and we don’t usually groom the dog or buff the floor. The buffer, sander, and massager is now extra attachments and are not part of the demo. I have grooms a dog once though because the customer asked me to do so! But honestly the job doesn’t suck. It’s fun and different for me. I get to meet new people! I like it a lot!
Thank you so much for sharing your story Jackie! You make an excellent point – if the system didn’t work, they would change it. I wonder if they will ever make the Kirby’s lighter and quieter…..that thing is LOUD! But I do have to say – it really did pick up a ton of stuff my other one did not 🙂
I had the same experience with one. I was home alone just pulled into the drive way and a van pulled in behind me. A man got out and walked toward me. (Not gonna lie I was scared to death) he talked about the free carpet cleaning and I said not today, I had grocerys in my hands and without hesitation he said let me just get your door for you and opened up my door! I thought it was so rude. I warned him my dog was out (2 yr old loveable but very protective boxer) and he didn’t seem to care. Long story short he cleaned my whole living room, didn’t clean my dog because my dog kept growling at him, guys kept coming to check on him, had 3 different men use my bathroom and they were at my house for 5 hours. He asked to use my phone several times because of “no reception”. I was so so relieved when my boyfriend came home!! ( and we didn’t buy the vacuum even after the once in a lifetime 1,000 dollar discount!)
Wow, thank you for sharing your story! I agree with you that the length of time they spend at a house – 3-5 hours – is just too much! And I’ve read so many stories of these sales people….it sounds to me like they work all day and have to use the restroom somewhere, know what I mean?
Just does not sound like a job I’d like to have 🙂
He also asked very personal questions that made me uncomfortable. It would have been great to have a more polite salesperson like described above.
I had a girl in jeans come to my house and a guy named josh who didn’t give me a business card. Where are you from? I’m wondering if it the same people and do you remember where they sad they were from? Did they take anything from your house? I’m a little concerned since they didn’t give me a number
Amy – I wouldn’t be scared. They are annoying and overstay their welcome, but from all my research I have yet to hear of them being thieves. I totally understand your concern though!! Their practices are (in my opinion) out dated. Door to door salesmen is just so antiquated of a practice in the day of eCommerce ya know? That is why so many people like you and me and others get that head-scratching perplexity when they come around!
I am from NE Kansas. Even if we are not from the same state, what you experienced is very predicable for their practices. From what I’ve read, it is their script that a girl comes up first, then a guy comes in and demonstrates for a LOOONG time then he calls his “team leader” who then tries to close the deal. And the reason I published the papers they gave me was because it is SO rare for them to hand out contact information. They just don’t do it (another very strange practice in the information age, don’t you think?)
Look up witchata kansas kerby theives
Friday, January 11, 2013
Wichita Police are trying to find suspects linked to nearly 25 burglaries, who pose as vacuum salespeople.
The suspects have been going to door throughout the city, trying to see who is and isn’t home. When a resident opens the door, the suspects pretend to be selling Kirby vacuums. Once inside, they case the homes.
In most cases, they return weeks later and burglarize the homes, taking jewelry, cash and other small items. So far police believe they are connected to 24 burglary cases, most since the beginning of November.
The suspects are described as a white man and and woman who are not professionally dressed. Sometimes they have a vacuum with them that appears used, and other times they don’t. They drive a white Ford 1-ton 10-passenger van, with a crooked front bumper and an out of state license plate.
Kirby says all salespersons should be licensed through the city, and that no one from Kirby has pulled a permit since 2009. Their employees also always wear a laminated photo ID.
If anyone matching this description has knocked on your door, the Wichita Police Department is asking that you call them at (316) 268-4221 or 268-4144.
The reality is the KIRBY is and it will continue to be the best cleaning System for years to come. Maybe the sales person ain’t good but Kirby it is. If you love your family you buy it. Watch video man eating machne. As parent you need to oun it, as human is just comond sence but. If you like to sleep with spiders and excrement live with it. Is not cheap. But I will do anything for my daughter. You4yours?
I found two Kirby vacuums, a G4 and Classic III, sitting out for the trash a few days ago after there was severe flooding in my area (they looked like they had been under water). Having heard about how expensive these things were, I decided to pick them up and clean/repair them to resell them. When I was testing them, I did really enjoy using these vacuums, and they do a phenomenal job cleaning thick carpets. In fact, I replaced my old upright (a Hoover Windtunnel) with the G4. However, they’re NOT for everyone. A lot of houses are leaning towards more hard floors as opposed to carpets, leaving a Kirby system mostly obsolete. So, unless your house has a lot of thick carpets (like mine does), you’ll be better off buying literally anything else.
Back to when I just got them fixed and was using them for a few days, I was pretty excited about how awesome they were, and then I looked them up to see if they were still selling vacuums door-to-door, and that’s when I lost a bit of respect for the company, because the door-to-door selling isn’t working out in their favor at all. I do think their sales tactic is VERY obsolete, and with the number of pushy salespeople taking advantage of customers, it’s no wonder why these vacuums are infamous.
Still, though, the point stands that they are excellent deep cleaners. I just wouldn’t pay more than $50 for a used one (or maybe you’ll be able to find one sitting out for the trash).
Just bought my G6 kirby yesterday for 100€ and the shampoo system for 50€
Btw i did work for kirby in lisbon for 2 months, in 2009. Ir was a Nice school, to be positive and 2 months ago my wife had a demo ar home and She bought a new One for 2000. The they after i maré ver return the machine ?
I have nothing but positive things to say about selling kirby vacuums. This is not a sales pitch. This is just my experience.
I was 18 years old about 30 years ago. This job did kind of suck but it taught me a lot about being an adult.
It taught me how to wear dress cloths at work for the first time. I learned how to accept no for an answer and not feel defeated. I learned rejection happens and it’s not forever. I learned how to talk to people I don’t know. It helped me make goals. I could go on and on about what I learned. If I was about to meet the guy who brought me again I would shake his hand and tell him thank you for the experience.
Today,
I work as a network administrator for a power company. I make a honest living. To hear these stories makes me smile.