Report: The Kirby Company
Category: Sales People
The Kirby Company , Kirby G6 Vacuum Cleaner Ripoff
*Consumer Comment ..A responce to deborah in dallas
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The Kirby Company
Fax:
San Francisco, California,
U.S.A.
Submitted: 1/16/2001 12:00:00 AM
Modified: 2/3/2008 3:59:04 PM
ED
Tempe, ArizonaThe following is being put on the internet in as many rating sites as we can find. The Kirby is a great Vacuum cleaner, but the cost is outrageous and the salesman even worse.
A door ro door salesman got my wife to buy a Kirby. For $1800!!! Obviously a big mistake. I called the next day and told them to pick it up as we were excercising the return policy. The salesman asked what I though it was worth and I said I would never pay over $1000 no matter how good it was. He offered to change the price to $990 and I agreed.
Funny, he never seemed to be able to come by to correct the loan agreement and a month of delays later, a service company is calling us for the first payment for the $1800 amount.
After many calls to the salesman´s office, and many broken promises on when he would call back or come over, my wife tried one last time. A new secratary answered her call and actually put the salesman on the line. My wife told the salesman if he could not make it over in the next 90 minutes, she would bring it back to the shop and return it. He said he did not care!
She took the Kirby to the shop and spoke with the manager, who tried to make all sorts of excuses for the salesman. But the salesman´s awful attitude was too much and she told the manager to cancel the contract. The Kirby has been returned. What an awful experience.
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Updates & Rebuttals:
- Kirby G6 Owhner Dawn [3/13/2002 12:00:00 AM]
- Dawn - bristow, Virginia , how long have you worked for Kirby? Tom [3/15/2002 12:00:00 AM]
- Kirby is nor rip off, some salesman are Jason [3/16/2002 12:00:00 AM]
- G6 not a rip-off!!!!!! Elise [3/28/2002 12:00:00 AM]
- one bad apple Melanie [4/16/2002 12:34:41 PM]
- Rip-off? Perhaps not. Kurt [4/16/2002 4:55:12 PM]
- Kirby is the same all over the world! Jason [7/8/2002 8:08:27 PM]
- Kirby vacuum demos are fraudulent! Bob [3/20/2003 4:17:13 PM]
- Why do people whine about buying high priced products??? Jason [4/15/2003 11:34:47 PM]
- Kirby G6 Right or Wrong? Joseph [4/18/2003 10:24:21 AM]
- told me to get 10 names of family & friends in order for me to practice my demo's TEE [4/27/2003 6:20:00 AM]
- Buy a used one Roxanne [5/4/2003 11:05:38 PM]
- The Kirby is a scam the whole of it Jessica [5/7/2003 9:19:34 PM]
- I have been in the Vac industry for 15 years. Don [5/13/2003 1:50:19 PM]
- Kirby is the best vacum and best company I ever worked for Michael [6/21/2003 7:27:30 PM]
- Kirby G6 ..Yeah, I still paid too much but I'm very happy with my vacuum after 3 years Edward [7/25/2003 1:56:56 AM]
- sales persron lied, he says he is at my doorstep as a carpet cleaning company and wants to clean 2 rooms of my house free Matt [11/21/2003 10:28:53 PM]
- Rainbow Hoover don't be blue-we've got a trashcan just for you. Kimberlee [2/15/2004 5:31:13 PM]
- funny to see in writing the same old bs the kirby company spews to its new employees Adrian [3/15/2004 3:08:49 PM]
- wacky stuff, pounding the pavement, getting blistered feet and a sore back from lugging that heavy damn vacuum Sean [4/18/2004 8:28:08 PM]
- Over-priced for the general public Alissa [1/4/2005 11:07:38 AM]
- I am curious who trains the Kirby people where you guys live! Melisa [4/22/2005 8:45:37 PM]
- Respect your customers and they will refer for you Debbie [5/24/2005 12:00:03 AM]
- A-B-C-LOANS Koko [6/7/2005 8:27:38 PM]
- Kirby Commission Melisa [6/14/2005 10:37:42 PM]
- I sold - or pimped if your perfer - Kirby's for one of the local offices here in Salt Lake City. Michael [6/15/2005 12:11:05 AM]
- abc loans , I suspect that the finance company holds back or discounts a portion of the loan, and the Kirby distributer dumps that on the salesperson. Koko [6/18/2005 9:32:13 PM]
- Not all sales people are the same, you know... Charity [6/29/2005 11:52:21 AM]
- Replies to all of you..... Charity [6/30/2005 1:36:09 AM]
- Had to physically throw the salesman out!! Lee [7/3/2005 6:05:45 PM]
- How good can the vacuum be if they decide to sell it like this? Paul [7/3/2005 11:13:10 PM]
- Kirby is not a rip-off Melissa [7/8/2005 11:28:28 AM]
- Secrets from a former Kirby salesman John [7/9/2005 7:33:29 AM]
- No to Kirby - Help our communities - Kirby and it's affiliate Val-Co distributers Meg [7/10/2005 11:00:16 PM]
- There's a way to make good money as a Kirby salesman. I'm surprised nobody else has figured it out. Paul [7/11/2005 10:36:21 PM]
- Tom and Bob Bryan [9/25/2005 1:06:46 AM]
- How to get a Kirby and not pay too much Ed [10/3/2005 5:00:33 PM]
- SUPER!!! - MORONS!!! Donald [10/21/2005 10:07:07 AM]
- Current Employee, Probably will quit before this is posted Jason [5/15/2006 3:16:33 AM]
- Kirby salespeople keep missing the point Carlos [7/28/2006 9:32:20 PM]
- Kirby is snake oil Ed [9/28/2006 12:45:06 PM]
- Kirby is like the Moon's Church Jim [12/20/2006 10:06:06 PM]
- Not Surprising Jason [12/28/2006 11:02:44 AM]
- I am a kirby owner... Max [2/3/2007 10:38:21 PM]
- Solution To Problem Tr Trtr [3/18/2007 10:21:58 AM]
- Kirby is just an overpriced Hoover! Stacy [4/20/2007 7:22:47 AM]
- Kirby IS a great HOME CLEANING SYSTEM Deborah [6/6/2007 6:44:43 PM]
- To all those defending Kirby Tom [10/31/2007 10:55:12 AM]
- Who made the mistake here? Holen1 [12/13/2007 3:19:31 PM]
- shocked Junior0489 [12/18/2007 3:18:08 PM]
- stupid company, nothing but lies Alyssa D [1/25/2008 1:40:23 PM]
- A responce to deborah in dallas Anonymous [2/3/2008 12:37:01 PM]
Kirby G6 Owhner
I recently bought a Kirby G6 vacuum cleaner and did not experience any of the problems people have listed here. The salesman was honest, upfront, and even returned the next day to bring me additional shampoo and bags.
As far as the price is concerned (I paid $1200), it is worth it to me. I have white carpet on two stories and hardwood on the other.
I also have 5 kids, a dog, a cat, and allergies. Prior to the kirby, I bought 3 vacuum cleaners and 2 shampooers in 2 years, for a total of $850.00. Since the Kirby has a lifetime warranty, in my case the cost (even had I paid $1800) was worth it. On a side note, my allergies are much better, I didn't have to pay $1,200.00 to have my hardwood floors buffed and waxed, and saved the $700.00 I was going to spend replacing the carpet in the family room because of serious wear (which is much better now).
I feel bad for all of the people who have had problems but I think that is the exception, not the rule.
Dawn - bristow, Virginia , how long have you worked for Kirby?
If that isn't a sales pitch. I used to work for Kirby for about 7 years. I also own a G6, but I paid $500.00 for the complete package including the hose & attachments, and the shampooer.
Kirby distributors pay a little over $300.00 for the complete system. If you pay more than $500.00, you paid too much. Yes they have a lifetime rebuild agreement, but it is not cheap to have the rebuild done, it's not free.
Kirby distributors have an unwritten code that says don't sell for under $1000.00. Some of them don't follow this code and are called whores. The company pressures distributors and even threatens to cancel their franchise if they don't follow the rules (unwritten of course).
Kirby vacuums are a great product, but way, way over-priced. Their #1 priority is to get rich. They don't give a damn about you, or your family, or your allergies. And as far as the scam that the price they offer you is only good for today, Bullshit. They want every sale they can get, today , tomorrow, or next week, the price is the same.
If the public refused to pay more than $500.00 per unit, they would eventually have to offer their product at a reasonable price, instead of taking advantage of an unsuspecting, possibly uneducated consumer.
Another scam they use to make money is their constant recruiting. Some distributors brag that they recruit 52 weeks a year. This is the biggest scam of all. They place blind ads, so you don't know what the job is about. They put you through hours of hype about how you are going to get rich, and finally a cou[ple days into your traing, they spring it on you. Your going to sell vacuums door-todoor, or by pre-set appointments. What's the real deal here? After your 3 or 4 days of unpaid training, they have you sign a dealer agreement stating that you are guaranteed a certain dollar amount, based on you doing so many demonstrations, usually 50 in a month. They offer this because they know you will not make the quota. It's almost impossible for a new person to achieve this. If you do make it, they keep track of the demos you do, and then the tell you why some of your demos don't qualify, so they aren't obligated to pay you. The true goal they have in mind when hiring you, is to get you to do practice demos for you friends, relatives, and neighbors. Then they pressure your family into buying at a high price too help you out. So now your mom buys one to help you. Aunt Mary buys one and the lady down the street buys one. Two weeks later when you haven't made anymore sales, you quit. they pay you $50 to $150 for each sale and pocket $1000++ on each sale themselves. So they hired 40 people, 15 made it through training, 8 of them stay the first week, 5 the next week and within 2 months, everyone has quit. But, they had 20 sales from the group you were in, or about $20,000.00 in profits. Some weeks are better than others, but they probably make at least $5000.00 a week off of the families of their victims. Don't be a victim. $500, no more with the attachment and shampooer. Stop the insanity
Kirby is nor rip off, some salesman are
I am an independant sales agent for the Kirby Compnay. I am sorry for your bad experience. Kirby itself is a great company with a good product, but what selld the product is the salesman, who id trained by the manager. From what I have read you had a bad salesman who probably is not working for the company any longer. That,in part, is the fault of who trained him, the manager. As a friendly and caring salesperson, I am truly sorry.
I hope in the future you will think of Kirby as your choice of vaccum cleaner again.
G6 not a rip-off!!!!!!
Why are you mad at the Kirby company? You should be mad at your wife for buying one at such a price. They are a good vacuum and I think that they are resonably priced.
I work for the Kirby Co. in Moline, Illinois and they have a very good reputation. Our sales Reps are willing to negotiate prices and I fell that just becuase one Rep was rude, that all the companies should NOT have that same reputation.
Also, I don't know if you know this but the kirby picks up a considerable amount of dirt that no other vacuum picks up. And, if you choose to steam clean your carpet I wouldn't.
The reason for that is, the new Kirby G6 layes a dry-foam down that does not saturate the carpet so, there is less water to pick up.I would get a G6 if you are into cleaning your carpet all the time. It's a vacuum and a shampooer in
1. Steam cleaning, on the other hand RUINS your carpet. It ruins it because it makes the carpet so wet that it turns the dirt under your carpet into mud. Also, it will mold the padding. So if I were you, I would go back to school learn to type, and then have some sense about what you are trying to say.
one bad apple
In reading all the nasty letters written to belittle and discredit a persons character, I must
say how sad it is. People are so quick in this day and time to judge and critize another.
The old saying ones bad apple turns the whole bunch bad maybe true for apples, but come on, not every one in life that sells Kirby are crooks. My husband just got in a company that the owner is a good moral christian man.
They don't pressure, lie or try to cheat anyone. Doesn't matter what line of work you are in, you want to suceed in your business. If you were buying a car you would want the best for your money, so why should a vacum cleaner be any different. We have had several and they are the best built and service all the needs of any family.
Not only do you have a vacum, but you have a rug shampooer, hardwood floor cleaner, car shampooer, pet cleaner, which works great for all that loose hair.
Plus many many many more uses. So before you judge a person or item, you might want to look close at your self and you past motives in life, before you defile someone else.
Rip-off? Perhaps not.
I recently purchased a Kirby G6 vacuum cleaner. I didn't pay the 'list price' of $2000, but it was not cheap. I know the sales business, and have sold most everything there is to sell door to door. Perhaps some distributors are abusing the recruits and overcharging. That is an individual game plan, as it is in all sales areas.
The reason I purchased the vacuum was the demonstration. Using the coffee filter attachment to show the dirt picked up leaves no room for trickery. We had been using an Oreck for years, because it is widely known as one of the top end vacuums. Watching the Kirby pull massive amounts of crud out of the carpet after a thorough go with the Orek was an eye-opener.
The power assist system is remarkable, too. No switches, it senses what direction you want to go, and how fast. An ingenious design on the front whees, too. They eliminated unreliable caster wheels, and it is still easily turned.
The bottom line is, I feel more comfortable on the carpet, knowing I am not wallowing in pet hair, dirt and God knows what else. My mattress is no longer full of skin cells and bugs, the drapes and upholstery are cleaner than ever before, and pulling dust and crud from behind and under the appliances is now quick and easy. No, the Kirby is not cheap, but cars, jewelry and shoes cost many times their production costs, also. Are they overcharging? Perhaps not!
Kirby is the same all over the world!
I work for Kirby in Sydney, Australia. I found that Kirby is usally a fine company to deal with. I have known of over 200 sales reps. and only about 5 of them were bad for the company. With selling the units, I think they are a little over priced. As for the lady who worked for Kirby... The reason you hate it so much is your not prepared to work for the company. There are 3 types of reps. 1. Don't make it through training. 2. Don't make it past 2 months 3. Make a career out of it. I am 3 and I don't even work that hard, my hours are long 9am - 7 pm but I make around A$ 1500 - 2000 per week. When I first started I made around A$200 for about 3 months. It's like any job, you start of low, and get more as you get better, and more experienced. With Kirby and the REST of direct sales, its a high turn over industry, and there are no victims, the law is on the consumers side, so stop complaining.
Kirby vacuum demos are fraudulent!
When the little kirby man knocks on your door and forces his way into your house he will want to show you how crappy YOUR vacuum is compared to a kirby. Let him clean your house, but don't buy the BS.
He will hook up a demo attachment, and suck all kinds of dirt out of your house, leaving it lying everywhere on his little coffee filter pads.
Notice how there seems to be a similar amount of dirt on each pad?
Why can't they just fill up a vacuum bag and leave it on your couch? Because it wouldnt work.
Once the dirt covers the filter in the demo attachment, or the lining of your kirby bag, the suction and all of that amazing kirby power is gone. So, unless you plan on replacing your bag after every pass.
Tell the little kirby man the you yourself were formerly employed by kirby, that's the only definite way to get the dirtbag out of your house.
Why do people whine about buying high priced products???
I have been working for the Kirby Company for almost 2 years now and i get so sick of everyone complaining about how much they pay for these systems.First, if you know where you can buy a Kirby system for $300.00 let my distributer know, because I know first hand he pays more than that. We price our systems at $1,570.00 + tax. The lifetime rebiuld warranty cost customers $175.00 to get there machine rebiult which is much cheaper than buying a whole new system. There also is no ' unwritten codes' in the Kirby business. I'll admit that the classified ad is misleading because it does not say Kirby in it, but if you don't know what it is, then don't respond to it.
We sell probably 70% of ours Kirbys under $1000.00. This company is like any other sales company out there. Ther is always alot of mark-up because they need room to move around.
If you were to sell cars for a living, you would realize that some people pay sticker price and some want a better deal. I've had days where I sell one for $800.00 and turn around and sell the next one for $1400.00, it just depends on the customer. Being a salesman is nothing but a big game. I'm out trying to make as much money as possible, at the sametime, the customer is trying to pay as little as possible. I gaurantee if I switched places with any of you people for 1 day you would all understand what it is like to talk somebody out of as much money as possible so you can make as much as possible. Sales is like any other job in this world if you think about it.
If you worked in a factory you want payed the most you are worth. You ask for a raise so you get more money, but it comes out of the owner pocket. We do the samething as every other person in this world, including the government. So if you want to complain about how much money we make off each sale and how much you lose, then don't get mad when your boss refuses to give you a raise. Everybody's #1 priority in life is to get rich, or get as much money as possible. You're not gonna go to work and want to get paid $10.00/hr when you know you can be making $20.00/hr.
We're not gonaa sell a system for $800.00 if we can sell it for $1,400.00. That is just the way this world is.
Kirby does recruit 52 weeks a year. They do this because the business grows 52 weeks a year. There are always positions to fill and emplyees needed for them. Don't bitch about job opportunities, because there aren't that many jobs around anymore. Just for the record, how do you figure distirbuters make $1,000.00 off every sale, when you figure in buying machines,paying dealer profit,office fees, taxes, electricity, phone bills, and appointment setters.
They pocket only about $200.00 per sale. Also, as far as the demo being fraudulent, that would mean the dirt would be coming from thin air. We don't come in and dump dirt on the carpet, and we're not God so we can't create the dirt.
The only other place to come from is....... ding ding ding, you guessed it, FROM THE CARPET!!!!! There seems to be an equal amount of dirt on every pad because there is an equal amount of dirt acrossed the carpet.
One spot isn't gonna be cleaner than the other unless it is an area that receives no traffic. We don't use the bag because how effective is the dirt as a selling point if you can't see it? That would be pointless and stupid.
Plus, Kirby bags aren't expensive but if you were to do 3 demos a day and in order to make the dirt effective use 3 bags per demo, then it does get expensive considering that we would use 9 bags/day, 6 days/week.
Last but not least, if I came into your house and you said you used to work for Kirby, I wouldn't just assume you aren't going to buy one, that would actually make my job even easier knowing you already know some about the machine. So, for everyone who complains about these systems being 'High Priced'
DON'T BUY THE DAMN THING IF YOU KNOW YOU'RE GONNA GET ON THE INTERNET AND WHINE ABOUT HOW YOU PAID TOO MUCH FOR THE KIRBY!!! We didn't force you to sign you picked up the pin and you put your 'John Hancock' on the paper, not us!!!
Kirby G6 Right or Wrong?
I don't belive some of you whiney people.
Take any vacuum, run it over where another vacuum was just used, you will pull up some dirt. Take a third vacuum and it will pull up more dirt.
Is Kirby expensive? Yes.
Is Kirby overpriced? Yes.
Are some salesmen dishonest? Yes, just like some people in any line of work.
Does the Kirby satisfy my wife? Does my wife feel her carpets and floors are cleaner? Yes and Yes.
You see I have a happy home. If it makes my wife’s life easier then I’m all for it.
Submitted: 4/27/2003 6:20:00 AM
Modified: 4/28/2003 2:25:53 AM
TEE
Birmingham England, EuropeUnited Kingdom
told me to get 10 names of family & friends in order for me to practice my demo's
i have just been employed by kirby 2 weeks ago,i was surprised on my training day i was the only one there, anyway they told me to get 10 names of family & friends in order for me to practice my demo's low & behold they tryed to get me to sell the machine to my friends and family which i thought was a bit not of the truth, but know they want me to go knocking door to door in order to get their sales. BEWARE THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE
Buy a used one
I bought my kirby from my brother in-law who was a sales person for Kirby. Yes, I payed a rediculous price for it. But you know what, fifteen yeas later, that vacuum is still going strong. My mother as well purchased a Kirby the same time I did and hers is still running too. I am now looking into buying a G6 because they are self propelled, but this time, I'm going to buy a used Kirby. I see them all over the internet and in used shops for less that half of the new sales price. A used one is just as good as a new only much cheeper.
The Kirby is a scam the whole of it
Okay people, We had a kirby sales man come to our house, he was a beginer. He had a partner with him, he was very un-profession, which we could excuse because he was a beginer. But he could have learned his practices speach before he came! He stuttered, he swayed and he rocked back and forth.
Yes, I agree that we shouldn't base the company on 1 bad sale, but what if you get 3 other demos all the same way?
A Rainbow vaccum sales woman had come to our house 3 days before, we decided to get the vaccum.
When the Kirby came, they couln't pick up any dirt almost. They were here for 3 hours trying to pick up at least 1 full coffee filter. We had coffee filter lining our whole living room. It must have been embarrasing for them. We felt so bad for them. They left with a down cast face, and whole garbage bag full of filters. If you ask me the rainbow is much better, it's cheaper, has more uses, and they even replace it for a newer model for free, plus if some problem happens they'll replace it for free! I say buy the Rainbow, it's a much better deal than the Kirby!!!
I have been in the Vac industry for 15 years.
Most of my Kirby customers are upset about the price they paid after they learned more about filtration and pollution. ANY dry filter vacuum cleaner {bag or bagless} is unhealthy and by design cleaning efficiency. Unhealthy due to the bag contents stored, and the leaked back into the air. Lack of cleaning effiecency due to loss of air flow because the bag and or filters clog up. Folks, WATER is the answer. Wet dust cant fly, nor are there any holes in water to clog up. I have years of information about unhappy Kirby customers, but the most important bit of information is what should you be using and why. I sold Rainbow Vacuum Cleaners for 15 years because I believe in the product and have used it the entire time. I have always sold the best cleaning system available, and now there is one far superior to even the Rainbow. Its called the DELPHIN. German Engineered and brand new to the market here in the United States. I traded my personal Rainbow in and have switched companys. The Delphin is a much better product and more user friendly. For more information feel free to contact me @ Kn1ght@hotmail .com {note the 'i' is a number '1' in Knight}
Kirby is the best vacum and best company I ever worked for
I am new to the kirby company, but I will tell you what, it is the best company I have every worked for.
I have just sat and read numerous people complaning about the high price. Let me ask everyone a question. Do you want a cheap product that does only 50% of the job it is supposed to, or do want to pay a little more a have the satifaction of knowing that the product you bought is going to do 100% of what it is supposed to?
In life you get what you pay for. why do some people feel the need to buy shoes that cost $100.00+, when you can go over to payless shoe source and pay $20.00 for some that look similar?
If your the type of person who appreciates quality then of course you would probably pay the $100.00+ assuming you know that the shoes are quality shoes. If you don't care about anything but the price then of course you would go to payless shoe source when they have their buy 1 get the other 1/2 off sale. In 2 months you'll do the same thing unless you never wore the damn things, because you choose to be cheap. If you would of bought the $100.00+ shoes you probably wouldn't have to buy another pair (assuming you took care of them) for another year or two.
I ask every person I do a demo for when I am comparing vacums, when you bought your vacum did you buy to pick up some of the dirt or all of the dirt? Everyone tells me all. So think about that. I have never been to a home and not been able to pull dirt out of the carpet after the homeowner just got done vacuming with theirs. When I enter a home, I always tell the people I am not here to sell you a machine. The truth is I don't sell them. If someone buys one it is because they sold themselves. I just show what the kirby can do and what is being left behind from what ever brand vacum they have. The kirby will out do any vacum.
When we go door-to-door it is to advertise the kirby. Kirby don't advertise on t.v. or radio, or anything like that. We advertise by doing in home demos, because seeing is believing. If we believed every t.v. commerical that came on we would all have a lot of useless crap laying around the house.
Bottom line if someone buys a kirby it's because they were impressed with it's performance and felt it was worth the money. So if you payed more than someone else then get over it, because obviously you were impressed and thought it was worth the price you paid. Don't be bitter because someelse got a better deal. That is just plan childish and you need to grow up!!!!
Submitted: 7/25/2003 1:56:56 AM
Modified: 7/25/2003 10:52:04 PM
Edward
California City, CaliforniaU.S.A.
Kirby G6 ..Yeah, I still paid too much but I'm very happy with my vacuum after 3 years
After an impressive, not-needed four-hour demonstration I agreed to buy a G6. The three salesmen had been polite and two of them were trainees. Being a car salesman at the time, I purposely avoided asking about the price until it came time to buy (a decision I had made even before they started their 'show.'). The senior representative told me I could 'steal' the entire system for a low $1,800! I happily pulled out my checkbook and promptly wrote him a check for $900.00 including sales tax and handed it to him. His mouth dropped as he reluctantly accepted my offer ONLY after asking to use my phone at which time he proceeded to make a 'pretend call' to his 'boss.' After a few Oscar-winning head nods and verbal assurances he hung up and said he'd make an 'exception' and sell it to me for $1,000.00 plus tax. As I took my check back and thanked him for their time he spun around and accepted my offer. The two trainees then became 'not-so-nice' and one of them quit then and there.
Yeah, I still paid too much but I'm very happy with my vacuum after 3 years and those guys deserved to get some pay for their effort. Moral of the story: Bad salesmen don't mean bad vacuums!
sales persron lied, he says he is at my doorstep as a carpet cleaning company and wants to clean 2 rooms of my house free
About 7 pm a Kirby sales person comes to the door, but does not identify himself as someone selling the Kirby, instead he says he is at my doorstep as a carpet cleaning company and wants to clean 2 rooms of my house free, and if I like the way they clean my carpet, I am to tell family and friends. He asked to come inside at take a look at my carpet, once inside he calls a buddy of his who shows up a little while later, with the Kirby, as they begin to set it up, I ask, are you vacuume salesmen or carpet cleaner, I hear this hmmm and haws for a couple seconds not getting a straight answers from these clowns. Finally, I realize they are here to sell me the Kirby, ok,, they lied from the get go, they got into my home with under false pretence, as the night drags on during the painful demonstration, its now 10 pm these jokers are at my house 3 hours later and cannot take no for an answer, as I tell them I will not buy today, I also say, I will not do business with a company that uses such, buy today or tough luck policy. I almost had to call the police to get them out of my home. The price went from 2000 to 900. But I told them no, this was the hardest high pressure sales I have ever seen. To correct this from happening again, ask 'carpet cleaners' up front if they selling the Kirby, if your lucky enough to get a straight answer from them. Shut your door at once and bolt down your windows. The Kirby sales staff are bad news!
Submitted: 2/15/2004 5:31:13 PM
Modified: 2/15/2004 11:23:25 PMKimberlee
Bainbridge Ga, GeorgiaU.S.A.
Rainbow Hoover don't be blue-we've got a trashcan just for you.
Well after being with the Kirby Company for a while now I have to say that I find some of these comments to be very harsh considering I am only trying to make a living. Although I understand some of your frustrations because as with any other occupation most always there are employees who can be catergorized as bad seeds. My apologies to the few who feel like they were badgered by a salesman . it certainly wasn't me . I have never and will never twist an arm or break a neck to get a sale. As a child in my home I remember my MOm using Kirby, growing up with the wonderful benefits it provides, naturally I know first hand it is a great cleaner. My job is to just advertise the product . I can put it back in the box just as easily as I took it out. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I respect that but please don't throw the whole lot of us to the few guys who take advantage of whatever. You probably have seen them waiting your tables or not serving you I should say. These types of people exist outside of Kirby. I am proud of my job because I know that it is a great product. and that I work for a good distributor who would never advocate some of the techniques described above. Thank you for allowing me to stand on the soapbox for aqminute.
funny to see in writing the same old bs the kirby company spews to its new employees
i'm a former employee of the kirby company, i have no qualms with the company they sell a good product for an outrageous price pretty much like any other 'good' company, for instance how do u justify paying 100k+ for a mercedes when you can buy a similar car for half the price. sure it does the job its suposed to but than again so do other products on the market.
what i find funny is the fact that every kirby employee that had positive things to say have repeated word for word the first day of training at kirby. 'when u buy a vacum u want it to do the whole job not only half the job' 'steam cleaning rots your carpet' bla bla bla. even funnier are the rival sales people who are trying to pawn off rainbows. having worked for electrolux, kirby, and rainbow i must admit the kirby is the best of the bunch and rainbow the worst. as to why a rainbow is a bad investment do the research yourself, unlike others i'm not here to sell a product. here is the straight story. my boss used to purchase kirbys for 600$ and sell them for 1800. i used to make 600$ commision per unit if i sold them at 1800$. so ya it is a rip off.
all the 'attatchments' in the demo do not come free with the machine, despite what the salesman tells you. remember nothing is free kirby is not a charity but a business and just like any other business its main goal is to make money. yes the 'sell your familty a kirby' is true many people sell their first kirby to a family member or friend, but again its a business. yes some sales people are overly aggressive in selling the product, but you have to remember that they are simply trying to make a living and when your rent is due and your kids are starving you tend to get a little worried so yes may be they become pushy. kirby does not advertise door to door despite what all the sales people tell you.
kirby sells vacums door to door. the reason they don't sell in stores is because nobody would spend 1800$ on a vacum, face it if i'm spending that much money i expect the kirby salesman to personally come to my house once a week and vacum for me, but thats just me. so lets recap, yes they are expensive, yes they are good quality, yes the bags and 'dry shampoo' is not cheap either if i remember correctly bags used to cost somewhere along the lines of 30-40 $ and they get full quick despite the ' its only because you just started to use a kirby and now its picking up the extra dirt your vacum left behind' line 'this is only temporarry' (not so true unless the kirby definition of temporarry is differnt from webster's) but in the end if you can afford one buy one its a good investment.
just like if you can afford a mercedes i'm pretty sure you're not going to opt out for that shiny new pinto even though ultimately they do the same job. (ok i understand the analogy may be somewhat stretching the point and yes i understand the difference between the 2 types of cars bla bla bla this is just to avoid people distorting the analogy and making dumbass coments later on) so to conclude with a kirby you get what you pay for. o ya haggle. you can get one for 900$ most times depends how new the salesman is or how desperate he is to make quota so that he can be going on a trip or win some kind of prize. i personally never lowered my price i worked for kirby 3 weeks first week i sold nothing but i had fun, you would be surpised what kind of interesting people you meet, second week i sold 3 kirbys for 1800$ a piece sure the people tried to haggle but i was thinking more along the lines that if i lowered the price i would not make my commision so why lower it, third week i didn't need money so i quit. its not a job for everyone but if you don't mind long hours for sometimes no pay its worth it eventually you will make money doin it.
wacky stuff, pounding the pavement, getting blistered feet and a sore back from lugging that heavy damn vacuum
I worked for my local (at the time) Kirby distributor for just about 3 weeks... sold 2 my first week and made about $500. Not bad money, but horrible pay considering that $500 was after pounding the pavement, getting blistered feet and a sore back from lugging that heavy damn vacuum around for what totalled somewhere around 70-80 hours (the first week!!!) and several hundred miles on my own vehicle
I finally decided I couldn't (or didn't want to) deal with that anymore. When I left, I went to my manager to collect my commission check and tell him I was leaving, that I didn't feel this career path was for me.
He got all snotty and threw me my check, then he showed me (after some sifting through the checks... probably for the highest dollar amount) and said 'See this? you'll never see a check like this anywhere else'. The nerve!!
Since I felt this was a bridge I didn't mind burning, I asked him 'how many hours did he bust his ass for that check? and how many miles did he put on HIS OWN vehicle that isn't reimbursed? You're damn right I won't be seeing a check like THAT anywhere else!' and I left.
I think Kirby (as a manufacturer) would do MUCH better if they got rid of the distributor chain as it currently exists.... sell the damn machine through major retailers like Sears, Macy's, Etc... of course nobody would pay $1800 for a vacuum... but if they cut out the dozen-layer distribution chain as currently exists, they wouldn't HAVE to charge that. Current distributors pay somewhere around $500 per unit... so sell them for $500 (or even $400 since the volume would be much higher) to the retailers... then they can retail them for around $600-650.
finally, a question to all the current and former Kirby salespeople reading this...
do they still say 'SUPER' so many times that you want to vomit or punch them in the mouth? LOL that's super.
I think I used to piss them off because I never said it... I'd say 'great', 'awesome', 'cool'.... anything but SUPER hehe
Over-priced for the general public
My fiance and I are 20 years old, and had a Kirby salesman come to his grandparents house, and try to sell us a Kirby (since he saw the grandparents weren't interested) for $1600. My fiance was very impressed with the vacuum demo and I could tell he was actually considering signing up for the payment plan. I have to admit, I was a little impressed myself, however I also kept in mind that I had never had the chance to watch salesmen from any other vacuum companies demonstrate for me (and the Kirby guy 'couldn't seem to figure out' how to show us how much our existing typical department store dirt devil picked up) so I really had nothing to compare to.
He kept saying, 'Look at how much dirt it's picking up. Did you know that was in your carpet?' And when we said, 'Well, it hasn't been vacuumed for over two months, and that's the main walk way, so yeah, I guess we expected that.' He didn't really know how to respond to that, so he just kept on repeating the same thing, 'Did you know that was in your carpet?' Anyway, he was pushy, and while he didn't take 3 hours...he did take an hour and a half to two hours.
Even after I told him that we did not have the funds, and that my fiance cannot even afford to get his car in working order, let alone buy a $1600 dollar vacuum, he still didn't give up! He never went down in price. And he kept telling us that he had to win this vacation for his girlfriend by selling as many as he could. He was a nice guy, but a VERY poor salesman.
Now, I'm not saying that Kirby is a bad company OR that all the salesmen are bad. But I think Kirby is over-priced for the general public (made clear to me by the fact that the salesman told us he chose houses that look 'financable' aka WEALTHY!) I like the car analogy.
A Mercedes might have more get up and go than my Toyota Corolla. It might have more options. It might be an overall better car. But I can't afford it. And neither can most of the general population. Same thing with these vacuums. Even if they ARE truly THAT much better than other vacuums (which in my mind remains to be seen) I really couldn't justify paying that much for a vacuum unless I was making at least 100K or more a year (and being a lowly college student, just getting on my feet, I definitely do not make that.) And even then, I would need a lot of convincing. Therefore, I will just stick with my dirt devil for now, until I hit the mega-millins jackput at least.
I am curious who trains the Kirby people where you guys live!
Whoever it may be, needs to resign. First off, yes Distributors do pay less for a Kirby, no, it's not around 300. It may have been a few years ago when G-6's were out, but there has been 2 models since then, therefore they pay a little over 400 now. So yes, there is a huge difference for the general public than a dist. But you have to think of it as buying in bulk. When a dist. buys a reno unit (kirby & shampoo'r) they do not buy ONE, they buy in sets of 8, 12, ect... Therefore they are paying less, but buying many more than any of you would at one time. That is common sense.
Now, as far as the Kirby person who 'could not figure out' how to show the difference in a Dirt Devil and a Kirby, well he should just quit anyway.. Plain and simple. Obviously he was not taught ANYTHING in training.
Speaking of training, not all DPS's (recruiters in Kirby) fill you with bs to get you to stay there. It is true that if you do not want to knock doors you don't have to, we have canvassers who do it for you, but yes, if they want, they may. I teach my classes a door pitch in training. I tell them during the interview it is Kirby. I am upfront. Our deal is not 50 a month, it's 15 demo's per week. They have 6 days to do it, how freaking hard is that? It's less than 3 a day. I know in my van we never came in with less than 12-15 demos per day, which is why I was the #1 canvasser in the world for over a year, until I started to DPS. Knocking doors does not take a freaking rocket scientist, nor does it take a liar. When we say we will shampoo one room for free, we will. I mean damn, if you don't buy it, it was free, was it not? Not all of us get mad and pitch a fit if you choose not to purchase it, some of us have class and move on to the next door. Afterall the national average is 1/3 sells. Therefore you don't give up after the first demo!
Then there is the 'lifetime warranty' I read about.. umm that is a LIE. Kirby does NOT have a lifetime warranty.. we have a lifetime rebuild agreement, which means you ship the Kirby to Cleveland OH and pay 175.00, they rebuild it for you and ship you new attachments... the Kirby has a limited 3 yr warranty which covers everything except the bags, belts, lightbulb, and rollerbrush. That is the truth.. it is in your owners manual!
Perhaps you guys should do some research before blaming all of us, afterall the manuals are in the home the entire time you are watching the demo!
Don't blame all of us just because there are some morons in Kirby who choose to lie to you or do not know what the hell they are doing! Some of us are honest, some of us are educated, some of us love our jobs and make a lot of HONEST money doing it. Not everyone is out to steal your money! There are bad people in EVERY business, but that does not make us all conartist! Tom, you worked for Kirby for 7 yrs... ok.. now you don't.. Well SOMETHING kept you there scamming people out of money for 7 yrs now didn't it? You say we're scammers.. what the hell were you for SEVEN YEARS?! It sure wasn't empty promises that kept you there or someone's bullshit. You stayed because you saw the money!!
Respect your customers and they will refer for you
The vacuum itself is fantastic, even if the owners manual is a little hard to follow (typical for most appliances). The price negotation is the part of the process that is so frustrating. Some of you say 'Do your research.' How? There is no reliable source of MSRP and price comps are hard to determine because you're not even sure what model/generation you're comparing. Questions like 'how much did your friend pay for her Kirby' let you know that they are going to charge you as much as they can get away with.
The auto industry has even moved to more realistic sticker pricing, even though they still need 'room' to negotiate. At least you can easily find MSRP in most cases for a car. And you can definitely find it for most other vacuums on the market.
This is the primary problem with Kirby vacuum sales. Of course the 'one hour carpet cleaning demonstration' ploy to get in your house is also annoying. I am in direct sales myself, and I know there is a lot of competition to get to those willing to make a purchase. But the bottom line is this...treat your customer with respect, make them feel confident and assured in the purchase they made (that the product is good and the price is fair) and you will reap the rewards 10x over.
I love my new vacuum - but having overpaid for it (at least according to what I'm reading here), having wasted 3 hours of my day (after I told the salesman I had an appointment in 1 1/2 hours), and having my phone calls ignored by the distributor (I purchased the zip brush, but it was not included with the attachments left behind - shame on me for not checking!), I feel foolish in referring these people to anyone.
And that's no way to build a business.
A-B-C-LOANS
Kirby salespeople's commissions are based, in part on whether the sale is paid for by cash/check/credit card, through Kirby's affiliated(?) finance company(s). The quality of the loan, based on the borrower's credit rating, can result in a commission of zero dollars to the salesperson.
I've heard this is bogus, and it certainly seems unfair. Anybody know the scoop on this? Can you explain how and why this is so?
After all, if the Kirby company gets paid by the finance company, why shouldn't the salesperson get his or her usual cut? And if Kirby is not getting paid, how does the sale go through???
Kirby Commission
I saw where someone asked about the 3 types of loans for Kirbys and why all deals are not paid on to the dealer... This is why... I know the types of loans and their 'names' are based upon which finance company is used. For us they are 'a loans' Sub loans and Krp loans.
A loans are cash, check, credit card, and people who pretty much have perfect credit. We are paid full commission off those deals.
A sub deal is people who have slow or bad credit with some good accounts, they are referred to as substandard... we are not paid off these deals because the finance company will pay our dist. enough to replace the Kirby and pay the taxes they may make a small profit but not enough to cover what our commission would be. On a Krp deal, these are people with rotten credit who somehow got bought by the finance company.
On these loans the Dist. is only paid enough to replace the machine.. they end up paying the tax out of their pocket not the profit. We are not paid on these deals either. But... sub and krp deals count toward all trips we win and any other contest put up at the time.. so we don't mind them.
The only thing to remember is to work good clients in quality type neighborhoods and you wont end up with deals you're not being paid on. People know this coming into Kirby though, we don't lie about it, we are upfront about it. Say you are about to win a trip that is paid completely for by the Kirby company and you need one more sale to be able to go... would you take one that you didn't get paid commission on in order to take a 5 day paid vacation? I would. Or would you take one to win things like cars, rolex's, motorcycles, ect? I would.
So I don't mind them. I don't complain. We are paid well on the ones that are payable so it evens out in the long run. That's the bottom line of the loans we accept or do not accept and why we are paid or not. It isn't because the company cheats you out of money.
Trust me, I've been there a long time, worked every position possible other than Dist. but I have been in the office, saw the reports from the finance company, saw how much they paid my Dist. so I know its not a load of bs.
I sold - or pimped if your perfer - Kirby's for one of the local offices here in Salt Lake City.
The guy in charge bragged about all of the money he was making and frequently flaunted it in front of us. This is completely unprofessional in my opinion. He did not really care if we stayed or went just as long as we crammed vacuum cleaners down as many throats as possible. The training was good but unpaid. However, the promise of big bucks was going to make up for any non-paid training. Supposedly. It was high pressure and long hours but I did it for a while. I quickly got sick of busting my hump for no sales and no respect. So I quit.
The product itself is awesome. The price is rediculous but I believe in Kirby's. I just will not work for them ever again. I found it funny that when people would not pay the $1800.00 the price quickly came down. This just proved to me that the company knows their product is priced out of site. Anyone considering working for them should consider it again.
Sell hookers instead. At least people know right away they are going to get screwed.
abc loans , I suspect that the finance company holds back or discounts a portion of the loan, and the Kirby distributer dumps that on the salesperson.
TO MELISA:
You mean to say that the finance company gets not only their own outrageous finance charges (24%), but also the entire profit on the sale???
You're saying that the Kirby distributer only gets the net cost of the machine, its' wholesale price, just what he paid the factory, but no more, no profit? Even if the customer makes good on the loan, the Kirby distributer gets nothing more, EVER??? The finance company gets it ALL???
I doubt it... Especially if the finance company is affiliated with, or owned by Kirby people... I think its more likely that all of the 'risk' is being assumed by the salesperson on these bad-credit deals, and he or she loses whether the customer makes good on the loan or not.
There may be some risk involved, but the finance company is richly compensated for assuming that risk, at 24% interest per annum. And I will guarantee you that the Kirby distributer gets a lot more than his cost on the machine.
I suspect that the finance company holds back or discounts a portion of the loan, and the Kirby distributer dumps that on the salesperson. Either way, the distributer gets his money back on the machine, plus a profit, if a little smaller one. The salesperson gets screwed, and he/she did all the work. For nothing.
No wonder they can afford to throw you trinkets and free trips: You've already paid for those 'gifts,' through the nose!
Not all sales people are the same, you know...
I use to work for the Distributor of Kirby Company in Wichita, Kansas. It was the best job I ever had in my life. I have had the one of the best times of my life there and had the worst experience of my life there.
Not all Salespeople are a like. That I know from experience. My ex-boyfriend and I were the complete opposites. I was nice and polite and he was to the point. If you didn't buy one from him, you were a dirty filthy pig. If you didn't buy one from me, I felt sorry for you cause you couldn't see what the Kirby can save you in carpet alone. Plus your health and the health of your family, you can't exactly put a price on that, now can you? But there are all types of sales people in the Kirby Company. If you experience a bad one, it is your duty to report them his the distributor, and if you don't, then it is your fault that person is still in the business. The more complaints on someone, the faster it is for them to get out of the business.
I hear a lot of people complaining about bad sales people, but what did they do to stop that person from going to someone else's house? If nothing, then shut up! If you called and reported them, then that sales person shouldn't be in the business anymore. But I do appoligize for all the bad salespeople in the business though. Kirby takes all kinds of people from people that is currently on probation for whatever to people straight out of the crazy house (if you know what I mean). But it isn't all bad people. There are some of the nicest people in the world just trying to make a living for their family. I know, cause I was one of them. I had, still have, a heart of gold and wear it on my shoulder.
I also hear a lot of people complaining about the price. And let me tell you, they aren't that pricy for what you are getting. Tell me what other cleaner can do all the stuff a kirby can do. Plus have the pick up power. They say that an Orek can pick up a bowling ball, well, who in their right mind would have bowling balls to vacuum up? Get real. You also have to take into consideration of the work they do in your home. If they clean a lot, don't you think they are worth more than getting 0 profit? They only get commission, there is no wages at all. They are pretty much going to work, hoping to get a sale so they can pay their rent or utilities or food. It is really hard trying to work 10 - 13 hours a day six days a week on commission only and some mean people are wanting to get the Kirby for less than what they can, come on, that ain't right. These people are wanting to make money and at the same time, wanting to help you have a cleaner home for your health and the health of your family. Do you really think it is fair for no one to get paid and you get the machine. Get real!
Replies to all of you.....
This is to Dawn in Virginia and Kirt in California: The G-6 was a great machine. Just wait til you see the Diamond Edition. It came out in December 2003/January 2004. There are a lot of differences, but the pick up power is a lot more. You gotta check it out!
To tom in New Jersey: You are kind of right. We do care a lot about the sales. But when you have babies at home that is depending on you to put food in their mouth and a roof over their head, you kinda do get a little side tracked on getting rich. But Jason from Illinois says it the way I was thinking when I was reading your comments.
To Jason from Australia: You said it just like it is. I worked for about 2 months and made less than $500 and almost quit, until I found out what really made me the money in Kirby. Canvassing.
To Bob from Washington: You are a complete idiot! When someone tells me they work for the Kirby Company, I get very hyper and ask them all sorts of questions because I don't believe everything that I hear. I ask questions and find out the trueth later on. So, people, don't be an idiot like Bob here and sound like a complete jackass and get caught lying, it looks bad.
To Joseph in Delaware: You are a good guy. If only there were more men like you to weed out the men like Bob, this would be a better place.
To Jessica in Utah: You obviously didn't listen or watch the dimo. There WAS dirt on the filters, just not enough for you to see, that or the dirt don't bother you like it does to everyone else (that, or the belt was not on - therefore you don't, then the Kirby don't work right). And as for all you Rainbow fans (this includes you too, Mr. Don From Texas) #1. Rainbow is an electric toilet. Everytime you vacuum, hou have to clean it out very thoroughly. If you don't, it smells like nasty out-houses. #2. Rainbow sets up shop in any town and sells the heck out of them and as soon as they slow down, they move. Leaving all the customers out to dry. No warrenties, no number to call for anything. Kirby is always here or there. Also 100% made in USA. To keep the American people working. I support that, don't you? #3. Any type of canister vacuum is recommended for above the floor cleaning. NOT THE FLOOR ITSELF! I will let you do a little 'suction test' on your Rainbow verses my Kirby. You need your vacuum and three playing cards. Unplug your brushroll bar, turn the suction end upside down, place one card on each end of the suction plate and one in the middle. Now, flip it upright. Do any of the cards stay on? Didn't think so. If there is a card on there, then it's in the middle, am I right? Okay, now we are getting somewhere. That is the only place that it is picking up. And probably poorly at that. Kirby, all three are on. Better suction equals better cleaning.
To Sean in New York: The new word is 'Positive'. I freaking hate that word. I never liked to use it either. And the logo is 'Get-R-Done' which is stupid too.
To Melisa in Alabama: You are pretty much the only one here, other than me, that really knows what's going on. I do have to say that I never even heard of you as being the best canvasser in the world or whatever. It took me one and a half months to be the 3rd top canvasser in March, April, May 2004 in the West Central Region with 63 one month and over 100 for the three months combined and the top canvasser for March 2004 Great Plains Division. I sat at the head table in Veil, Colorado for the 100% Club(after losing one of my best friends on the way). But anyways, Canvassing is the easiest jobs and at the same time the hardest. You get more no's than anyone in the world. But all you have to do is as easy as 1 2 3.
And to everyone else, it is worth what you think it is worth, not what someone else thinks it's worth. Who decides for you? You or them?
Had to physically throw the salesman out!!
When I still lived in the states a Kirby 'sales professional' came calling to my partner's auntie's place in San Diego. The neighbourhood is of 600k-100000 homes and gets hit up by all types of door 2 door sales. Anyway she was home as was I and her son. She is about 63, Vietnamese and doesn't possess a great command of the english language. the kirby guy also had a trainee with him who lugged in the machine and supplies. He keep disappearing outside for cigarettes which he deposited all around the front door and garden. The salesman was in his 3rd hour of demonstration before he tried to close the sale at $1500. she firmly said no and asked for a brochure or something should she change her mind and want to add to her collection of 2 vacumns,a carpet shampooer and a steam buggy. The guy wouldnt budge. I had gone upstairs to surf the net and came down 45 minutes later and he was still there asking ' are you buying? are you buying? are you buying? 'you need it, you wanna live in a clean house dont you?' She said not today, thank you, leave me a card and you would be the only person i'd buy from if the need arises. He put a pen in her hand and literally tried to get her to fill out something (sales contract?) She came to me and asked me to get the guy out. It was now at the point of embarassment for all parties when I asked the guy to leave, it had been over 4 hours now. He said well your aunt was just going to finalise the sale, I said no she wasn't we're done now thanks and goodnight. He said I cleaned your living and dining rooms I'm expecting this to be a sale, come on your American you gotta realise she has gotta buy this machine. At that point I picked up the Kirby and began towards the door, said if you'r not out the door in 60 seconds I'm chucking this machine out onto the street with intention of it not making another demonstration if you know what I mean. He said he was gonna call the cops I said go ahead I'm ready for a little Jerry Springer action tonight as I'd no plans for the evening. He finally silently signalled the trainee who had been the brunt of many of his belittling jokes through the evening to pack it in. I was so truly taken aback by his brusqueness towards the end that I could see how people end up buying just to get these guys out of their homes! Hadnt I been home I'm sure she would have bought the machine when she really did not need it. All the rubbish about 'a few bad apples' or 'a few bad seeds' is absurd, the bad stuff is now that of legend as this thread provides. In closing I too will be quick to note the machines are fantastic, and I for one am MORE THAN WILLING to pay double or triple the amount for a product made in USA, Australia, Canada etc to support manufacturing in Western nations and keep jobs for us. However my Kirby sales experience was something that I cannot condone under any circumstance!
How good can the vacuum be if they decide to sell it like this?
Why would a company with a good product need to use door-to-door salesmen to force it on unwilling customers?
That's not right!
If you make a good vacuum, you can sit back and market it honestly. You don't need to scam an army of salesmen who then turn around and triple the price when they force their way into your home for their “free" demo.
Sean, the former vac salesman, from New York said it best:
“I think Kirby (as a manufacturer) would do MUCH better if they got rid of the distributor chain as it currently exists.... sell the damn machine through major retailers like Sears, Macy's, Etc... of course nobody would pay $1800 for a vacuum... but if they cut out the dozen-layer distribution chain as currently exists, they wouldn't HAVE to charge that. Current distributors pay somewhere around $500 per unit... so sell them for $500 (or even $400 since the volume would be much higher) to the retailers... then they can retail them for around $600-650."
There's no reason for an army of resellers to mark up the price of something 500%.
Yeah, they may get rich that way. But it doesn't do much for the customers or the company that actually makes the products.
Alissa from Michigan hit the nail right on the head too.
“A Mercedes might have more get up and go than my Toyota Corolla. It might have more options. It might be an overall better car. But I can't afford it. And neither can most of the general population. Same thing with these vacuums. Even if they ARE truly THAT much better than other vacuums (which in my mind remains to be seen) I really couldn't justify paying that much for a vacuum unless I was making at least 100K or more a year (and being a lowly college student, just getting on my feet, I definitely do not make that.) And even then, I would need a lot of convincing. Therefore, I will just stick with my dirt devil for now, until I hit the mega-millions jackpot at least."
Want to put a Kirby in 1 out of 10 homes? Two words: reasonable markup.
That way, Kirby makes a lot of money. And, customers get cleaner homes for a price they can actually afford.
Submitted: 7/8/2005 11:28:28 AM
Modified: 7/8/2005 11:28:28 AM
Melissa
San Marcos, CaliforniaU.S.A.
Kirby is not a rip-off
I have been reading a lot bad things about the Kirby industries. I worked for Kirby for 8 months. The only reason I quit is because of a move. To start things off I am tired of people saying that they got ripped off and They paid this amount and found out some got it for this amount.
Have any of you ever worked a commission job before? Amazing isn't it? Kirby employees depend on commission as most employees do not get the required amount of shows to get thier base pay. Logically, like most sales people they are going to try to get it for a higher amount.
My lowest amount I could sell it for I only got 50 bucks. That is not enough to pay the bills. That was when I first started they soon changed it to anything below 1300 you got 25 bucks. After that you got the amount exceeding it. Only distributers themselves can sell a Kirby for as low as 500 hundred dollars. We could only go to $999.99.
I read where some one was saying that Kirby employees brag about how the ripped off people. Not true our meetings in the morning were for motivation and we would talk about our sales to get us excited about the new day.
We tell how and what made the customer buy it. I have noiticed the ex-employees of Kirby that complain about the company and how it worked are those who either were not very good at it or quit with in a week. Interesting isn't it? They have a high turn over rate because people can not handle the job. It requires long hours and working between 6 to 7 days a week for a lot of people. Because if you sell nothing that week and don't make your requirement then you don't get paid.
Now I do know of a few shadey Kirby salesman, but there are few and far between. Majority are honest people trying to make an honest living. The ones to be wary of are the ones who ask for merchandise(other than your vacuum) as a trade in.
Kirby is a gret product and worth whatever amount you pay for it. The sales pitches are 100 percent right. They will last a long time and get the job done right. They have a great warrenty system and if you have a problem with a distributer than you can always call one of the two factories. Kirby would not have been around for 90 years if they were a bad company and selling bad products. They are one of the last remaining few companies that actually do door to door. Kirby is a great product and vacuum that will get the job done.
Secrets from a former Kirby salesman
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