Kirby Vacuum Cleaners Reviews

A little feedback/help to let me know whether my detailed report was received, would be an encouragement. Kirby have let me down very, very, badly. So badly, I feel they should be taken off the market in South Africa. I paid R15,000.00 in installments, which was very, very difficult for me. However, as a pensioner with a completely handicapped husband, I thought the machine, as demonstrated, would make my hard life a little easier. Wrong! Not only have I lost all that money, which I can very ill afford, they took my old, but completely functional Vorwerk vacuum cleaner away, as a deposit. I really am quite desperate.

I can't use the machine because the rubber ring has slipped and I can't get it back. It's far too difficult, and the upholstery system is incomplete after Mr. ** removed a part of the system, but he sold me a lot of (now useless) cleaning materials. I have been well, and truly had, and now I have had no response at all from the managers of this site. In addition to the huge (for me) economic loss, the physical damage is very great. I, myself, am handicapped after several back operations. All I now have, to help with the housework, is a tiny, hand-held vacuum cleaner, which is suitable only to clean the inside of the car. Please help me.

After one week, this owner brought my nephew into the store to work as a recruiter because he was "so personable and good". I quote because I am the one that called this guy and called him out on his misleading of his product. He proceeded to tell me that my nephew just misunderstood. First of all, my nephew graduated with honors and is now taking college classes. He is not stupid.

Anyway, since I was mislead, the owner offered me a floor waxer for free. Since I had already bought this machine, I accepted it, but I wonder how many other people he had to bribe. The offer he gave my nephew was that when he went to work in the office, he would be paid $2,000.00 per month base and $100.00 more for every vacuum one of his salesman sold. After three weeks and a lot of badgering, he finally paid my nephew $400.00. From what I have read, this must be the way the company conducts business across the board.

This went on for three to four calls over the span of an hour. After refusing to take no for an answer and say thing that I would show up with the machine at their location and send a notarized certified letter to the BBB, they gave me the price of $999. They are overcharging by at least $850! Then, when I met with the manager he said to be quiet about this! What! They are ripping people off and he had the guts to tell me to be quiet about it. The machine is a great machine but scamming people for an extra $850 (even more if you choose the financing at 25% which is ridiculous) It's not right. I even called the 800 number on the contract and the representative said to be sure I get something in writing because they are known for this kind of thing.

Order online if you are interested in a Kirby. They discounted the price because I showed how persistent I was. If it was not for that, I know nothing would have been done.

The man and woman left the one guy there. He wanted to show me how the vacuum was made from airplane and everything else. Two hours later, I was told that the vacuum was $2400 but I could have it for $2000. I declined, told him no, I am not about to spend $2000 for a vacuum/steam cleaner. They kept insisting to go in my room and show me bed bugs. Huh! He finally got the picture and he text to the other two something. They came back 20 minutes later asking me why I didn't want to buy or finance it. I said, no. They left but before they left the sales guy asked to use my restroom. He left with an attitude. I never got my free two-room clean, only demonstration of how much dirt was in my carpet.

After a couple of hours, the other guy returned. We told him also that we just wanted our rugs cleaned and would not purchase the vacuum. At 9 pm, he told them they really had to leave because our baby had to go to bed. They guy asked for Windex to clean his machine and went into our bathroom without permission. After they finally left, another 15 minutes later, Cliff sat outside our house smoking for another 45 minutes. They left their dirty pads everywhere. We are very upset. They misrepresented themselves as a cleaning service to get inside the door. They would not leave after we asked them to several times. They wasted three hours of our night and left our house dirty.

The next day, I went into the bathroom and the guy left dirt, fuzz, and junk in our sink, on our bathroom rug. Even worse, he left stuff all in our bathtub! This is my baby's bathroom and her bath time mat and bath toys were in the tub. He dumped all of his debris in there! This is ridiculous. We took pictures. We are so upset at their scheming tactics to get into your home and not leave when asked. And to leave debris and dirt all over our house. I have read complaint after complaint on Kirby salesman. Something must be done! We turned them into the Better Business Bureau of Texas. To misrepresent yourself has to be illegal.

He tried. He tried guilt. He tried insults. He tried the I am a hardworking individual just trying to make a buck bit. He really did try. He even asked my mom if a gun was pulled to my head, couldn't she find the extra $50 bucks a month to save me. She is sweet and tried to remain sweet faced, but I couldn't help but laugh. He was comparing a vacuum to a life and death situation! He asked if we could trade anything, like our car! Or, if we could get rid of some extras in life, like our phone! Internet! Food! For a vacuum?

I was shaking with laughter. My mom had to excuse herself. I mean really? Who falls for that sort of sales pitch? We told the man we lived a very thrifty lifestyle (and we do) and my parents don't even have health insurance. Wouldn't it make more sense to use this extra $50 a month to place towards health insurance. If anything, we would use the $2500 (Yes, a $2500 vacuum! I would hate to know how much money you would have paid after interest, probably $6000.) to put in a hardwood floor. That sort of derailed him.

So he switched to guilt. He threw those little paper discs on the floor, covered with dirt and grime and we should be ashamed that we allowed ourselves to live in such filth. It was gross, disgusting and we were liars. How dare we! We watched as he vacuum the same spot over and over. Even the Kirby couldn't seem to come up with a clean paper disc. He tried to guilt us about not using American products. We were a disgrace to the American race because we didn't own a Kirby! We are horrible people because we weren't willing to work a little bit harder in life; get that second job, sacrifice things in life - to own a vacuum cleaner?

Though we found it amusing, it is disheartening to know that these men prey on people who can be in guilt, feared or pressured to buy a product they really don't need. This man stood there in our house, trying to persuade us that we were scum of the earth because we didn't own a Kirby. Such sales tactics should be outlawed. A salesman should be making you feel good about the product, not bad about yourself because you didn't own the product.

If a sales person refuses to leave your house, don't hesitate to call the police! Even the act of calling is enough for one to leave quickly. And before you let a stranger enter your house, make sure to ask for photo ID and make note of the name (If you have a copy machine at home, make a copy). Even that small act makes a sales person more wary about how s/he treats you. If s/he refuses to prove ID, then shut the door on his/her face. Door-to-door salesmen typically need to be licensed by the state, and if they cannot prove they have a license, again, shut the door (It is also good to make note of the license). It is your home and it is up to you to be careful in who you allow into your home. These salesmen are trained to harass their potential victims, wearing them down through hours of fear, guilt and doubt. They employ sales tactics that make a used car salesman blush.

I politely reminded our salesman as he dug his heels in our foyer that the only reason he was still here (for 2 hours) was because we kindly let him. I had no qualms with calling the police on a man who refused to leave our household. He took the hint and hastily left. As he went to sit on our curb to wait for the van, I also reminded him that in Colorado, we do have the good ol' "make my day" law, and there are some people around here who would claim that a man with a vacuum was a danger to the household.

Case in point: Never buy anything until you research the product! Never finance anything until you research the company! Especially, for a $2500 vacuum cleaner.

Then my girlfriend woke me up to go see some of the things about Kirby on the internet. I called the guy James that gave us the training the next morning. I told him we were not interested in trying to sell the Kirbys and we would be returning them. I made sure he gave us something showing that we returned both units in better condition than he gave them to us. People beware! What this type of distributor is selling is a demonstration vacuum. You only get an unused unit if you insist on one. Think about this. Where was this vacuum they use for demonstrations prior to them bringing it to your house? We're thankful we made the right choice and did not attempt any sales. We are good people that only lost some time. We sleep well...

I kept reminding both of them that we said we would not buy! Then we started to get high pressure. They kept running down our present vacuum and I said, "When you run down ours, that guarantees I would never buy from you” and he said, "I'm not doing that," which was an out and out lie. He said ours was like running the sweeper not turned on—I couldn't tell you how many times and different put-downs he said. It got more and more and more pressure. I said it was supper time and they kept pressuring us to buy and finally I said, "You are beating a dead horse.” He said, "What do you mean?" I said, “You keep saying the same things and running down our sweeper.” I only let him do the cleaning to help him win his trip, etc.

I'll never let another Kirby salesman in our home. I don't think high pressure is going to get anyone to buy. I told him so and I reminded him that we told him to start that we would not buy and he admitted that I had, but he said that people eventually buy. It won't work with us.

Fine, I think. She comes in with a big box and starts putting it together, and a man comes in with a smaller box and starts to help her put it together. She then says, "Here you go, make sure he does a good job!" and off she goes. So now I have a strange man in the house. Having been brought up to be polite isn't a help in such a situation. So he plods through his demo and an hour later, I have dusty disks all over the play table and he is still going. Three times, I say I have to start dinner but it's like he can't hear me. He just keeps saying the things it can do.

An hour and a half in, I start cooking dinner around him. I also finish off a patch on my youngest sons pants and put the dishes on to wash. Two hours in, and he finally finishes and starts on the selling. Like I have the money for a ** vacuum cleaner, it had more bits than the space shuttle and worked about as well as my husband when it came to house work. He even tried the competition card, the "Can you please help me to win a trip by buying the vacuum. "

Talking to his supervisor on the phone (my phone) he got down to $10 down payment and $68 per month. I laughed at him. If I had that kind of money there would be more food in the house and I wouldn't be patching the knees of my kids trousers. His supervisor shows up (and now I have two strange men in the house and can't seem to get them to go away! ) and sees it's a definite, no! After trying several times to get me to buy it, so they start to pack up in a grumpy way, very jerky and short tempered.

Now, I am pretty good with people, so actually managed to get him into a better humor, talking about our birds, hunting and the like, and they finally left. I now have kids who are over an hour late for their dinner, and a table covered with dirt and my carpet from inside the front door in the middle of the living room.

After reading about this crowd online, it seems I got off easy. Don't ever let them in your house. They have no respect for you or your needs, they just want to sell you a ** vacuum. Good thing I think dirt is good for kids or the disks of dirt and the veiled comments about health and safety would have made me feel really bad about myself. Oh, and to top it all, off he packed up my "free gift" when I wasn't looking.

At first I told her no that I was trying to put my children down for naps, but she told me she could just clean a small section and that would earn her the points she needed to win some contest. This is where I become the idiot for believing her. After agreeing to let her clean the small area for 10 minutes she went to get the vacuum and returned with some guy and her husband, the "boss". She and her husband walked out the door and although I didn't realize it at the time, they were taking off in their van full of the "lost boys" to find other houses to drop them off at. Basically, the salesman stayed in my home for over 3 hours. So much for our naps.

We have a farm and so my husband was nearby and even came in about 30 minutes in to the pitch and told the guy that he could buy 3 cows for the cost of the vacuum. Thanks but no thanks. My husband thought he was leaving right then so he went back to work. The salesman said he was calling his manager to come pick him up, but after several phone conversations between the two, the manager didn't show back up until 3 hours later. I couldn't believe it. Not only is it incredibly inconvenient, rude, and downright deceptive (10 minutes?), but that is really dangerous to leave a young man in someone's home without any transportation, dangerous for me and him.

I didn't know him from Adam and would have never let him in my house if he had come to the door. Now I know not to let anyone in no matter what they look like. He ended up being some college kid with dreams of making big commission, whatever. He did tell me they call the job the girl does "trolling". Nice. That sounds like something a serial killer does. I talked him into giving me his number on the premise that I would buy one later. After he finally left, my husband called his number and got his manager's number. He called and pretty much told them off and warned them not to come down our road again. He was livid that a stranger was left alone with his wife and children.

The truth is while they may be decent vacuums, they are not worth that much money. No vacuum is worth that much. They go door to door because they know that using pushy, deceptive sales tactics are the only way they can sell them.

The reason they are still in business after "90 years" is because they prey on the vulnerable and they have been wildly successful with their "trolling" strategy. If your product is so wonderful, then allow word of mouth from satisfied customers to sell your product (maybe some of those folks that you hoodwinked into biting off more than they could chew? Maybe they love the vacuum they can't afford) and quit the ancient practice of door to door. I'd like to warn as many people as possible about the sales strategy this company employs. In my opinion, it's pretty unethical.

It is the best at suction and even has a lifetime warranty that really doesn’t have any catches. It is not heavy and is very easy to push, it actually gets the dirt out of the carpet, and not just from the carpets surface but deep down dirt. I have three indoor cats and it is great with pet hair removal. I have allergies and since we started using the Kirby Sentria, I can tell our home is clean, our carpet looks 100% better and the air is much cleaner. I dust much less and we even don’t have to change the air conditioner filters out as often and when we do, they are not near as dirty as they used to be.

I absolutely love that I can vacuum my and my family’s mattress with the Kirby and get all of the dust mites out of our bedding. If you have never seen a Kirby, I would highly suggest you do it! If you have been a skeptic about door to door salesman, you may be right about some of them but Kirby is definitely something you should see! One last thing, it also has a shampooer that comes with it along with a floor buffer and electric broom for those with bare floors that I love using in my kitchen. The shampooer is the best at removing spots and it even leaves a scotch guard on the carpet! You must see this! I highly recommend the Kirby Sentria it is a great investment for the home!

Two and a half hours later and after vacuuming the drapes, hall carpets then proceeding to start to clean a 8' x 10' rug all the while giving a Kirby vacuum demonstration. Near the end when we told them we would not be buying a vacuum they left leaving part of the rug not cleaned. Also, we were under the impression the first girl who came in by herself was doing the work, she then let 2 more additional people into our home and left the one man, Derek to do the work.

He showed up around 2:30 pm. He came in and expressed with attitude that he was upset, he claimed that I told consumer affairs that I had spoke to him and he offered a new vacuum. I explained that until now I didn't know his name and all I said to consumer affairs was that I was sold a used vacuum when it was to be new, that it had dent, scratches and carpet and hair from someone else's house and for $,1200 dollars. I didn't appreciate it. Mr. T brought in a new Kirby, he demonstrated the one I already had. I explained to him that it wasn't that it didn't work, again it was used.

He started yelling at me saying that I put the dent and scratches on the machine. He proceeded to walk out the door with the new Kirby. I asked why, he told me that I was a child and nothing wrong with the machine. I said "excuse me, you called me a what?" He said a child (remind you that he is yelling at me). I told him, "if you buy a new car and you bring it back and notice scratches, dents, etc what do you do?" He said take it back and I said that's what I'm doing. He said no and called me a child and walked out the door. I immediately called consumer affairs and spoke to Candice. She said that he had already called said he told me that I knew it was a "demo" at the time of sell and he wasn't going to replace the machine that he is the owner and they cant make him replace it. I told them that the demo conversation was never spoken about. If I had known it was a demo, I wouldn't have bought it.

How are you going to sell a demo to someone? My husband called an hour afterward and spoke to Mr. T and that conversation did not go well either. I don't know what all was said so I can't document that. I have contacted BBB, local newspapers and news channels. I want my new Kirby that I am paying for and I expect nothing less. Who comes in your home and disrespects them, yelling and calling name? You really don't have a good representative working for you.

We worked 7 days a week, 12-14 hours a day, while these people tried to push their way into unsuspecting people's homes, using a "free" rug shampoo as a way to get in. Once inside, they made us demonstrate, and sell Kirby Vacuum cleaners, using high pressure sales tactics, and often the crew leader Kevin **, a known felon, would not leave until the people bought them or threatened to call the police. He would ask to use their restrooms, and steal jewelry, prescription drugs, and anything he could find from these innocent consumers.

He also would bum rush the girls out of the van, a brown mini van, and tell them to leave their purses, that they didn't have time to get them. When the girls would get in the van and count their money, voila, it would all be gone, and he would cuss them out like they did something wrong. He left us out in the 95 degree heat for more than 12 hours with no food, nothing to drink, and would often come by and degrade us for not getting into houses.

It all gets so much better. After a month of 75-80 hours a week, 7 days a week of this grueling work, the owner, Patrick ** refused to pay us. I sold 4 Kirby's, and he owed me thousands of dollars, and my friend, just as much, and would not pay us a dime. As it turned out, he had his crew leader Kevin** steal our money, and they split it.

The story is much worse than this. Everyone there is a felon, drug dealers, and con artists. They are all sleeping with each other, and pride themselves on robbing the good people of the state of KY. They like the area's of Lawrenceberg KY, Danville, Lexington, Frankfort, Florence, Georgetown, and so on. If you see these people in your neighborhood, be warned. They will scam you and rob you. The Police and government agencies are well aware of this Ponzi scheme, and are trying to shut this operation down.

If you are thinking of working for them, be warned you will work for free. Actually, you will be paying these scum bags! Between me and my friend, we are out over $400 in gas and food we bought for all the workers, and owed $3000 plus dollars in pay, plus over $1000 in commission, not to mention the petty theft of our spending money, more than $200 plus and our jewelry.

I knew that sounded too good to be true so I went home, found this site and was completely appalled at what people were saying as I was all excited to start making money. I went to the training the next day, asked to speak with the manager. I said, "If I am going to be working for this company, I need the following: 1) a letter of employment which guarantees $500 a week, ..." The sleazy soliciting trainer guy named Gary said, "You already signed for that, we already discussed it" while the manager goes, "Buddy, nothing is guaranteed, we provide you with 15 appointments and from there on the money you make is based on the referrals you get." Then I said, "Okay, I got the wrong impression."

Then the sleazy trainer guy just just shrugs his shoulder like he could care less; he will just solicit another poor soul. They don't make it clear; you need to inquire early on to make sure you know what you're getting yourself into. The only thing that stopped me from marching up to that training room and warning all the other people is that the manager was very respectful to me. If he wasn't, I would have assaulted every single person in the office. People, be leery. I had loss in gas money driving to training session and lost other potential job interviews.

The lady who answered (did not give her name), just answered "hello" very unprofessionally to the point that I thought I had dialed the wrong number. I told her what happened and she took my name, address and phone number and told me someone would call me back in a few minutes. Three hours later, I called again only to get an answering machine. I left a message for someone to call me back and I have not heard from them. I have been scammed by this company and I would like to know what my legal rights are in this situation. I also need to get my old vacuum back from these people.

I have been trying to talk to Mr. ** again, since 05/28/2010, but have been unsuccessful. I have called & left numerous messages for him, but he has not returned my call. I also left messages for the salesman, Mike. He never returned my call either, but a gentlemen named Travis gave me his cellphone number, & I called & talked with Mike on 06/09/2010. He told me he was about to begin a demonstration, & would call me back after 4:00PM. I told him I had left several messages for him to call me back, & he never did.

He said, "well then, you call me back". I did & he did not answer. He has not answered my calls, nor has he ever called me back. I will be filing a complaint with the BBB as well. I want a new Kirby. I am currently paying for a new Kirby, but have a used one. If that was going to be the case, I would have just kept my old Kirby for a few more years, & not had the additional debt. I hope you will be able to help me with this unpleasant situation.

I do believe, when they came into my home, they stated "one room free" not "vacuum your floors and walls and shampoo a 4x4 area of carpet". The dealer then puts on the whole sales pitch. I told him that I have student loans and can't afford it. The dealer then calls the "crew leader" who just walks into my home several minutes later trying to wheel and deal. I tell him that I cannot afford this and he drops the price to $2,100. After a more than 5 hours and getting very frustrated, I decided to purchase.

After signing the contract and the "crew leader" called the finance company and got me approved, I asked if I would get my new vacuum today. He states "yeah, it's right here and points to a vacuum he just cleaned my home with (how many other homes were cleaned with it). I told him that that was not okay with me. He said that it was new this morning. Meanwhile, the woman comes in (who was just sitting in the van) and said that the bags were stolen from their van and they would need to run 30 minutes away and get some. They left the demo guy at my house after I told them I didn't need additional instructions as my mother-in-law and niece has the same model. Before I knew it, the "crew leader" and the young girl were gone and I was stuck with the demo guy for another hour.

When they returned, I told the leader and the girl that I would like a new vacuum and they pretty much refused. So I say, "You know what? Forget about it" and I will call them tomorrow and get my new $2,100 vacuum. I called the next day and was promised that someone would call me that Friday and set up arrangements to have a new vacuum delivered. Guess what? No one called me and by this time I can't cancel the contract. Then I called again and had a man yell at me for trying to request a new vacuum. He said he would have someone call me on Friday. No Call.

I then called the finance company and tell them that they are not keeping their promise in getting me a new vacuum and that I would like to return it because I don't want to do business with them. The woman at the finance company told me that she will try and get a hold of them. The finance lady then calls me at work a few days later and asks if I got my new Kirby. I told her I did not and she told me that they have tried several times to contact them with no return call. I was also instructed by them to call other numbers to help get this resolved. Keep in mind, at this time, I wanted to dispute the contract and have them pick up the vacuum. I was given numbers to Kirby Customer Services. I spoke with a lady who was extremely rude to me and gave me another number to call.

I called Kirby Consumers Affairs and was also talked to in an unfriendly manner and then again was told to call another number. I called Kirby Factory and all I got was a rude person who didn't want to hear my story and states that I need to call the company (Hawkeye QCK) that sold me the vacuum. I got nowhere. I called these numbers several times a week and got nothing done. I was starting to get very angry. I was wasting several hours a day being yelled out by a company I spent so much money on. I decided to call Customer Service one more time. The woman who was also rude told me she would get in contact with the company and get this resolved. The company finally called me on May 24th and May 25th.

On May 26th, they talked to my husband whom they offered to bring us a new vacuum and free products. He told them that he would need to talk to me because I was wanting to return it. I received a certified letter in the mail saying that they have tried to call me and have a vacuum delivered. The next day, I got a call from the finance company and she left a message that said "due to you not calling the company and getting a new vacuum delivered they would be unable to help me. Good luck".

I wasn't returning their call because I was told that the finance company needed to talk to the dist. that sold the cleaner. I called the company that sold me the cleaner and spoke with the woman that called the phone and sent the letter. I told her without them returning the finance company's phone call, I could not file a dispute (this was what the finance company had told me previously). The woman says, "Oh, really, because we talk to the finance company several times a day".

I told her politely that I have called different Kirby numbers and have attempted several time to reach them and she was so rude. I got feed up and told her that I would be going to contact a lawyer and the local news to investigate the scam. The woman replied "Go for it." Click. I have no idea what to do or what legal rights I have. Am I stuck with this thing or was I being thrown around from different people within different companies within Kirby? They are willing to give me a new Kirby now. I don't want to deal with them. I have wasted not only the 5 plus hours they were here for the demo but many hours a week trying to resolve this. Don't buy from Kirby. It's a joke!

They came on time, only this time with a young woman who was allegedly "overseeing this - to make sure they did it right" - she was clearly the "driver" because no car was in front of my house after she left. "Richard" had a very young man with him who had a piercing projecting below his lower lip and continuously loudly bit his nails and "discarded" his droppings on my floor - the youngster was in training. There's no way I would let the young man in - he looked too young to know anything about vacuums let alone his annoying nail biting/discarding habit. Richard brought in this huge box and started to assemble the vacuum all the while talking. I have both Riccar and Miele vacuums which I'm happy with.

Richard vacuumed with the Kirby and I will say that it's much lighter than the one I had 30 years ago. He did the "let me show you how superior the Kirby is to your vacuum" routine and the results were indeed impressive. What I didn't appreciate is that he continuously made my vacuum sound like a piece of garbage (which it isn't) and also made me feel like I was a lesser person for tolerating such a poor vacuum. The pitch was over the top - offensive, way too pushy. I reminded him that I told him up front that I wasn't going to buy anything, but nothing deterred him. The cost started off ridiculously high, he then called "the manager" who shaved off $. I told him we had other expenses we needed to take care of right now, we have 2 perfectly working vacuums, etc. - that didn't stop him - all I got was "what's it going to take", etc. Nothing I said stopped him from asking what it would take - I think I could've said I was going to die in a few days and he still would have pushed.

He then said he had to go to the bedroom (that's creepy) so he'd get "credit" for his demo - by now my husband was home, so I allowed this (I'm sorry to admit this). He comes upstairs and roughly pulls back my entire bedding to do a demo of the mattress cleaning - I was speechless. He never paused to ask "do you mind if I completely destroy you’re freshly made bed" - no, he wanted to creep me out with what he vacuumed up. If indeed he wanted to demo the mattress, the correct way to do that was to ask my permission before ever going to the room. The whole experience was disturbing. I had to leave and my husband was left to watch them shampoo the carpet.

By the time I returned, they'd shaved off additional dollars - the price went down to 1/3 of what their documentation showed. The machine itself seemed very good, but the sales pitch completely turned me off. There's no way I'd ever buy this product only because of the really poor representation by all of the reps that came into our home. If indeed Kirby is so superior - they should hire properly dressed, articulate, well mannered people to represent their "superior" product. Another helpful hint - listen to your audience, when they say they don't want a "pitch", they generally mean it. Maybe Kirby should consider selling their product in stores like other manufacturers - the "home invasion" approach isn't appropriate and they lost a sale/customer because of it.

The appointment time was 7pm. I have a 3-year old and a 1-year with the demo going on and everything else, both kids were up until 10 pm when they left. As a parent can tell you, this is not good. Also, the tactics used were terrible. Like others, there were the little discs that they show so that you see how dirty your house is and all the dead skin and dust mites, etc. Then she took my vacuum and ran it then redid the area with the Kirby and asked me to take that disc and breathe through it. Of course, it was dirty and she kept saying, "Now, why would you want this around your kids? Don't you want to provide the best for your family?" All this and more pressuring. Never mind the fact that the room they did was connected to a bathroom that we just renovated. So yes, it's going to be dirty.

In the end, after the demo, we sat down to discuss price which of course was too much and they offered to drop and reduce and all that. I explained that we couldn't afford it because of the recent renovations, more pressuring. Now, it's getting late and kids need to get to bed. So finally, I just said fine just to get them out of my house. Plus the 18 year old kept saying she was hungry and eying my kids' happy meals that they had for dinner! My husband and I continued talking after they left. The next day, I called to cancel. I was told that the manager would call me. No one called. I called at least three times each time being told I would be called back. I finally took the papers and signed the cancellation on the bottom and faxed them in. Then I called to confirm receipt. Only then did they say they received anything. A couple of days later, they sent someone out to my house to pickup the machine which was sitting right where the girl left it with water and everything.

The guy who picked it up was nice enough, although scary looking. And he kind of chastised me for not picking up my phone when he called. Never mind the fact that I was in a business meeting! He cleaned up the vacuum and asked for the box which the girl did not leave. I told him this. He said okay and took the vacuum and left. The next day, we went out of town for a week. During this week, I expected the deposit to be refunded to my account, it had not.

Today is June 4th and I called the office to ask about the refund of the deposit. The girl who answered said she had to talk to her manager. She called back hours later and said that they would cut me a check. I asked why couldn't they just refund my account like a normal business. Check with manager again, a few hours pass. A manager calls me and says our guy who does refunds is out until Monday, a refund will occur on Monday. So now, I get to wait until Monday to see if I get my money back. This whole thing is terrible. It was very evident that the company tries to put you off when you want to cancel or rescind the agreement until your window to do so has passed. Luckily, I saw the cancellation line on the paper and had a fax and followed up with a phone call until someone checked their fax machine.

He then runs to a van full of people and a man gets out and goes to the back of it and they unload a couple boxes and a tote bag. The guy’s name was Steve. They come into my house and start unloading everything everywhere. Steve then leaves and takes the van, leaving RJ at my house all alone with me and my kids. I was very uncomfortable. He then started vacuuming and showing me all these dirty filters by placing them all over my carpet where my girls always are. 30 minutes turned into one hour. My kids are getting hungry. I ask him to please leave because I needed to tend to my kids. He said he had to stay until his boss picked him back up.

I asked him to call his boss to come get him. He said he didn't have much longer. So I made lunch for my girls and he still wasn't done. After lunch is nap time for my kids. As I go to lay them down, RJ goes into their room, strips their beds, and starts vacuuming them. So I couldn't lay the girls down. Both were crying and very upset. I then ask him to leave again because I am not interested in the vacuum. It did a great job but was much too expensive. He once again told me he had to wait until his boss came back. Once his boss came back I told him I didn’t want their product. He then told me he would give it to me for half price. I then told him I don't make financial decisions without my husband and my husband would be at work all day.

The manager, Steve, then told me that apparently my husband doesn't trust me then. And made it sound as though my husband was trying to keep money from me. I agreed to purchase the Kirby just to get the idiots out of my house, knowing I could just cancel the next business day. He then had me fill out a credit application in which I put in my name. When he called the credit company he told them my name was something else, gave a different social security number, gave a different job than what I do, and gave a totally different monthly income. He called this place using my phone! He then hands the phone to me and tells me I have to verify the info with the credit company.

I got on the phone and the lady asked for the name Steve gave them. I said I didn't know who that person was. She then asked to speak to Steve again. He got on the phone and told the lady that the person’s name he gave her was just here and had left to go to work! I'm completely ** off and he still wouldn't leave after this. He then saw my checkbook lying on the kitchen table and tore a check from it and wrote void and said he had to have that for automatic withdrawal each month. I told him he wasn't getting anything and to give my check back and that I wanted them to leave. He kept telling me all this ** about how my husband doesn't trust me with money, how I need to make my own decisions. I finally just told him to leave and I would be cancelling the service the next day. None of the phone numbers given to me work. So I have now cancelled the check he took.

He would not offer a business card or any brochures. He had to go back to his van and dig around for someone else's card (no one answered the phone number, and there was no voicemail). I'm in sales too (though a far more legit organization,) so I had some bit of sympathy for him, and did have a section of carpet I wanted cleaned.

Long story short, we ended up seeing the famous cleaning demo. I was able to rush them through it. But the whole experience was just way too creepy. If this is what they have to do to sell their products, I want nothing to do with them. Having slept on the whole affair, I'm very skeptical of the dirt they pulled up from our carpet. I'm also extremely upset that a 6'2" man will try and push past a 5'4" young woman who is very obviously scared by the whole affair. Citizens, beware! It's not worth it! That's an hour I'll never get back.

Now the G3 is having problems and I took it to the same sales office where they have a service department in Reno, NV. I'm told that the Kirby's warranty is for three years only and I need to pay for it. I was given a phone number in Illinois to call for further information. The lady on the phone told me the same thing: 3 years warranty only.

Now my question is: did I hear the salesman wrong? Did the salesman lie to me in order to make the sale? I checked with a few other Kirby owners. They all believed that the warranty is for lifetime. The Kirby lady told me the lifetime warranty is for rebuilding the cleaner but at a cost to the customers. However, this information was not revealed to me and I believed that the lifetime warranty is for free.

I want to hear from others whether your Kirby salesman did the same sales pitch to you that a Kirby Vac Cleaner has a lifetime warranty.

If they all lie, what can we do as consumers? If you know its limited warranty, what is the reason you made the purchase instead of using the same amount of money for 10 other vac cleaners over your lifetime? I got my Kirby for $1888 and the cost to the distributor is about $450. Why do people have to compensate a distributor so richly?

For someone that had never worked before and didn't have any qualifications as I had dropped out of school, I assumed it was normal practice. But within a few months, the emotional stress of lying to people to make money and pretending that being insulted didn't affect us, all caught up and I was forced to argue with the company.

The kids that are hired are not monsters. They are turned into monsters by the company. The company is a pyramid. And the sales staff are slaves that don't have the courage to talk up, which is sad to see. I was then "promoted" to other positions which still didn't pay me anything. I got transferred around when someone quit to fill in their position. In the 2 years I worked there, I averaged $500 NZD a month, which is nothing.

These kids don't want to be rude to people. They just have no choice. I've read 30 pages of complaints. Next time, don't let them in but be kind to them if you can. It lifts them up and all they are trying to do is make a buck. A lot of them that work are genuine hard workers that do physical work for sometimes 17 hours a day. A lot of them don't have qualifications and can't get any other work and they have no choice but to do this to feed their babies.

Trust me, I know how much pain they could cost you in 3 hours but sometimes they walk for 15 hours and get hundreds of doors slammed on the faces, get sworn at, get dogs released on them and everything else you can think of. I am no longer directly working for them but I am working with the sales staff to train them in more civilized ways to go about their work.

Jose and the oriental man came in and I was asked if they could be their equipment in a certain area of my living room. I gave my approval. Immediately, the girl slipped out the front door along with Jose. That left the oriental man with me. He proceeded to pull out the Kirby vacuum cleaner. When I saw what they were up to, I stopped the man and explained that I was not interested in purchasing a Kirby vacuum cleaner because within the next few months I would not have carpets. He proceeded to show me how it could change a light bulb, blow up a balloon, etc. I told him that I didn't care and that he was wasting my time. He told me he got paid if he stayed an hour in my home and said the he had to go through the demonstration before he could clean my furniture. I asked how long the demonstration would take and he said about an hour. I told him no. We had plans for the afternoon. He did not want to leave. I told him that if I had know that the girl was soliciting for Kirby, she would not have gotten in my door. He said they had several techniques they use to get in homes. He asked to use the bathroom.

Afterwards, he proceeded to clean his equipment in my living room. He shined it with a soft cloth. Why I don't know because he didn't do anything to dull it. What really made me angry is he proceeded to clean his brushes by pulling out any lint and dropping it on my floor! I told him to call his pickup partner and leave. He hesitated --- stalling for time. Trying to let an hour pass so he would receive payment. He used his cell phone, but said he couldn't get it to ring. I then asked for the number and called it on my phone. They answered immediately. By this time I was fuming. I called my husband who was upstairs to come down and wait with me while he got his gear together to leave. I told him that he could wait outside. He wanted the flyer back because he said they were running low on them. I told him no because it was given to me. I gave him back the free sample of Lysol wipes. No where on the flyer does it have Kirby vacuum cleaners. It only has the following: "Free Today! Dry Foam Shampoo. Other services include: 1 set of stairs, 1 heavy traffic area, 1 deep clean one set of furniture, and 1 deep mattress cleaning (removal of dust mites). "I told him that I would be contacting Kirby with a complaint and the Better Business Bureau. I felt that this was misrepresentation of their product. They weren't selling cleaning products, but vacuum cleaners. I want to know when did Kirby sink so low that they have to get sales this way.

With that, from the information I gather, this person was not professional, made comments that were not acceptable, used the bathroom, used my mother's cell phone, etc, such as, the person(s) that she arrived with left her at the house to leave and go who knows where! When it was (pass the) time for the rep to leave, she had to use mother's phone to call for a ride! The ride was not there so she proceeded to take whatever she had entered the house with and walk to the end of the drive. Oh, she also said if she sold one more vacuum in the day, she could afford to take her very sick mother, who has cancer, on a trip for a last "farewell". Are you serious?

This is unacceptable and to "prey" on folks such as my parents and grandmother--I certainly wish I had been home. I asked you to remove this address from any mailings, drop by solicitation visits, or anything else from your list. Why so upset? Many reasons but to note again, a few, the person, the so called sales rep was not professional, was close if not right out suspicious, and in today's world, or any for that matter, it's not wanted or needed. Life is (can be) tough enough without someone coming to your door to add to it, not to mention now one must maintain an even higher guard that the people might return, solicited or unsolicited, and when. What are they up to? Selling vacuums?

My sister read a posting on one of your sites, some site, about a man who had the same type of experience with a supposed rep of Kirby's. The same bathroom, phone experience, the same story of wanting/needing to sell enough to take a mother on a last farewell trip. What's up? This is not right. Make a sale another way! I'll pass the word to take heed and will copy and report this to the Better Business Bureau, for what that may matter.

Please leave my family alone. I am simply appalled. Think about it. Someone that drops by at 7pm, anytime really, needs to use the bathroom, needs to use the phone, the people she/he drove up with had to leave while the other person is still here? Many things come to mind and it's not for someone to sell a vacuum, but more so a possible meth-head, drug-user going through cabinets, can't afford a phone. Who knows these days? Again, please notify your supposed reps throughout the area to not visit this address again. We prefer not to purchase a Kirby vacuum and if we do purchase any type of vacuum, we'll visit a store. Please know that I'll inform each person here/in the surrounding area. I';; contact each neighbor to make them aware of this "incident" and if need, we will call the police, no questions necessary.

So much for "real quick". They were here for three hours (Franklin 'the over priced box carrier' as he called himself was in and out the entire sales pitch seemingly showing up whenever Robbie was having difficulty convincing me)! They pulled my vacuum out to compare and insult, implied I was doing my son a great injustice and harming him by "having all this dirt and carpet powder" in my carpet for him to play on, and even suggested I throw my brand new vacuum, that I could get a full refund on if I chose to buy the Kirby, over the balcony simply because "it would be so awesome".

After three hours of sweet smiled attacks on my parenting and house cleaning, and being told my husband (who is overseas at the moment) should trust that I would make a good choice even without his consent or knowledge, I am ashamed to say I caved and bought one at the hefty price of $1890 (down from $3000), and now will be having to deal with returning the stupid thing. I had just walked in the door from a long day out with my toddler, looking forward to putting him to bed and relaxing myself, and ended up being battered and manipulated for 3 hours into buying a vacuum.

I will confess I love the Kirby vacuums and knew it would outdo my Dyson, and will also confess that the lifetime warranty almost makes it worth the $1890. But I was not ready to make a decision right then and there, and felt forced to being a woman home alone at 10 o'clock at night with two men in my home unwilling to leave until I bought one. As much as I love the Kirby, I will in no time soon, if ever, let another salesperson of theirs into my home. To add insult to injury, just before Robbie left he says to me, "I told you not to let me in; I told you I would sell you one if you did." So much for, "I won't be selling you anything, I just want to go to Vegas."

They circled my house and banged on both front and back doors as they yelled hello. My husband opened the door. They said they had an appointment, my husband told them we weren't interested, and they said where's grandma, grandma made an appointment with us. If either of these creeps ever show up at my door, I'm calling the police. We thought we may be getting cased out or robbed. I will be roporting this incident to our local police department.

They hold 'team motivational meetings' in the back garden. Whereby, we all have to listen to 20+ reps shout " what do we want? Money! Money! Money! " The village have formed a group to record all this behavior and contacted the area council, police etc. But Kirby seem to be a law unto themselves with no regard for anyone. Destroyed the peace and privacy of an entire British village.

So, I find out I have something that has been used over and over to demonstrate, in addition another family used it before returning it. We must stop this abuse. If you purchased, tell them to ship you a new vacuum from the factory. And my paperwork, Original Purchaser's Registration, has the name of the first people and I have nothing.

I called the company and two people played dumb and the second one in computer relations was very rude. Then he transferred me to someone in the Rebuild Program, she verified the original first names of purchasers and said she would have someone to call me. No one did and had the seller had enough sense to take the original purchasers paperwork out of the box, I would never had known.

The new salesperson said my vacuum needed a lot of work, that dust was seeping from around bottom of bag. That means the dust has been blowing back into the rooms all this time.

A small, young woman knocked at the door of my home around 4 o'clock in the afternoon, as I was leaving, offering to carpet clean one room for free. She said her company was looking to open a business in the area and made it seem like they were offering "test-samples" of their product for free. She said none of my neighbors believed her and they kept thinking they had to buy something, but that they didn't. It was an absolutely free cleaning that she would get paid $25 for. She asked "please, please, please, please" and I relented because there actually were some spots on my carpet that I wanted cleaned. She then got excited and asked to use my phone to call her boss! I was a little freaked out by this action, I must admit, and became a little worried when she called her boss and said "I got one." I was leaving but told her I'd return in 15 minutes and that she could come back then to clean the carpet. I made sure to lock my door too.

A little while later, the "carpet cleaners" showed up. It was the girl along with two other guys with what turned out to be Kirby boxes and I thought, "You *** ***! (lol)." Sneaky, sneaky. The original girl and one of the guys left and left one guy there to clean my carpet. He began to sell the product, a Sentria model Kirby and I must say, he was a fantastic salesperson. A young, college guy who was just great with my kids and really knew his product well.

The selling point for me was when he took my regular vacuum and vacuumed the already fairly clean carpet that we had just had professionally cleaned the month before (costing $250) then he took the Kirby and vacuumed and I was amazed at all the dirt it pulled up. He explained a lot about the Kirby's motor and how it worked, showed me all the useful attachments and spent about four hours overall in my home. He did clean one room's carpet, getting out troublesome spots. I was really happy about that. We bought the Kirby, though I am forbidden to tell my selling price. I will mention, though, that your Kirby salesperson will probably negotiate with you so don't be afraid to investigate different options. The shampooer was even thrown in for free.

I am more than happy, thus far, with my Kirby and am extremely happy that I purchased it, so far. It does the job it did for the salesperson. My carpets look fantastic when I vacuum with the Kirby. I just thought I would throw this info out there since I had a pretty pleasant experience with my team of Kirby salespeople though I am aware that their sales tactics are slightly pushy and just a little sneaky.

Anyway, my salesman, Keven, worked his buns off in my home. He did use my phone for all of his contact with his boss, which was a little unnerving but it can all be explained through sales tactics and I don't blame any red-blooded American male for wanting to make a sale where his profit is hundreds of dollars. What's the alternative after all? 7-11? Burger King? As far as I'm concerned, I'm glad there are Kirby sales jobs for Americans and that they haven't managed to ship those overseas somehow too.

She proceeded to go into a Kirby sales demonstration. I told her if I knew it was a sales demonstration, I would have never let her in. I was upfront and told her I would not purchase the equipment, but she would listen since she told me she would get $35 for giving the presentation. Two hours later and still not having my carpet cleaned, I told her she had to leave because I had things to do.

She asked me questions about the purchase. I told her I was going through a divorce and would not be purchasing one. She called her manager and explained the situation. She was getting the line (used car salesman) to repeat to me: If I could get you a lower price... I told her no and that I am not financially able to right now and that if a high-pressure sales pitch is coming, I will turn into a witch and forcibly ask her to leave. She said no high-stress sales pitch is coming.

I helped her gather her things; she packed them. Brian shows up to the door and comes in. He said he was not going to sales-pitch me, but then he led into his pitch. I grab the stuff and start walking towards the door. He treated me as if I am rude! I told him I was upfront and would not be purchasing the item and they needed to leave. He continued on. I told him to leave and walked to the door. I finally got them out of my house, but he continued on and treated salesgirl as if it was her fault for not making the sale. By the way, salesgirl is his live-in girlfriend.

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I feel this was a bait-and-switch because of the flyer presented. The flyer and initial offering made the company sound as if it was a new start-up carpet cleaning business.

I got in touch with the store manager, Alberto. I explained the situation to him, and he said he would get back to me. He then called and said too much time has passed even though the vacuum was never touched. Everything was still in the box. I called customer service and spoke to Dean who blew me off. I have been paying my mother's bills for months before that because she had difficulty writing out checks and addressing envelopes. This company has taken full advantage of an elderly lady with Alzheimer's. I am still perturbed and this needs to be brought to everyone's attention.

Jennifer promised that we would not have to make any cold calls and would not have to set up any of the in-home demonstrations ourselves. This turned out to be a complete lie. About an hour into the training, I began to smell their bull. Jennifer went on and on about the huge sums of money we could make and that it was possible to make more than $3000 a week. I began to realize that this seemed to good to be true. Conveniently, an "established Kirby salesman" walked into the session at what must have been a planned on time and said that he made $5000 in one day!

As soon as he left, Jennifer informed us that we would have to set up our first weeks worth of in-home demonstrations after we were promised that we would not have to make cold calls or set up demonstrations. There were also very strict guidelines on who the appointments had to be with: 30-65 yrs old, a woman, a homeowner, had to own a vacuum that wasn't a Kirby and had to have a landline telephone. I began to panic because all of my friends are in their early twenties and rent apartments and have cell phones. I grew up with just my father (who because he is a male does not meet the criteria) and my grandparents who were too old.

Then my great pal, Jen, said we had to have all the appointments set up by tomorrow morning! I began to freak out as I imagined myself huddled over the phone book making a fool of myself calling the entire neighborhood. "Hi this is Lauren, I know I have a college degree but I got laid off and now I'm selling vacuums. Could you please help me out?" Jennifer then berated us by saying those people who could not fill all of their in-home demonstrations were not hard enough workers and could not work for the company.

I went home and decided to do some research which should have been done sooner. I found this site with hundreds of complaints against Kirby from both targeted customers and employees. I read how employees were never paid the base pay they were promised and never received the "free" vacations they were supposed to get. I felt like a fool. Some other interesting points: Kirby never had us fill out any official paperwork such as W-4 and I-9 forms. All the new trainees were young adults my age in their early to mid-twenties. It seemed they were preying on those who were naive and struggling financially. They told us that our $600 per week check we were "guaranteed to receive" would be tax free. How can they get away with that?

First, when you interview for the position, everybody willing to give it a try gets hired. It's a numbers game. You never can tell who is going to be the Salesperson, and who is going to be a flop. Yes, they promise you a weekly income, and a bonus if you sell "x" number in a month. The weekly income is based off the number of presentations you do. You must do a minimum of 3 demos per day for each day of the month you work.

Unfortunately a lot of the responsibility is placed on the dealer's shoulders to learn how to secure their own demos. At first, a manager will help/ teach, may I say, them how to get the appointment. Gradually as confidence is built, they allow the dealer to take on the responsibility. If you do not complete three demos in a day, each day of the week you work for the entire month, no, you do not get the weekly guarantee. Actually, you are told that during your interview, if your manager is ethical. Most people are so excited about the money you are going to earn, that they don't listen to the last part.

Yes, there is money to be made in Kirby. I personally made $2000 in one week. Yes, they do have trips they send you on if you are successful. I have been on several. The problem lies in the pressure put on these field managers to produce. They make a big monthly income and get used to it, then are asked to run a crew. Their out of pocket expenses are upwards of $300 per week when you factor in fuel costs, lease/payment on their van, insurance, and the number of dealers who come to work with no money to buy lunch (which is why sometimes dealers do not eat). Managers get tired of buying them meals. Then the owners tell them if they don't sell "x" this month, they are out on the street. At that level in Kirby, the money is to hard to walk away from. So that's when the honest manager turns crook, if they were not already.

I was a manager at one time, I did work for a crook at one time, but then he was busted for drugs. A new manager took over. He kept having the lights turned off because he mismanaged his business, and was cancelled by the Kirby Co as a distributor. Then I was given the opportunity to run the show. Personally, I did not hire anyone till I had the money for the guaranteed income in the bank to pay it. And I did! I paid all the gas expense for my managers, and sometimes even gave them a van to run out of. Nobody would go out into the field until they fully understood their compensation plan, and the signature was on their dealer's contract stating in plain English how they were paid, when they were paid, and how many demos per day they needed to do each day before they were entitled to it. If they were not willing to sign a statement acknowledging that it was a commission only job after their first month of training, regardless of the number of demos completed, they did not work for me.

I am not sticking up for Kirby, but there are some honest business people running Kirby offices and most of the crooks are being weeded out of the business, but there are always going to be a few.

I was in the kitchen trying to get me a snack to get my sugar back up and Bill still did not leave. I wanted him out of my house, I was scared about my sugar dropping and he pushed a paper in front of me to sign and because I was so ill, I signed and My Visa has been charged $1500. I had to lay down and rest after he left. The next day I called Bill ** back and told him I did not want the vacuum, to come and get it and credit my Visa. Bill did not answer phone. I left a message.

Shortly, his manager Andy ** called and I told him I did not want the vacuum, to come and get it. I have called and neither gentleman has returned my calls. I told my sister in Myrtle Beach on Saturday the 20th and she called Andy ** and told him to come and get the vacuum, that I was sick and they took advantage of me. I don't need the vacuum and I can't afford it. Because of my illness, I was taken advantage of. I want the company to get their vacuum and credit my Visa account.

I have been emotionally distraught ever since Bill ** did this to me, I have migraines and the stress of this event has my sugar moving up and down. I cannot afford this payment and I think companies like Kirby should not be allowed to prey on the elderly or people who are ill and cannot afford their product.

I went home that night and thought about the situation I had allowed myself to get involved in. I am so glad I did not take this high pressure sales job. I don't need a $2,200.00 vacuum with a bunch of attachments, so why would my family and friends? If I want or need something I'll purchase it myself online or at a store. This same vacuum sells for half the $2,200.00 in other parts of the country. I have since gone on-line and looked at all the complaints about Kirby and their sales techniques. Unless you have no integrity what so ever do not allow yourself into taking this sales job. Mental anguish. I’m just glad I didn't get sucked in.

Also, they said that it would dry in a few hours, and it actually took almost 24 hours. I know for sure that it was from the Kirby shampoo job because I moved and vacuumed under the furniture two weeks prior to the Kirby representative shampooing our carpet and there were no rust stains at that time. I contacted the Kirby company from a phone number on a brochure that was left behind, and asked them to replace the carpet in the one room. A Kirby representative name Paula said without the name and phone number of the representative that came into my home, there was nothing they could do.

I knew that this was a Kirby sales pitch, but I figured that, at least, I don't have to do the cleaning! Never in my right mind did I think that this would be a disaster. I did inform him that I possessed a perfectly fine Bissell machine and that I was not interested in purchasing it. He went on to say that they were cheap Walmart vacuums. Wrong. My Bissell does the job well and lasted three plus years.

Anyways, I lied and said that I had an emergency and had to leave. He had no intention on leaving. Fortunately, my husband, a retired state patrolman, walked in from running errands. He demanded the boy to leave. Still, he kept on sprinkling all this stuff on the carpet and was rattling on. My husband told him to get out and it was as if he was talking to the TV!

I told the boy that I might be interested, but all in all, I figured that it would be nice to have a clean living room rug and for him to earn cash even for no sale. I told the boy that we had to leave, but again, he did not pack up. It took my husband to go to the laundry room to cut the breakers for him to pack up. Then, he accuses me of being a cheapskate and was very rude.

He slammed all his belongings into the box and came across a floor tool with a slight gouge. He said that I would have to pay for it. I didn't even touch the floor tool! My husband gave him the ultimatum to leave or face the police. He gave a tongue-in-cheek look and continued to rant and rave about the scratched tool. Finally, a sheriff's deputy arrived and had to escort him off our property. He was lucky to avoid jail.

I was upset at the fact that I opened my home to him so he could win a vacation,I now know this is not necessarily the case, and when I asked him to leave, he refused. We had to shut off the breaker to the living room to get him to stop! And I thought that I was doing him a favor of letting him clean my carpet to get brownie points, while I get my living room stains, which still remained off the floor.

My husband and I are retired and in our early 60s, and while we may be a little more fortunate than some retirees, it makes me wonder about some little old lady or some poor family being literally pulled into this scam. In all honesty, I kind of felt sorry for the boy, even though his attitude was poor when I told him that I wasn't interested and that I simply was doing him a favor while he did me a favor. I used to own a Kirby until it finally quit years ago, but experiences like this make me just to want to keep buying the cheap $50 vacuum off the shelf at Walmart.

Never would I have thought that, with my husband and I living in a rural area, that I would be solicited. I guess that's not the case, but then again, we're only forty minutes from crime-ridden Lakewood/Tacoma.

Knocking doors gets tiresome so we rely on appointments. Time is a big factor, too. When we show a vacuum, even if it doesn’t sell, we want the people to give references so we don’t have to knock doors. But most of these people that don’t buy are harassed by the dealer and are left with a load of dirty pads to clean up.

I got to the premises and it started out great meeting other people who were also successful, then we had to go inside to start the training on the "product" we were selling. We got into the room and the manager goes right "welcome to GBT" to sell Kirby Vacuum cleaners. Now I haven't heard about them before so I wasn't aware about it. Now at that stage, I was still only young - about 18 - and i had only worked in customer service retail roles and call centers so sales was a bit different. So I was of course naive about it and listened to everything they had to say. We learned about the vacuum cleaners and how to sell Kirby vacuum cleaners. I was gobsmacked near the end of it when I found out the people they "target" to sell the cleaners to. The "targets" (as Kirby puts it) are elderly people.

To think that elderly/retired people have money stashed away and $4500.00NZD is nothing to them. They also target people who are obsessive about being clean and keeping their house clean, people who are ill and have just come out of hospital or have cancer, asthma, etc. Indians (because they think their wallets are always full in this country) as well as people with lots of children (who are most likely to be on a benefit and can't afford a lot) and general people like that. They do not try and sell to the upper class people because they know they won't part with their money so easily. Anyway, we were told that we could own our own office of Kirby and get $1500.00NZD from every sale our team make, etc. and I could earn up to $30000.00NZD a week if I sold enough vacuum cleaners, etc.

That was when we also found out that if you work for Kirby, you can go on trips around the world to USA (which I have always wanted to visit) and Australia and Europe, etc. which gave me some motivation to do it. You can live full-time in penthouse hotel rooms and drive 4 flash cars etc. We also found out that the "guaranteed $2600.00NZD" a month was only if we made 60 demonstrations in that month. We also had to go and ask friends and family to let us do our demonstrations just as training purposes so of course, we went away and done that. Now, I contacted people who I knew to get as many appointments in one weekend as I could so that I could be in to win $100.00NZD in the following week. I also contacted family of close friends that I knew and got a lot of appointments. I went back in the next day and found that I had the most training appointments, so I would get the $100.00NZD the following week.

When I started my first training appointment, I went through what I had been taught and it was going great until I had to call the office quite often to tell them how the customer was looking and what stage I was up to and relay questions that I was being told to ask (which to me seemed unprofessional). Anyway, when I made my last phone call to say I was done, I then had to give offers to my "training" demonstration people and try get them to buy it. It actually got pushy and I was really embarrassed because they did not tell us that they were going to make us sell it to them. We were just told it was for training before getting out onto the field. After the training period of 5 days was complete, we got our contracts which we had to sign right there and then on the spot before we left and gave them to the manager to file, which to me seemed odd and strange but I really needed money so I did it and stuck it out.

It was all glory in the beginning. We would arrive in the morning and do a song and dance with everyone with strobe lights etc. and seemed like an upbeat atmosphere. We then did sales stories of how people did their sale of a Kirby and then into training. About lunchtime, we would go out with our team leaders who just got to sit on their butts and drive around all day while we did the work. We were told that someone would knock on doors for us and we would just have to demonstrate, but we didn't.

We had to knock on doors and practically say whatever we had to get in the door so we were not allowed to say we were from Kirby. We had to say free carpet shampoo, etc. I found that a lot of people didn't like Kirby. Who can blame them? I know how they felt and I was a salesperson. So it was hard to get the demonstrations and when we were able to get in the door when we made our last phone call, we had to do whatever to force people into buying this machine by doing comparison tests with their current vacuum cleaner, etc. and it was embarrassing for me.

I also found out that the hours we were told were not correct at all. We would leave the office at mid-day and we were not allowed to return to the office any earlier than 9PM. If we did, we got into trouble. So it was about 11PM before we got back to the office and I was really tired. We also found out that Monday to Friday was a joke. We were expected to work Monday to Saturday, 11AM till after 9PM that night and every Sunday was "sell a Kirby day" where you had to be more pushy than ever to sell cleaners and those hours were 9AM till 3AM the following morning. I was there for 2 weeks (including the 5-day training period) and I only got $141.00 for over 151 hours of work that is less than $1.00NZD an hour! I never got my "guaranteed" $2600.00NZD at all and I never got my $100.00NZD from making the most "training" appointments.

The only reason why I got money was because a family member who was on a benefit brought it off me because she felt that was the only way to shut them up and so I could get a little bit of money. In that time, I lost my house, I got into debt with the rent and my bills. My partner had to pay for everything for both me and him which wasn't fair as he had to pay child support and a loan he took a few years prior. Since Kirby, I am wary when applying for sales jobs as they don't tell you it is Kirby. I've had another interview a little after that for Eagle Home Tech and as soon as I saw the word Kirby in their office the day of my interview, I told them I don't want anything to do with Kirby and so I'm not doing the interview.

My advice is never ever work for Kirby or anything that might sound like Kirby because they lie to you in the interviews, make all these promises that never happen and it's embarrassing when you have to practically force a customer to buy it which I hated and feel sorry for everyone out there that has been in this situation. So if you are elderly/retired, very sick, just came out of hospital, have lots of children, an Indian or Chinese, etc., beware as you are the "Kirby targets" and they never say what actually happens.

He then made clever play-on-words in an attempt to just get me there. I got suckered into the first day of orientation and immediately came home and started researching this company and what it does. It led me to this site, and I was horrified, yet immensely relieved my shady suspicions were made a reality. Never have I heard a so-called "trainer" curse so much during an orientation! Appalling behavior!

The next morning I was unhappy I let them in, and got advice on how to get out of the mess I got myself into. I took all info and three days after they had left, I called to say my family takes care of my finances and definitely don’t have the monies to pay and I will bring the vacuum back. I was told it’s too late to return, it’s mine now. On 10/22/2009 I received a letter from United Consumer Financial Services stating they would not accept my credit application for the Kirby vacuum.

I then went to the Kirby sales office to physically return the vacuum. They told me I could leave it but would not be given a receipt because they don’t take return period. My boyfriend called the city police to see what course of action to take, and without money to travel or hire an attorney here I am—help. I have not once used it; the vacuum is still in box. I forgot to mention that Kirby knew I wasn't credit worthy before I got the letter because on 10/02/2009, it was 20 days before Kirby got Firstline Financial, Inc. to approve my financing. The financial company that denied me must have good reason, though I believe that Kirby has helped give me bad credit as my bank had told me a corporation was attempting to do.

Since I was told I had 3 months, I did not even look at paperwork until January. I have back problems and my daughter-in-law was diagnosed with MS a week after this. I can not afford to pay this outlandish price for a vacuum I don't even want. I'm a teacher on a fixed income. My husband lost his job. I should have known better! I live in North Mississippi. What are my options? Should I drive the 3 hours to Fayette, AL and leave it in their shop?

They promised me three. Come Friday morning, I was told I needed a tie and a shirt. I was wearing a pullover shirt that looked fine. I told them I would go get it from home and be right back. After leaving, Jack ** paged me and said, "Sorry, this is not going to work out." So what am I getting paid for all my time? They say they owe me nothing. The bad part is the Kirby does a great job and all they have to do is an honest demo and they will sell. I worked for nine days and they say they owe me nothing. I was guaranteed $400 a week and not only that but I would show up for work at 11 am and not get back to there office till 11 pm or 12 pm

P.S.: I hope you enjoyed your trip to Spain. I will never allow anyone into my house again. Will never trust a telephone sales person again.

I was already struggling, my church made my house payment in Nov. and I told him I couldn't afford it, plus it was really heavy and hard to handle. He proceeded to show me how it "drives itself". I was excited because it did clean well, but was still telling him my concern about the money and awkwardness of the machine and it affected my neck and back. At one point, I told him I might get a small inheritance but didn't know when or how much.

He did a credit check and I was approved for 6 mo. same as cash. He and Mike said I wouldn't have a payment for 6 mo., but when I called the finance co., they said my payments start in Feb. I explained to United Consumer (the finance co.) that I couldn't afford it, they said I still had to pay for it because the 3 day waiting period was up. I didn't have an opportunity to use it during that time.

I took the machine back to Kirby on a Sat. and an elderly gentleman was there. I explained the situation to him and he said "Well, we don't usually do this" but he signed the copy and I left the machine there. I found a part belonging to the vacuum so I took it to the store on Mon. (12-14-09) and a gentleman named Mike, I believe, said he had just left a message on my home phone that I needed to pick up the machine because it is mine and I have to pay for it. I really didn't know what to do then, so he put it in my van because it was too heavy for me, and I brought it home.

I have good credit up to this point and I don't want it ruined over a vacuum cleaner but I cannot afford it physically or financially. I cannot afford to pay for this machine, especially if I am not able to use it. This has affected my health from the day it started. I truly thank you for any help you may be able to give.

The Kirby company was set up, so that independent distributors work under the Kirby company as separate businesses. I am going to small claims court for the return of my money. Can I name the Kirby company (headquartered in Ohio) as well as the distributor (Leonard **) as plaintiffs in this situation? I think the distributor has spent my money and is having difficulty recouping it. I am afraid I will not get my money back, and I assumed that the Kirby company backed the sale.

I checked with my bank on December 24, and she had already cashed the check, after promising not to. She also did not show up on Saturday to bring my supplies, nor did she call. I called the Fayette AL office on Monday, December 28, 2009, to speak with Helen. The secretary told me she would contact her and call me back. She did. She said Helen would be at my house on Tuesday, December 29th between the hours of 2pm and 3pm.

She did show up around 6pm with all sorts of excuses for cashing my check early and not showing up to deliver my supplies. I had given her some phone numbers as possible referrals for her to contact and while she was here, she asked me to show her where one of them lived. I agreed since it was less than two miles from my home. I drove my car over there, parked in the grass, so she could get everything out of her van.

When she left, with her demonstrator/salesman, Jerry ** still inside the home demonstrating the vacuum, she backed in to my car, smashing the front drivers side bumper. She did not bother to come inside and tell me. I went outside to get into my car and noticed that my car had been ran over. I went back inside and informed Jerry H. He told me that Helen M had insurance and it would be covered.

About an hour later, after Jerry called her; she showed back up at the residence and came inside telling me about how she had hit my car. She gave me her insurance information and I called and reported the accident the following day. The insurance adjuster called me today and informed me that the policy was not in effect at the time of the accident. They had spoke with Helen at this time and she told them she would pay for the damages out of her pocket. However,she will not answer her phone or return my call!

I also need to mention that the friend who I recommended, ended up purchasing a vacuum cleaner. It broke the very next day. She called Helen and left a message for her to return her call. Helen called her back and left a message stating that she would be at my friend's house the following day. Helen did not show up or did not call. My friend drove several hours to Fayette AL the following day and returned the vacuum cleaner. Helen is representing the Kirby Company and is supposed to be opening a store in Corinth, MS. Conducting business like she is doing; she is making Kirby look very unprofessional and the service she is providing is beyond belief!

I immediately stepped to the door and told the salesman we were not interested. He attempted to continue and I told him again we were not interested and that he needed to leave immediately. He was a rather rough looking character and became agitated. I told him I was not appreciative of the scam tactics to get in the door and to get out. As he moved toward the door he continued mouthing off in a threatening manner. I had reached my limit and gave it right back. His last statement to me was, “What’s your ** problem old man? Shut the ** up." I directed him to get the off my property. He wanted to fight with me.

What kind of company would allow someone like this to represent them? I would not buy a Kirby if I had to take the carpet up and outside to shake it instead of vacuuming. This intrusive, bait and switch, lying, cheating, underhanded method of marketing should be outlawed. There is no remedy for the anguish caused by this jerk, but people should know what they're in for if they let one of these people in the door. No economical damage occurred. Mental anguish occurred as a result of this individual’s aggressive, threatening nature. I understand no legal remedy is available but I posted in an effort that others may head off the problem before it reaches this level.

My brother googled Kirby and found this site so he immediately woke me up one morning and I began to read a few complaints. I was surprised. I can't believe that the people over at Kirby lied to me. So what did I do? I decided to work my first day, and how the reviews started speaking the truth. First of all, you go door to door and try to set up appointments. You will try and nab people with a free complimentary carpet shampooing and the only catch is we only do one room.

I left my house at 8:30 am and got there at 9:45 am, 15 minutes to have a nice coffee and cigarette before I start work. Work starts at 10:00 am where we sit for an hour or two singing and clapping and jumping. Finally, we get into teams and go into our van full of Kirby Vacuums. We drive for an hour till we finally get to some apartments where they tell us to get out and go door-to-door and try to get appointments set up. I'm on my feet from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm trying to get some appointments set. Mind you, I haven't had anytime to eat anything, and my manager finally offered me a demo. Sure, this is what I really wanted to do.

So, we got to the house and I met this really nice guy who doesn't have a stable income. This is sick! I'm going to try and sell a poor family that's trying to survive on whatever they can make? So I felt like I was 2 inches tall, I felt like **. I told him, "Nah, man, I understand it's cool. You don't need to buy this thing. I get paid just for doing this demo." So, I was there cleaning his carpet when my manager showed up and did a mattress test for the guy which surprised him but it was not that bad. He has a 4-month old son and a 6-year old daughter. Anyways, my manager left and I was there doing the next step and I tried to call the office to check in, which was horrible and I was put on hold. How professional does it look when I'm put on hold in front of a customer?

Anyways, I hung up and I began my next step, me and him are just talking about hard times. And I couldn't believe the words that were coming out of my mouth, but it was the truth. I kept blabbing on about how much I wanted a Kirby Vacuum and with my first paycheck I was going to put a down-payment on one. What I was going to use first and the most, blah blah blah. I knew talking about this was going to make the guy think twice about getting one. And honestly, he almost did buy one. I would bet my life on it that if at that moment when my manager came in to close a deal that if I looked at the guy, smiled and nodded in approval that he would've bought one.

In training, there are 10 steps, Step 1 is called "Front Talk". The first line under the title is "Make A Friend". Honestly, I did make a friend with this guy. We could've chilled the whole night if we wanted to. My manager was pretty upset that we didn't sell, and I guess I was too because I knew that this day was my last and I wouldn't receive any payment. So, my manager hooked me up with another demo, the time is 7:30 pm. This time, it's an old lady with a 12-year old daughter. She has the latest Kirby model and I was supposed to show her that the Kirby Sentria outperforms the old Kirby G-6. But... Since I hated this BS, I did something different with her. I skipped talking about the vacuum and its attachments. I went straight to vacuuming, didn't want to do any front talk. After I pulled some pads, she was surprised because it's mandatory that we vacuum their carpet with their old vacuum first, then with the Kirby to show that their vacuum is junk.

Anyways we get this dirt meter which replaces the hose, only the company employees are allowed to use it. She asks me to put it on her Kirby and normally, I would've said, "Sorry I can't do that because ____." But I said, "Sure, let's see. We're all interested." I put the dirt meter on hers and vacuumed. Her Kirby pulled the same amount of dirt the new Kirby had done. Her Kirby was perfectly okay. I went to vacuum her mattress and that was new to her and she was disgusted but knew she could do that now with her Kirby, and I was happy.

After the mattress test, my manager showed up and attempted to close a deal. She stated that she claimed bankruptcy and had a foreclosure in the same year. He nodded and made no further attempts to close a deal, knowing that her credit was **. He quickly shampooed her carpet while I quickly packed. After the shampoo, we were on our way heading out the door. I was following him and he looked back at the carpet. No, not at the carpet but what was on the carpet. The dirt pads I pulled were still on her carpet. He didn't tell me to get them or do anything, all he did was smile at the pads and walk out. What's worse is I didn't clean them up but I didn't want to drop everything and put the pads in the trash because that would hold my manager up and he would've probably been all over me on that.

Every review about the Kirby on this site is true, people complaining on how we try and sell is all true. So beware, don't give Kirby any second of your time. Remember, nothing is free, not even complimentary carpet shampooing.

I'd like to also state that I'm very sorry for the people that I've tried to cheat, people into spending time with the Kirby and to the two people that have spent time with me and the Kirby.

Meanwhile, I walk off, getting lunch together and brushing my teeth while he just keeps talking and following me around. He insists on going in my bedroom to perform a test. I tell him no and he goes in there anyway. I curse at him and he doesn't mind. He performs his test on my mattress and pillows. He gives me and my husband a credit application to fill out. I tell him I will not fill it out; however, my husband does. He asks about our credit; my husband tells him his credit is extremely poor. The man doesn't listen.

He borrows my husband’s phone (makes up a lame excuse that his phone doesn't work, which I now know is the part of the scheme that all of these guys do). He talks about some deals that he wants to give us: if we give him canned goods, he will give us a better value. Also, we can trade in our old vacuum to get a better deal. He hangs up and tells us how is trying to win a new car for his son if we help him by purchasing a vacuum. I leave the guys there talking to find out that my husband did not get approved (thankfully) for the vacuum and the only reason he applied for it was to get the guys out of our house because he was already late for work. The guys insulted my husband saying, “Why didn't you tell us your credit was poor?” My husband said, “I tried to tell you, you didn't listen to me.” They finally left our home at around 4:00. Our carpet never got shampooed. It was just a scheme to get you to let them in your house.

When I asked Brenda for the purchase price, she gave me the sales sheet that Mark used to convince her of the sale. I looked on the internet for more information and came across this site (https://www.consumeraffairs.com/php/a_report.php) and read all the horror stories of other consumers. They kept stating of a loan contract to United Consumer Financial Services Company. I got suspicious as to financial details that my wife never told me about. Last night, the salesman called three times trying to get a hold of me. I didn't want to answer his call and neither did Brenda.

A quick search around the house and I found a Conditional Sale Contract between Ros Holdings and me. It has what appears to be my signature, dated Nov. 28, 2009. I never even saw the contract before nor did I sign it. My wife Brenda must have forged my name and the salesman, Mark **, signed below it as dealer. The signature does not even match the buyer's name. I told Brenda that we can't afford to buy this vacuum, especially now since I've looked at the contract and it is for 36 months with monthly payment of $91.90 and annual interest of 28.9%. Total cost of vacuum is $3,308.49 Canadian.

It is a shame that they take advantage of elderly people and make it look so simple to use when in fact, it is not. It is very complicated and not easy to use at all. Besides, it is not worth the time and trouble it causes. I want to return this vacuum cleaner and get my money back, but as of this date, I haven't had any luck getting this done. Someone should put Kirby out of business.

All of this was extremely disconcerting - for all I knew, these guys were criminals and about to try and rob me or do a home invasion. As they were running up the sidewalk towards me, I noticed they had vacuum cleaner (Kirby) boxes in their hands, and I said, "Stop right there!" They stopped, looking confused, and I handed them back the Febreze and told them to leave. They refused to take the Febreze at first, saying, "Can't we just come in for five or ten minutes?" I said, "No - take this and leave - now!" They insisted that it wouldn't take but a few minutes to demonstrate their product - I told them I was not interested and they needed to leave immediately. They did finally get back in their SUV, but they sat in the SUV glaring at my house (where I was standing in the window watching them), and the driver was gesticulating wildly as he explained something to the others in the vehicle - obviously how to get past the next person who acted as I did and refused them entry to their home.

Then, I started getting home later and later. One night, I didn't get home till 1AM! My fiance was getting worried about me because I would come home, sleep, get up and do it all over again the next day. I said as soon as I get a check, I will quit. I was sent out everyday knocking on people's doors trying to get into a house to do a demo. My boss would tell me say, "Whatever you need to say to get into houses (red flag #1)." Then when you get into a house, you have to pressure these people into buying a $2,500 vacuum. I felt horrible every time someone would say they can't afford and I was forced to pressure them into buying it. I actually started crying one day because I felt so bad.

Anyways, 2 weeks later, I went to collect my paycheck and there was nothing there! They said because I didn't sell anything, I didn't make any money. It would have been nice if they told me that from the get-go! Half the people there have been to prison, if not all of them. Most of them have drug addictions and all of them talk nasty. Even Mike and Shalimar, the owners, for Christ's sake! I am in serious debt now and have no way of fixjng it. If you are a lawyer or whoever can help, please contact me! I beg you. They owe me money and I need it! If you have these people come to your door, don't let them in! If you have an interview with them, run like a bear is chasing you! These people need to be shut down and punished for what they have caused.

I then told one of the salespeople to give him his check back as this deal was not going to happen. They called in the owner of the company (at least he said he was the owner) and he got very rude with me. I told him to leave the property and not to come back or I would call the police. My father said he could not get these people to leave, no matter what he said to them. He is frail and not very forceful anymore and seems to be afraid of confrontation. They gave us the check back, but certainly weren't happy with me. I felt that I should report this when I ran across this website because it is likely that if they did it to him, they would certainly do it to other elderly people.

My father said he called me with the excuse of wanting me to see how it operated because he knew I would come and take care of getting them out of there. He was very intimidated by a total of four salespeople in his house. We have been busy getting him moved and have not taken the time to report this to the Kirby Co., but plan to do so.

I became upset at being deceived. I looked through my contract and changed my mind about the purchase. I followed the cancellation instructions and sent the cancellation notice certified mail to the address they had indicated on the contract. I also told the company financing the vacuum that I was going to cancel. Then out of the blue, I received a ton of phone calls at work from Mark **, who said he was the president of Kirby. He offered me 1 free gallon of shampoo, 2 free 6-pks of bags and $50 if I reinstated my contract. I agreed. He came to my house that same night with the shampoo and 1 pack of bags instead of 2 and no check, saying he would send the other things later. I signed the contract. He left.

He never gave me the other pack of bags (he said he mailed them out on Sept. 18th and I still have not received them) or the $50. Every time I call he avoids my calls (he's always in a "meeting" even at 9:05 am when they don't open til 9 am, but anyway). In the course of all of this, I received the original cancellation notice I sent (to cancel the first contract) back in the mail stating the cancellation address does not exist!

I have been lied to from the beginning starting with the 1st rep lying about coming out later and giving me the wrong number, to the "president" of the company stating he was going to give me things that he has not given me and now he's avoiding me, to the incorrect address on a legal document. It all seems shady to me. Also, I am questioning the validity of the contract because both contracts have the same cancellation address on them, which were written out at 2 different times by 2 different people, for an address that does not exist! Per the contract, there is supposed to be a way to cancel but if the address doesn't exist how could someone who's unhappy with the service cancel? They can argue they never received the notice and, of course, they would not because the address is bogus!

I feel other customers should know that Kirby salesmen are only out for the sale, and don't stand behind their word (are big liars ) and don't care about their customers. Consumers beware!

In the meantime, I am negative in my bank account, have a mortgage to pay and 2 small children in my house to feed. This company has apparently had multiple complaints about their product and even a website with complaints across the world about Kirby. I am at a loss in more ways than one and would like to know if I can do anything about reimbursement to me and my family. The company has the vacuum, why can they take money from me?

I found the office on the appointed day and time, and still knowing very little about the job, I was asked to fill out an application. I saw some boxes labeled Kirby, looked up at the manager who was watching me fill out an application, and said, "Kirby. That's the vacuum from The Brave Little Toaster, isn't it?" He confirmed this. My actual interview was with a junior manager (?) who was wearing obnoxious gold cufflinks and a gold watch. After revealing that I was applying for a job selling vacuum cleaners, he started talking about big money, contests, trips to Vegas, and so on.

I wasn't interested in any of this (as I had made it clear that I had other life goals and I had no interest in visiting a city synonymous with desperate people gambling their rent money for false dreams or turning to uncaring prostitutes to pacify their hopelessness, all beneath a tacky veneer of bright lights, high kicks, and painted smiles). But I questioned him about what the job entailed. I got the impression that I would be selling to people who were already interested in the product and wanted an in-home demonstration - basically going in to close the deal. Also, as long as I reported to work every morning and went to all of my appointments, I was guaranteed at least $200 a week.

I can't remember the details exactly the first appointment I went to, but the person indicated that she wasn't expecting a demonstration, already had the previous model, or something else. I apologized and said that the appointment had been made in error, grabbed my stuff, and took off. When I got back to the headquarters, the junior manager said to me "You walked out of a house." I said, "Yes, the appointment was made in error." I didn't realize until much later that I had done something wrong.

Every morning. I would drive to the office, shaving with a BIC disposable razor from the gas station where I stopped at on the way up, where there would be these horrible company songs and each person who had sold a machine the previous day would describe how he did so, followed by applause and high fives. Then, we would be given appointment slips that the telemarketers had arranged. Most of mine were due in half an hour's time and would be at least an hour's driving distance away.

We used our own cars. I spent almost all of my $200 weekly income on gasoline back when it was about $1.10 and supplemented that with gas from grateful hitchhikers whom I would pick up. I would plant a seed early on when they asked me how I was by mentioning that that times were tough for me with this job, listen to their life story, and by the time I dropped them off, they would almost always offer to top off my tank.

I would drive like a maniac to not be too late, arrive flustered, apologizing for the incompetence back at the office; and for the next several hours of the 30-minute appointment, do my very best impression of a 1950s vacuum cleaner salesman. As things went on, I became a living example of the famous Milgram experiment. It's interesting to see where I succumbed to the influences of no longer being my self, but a representative of the company acting under their direction, and where I maintained my values. I did follow the directive of barging into a home, ignoring all hints that I should leave and turning around any objection to a purchase with some horrible line.

When I offered to take a trade-in on the person's old machine, however, and they asked what we did with the trade-ins, I would say "Well, we are meant to say that we give them to "charity," but actually we sell them to someone who cleans them up and sells them to resale shops. It's basically an excuse to knock a couple hundred off the asking price." While I was impressed by the design and workmanship of the machine, I didn't truly believe that most of the people I visited needed one, but I did my best to pretend like I did.

I actually lost a lot more money than I made that summer, blew an engine block on my 89 Grand Am, got a few speeding tickets, learned to drive with my knee, visited my first adult bookstore (coming back from an appointment in Zion and depressed as hell), saw a lot of really bad neighborhoods in Chicagoland, and begged for gas money a few times. I also ruined a nice family's new sofa when a machine malfunctioned (I do hope the manager rectified that.). Working as an independent contractor did hell on my income taxes. I think that I sold a total of three machines that summer.

Quitting was also an interesting task. I only stayed for the whole summer, because I made a commitment, it would be difficult to find a new summer job that late, and I kept being told that soon things would turn around. I quit over the phone and got some horrible replies about what a great opportunity Kirby was and if wouldn't I take a $100 bill on the table if it were offered me.

I would just like to apologize to anybody who has ever been terrorized by a Kirby salesman. I'm pretty sure that the only people who are successful in that company are truly evil. I've learned from a former employee who now works as a landscaper and was doing some work on the trees out front of my mother's house that Arlington Heights Kirby has since closed due to people not being paid and a sexual harassment lawsuit.

Today (9/15/09), the same man came to the door, asking if we were still interested in having our living room carpet cleaned. I said sure, and he informed me that they were finishing up with a neighbor's home and would be here shortly. About 30 minutes later, two completely different young guys came to the door. They let their selves in and I saw that one of them is carrying two boxes with the word Kirby on them.

As someone who was scammed into working for this company 9 years ago, I knew exactly what was about to happen. I immediately told them that I knew what they were doing and would not be purchasing a vacuum from their company because their company was a scam. They said "ok" but continued to unload the items from the box and put together the vacuum. Then one of the guys left, and the other guy asked to use my phone to call his boss. I should have known better.

Now this scam artist has my phone number. Anyhow, after telling the guy vacuuming my carpet about how I used to be him once upon a time, a young person who was conned into promises of all this money, he started noticing red flags that he had noticed with the company himself. I googled the company name, Gold Circle Industries, and showed him all the complaints that had been filed in different states about this company. Then he asked to use my phone again to call his boss, because he said he needed his boss to come sign his demo card.

When the guy who had come over with him before arrived, I asked him if his boss was with him. He said yes and went out to the car to tell him that I wanted to speak with him. I could see the smirks on their faces which made me even more angry. I asked him for a business card, which he grabbed from his car and handed to me. It was not a business card, rather it was an advertisement that you would normally find on your door for a carpet-cleaning business. I asked him why he felt the need to misrepresent his self to me the day before and repeated to him the same spiel that he had given me the day before. He then told me flat out that he had not said any of those things and that he had represented his self as a salesman wanting to demo a new product.

So basically he called me a liar. Needless to say, I did not buy a vacuum from these scam artists nor will I ever agree to a free carpet cleaning ever again. I sincerely hope that the guy who cleaned my carpet wasn't just putting on an act to get me to open up to him and that he was merely an innocent pawn in this scam. If that is the case, I hope for his sake that he gets out and away from these people before he wastes any more of his time working for them for nothing.

I told the demonstrator that there was no way I could afford to buy one and over the next 3+ hours, she continued to vacuum up the carpet and fabric fuzz, trying to show me how dirty my house was (It's not a way to win me over.). She continued to call her boss to get me lower prices, but I told her I could not afford it. We have 1 in college and 2 in private high school, and I can't work due to health problems. Literally, while she was there, a plumber was at my house; and I had to pay $500 for a new water heater; our dishwasher was broken, and we needed a new car. I was very clear with her.

She also spent at least 30 minutes telling me about the trip she wanted to win. I just told her the financial problems I'm having, and she's telling me about this fantastic trip she's going on. Again, it's not winning me over.

At 3:15pm, I told her I had to go to pick up my son. She seemed to move quickly but didn't begin to shampoo the carpet. Finally, my son got a ride home. At this point, I just wanted her to leave. But she hadn't cleaned the carpet. When she began, I watched her. I was interested to see what the machine could do (It's not that I didn't want one, I just can't afford one.). Well, after doing 2 small areas that might equal 3'x4', she was done! Where was the free cleaning for one room? I would have asked her to do more, but it was almost 5pm, the plumber needed to be paid, dinner wasn't done, and my husband was on his way home. She wanted to speak with him, but I knew he would say no, too. I just wanted her to leave.

And here's the kicker. She gave me one more "lower price" and explained how she could give me that price the next day (so I could talk to my husband), because he wasn't home to see the demonstration. But she never called back the next day.

I am not a confrontational person. I did not say anything to her. I know she's just doing her job. But I do know when I'm being "worked" by a salesman, and I don't appreciate it (ex., telling me how much money I'll save using one. Ok, but where do I get the $2500 to buy one now?). I also don't appreciate the fact that the only reason I let them in was to have them clean the living room carpet. She did not do this. Also, the area she cleaned did not look any better and smelled funny.

I just want Kirby to know that someone is very unhappy with their company. I know that one person like me isn't much, especially when I can't buy a Kirby. But now, I don't know if I would if I could. I am very disappointed.

The guy came in to demonstrate basically how dirty my carpet was and to tell me that my "expensive" vacuum was a piece of crap. I was impressed by the demo but not by the guy’s professionalism or appearance. He had on dirty shoes and he had the cleaner in a Dasani water bottle. Then, he started trying to casually flirt with me and asking me personal questions. Once he was finished vacuuming my carpet with the Kirby Vacuum, he told me that the vacuum would be $2,600.00. My exact words to him were; you are smoking crack if you think I would pay $2,600 for a vacuum. He then said that he could come down off the price and it would be $1,600. Wow! How could he amazingly come down off the price by that much money? Not to mention he had all those little dirty demo pads still lying on my floor. That is when he called his manager and said that he would be the one that would be "authorized" to give me a better deal.

His manager came in and the price amazingly went from $2,600 to $1,600. I was still laughing and after telling the guy several times that I needed to feed my child and I did not want their vacuum, he did not move from off of my couch. I was so shocked that all of this took me totally off guard. I live alone therefore I was becoming very afraid for my son and I with these two guys there. They would not leave. I called a good guy friend of mine and told him to immediately get to my house. Once I "finally" gave in to the price of $1,200, the guy finally shampooed my carpet (three hours later!). By this point I was just ready for them to get out of my home! They even had the audacity to ask me what I had to drink. Umm, if you are working for a company selling thousand dollar vacuum cleaners, can they not supply you with water, milk, and juice?!

He, the manager, then proceeded to point out the fact that I had a coach purse but would not put more interest into the health of my son. His whole tone and attitude was very condescending and unprofessional. Once my huge (Suge Knight looking) friend got there, the manager left after the sales transaction, leaving the guy there to shampoo my carpet. By this time it was 9:30 and I was mentally and physically exhausted plus my child and I had not eaten!

When the guy shampooed my carpet, he still had his dirty shoes on and he did not even move the furniture to shampoo the entire room like he said he would. When he was finished, he had to call the manager guy to come pick him up and it took him an additional 45 minutes to come get him. He did not leave my home until 10:30. To add insult to injury, he poured the water down my kitchen sink!

Something in my spirit did not sit right with me and this whole deal. I woke up this morning to google Kirby Vacuum cleaners and was literally sick at how many complaints this company has against it. It was not my intention to find complaints at all! I wanted to research how "good" the vacuum cleaner is. Unfortunately, I will never do business with this company again. I don't care how good the vacuum cleaner is. I have heard the Dyson is just as good.

I tried calling the company number they gave me and no one answered. It always went to someone's voice mail, on a Saturday, during business hours, hmm? I went to the store around noon and told the girl to cancel my order and that they needed to come and pick up the vacuum. She informed me that they are a part of the BBB and she had never had any complaints on this guy in three years. She went on to say that she has worked there for two years. Somebody can't do math? She went on to tell me that the "reason" they get a bad reputation is because it is door to door sales. Honey please. I have had many door to door sales, Girl Scouts, school sales, etc., but none as "slick" as this!

She tried to open the door and hold it for me as if she was telling me I could leave after I told her about the unprofessionalism of the company. I told her I was not leaving until I had copies of all papers I had signed. I made sure she gave me front and back copies. She proceeded to ask me why I didn't bring the vacuum with me, LOL. I left the gym and went to the company. And me being 130 pounds, I was not going to try to stuff this used vacuum into my car.

Yes people, they are used. I checked the hoses and found hairs and other things. They tried to clean it up but I should have known something because the box he took it out of was very beat up. If the vacuum is all that it is cracked up to be, why not sell it in stores?

I know I kept an immaculately clean home but let’s not forget we are made from dirt (Bible); there is no way of escaping it. If I have lived in it for 30 years, it must be doing something right for me. When I read over 30 pages on this site of the people that have complained across the country, my stomach was literally in knots. They need to shut this company down! Always go with your first mind!

No sooner than a week of orientation, 2 days of verbal training, a lesson on how to unpack and repack the box, and a few useless morning meetings of song and games, did it dawn on me that I am playing a joke with these people. Once out in the field for my first day was I in awe with disbelief. I was shadowing an 18 year old adolescent with absolutely no experience with not only lack of professionalism, but an individual that has no clue how a vacuum cleaner is operated.

Once we had been there for about 3 hours, we called our supervisor to come pick us up as we stall this non-English speaking family. Once we had all the equipment packed up and ready for our ride, we are still waiting. Our supervisor finally showed up an hour later which made it a total of 4 hours we have spent in the person's home, she proceeds to try and talk this Korean man into buying the Kirby. First of all, he has no clue what she is saying, and secondly, this man isn't even the man who lives in this home, and she knew that.

The second day out on the field with this same crew, I was told to drive my own vehicle to save me the time and gas when my day has ended. We all arrived at this lady’s house in a very bad neighborhood, and my supervisor says "You should leave your car here while I take you to another house down the way." I agreed because it sounded logical. Once we made it "down the way", I was told to jump out of the van she was driving, and set flyers on everyone's door step in the damn ghetto. I was hesitant, yet I went on to do what I was instructed to. Once I finished an 8 block hike through this neighborhood, I was taken to a potential customer’s house to demonstrate the benefits of this Kirby machine. My supervisor then again leaves me there to do my job. Everything went well with this lady’s home and I was obviously very well-liked by her and her 2 year old little boy.

Once I was done with the demonstration, I called my supervisor to give her a little time to arrive back to the home to close this deal. I left a message for her and never heard back from her. I continued to show this lady more about the Kirby, until she kindly interrupted me and asked "How much longer will you be here?" I explained to this lady that I am just waiting on my ride. This lady had a life, and needed to get going with it, and I really felt horrible for already taking up her precious time.

Eventually, I explained to her that it would be better for me to wait outside for my ride so she could continue on with her busy day. I then went out to the curb with the Kirby, and sat as I waited, and waited, and waited. 45 minutes goes by, I call my supervisor and I tell her that I am going to find a ride and try to find my car (wherever I left it). My supervisor then arrives another 30 minutes later and tells me how sorry she is for the delay. I made a bit of a fuss to how this company runs. She then goes on to tell me that it isn't always this way. I explained to them that I not only skipped lunch for the day, but I didn't get why my car had to be in an unfamiliar area, and why I was being placed in a very uncomfortable situation. I am not a sales rep; I was hired to demonstrate, not to mention I had no proof of identity.

Twenty minutes turned into fifty minutes. At 8:30pm, I was ready to go to bed. I turned all the lights off and proceeded to put my children to bed. Just as I was headed to bed, they knocked on the door. This time, it was the young girl and her sales manager. I said, that it was long after twenty minutes and I was headed to bed. The sales manager Kevin said that it was his fault that they were late and that she was waiting for him to arrive. I said that I was tired. Kevin, the sales manager, said that they would be so fast that I would never even know they were there. I foolishly agreed to let them in. Kevin was quite friendly at first, as I explained to him the same thing that I had told the young girl - that I was not going to buy the vacuum. He said ok and just asked me to keep an open mind. He left for a short time.

The young girl began to clean. The vacuuming took forever, as she was doing her sales pitch and showed me all the dirty filters and how the Kirby had this fabulous suction. I was not disputing that, but I knew that I was not going to buy a 2000-dollar vacuum. The manager came back and basically brow-beated me until 12:00 am about buying the vacuum. He even went upstairs without asking, started to vacuum my children's bed, and woke her up in the process. He became rude and indignant in his sales tactics, as I refused to buy the vacuum. He was insulting, and was policing my finances. He was pressuring me without respecting my boundaries.

He kept making these pseudo phone calls to his manager lowering the price. He wasn't calling anyone; he was pretending. It was really quite obvious. I let these sharks into my home, and they didn't leave for 3 1/2 hours. My poor 23-month-old son was exhausted, and I had to get rude before they would leave. He even asked me to help clean up the dirty filter pads they left all over my floor. The worst decision I made that night was letting them in the door, but the best decision was sticking to my guns and refusing to buy this product. Any business who would use rude sells tactics and not take no for answer is not the type of business that is trustworthy. I was appalled after they left and quite traumatized from all the brow beating. Please do not let them into your home. It's a hard lesson for me but it's a very valuable one.

I was in disbelief as he would not leave and continued to pressure my sister to purchase the vacuum. Then, when he had the nerve to ask to use her bathroom I questioned my sister about his being there. He had already been there two hours before I arrived! He got in the door by offering a free gift and saying they just needed a few minutes to show her something. They didn't reveal who they were and they left the equipment hidden in the van. They ran and got the equipment and after getting it into the house, the van full of other sales people drove off, leaving this person in the house with my sister. She tried to get him to leave many times, but he just ignored her and continued with the gimmicks of 'getting credit' for showing her everything, making multiple phone calls to a manager to secure a 'better deal' for her, trying to convince my sister that her purchase was needed for him to meet his quota and get to go on a trip, it went on and on.

Telling him my sister just had surgery the day before didn't faze him. He wasn't ignorant, he just didn't care. I heard my sister tell him more than once that this needed to come to an end. He just persisted. He made no move to clean up the mess and get out of the house. To top it off, he supposedly couldn't leave until his 'manager' returned and inspected his work, to make sure he got credit for it. I started to attempt supper but he invaded the kitchen, using her sink to clean out all his equipment. It was unbelievable.

It was now about seven in the evening. He had been there 3 hours. When a van pulled up outside and the 'manager' stepped out and approached, I went up to her and told her he needed to leave. I told her my sister just got out of the hospital after having surgery and that this guy wouldn't leave. I told her this was ridiculous and that they needed to leave. The woman seemed to understand they weren't going to make a sale, and after she followed me into the house, she suddenly turned around, opened the front door and called to the person jumping into the driver seat of the van, and told them a couple times not to go yet.

Apparently, the plan had been to now drop her off and leave her there for an undisclosed amount of time. She did seem to understand they needed to leave and she quickly started collecting all the equipment and things scattered all over the floor. The young man came in and seemed confused at why she was packing up. I guess he expected her to finish pressuring my sister and get the sale for him. She simply said 'we need to go'. I give her credit for that.

This salesman and the techniques of the company were so unthinkable that I stood in disbelief. Then, I found out they'd been at my mother's house, just down the street, earlier in the day and that she was very upset. I went to her house to check on her. I would like to note that my parents are in their seventies. They both have had cancer in the last two years. My dad has a rare and usually deadly cancer and it has resurfaced in the last few months. With the economy they are struggling and hoping to be able to keep their home and pay their utilities this winter.

When I visited them, I found a similar experience had happened to them. But mom was home alone when they invaded (and yes it is like a home invasion when someone is asked to leave, and it's made clear they are not welcome, not going to make a sale, and they still refuse to leave). During that time she tried to get them to leave when it was lunchtime and she said she needed to fix lunch. The guy told her she could go ahead and have lunch, but he didn't leave. She later said she needed to get errands run before the post office closed, etc. He responded by saying he just needed to show her 'one more thing' and stayed on and on. He asked to use mom's phone, even though he had his own cell phone with him, to make a call to his 'manager'. But it was a long distance call, and mom doesn't have long distance service on her phone. He said "You don't have long distance?" and reluctantly stepped out on the front porch to use his own cell phone to make the call.

I would like to make it clear that mom actually did ask him to leave and let him know very clearly that she would not buy anything. Because of his persistence, she finally told him flat out that she and dad are both cancer patients, that dad's is on the rise again, they have no money, and if they did have extra money they would use it to put a new roof on the house, not buy a vacuum cleaner. Their roof needs to be replaced, but they can't afford to replace it. His response; he just went right on with his agenda, unbelievable.

By the time dad got home, mom was in tears and very stressed. I asked if they have any identifying information of who these people were, or which Kirby location they came from. They left nothing identifying, such as a business card that would tell me a name or where they came from. She did say they were from the Indianapolis area. We live in a rural area about an hour from there. I found out it was the same salesman who had visited my sister that day. How can anyone operate with such a lack of conscience? I can't find an appropriate word, unbelievable what they did.

Consequences: Financially, neither my sister nor parents purchased a vacuum cleaner. Physically, the houses are okay. We'll have to see how my sister's recovery goes, since she's still not feeling well four days later. Mom is traumatized and is still upset. She added a sign to her front door that says 'No solicitors'.

How wrong I was. I found out (ta-da!) that I would be selling Kirby vacuums! Well, after the 3 days of unpaid training (I won't go there on how stupid it was), the whole sales pitch sounded easy. Ha ha ha. I must have been the world's biggest fool. We would come in at 10 am, sit there and do nothing for an hour, sing stupid songs, then drive an hour and a half to 2 hours to wherever we would be selling. They said we could have people setting appointments for us. Not. We had to walk around neighborhoods, knocking on doors all day trying to practically push our way into houses. You have to skip lunch half of the time, and you get to walk around in freezing weather, knocking on doors.

The management is a joke. They are allowed to talk to you; however, you want and don't have a problem with telling you that you are worthless. A manager and I almost got into a fistfight because he thought he could sit there and insult me just because I didn't get into a house. Everyone in the office is either a felon, druggie, or both. The majority of the people you work with are sleeping with each other.

I worked for these idiots for a month and a half and I never even saw the $1850 I was promised. The owner, Lamaan Hill, is a liar and a snake and will do whatever he can to make sure he does not have to pay you. I posted an ad on Craigslist, and Lamaan was texting my cellphone saying he was going to put me in jail for slander. I told him to stop and he continued to harass me. I am still trying to catch up on all the bills I have because of these scam artists. If you see any ad like that on Craigslist, avoid it. If you got to a job interview and they tell you it has anything to do with Kirby, run out the door like your pants are on fire.

I would like some explanation about this incident. Is this how you do business? I'm ready to tell all my neighbors and friends about this incident. I'm sure in the vacuum business, bad publicity wouldn't do your business much good. I would like an answer to this email, if not I guess I can pursue the matter further. I'm sure the BBB would like to know about this type of activity in our city.

He also verbally agreed with me on approximately $80 per month for 18 months. The next morning (when I was now more awake after working all day and my wife, who is 9 months pregnant, was more aware) upon looking at the contract, it was for approximately $66 per month for 36 months and the return policy said 3 days! Seeing this, I immediately signed the form, which said to do so on July 25, and mailed back the form. After not hearing anything for about 10 days, I then placed another copy of the form in an envelope and personally drove down there and put it in their mail box. During this process, I also began emailing the actual Kirby company who then contacted the distributing company.

At that point, I got a call back from the distributing company (SZ Enterprises located in Orange, CT) stating they have gotten a fax from Kirby to call me. I told him the situation and said they never received my requests to cancel the order. After arguing with them, my wife finally had heard enough and took the phone from me and argued with them herself. During their argument, the man on the phone placed her on hold and said he went to the mail box and apparently just got our return. Since it was almost 2 weeks later now, they said they would not take the vacuum back. I told them I sent in the form the day after. Then, I told him how the salesman gave me the 30-day verbal contract, and he said that the salesman should not have said that and that "its not his problem."

My wife then asked to speak to someone higher up, and the guy on the phone gave the name of the owner, who never returned our call. We finally got a hold of him today, and he pretty much kept saying the same thing that it wasn't his problem and told my wife we haven't been trying to call them. When my wife told him we were and have our cell phone records to prove it, he hung up on her!

My wife and I are in the process of consolidating our debt and have a company negotiating a settlement with our Visa and MasterCards, and we cannot afford this vacuum. We did not ask the company for our deposit back or for our old vacuum back, which the salesmen took and also verbally told us that they were going to use it as a trade-in. And then on the written contract, they never wrote anything down about a trade-in. All my wife and I wanted was out of this contract, and now, this company is causing my self and my 9-month pregnant wife very serious emotional distress. If there is anything that can be done or any advice you can give, it would be greatly appreciated.

Anyway, I feel bad for the kid who did the job. I guess he’s just another desperate fellow trying to earn his bread, but on the whole this is a big scam! My carpet is still dirty, no spots were removed! Whatever shampoo he used, it was useless. What it did was it vacuumed the dirt and stirred up a bad smell in the air - that’s all! Who in the right mind will spend thousands of dollars on a vacuum? We are polite people and we let them do their game, but they were rude, pushy and their selling tactics are just nasty! Also into their presentation, just to give you an image of how professional they are, they used the shampoo that was in a Mountain Dew plastic bottle. It made us joke about it, but I was telling to myself, really? Is that for real? How do I know what was in that bottle?

I made a comment saying that I know cleaning and that I like Dyson a lot better. And the guy started to laugh and ridicules me for my preference - not a smart thing to do! If anyone is reading this, do not fall for this scam! Do your homework before buying anything! Actually, while the guy was cleaning the carpet and talked his head off to my boyfriend, I went and googled the product and opened several pages to see what people have to say. That’s how I found this site. And I told the guy I found not so pleasant things about the product and the way they sell it, but that didn’t stop him and his supervisor for taking me as a fool! I think they prey on people and someone should shut them down.

My boyfriend had an asthma attack after they left. They stirred up all the pet hairs and dust and whatever was in that carpet. I am not a sensitive person, but I find it hard to breathe, and now is the morning after the cleaning is done and the carpet is dry. It doesn’t smell like clean at all. It stinks, even though I had my door open all night long to let the carpet dry. My chest feels heavy. I don’t know what they used to "clean" (no cleaning done, spots looked untouched!), but I don't feel good.

Listen, we don't decide to go out and walk miles and miles of your neighborhood just to get turned away. We get paid to do the demos and try to sell the vacuums, not to go up to your door while you turn your noses up at us like we are the scum of the earth. Myself, personally, I don't care so much about whether you buy the vacuum or not. I don't like pressuring people, but I do want to do these demonstrations so my company will give me some pay for working my ass off 12 hours a day, pounding the pavement all day in sweltering heat with a tie on. Now, I will agree that there are some dirty salespeople out there and I mean dirty. I'm not one of them; I'm just trying to make a living.

I was one step away from physically throwing them the hell out. After they knew I wasn't cracking and wanted nothing to do with it or them, they finally left, but not before some apparent verbal jabs at my wife being very rude on the way out. I wish I had known that yesterday because I would have stuck that vacuum up his ass. Well, they left the house at 7:45 only to sit outside my house until 8:15 when the "van" picked them up. My wife was late for work, the kids went to bed hungry, and I was fuming! Thanks for ruining my night, scumbags! Please never let anyone into your house for any "free cleaning" from Kirby - ever!

When I called the Loveland office, I talked to Shawn and he said he didn't know anything about it but would talk to the manager and call me back. After three hours of waiting, I called back and he said he hadn't had a chance to talk to her, that he would and call me back. Well that never happened, so I drove to Loveland and went to their office but no one was there. I left phone messages and left a note on the door that if they didn't call, I would talk to the Attorney General's office. They still have not called. The office in Wyoming says that they do not have to return my check because they haven't cashed it. They also threatened to charge me for the new vacuum that they took back. They have given me a runaround for the last two weeks. The girl, Wendy, that came to pick up the vacuum left her no. but when I called it, it was no longer in service.

I feel like I was violated because they forced their way in and wouldn't take no for an answer. I couldn't get rid of them. They were here for two and a half hours. Now I am stressed out about them forcing me to pay for something I don't even have and my property has been stolen.

They came around 4 pm and left around 6 pm, so I was in the process of fixing supper for my family. I was in and out of the room, but for the most part he was in there by himself. As I had already told them I was not buying one, so I was not, therefore, interested in watching the demo. Then on Friday, I went into my room to get $52.00 cash that was on my dresser under a $15.00 check. The cash was gone but the check was still there. I called the number that the salesman had called from my phone while he was here, which he said he was calling the company to see what deal he could get for me and I found out by calling this number he was just calling the guy in the van that dropped him off.

I got a hold of Kyle's boss Michael; he said Kyle didn't even show up to work on Friday, so he wanted me to call back at 9 am on Saturday and he would get it taken care of. So I did and I got a message that the phone was dead and to call **. So I did and I got a female who said she would get a hold of Michael and have him call me and I haven't heard from anyone. Everything he told me while he was here was a lie. I should have learned from my last experience from the Kirby guys that lied to me about the price of the vacuum. I did buy, but I guess I am a trusting person that has definitely had a change of attitude when it comes to trust.

When I contacted the Kirby headquarters as well as KCNC Inc, the local distributor, both told me there was nothing I could do because it was outside of the three-day window that they allowed returns. They said my only option was to write a letter and get a doctor's note describing the details of her disability and they would give it to the boss, not that he would give me a refund or anything. I tried to tell them that they were committing fraud and that the sales agreement should be null and void because my mother lacked the mental capacity to understand the agreement, but they said to me, "Listen, we told you what to do. If you say one more word, I'm hanging up and won't accept your calls anymore." I conceded by saying okay, and they immediately hung up on me.

Usually, normal dogs cower at the roar of a vacuum, especially this "super" vacuum they claim to have. I stayed in training for 2 days and on the third day (today), I decided to leave after one of the other trainees had come in demanding his appointment sheets back and all of his information. I started to text my friend and get him to google this company and he found nothing but bad news.

So when the trainer, Katie, lured everyone into the break room area for disgusting little Ceaser's pizza, I used the excuse of not liking pizza and said I was going down the street for lunch, and drove home. I feel like I just got screwed out of 3 days of my life. I definitely got screwed out of about $50 in gas, and I did not want to be the one who goes around selling vacuums for $1,800. Their finance plans are totally bogus, $20 down and $67 a month for 36 months. Wow, adds up to about $2,431 after interest.

Please, don't buy these things, it's a total scam, and I think the best thing I've done in a while is walk out of that place. If anyone is reading this that can do anything about it, the guy's name who is in charge is Orion ** (sounds like a made up name to me) and he is supposedly from New York or something like that. They operate out of a small business in Gastonia, NC, named Good and Associates, 1121 E Garrison Blvd. Shut this place down, it'll save a lot of people a lot of time and money, business people like this are the reason our economy is totally busted. Oh yeah, their vacuums would only be good for janitorial services anyway, so if you don't have a small building to clean, just buy a Hoover.

"Now say, Miss Devon, does this deal include the discount for my contest? She gets to benefit from that? Thank you, Ma'am!". Gag me! Her manager asked the girl to call her back after she'd talked to me a bit more and cleaned all her equipment. The manager then showed up way later then she said she would and continued to badger me to buy the vacuum and guilt me. I explained how I didn't want to purchase a vacuum because I was trying to save for a wedding. As I am in the Air Force, I am set to PCS overseas and getting my dogs into the country is going to be expensive. I explained that. Her reply was, "I'm sure you can afford a nice vacuum and still be able to pay for your wedding and getting your dogs into the country."

I was rather taken aback by her tone. I continued saying that my fiance was deployed and I didn't want to make any purchases without talking to him and he hadn't had a chance to call for several days. With that, she replied "I'm sure you can make the purchase. You don't need to talk to him. Why not take advantage of this low cost and then you can talk him into the lower price after you've bought it." What? Who in their right mind would fall for that! She just crossed the line and I was very upset. That is the man I am going to spend the rest of my life with! Why would I gang up with someone I don't even know against him? Especially while he is over in the desert fighting for our country!

Four hours later, she continued to drop the price. It went from $1989 to $999 and said the offer stood for "that night only". They threw in all kinds of discounts (military, late night - since it was after 8, for her Bahamas contest, since I was her first customer, since the sky was blue that day = exaggeration. But you get the picture, it was ridiculous). So they wanted to con me into an impulse buy. A price is a price. If you are willing to offer a price, offer it everyday. Their selling tactics speak to the credibility and trustworthiness of this company. I am going to tell all my friends about this and I am sure that isn't the kind of publicity they want spread. They crossed the line. I hope people read this site before their appointments and see what they are getting themselves into. Be prepared to stand your ground because these salespeople are ruthless and will try anything. It is not worth the free carpet cleaning. This was a dreadful experience.

I called 1/2 hour later and he was still there. In the course of 3 calls to his boss, the price dropped from $3,500 to $1,500. Plus, they have a payment plan. I still refused. Furious, I have been badgered and led on for hours of my precious and rare free time. I felt this went beyond the stereotype of a used car salesman and felt I could not get him to give up or leave. When I returned home, he had dumped dirty water filled with cups of dog fur down my daughter's bathroom sink. Not only is this a complete and disgusting mess, I will need to take apart the P trap (pipe) under the sink to clear out all the dog fur. I had vacuumed the room before this salesman and after he shampooed the room, there are new spots that were not there prior to the cleaning. I am grateful I did not buckle under pressure, but worry for all those that do. Additionally, I worry about who these people are that have now spent hours in my home and know personal information. This is deplorable.

I vacuum just recently, started to go backward when I put it in drive and doesn't stop. This is when it started to come clear this guy lied about everything. Now they are telling us that basically there is really nothing they are going to do for us and they will report this salesman. I feel after we spent $2,000.00 on a vacuum it should not be breaking. I also feel that when you are told nothing but lies, we should not have been told, “Oh well, tough.”

This guy came into our home and said anything to make us buy this vacuum. The company that sold us the vacuum and the Kirby itself told us there is nothing they can do. As an employer, I know that something like this should be made right. Oh by the way, being though they keep saying it's not on the contract there is nothing they can do, does this mean since he messed up and wrote the total price out to be $350.00 on the contract that we all signed, that it would only cost $350.00?

I believe it was sold to my wife in a fraudulent way. The salesman Ray told my wife lies to make a sale. I have done research on this and found at least if not more complaints of the same manner. They lie to make sales on innocent people. This practice is disgusting and I would like the contract dissolved and this company closed if you have the power to do that. I know my wife signed the contract, but it was signed without my wife's knowledge that what Ray said was not true. We can not afford this. We are just getting by and on top of that, the Kirby is a peice of junk not worth 3000 dollars

Every time my niece calls the cell phone number, she gets someone different. First, they were going to come out on Tuesday, then Friday and no one phones or shows up. My niece called them and told them we only have 3 days to get my aunt's money back and the guy she talked to told her, “Oh no don't worry we will take care of you.” My niece is allergic to the carpet cleaner they gave with the machine and she was told that they would bring out the new carpet cleaner and hardwood floor pads on Tuesday, June 16, 2009. No one called or came.

My niece called DBA's cell phone number and she was told by someone that it did not come in but they would come out on Friday 19th to bring the stuff and show how to use the vac. About a week or two later, FedEx brings me a box it has the floor cleaner and hardwood pads but there is a problem. FedEx cannot show me how to use this vac. I feel like I have wasted my money and they better never come back here trying to sell me anything else ever again because I will never buy from them again.

The night they came out, Robert** had some problems with the machine himself and Jamie was telling him how to use it. They ran through everything really fast and I have no idea what I am doing but yet they have my $1,150.00. I paid them in full with a check. Jamie was in a hurry to leave because he had another salesman at one of my neighbor's house. This salesman called Jamie to come pick him up right in the middle of them (Jamie and Robert) showing my niece how to use the vacuum. Robert got my niece confused because he was really running through everything. My niece just kept telling him ok thinking they would come back and show us exactly how to put this machine together. They even took my niece's old vacuum as a trade in. They gave me $400 supposedly for it. I believe Jamie overcharged me. All he wanted was the money. I feel like have been taken advantage of big time. They tried to get my niece to buy it. She told them no 4 different times while I was out of the room.

They, Jamie and Robert, asked her if she had a credit card and she told them yes. Robert told Jamie. “Well then, we can put it on her credit card and be paid in full.” My niece spoke up and said, “Oh no, you can't. I don't have that much of a limit on my card.” Then Jamie told her, “Well, we can finance for you.” My niece told him, “No you can't, I have a bankruptcy against me.” Jamie then asked my niece if she got the credit card before or after the bankruptcy and she told him after. He told her, “Well then, there shouldn't be any problem with me financing this for you.” She replied, “Yes, there is. I have not worked in the past 4 years I have lung problems.” They shut up and then I came back in the room and they started on me about buying it. I was reluctant they kept on and on and it was going on 9 pm. I was tired so I just bought it. I just wanted them out of my house I wanted to go bed I was tried. They had been here for hours.

When I came back in the room, my niece left. She wasn't feeling good. She went home come to find out it was the stuff they used on the carpet. She was sure until she walked in the room the next day and she had to leave in a hurry. On top of her lungs, she also has a chemical imbalance and what if she can't use the new carpet cleaner they sent me then what. Do I still get my money back? They have no intention of looking out for me they are only looking out for their pockets.

My niece called Kirby home office and she was told by someone that he was sorry he couldn't do anything. My niece hung up and called them back and she got a hold to a very nice lady whom gave her the DBA's office number because all they gave me was a cell phone. My niece called Lexington's Office on Friday June 26, 2009 and she was told by Tammy that works there that she could give my niece their cell phone number. My niece told her a lot of good that will do. I have called them a couple of times and no one has come out yet. My niece even asked Jamie the night he came out to sell the vacuum if they had a website, he told her no. My niece went home looked on the internet and this is how she got Kirby's number in United States and Canada.

I have no idea how to use this vacuum and no one is willing to come out and show me. If they are not going to come out and show me how to use this I want my money back. I paid them in full with a personal check and there is no sense in them trying to take advantage of an 80 year old woman. I have been lied to about a lot of different things. The 1st was the address. Jamie kept telling me the night of 05-12-09 their office was on Hwy 1 in Lexington near the Lexington High School. Then he turned around and said that he was on Hwy 1 near Wendy's around the sharp curve where Lexington High School is. My niece and I rode up and down Hwy and he is nowhere on Hwy 1. We pulled through every strip mall between Lexington High and Wendy's. We went around the curve at Wendy's went all the way to Wal-Mart nothing came back went down below Wendy's past Caughman-Harmon Funeral Home nothing. When my niece call the office, the young lady that answered the phone told her, “Oh no ma’am, we are going out toward West Columbia on West Main Street.” Why lie about where their office is at? I really want my money back in full like I paid him $1,150.00.

To make a long story short, I bought one in hopes that I would learn to love it. I now feel I was pressured into this sale by the sales rep. I am a very busy person like everyone and didn't get to try out my Kirby until after three days. I am not happy with the vacuum because it takes me twice as long because of the hose not being right on the vacuum. I didn't realize this until I cleaned my house that next week.

I called the distributor that I bought it from, JJR Distributors. They said they can't help me. I called the Consumers Relations, they said they can't help me. This is a major investment on my part and I want to return it. I called 10 days after the purchase. I feel this is still a justified time for a return. How does one know whether they will like a vacuum until they use it once or twice? Please help!

I said fine and thought that he can clean the spot while I was getting ready to go out but that wasn't the case. He informed me that I needed to watch him do it so he can get paid. I then explained to him my plans and asked him to leave. As I did that, his boss handed him a box and drove off in a van. He said he had to stay until it was finished. Anyway, he does this long demonstration of this vacuum and never got to cleaning the spot. I kept politely trying to tell him that we have no money as I am 8 and half months pregnant with a one-year old already and am not interested. He was baffled by this and kept trying to pressure me into buying the pile of junk for $2600. He then called his boss and had him come over to double pressure me. This time it was 8 o'clock at night and any dinner plans I had were ruined. My day was ruined by these gross people and I never felt so violated in my own home before. Finally, I had to threaten to call the police to get them to leave where the two of them sat on my porch and waited for the van to come back.

To make a long story short, a 15-minute presentation turned into a three-hour battle! He did me a favor and brought the price from $2,300 to $950 at $37 a month! I just switched jobs and took a pay cut--this man tells me that I can surely afford $37 a month. I am currently living on my savings. I told him my priorities are my family. All of this during the presentation which he won't quit even when I repeatedly told him that I can't afford it even if I wanted it.

He then says that he will demonstrate in my bedroom without asking! He starts walking to my stairs where my baby girl is sleeping! I am horrified! He keeps insisting that I can spare $37 a month when I am counting pennies as it is. These people prey on the low-income families. Be aware that once they are in your home, they won't leave.

i actually felt threatened by his behavior and felt violated in my rights at my own home. While he was talking away, I logged on and googled Kirby vacuums and lo and behold, I found this Web site! I proceeded to kick him out. When he refused, I used the best defense I have. I am a police officer in the military and I know when people are soliciting illegally and are violating people's rights.

He got pale considerably. Experience tells me that he was new at this since he was nervous and sweating the whole time. I got the impression he was afraid of his boss. I felt sorry for the guy for a split second. People, be aware. My biggest fear was with--what about all the kids that are left home alone during the summer? Warn your children. Something tells me that these people don't screen their employees. And people, please realize, do you really need a Kirby? Stay with the necessities. And if you want to splurge, go for a steam cleaner. It has no chemicals and it deeply cleans as it disinfects.

But as it was past the three-day period for default, it was explained that we would have to pay a top price for the used piece of junk that we purchased. In turn, I balked and refused to pay for a vacuum that after using only twice broke. I boxed the machine up and purchased another cleaner. For two years, I’ve been fighting with collections for this debt and of course the loan company, and the Kirby people cannot after their initial money transaction contact and help resolve this issue. I’ve decided to pay off the balance to try to salvage my wife’s credit history. But now I will make it my personal quest to try to stop or hinder in any way I can the deceitful underhanded manipulative way these people operate and the company that allows their employees to operate this way.

I have since complained to Kirby corporate and the newspaper advertisement that posted Kirby's bait and switch scam. Kirby may make a great vacuum, but the company is very unethical. I strongly discourage anyone from working with Kirby/RTS. Since my departure, I have noticed that Kirby/RTS has sometimes placed multiple advertisements in the newspaper; sometimes with different logos and phone numbers in an effort to deceive applicants.

Anyway, this young man begins unpacking this huge box and backpack full of accessories for this vacuum, and begins to vacuum my area rug. We have all hardwood floors, except in our children’s rooms. So without asking, he takes all this crap to my daughter’s room and starts cleaning back there! My baby was starving (and is nursing!), so I couldn't feed him, and my 2 year old was sick and about to pass out from her Benadryl! I couldn't put her to bed because the young man had stripped all the sheets off her bed in order to show me that the Kirby can clean mattresses too!

I am a complete germ-a-phobe and was completely disgusted when he used my kids’ bathroom (without asking) twice and didn't wash his hands, then kept asking me to shake his! Ewww! Then, as he was cleaning, he was dumping the fuzz and dirt from the carpets down my bathroom sink (clogging it up!), wearing his shoes in my home, and scattering 40 dirt covered filters all over my living room floor for my kids to get near. This was after I had told him that all three of my children had bad allergies! I was so disgusted by the behavior and the hygiene of the salesmen that I went straight to cleaning my bathroom, daughter’s room, and floors immediately after they left. Disinfecting even the doorknobs in the house where he had touched them with his pee-pee hands!

They stayed until 3 that afternoon. They couldn't have left a lot sooner if they had just told me the price of the stupid thing before the whole sales-pitch! $2,300 for a vacuum cleaner, I don't think so! Besides, in this economy who in their right mind would spend that kind of cash on a vacuum? Get real! It did work great and completely grossed me out by all of the tiny dirt particles it picked up but if my ancestors can live through the dust bowls, I think I can live with a little carpet fuzz!

We have had the vacuum for less than a month and have not made a payment for it yet. They take advantage of young people and high pressure people into buying an overpriced piece of junk. He was in the Army stationed at Ft. Irwin when his wife left him and the baby alone in California. The military gave him an Honorable Discharge so he could raise his daughter. He is so depressed right now. I am afraid of what might happen. He was expecting a paycheck to be able to pay his bills and they can't live on $100.

He quickly ran back to his bosses’ SUV and got out this big box and bag, and I was kinda like, "Whoa" but whatever. He came in and I led him back to my son's room, as we've replaced all the carpets in our house except the one's in both my sons’ rooms. So he got it out and got to work, showing me all the crap in the carpet. I kinda knew it would be bad already because the carpet is about 20 years old, and I live in a desert, so the demo wasn't much special to me, though it did thrill my two sons (ages 4 and 2) to no end.

Anyway, 2 hours later, my kids were getting grumpy from missing their naps, and he was still there. I felt bad for him because he seemed really sweet, so I finally asked him what the machine cost. It took a little poking and prodding, and he finally told me - $3100.00! Yeah, you read that right! I pretended not to be absolutely disgusted, but basically told him that he could leave me some info and I'd think about it. Then he told me (he was only halfway through his demo) that he only got paid if he completed it, so I took him to my other son's room to do the bed as he told me his boss would check the pads and know if he'd done a bed or not.

I had to close my 2 year old out of his own room so the guy could spray some stuff on the carpet, and so my son wouldn't get into the bazillion little pads he'd left all over the floor. Anyway, he went back in to shampoo the carpet, and I decided to tell him (it's almost 3:30 by this time) that I have to go to my office and meet a client at 3:45, so he needed to be done with his 30-minute cleaning now. So, he did start to pack it up and called his boss. His boss came to pick him up (at 4:00) and started to ask if I was gonna buy it. I told him I'd have to talk to my husband about it.

He started going on about me being able to make my own decisions. And I was like, "Well, not for something that costs $3100! I have more respect for my husband than that. We are a partnership." He tried to tell me that he could give it to me for as little as $2 a day, but still I told him I had to talk to my husband about it. He wanted to know if he could come back when my husband was home, but I told him we'd be out, as we had a dinner with my husband's parents that night. I asked for some information on the machine, and he finally gave me a business card and wrote his number on the back. He said they were leaving town around 8pm, and they'd stop back by.

They left, but the boss was muttering something about how the kid couldn't go to Vegas now, because he was leaving my house with the vacuum. Oh, but they did leave me a nice parting gift - the darn little disks all over my son's floor, which he had thrown about, so then I had to get out my vacuum to get all that off the carpet. Luckily for them, they never came back. I told my husband about it, and he was not too pleased. He's training to become a police officer, so he knows the whole drill of that real well.

I did really like the kid who did the sales pitch - Angelou. He was really nice and very sweet to my kids. The boss, JD, was a bit of an **, but not horrible. There's just no way I'd ever pay that much for a vacuum. I'm surrounded by dirt everyday - I live in a desert, and so are my kids, and we're all just dandy thanks! Like the old saying goes, "God made dirt so dirt doesn't hurt!"

I loved the self-propelled aspect of the cleaner, the plethora of attachments, the motor-powered spot cleaner, etc. But the next day when it was dried, the spots were back. Not nearly as bad, but all there. So I'm exercising my 3-day right of Cancellation of the installment contract (sent a signed copy by registered mail - I made a copy of the contract for myself). The person I talked to (who was not at the distributor's location) said that the original salesman (who didn't leave me a card) would be by with my trade-in 15-year-old Eureka canister and my broken Bissell shampooer and would cancel the contract and pick up the Kirby. We'll see. Meanwhile, I have the Kirby as a hostage.

The shampoo part is only good for carpets that don't have any stains. I will say, though, that he wasn't using the pet stain remover because he didn't have any with him. Maybe it works with the pet stain remover. I'm sorry I have to reject the Sentria because it sure cleaned my carpet deeply. Now, I realize what a dud my Eureka is - poor suction - and am on a search for an upright with great suction and self-propelled (I need that for my back). I didn't have any negative interactions with any of the sales people.

At first, I was confused by the situation and then realized I had been sexually harassed, and it scared me that Kirby was letting someone like that into my home, especially alone.

After 2-1/2 hours and visits by two senior members of the sales team (Mac with a Samoan last name and Ray, the manager), I was told that they would not shampoo the carpets until I agreed to purchase the machine. I agreed to purchase the vacuum provided the stains were removed and did not return. It was late in the evening, so I really could not see how well the vacuum/shampoo had worked. It was a really hard sales pitch and I fell for it.

On Saturday it rained, so it was not until Sunday that I could see that the stains had not been removed at all. So on Monday morning, I called and said that I was exercising my right to return the product, as stated on the receipt, "You, the Buyer, May Cancel This Transaction at any time prior to Midnight of the Third Business Day After the Date of the Transaction." The Customer Relations woman asked me why. I explained about the stains, and she said she would send my salesperson, Christian, out to pick up the machine.

Christian came out not to pick up the machine but to try again with different products to clean the carpet. I told him I had already made up my mind. He tried for 1 and a half hours to make me keep the machine. I finally said, "In how many languages do I have to say no before you'll get it?" He reluctantly packed it up and placed it in his car. As he was leaving, I asked if I should sign something. He wanted to take my original invoice, and I told him no. He said he'd have to talk to his manager, Ray, about the cancellation paperwork as he had never had a machine returned. Christian then drove off.

I called Ray after about an hour. Ray said that Christian should have had me sign a cancellation form. I called Christian and left a message to come back to my house with the form. I wasn't feeling confident that this group was trustworthy, so I contacted the credit union who holds my credit card with which I purchased the vacuum and I told them to immediately dispute the charges.

After 10 phone calls, 8 of which I never got past the receptionist because everyone was in a meeting, I found out almost a month later that their office now claims that they do not have the returned vacuum and that the only paperwork they have is my purchase agreement. I told them that I have two eye witnesses who saw me return the vacuum, that I have phone records and have written down every time that I called and who I spoke to. Natalie, their finance officer, then slightly changed her tune to say that she had no problem refunding me the money but that she'd have to do some more research. I again called my credit card credit union representative and explained that I wasn't getting anywhere with this refund. I had also written a complaint to the Better Business Bureau with a web complaint.

So here's what I have figured out. First, their sales pitch is not only aggressive but also full of falsehoods. They claim with their demonstration that the vacuum is only working at 50% capacity. This demonstration includes a special fully enclosed unit that attaches to the machine where the vacuum bag would normally attach. According to my colleague, a Physics professor, this is false, that the area of the special demonstration piece is obviously different than the area of the vacuum bag and that, because of the volume and essentially suction capacity, the demonstration is at 120% of what it would be with the normal vacuum. So, the demonstration is a farce and is fraudulent.

Secondly, that while it states a third business day period to return the merchandise, the business will do everything and anything to ensure that you will pay for the machine whether you still have it or not. They will first try the "don't take no" approach and then make up excuses for not providing the consumer with the proper returned merchandise paperwork. They will then lose the machine (which probably has already been resold) and continue to charge your account unless you are ready for a court battle.

Their employees are incredibly unprofessional. I can get past the hard sales pitch and all the one liners they sling your way, but to call over and over and have your phone call screened by the receptionist, to be promised time and time again that someone will return your call, to waste my time and make me have to fight for my money back, is incomprehensible.

I have worked for consumer advocacy groups back in the 1980s. One or all of these groups should be seriously investigating these companies (of which there doesn't seem to be a corporate entity to actually go after). So don't listen to what your grandmother tells you nostalgically about Kirby vacuums. It's a scam from beginning to end. Buyer beware!

I said, "My credit is bad." She said, "no problem, we can try it with your husband on there," and she told me I could sign his name. So I went through with it because she said that I could return it in 3 days. I thought my husband would change his mind in that time frame but he didn't. So I called her to get the vacuum and she came out with another contract saying, "Sign this one to get out the other one," and I did but she didn't take the vacuum. She said the guy would pick it up and he didn't and I got a call saying there was no way out of the contract, did I agree with their terms, and I said yes. My husband wasn't here so I said yes for him thinking that it was over and someone would be here within the week. They never came. They called me for a payment and the problem started that day. They threatened to garnish my husband's wages so I started to pay them but I couldn't continue do so with this economy. They are still harassing me and I told them to come get their vacuum and they still won't. They just want money.

Still, the sales guy and a lady now, were in my house w/ contracts and other bits of paperwork I wasn't about to sign. Two hours later, my husband arrived home from work. They were still trying to pitch the vacuum sale. Our older kids immediately brought my husband up to speed on what was going on, and that they wouldn't leave. He (my husband) informed them if they did not leave our property, that he would go next door and get the sheriff. They were unfazed by this, stating they had a permit to be here. Really? In my house without my permission? Really?

When they continued their harassing and were slow to leave, my husband got his gun and pointed it at the two. Thank goodness, Colorado is a Make My Day law state (which means you can legally shoot anyone trespassing on your property/refusing to leave). Amazingly how fast they then packed their things up and left. Why does a simple vacuum demo turn into this? Why does Kirby allow this behavior by their employees? My husband worked for Kirby 30 years ago, and it was not like this at all! After the fact, we realized they preyed on me because I'm a very nice person, and busy w/ 4 kids, they thought I was an easy target for their scams. I can only imagine what they do to the elderly! How un-American!

I did not sign any paperwork for these scammers, therefore, I'm not out a single cent! Kirby's sales tactics are dehumanizing and unethical in so many ways. By the way, a 3-day return policy? That should be a red flag right away! Be smart and safe! Do not let anyone you do not know in your house! If they can't get their point across standing outside your door, send them away!

She showed and talked about the cleaner for about 45 minutes before she finally got around to shampoo the carpet. When I told her that I felt the company had been deceitful to get into the home, she initially apologized. But when I told her I didn't think I would buy the product because of false claim to get me to see the demo, she got very angry with me. I told her not to clean the second room and to leave. She called the company and talked about me: "How anyone who could see how good the product is and not buy, something is wrong with her." She kept making rude comments about me, under her breath. The Kirby did a nice job of cleaning the carpet, but I would never buy a vacuum cleaner from a company that employs such false tactics to get into one's home.

My husband repeatedly told Mike that we had had one of these sweepers a long time ago. We got rid of it because we had trouble finding bags for it. Mike continued to demonstrate the sweeper. He had those little filters covered in dirt and dust laying everywhere. He laid them on my new rocker that we have, he had them scattered out on the floor. When I mean he laid them everywhere, I mean everywhere. Every time Mike changed this little filter and turned on the sweeper, dust would fly and my granddaughter would cough. My husband told him several times that we were not interested in purchasing the sweeper but yet he kept right on demonstrating.

Chris had left Mike at our house for 45 minutes by himself to demonstrate this sweeper. Mike told us this was only his second time that he had demonstrated the sweeper. At the end of the demonstration, they were trying to convince my husband to purchase this sweeper. He kept telling them, “No, I do not want this.” Chris said for only $2195.00 this sweeper could be ours. My husband said, “No, I do not want this.” Chris proceeded to tell him that he could bring the price down so we could afford it. Again my husband said no.

As the evening wore on my husband and daughter noticed that my granddaughter was breathing heavier and coughing more. When I got home my granddaughter and daughter were in bed sleeping. I checked on my granddaughter and she appeared to be sleeping fine. So my husband and I went to bed. We could hear my granddaughter over the baby monitor in our bedroom and her breathing became more rapid and congested.

We didn’t fall asleep right away because we were very concerned about the way she was breathing. We got up because her breathing became a lot worse. We just thought she was coming down with a cold so we put her in a steamy shower to help her breathe. I left and told my daughter to get dressed and help me get the diaper bag ready because most likely we would be taking our granddaughter to the hospital. My husband came out of the bathroom with my granddaughter clutching to him and said to call 911 and to get an ambulance here right away because my granddaughter started shaking so bad that he couldn’t keep a hold on her. When the ambulance attendant entered our house he took one look at my granddaughter and said, “Who is ready because we need to get this baby to the hospital?” My daughter rode to the hospital in the ambulance with my granddaughter.

At 1:30am on the date stated above we arrived at St. Joes Hospital in Parkerburg, West Virginia. When we arrived, my granddaughter’s heart rate was over 200. They had trouble bringing it down. We spent 3 hours in this emergency room trying to get her heart rate under control. When we arrived at the emergency room in Parkersburg they had our granddaughter hooked up to a heart monitor, they had her on oxygen and hooked up to various monitors trying to help her. They soon discussed air transportation to the closet children’s hospital. My daughter agreed to have my granddaughter air lifted to Morgantown, WV. When they took her to the helicopter pad, we started our journey to Morgantown, which is about 3 hours from Parkersburg.

Over this past weekend we have spent over $1,000 in gas, food, wear and tear on our vehicle and lost wages. Our stress level is at the max. I have lost 1 week of work because I had to take a leave of absence to help with the care of my granddaughter. My daughter and I have alternated staying with my granddaughter at night so she would have someone familiar with her at all times. She was released from Morgantown hospital on Monday April 6, 2009. At midnight on the very same day we returned once again to the Parkersburg emergency room because my granddaughter's breathing wasn’t good. They kept her over night for observation and the second day she wasn’t doing any better so the doctor decided to put her into a croupe tent with breathing treatments every 4 hours. I am convinced that this sweeper aggravated her condition. She was perfectly fine until they started demonstrating their vacuum.

This condition is still ongoing because at the time of this writing, she is still in the hospital and we have no clue as to what damage she has encountered and the cost of whatever the insurance doesn’t cover we will have to try and cover. I almost lost my granddaughter to these salesmen (if you want to call them that). We have no solicitation order standing at our house. I do hope this can be rectified by reeducation for the sales people that they understand the words, we are not interested and modifications to the sweepers. I think Kirby should be willing to pick up all expenses. Will give update as things progress.

Kirby is a good product, but a terrible place to work. I wish I would have heeded the warnings from others and hopefully, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel will never post their ad again.

Well the dealer I was with and I were there for about 2 and 1/2 hours and the whole time I was verbally harassed by the homeowner. Any time I looked at the dealer, he told me I was fine and everything was cool. I didn't think so, but I'm supposed to keep my mouth shut. The homeowner then had added rum to my drink (I was drinking Mountain Dew) and proceeded to get me drunk, while the dealer did nothing. He didn't even do his show! He just pulled his 100 pads to make it look like he did it and sat around drinking. The homeowner even offered me $100 to blow him! I was put into a bad situation with no way of being able to get out. I'm considering putting a lawsuit against the company because of what they put me through. Also, they tell us that we are going to be home late, which was about 9 pm. No, I finally pulled into my driveway at 1:15 am!

I was hired and I went through training. I asked a lot of questions about how the job worked and what I would be doing. These questions were never properly answered. I felt confused anyone would have left then and there, but I was desperate for funds. I thought the job would be easy and the money was good. After a couple of days on the job, I realized that I had been deceived. The company was a Kirby Company and I worked 14 hours a day for 6 days a week!

When I got my first check, it was $50 and I had done 14 demos and sold 2 Kirby vacuums. My manager I had, had taken almost all my money. He bragged about how he made $2,000 a week and acted like he worked so hard for it; he made all his money by taking his cut in his employees’ commission. When I asked them about it, they said I had signed a contract stating that I was aware that this would take place. It's my fault for not doing more research on the job before I started working there. The company held a lot of parties after work with alcohol, and almost all the employees were underage. I wanted no part of this so I left immediately. I got a better job and in 6 months, I will be a police officer.

My hope is someone will read this and not be taken in by the Kirby Company’s lies. They target young people knowing that their lack of education will allow them to be taken advantage of. They are very rude people and only care about how much change is in their pocket. I apologize to all the people that I lied to by knocking on their door and giving them a false sales pitch trying to make a dishonest living selling Kirby vacuums. I am older and wiser now, and I accomplished my dream by doing the right thing. A message for all you Kirby associates out there: You are liars and scam artists. You don’t make an honest living because you’re not honest. Quit targeting the young people of today. Hire and lie to adults; they can handle your lying crap.

Thank you though for making me realize the importance of honesty. Continue to take advantage of the elderly and disabled and the youth of our time. It will only prove that you are cowards because you target a group that can’t defend themselves. Kirby, don’t ever show your face in my neighborhood. Thank you to all who read this. God bless. P.S. feel free to respond. I apologize if I sound harsh, but I swore and oath to defend the defenseless and help those in need. I feel by writing this, someone will read this and stay clear away from anything that is Kirby on it, or anyone that works for the Kirby Company. Consequence: No damage was done. I am a better person now knowing and realizing the importance of honesty.

At the end, the salesperson said we all had to attend an orientation meeting that weekend in a city 100 miles away. I said I had some prior obligations. In truth, I wanted to go on some other job interviews and wasn't ready to commit without any real information about the job. I wanted some time to think about it. He said if I couldn't drop everything and attend the meeting, then I didn't have the kind of commitment to do the job, so I turned and walked away. I sat outside on the curb with one other guy while we waited for rides to pick us up, while the rest of the crowd went on to the next phase.

I feel like the job ad was misleading, and they used the same kind of high-pressure sales tactics they use to sell vacuums to try and suck us into the business (no pun intended). I don't have the personality to do strong-arm sales so I'm glad I walked away, but I wasted an afternoon when I could have been following up real job leads.

I'm mad at myself for falling for their sales tactics. They called me and asked if they could come to my home to demonstrate the vacuum/shampooer in my home, and promised that all I had to do was fill out a comment card about the vacuum. They said they needed testimonials from people because they didn't advertise. I said okay and made an appointment. I figured that the worst that could happen was that I'd get the carpet in one room cleaned.

First, one salesperson showed up. He started to demo the vacuum, and - I admit - it was impressive. The carpet had been recently vacuumed, and the Kirby vacuum picked up a lot more dust and pet hair. Shortly after the salesperson started working, another salesman arrived, ostensibly to assist the first salesman, who was new on the job. They demonstrated the vacuum and the shampooer, and it was clearly a good product. Then they started the hard sell. They kept asking if I wanted to purchase the vacuum - question after question after question. Sales guy #2 hung around my kitchen and asked a lot of personal questions, read the stuff on my refrigerator, looked in my garage and commented on my new car... It got a little uncomfortable.

Then the sales supervisor showed up. There were now 3 people in my home! They kept up the hard sell, offered to drop the price, offered to sell the demo model for a price reduction, offered free carpet shampoo, etc. I should have resisted their sales tactics; I know I should have. But I didn't. I ended up paying $1672 for the vacuum/shampooer. And now I'm stuck with an expensive purchase that I don't want. And they never asked me to fill out a comment card. During the demo, they used the vacuum. They attached the various cleaning tools. They ran the shampooer. I didn't.

After I used it a couple of times, I found that it's cumbersome and difficult to use. It's inconvenient to use the attachments, and it doesn't fit under furniture. I really want to return it. I have come to a brick wall. They refuse to take the vacuum back; they refuse to give any kind of refund. They said that they were willing to come back to my home to teach me how to use it, but will not consider my request for a return/refund. I'd like to know if I have any recourse. I would like to return the vacuum. I understand that I may not get my full purchase price back, but I'm frustrated that they will not even talk to me about returning the vacuum. Is there anything I can do?

Finally, my husband called on his way home from work and was PO'd to know that my whole afternoon was basically date-raped time wise! So when he arrived, he told the driver/boss man/manager, Brandon, who had just made an appearance, that he had 3 minutes to get himself and his people out of our house and off our property before he calls the police. My husband also pointed out that our community has a No Solicitation policy. So, the dude got all mouthy with my husband telling him, "We aren't soliciting; your wife set an appointment for the demo. I have a permit to do this (which my husband asked to see and he said was at his office)," etc... Basically he was a disrespectful **. So my husband, who was fuming, kept his cool and wisely removed himself from the situation. He said he was going to the convenience store down the road and when he got back, they better be gone! Brandon came inside and smoothly told the sales team to pack it up and get out, so they did. Finally! But while they were packing, Brandon disappeared again for another half hour leaving Jerry and Tanisha loitering on our front yard waiting for him to pick them up.

It wasn't until later that evening that I found the dirt piles they had left behind. Some of the dirt that had been pulled up from my carpet and shown to me on their hundreds of stupid round filters was now on top of my carpet in very visible little mounds in 4 places! And the filters which Tanisha had collected in a plastic shopping bag that she asked me for, were left behind where my 2-year-old could have gotten into (I had been working on dinner and not paying close attention to them while they packed up)! So now I'm ticked and decided to contact The Kirby Company. I filled out a form with my name, address, phone number and left a comment.

From this experience, I realize The Kirby Company and their distributors are a low-class company from the top down! They are a bunch of pushy, lying, time-stealing, disrespectful, mess-making, responsibility-dodging, word-breaking peddlers. I am so glad we didn't buy from them! I have posted a big cardboard sign near our subdivision entrance warning my neighbors: Say NO to the free carpet cleaning offer! Takes hours! Makes mess! Vac costs 2K!

Hopefully when Kirby comes around again, people will remember my warning, and avoid a similarly nerve-wracking encounter!

The man kept returning at least 4 times to see if the woman had elicited a check, credit card or cash from us, ruined an expensive section of our sofa and ottoman from Crate & Barrel Beverly Hills without asking permission to again put the heavy dirty vacuum that had already vacuumed carpeting in an office. It has been on the fitted sheet on a GROSS bed that I immediately washed when she was still doing her demonstration of every attachment from a cruddy attachment holder, after droning on about dry carpet cleaning and no shampoo and not wet, did a wet shampoo with suds overflowing from the vacuum, soaking our carpet which will only take 20 minutes to dry, which is still wet. We will have to have fans going to try to dry it. She said, “I’ll wait while you get dressed,” back to our evening out and we will leave her alone with our belongings while we go behind closed doors unable to watch her.

NOTHING WOULD GET HER OUT OF THIS HOUSE, short of calling the police. Not my ** attitude, stating over and over “We have to leave,” with the phone ringing repeatedly. She dumped the dirt from the vacuum cleaner into a small sink in the bathroom unable to accommodate the soapy suds, dust, whatever else she picked up, and then dumped it into the bathtub. There’s water in the hallway where I slipped on twice. To top it off, she had no ride and stood in front of our house for quite a while once we finally got her out. It took forever for her to pack up this easy to use vacuum. She sat sprawled on our living room floor, very slowly packing up to leave and it was evident she was waiting for payment, which is about 1-1/2 hours before this, took another 45 minutes to explain payment plans. I was ready to call the police.

They both said they were going to have a service center down the street which is ridiculous because they are selling a crappy product for $3,000 that no one will buy in this neighborhood during a recession. I don't think they will be back to our neighborhood. It was a Sunday. Our neighbor across the street used them to clean one room, but I bet he got them in and out in flash without the aggravation the two of us went through. It was my husband who wanted his office carpet cleaned for free. They ruined our day, took up at least 3 ½ to 4 hours of our time and I had to be the one to be the **. Also, there was a terrible stench from the burning motor on the bed the woman vacuumed and gee, nobody could figure out where the smell of fire was coming from. The inside of the crappy vacuum was burning up on one of the beds because she vacuumed over a sheet that I had to race to wash.

There was no way anyone was going to sleep on that sheet, mattress pad and pillow cases. The woman said it was a smell from outside. Meanwhile, the A/C was on. They are well aware an attorney lives in this house. Rafael, who claimed he was from Russia, and the woman told us he is worth $10 million, from selling Kirby Vacuums door to door. The woman whose name we do not know also used our $400 Oreck vacuum to show us how terrible it is! A brand new belt was placed on it a few days ago and it works great.

My husband and I were called by a telemarketer for free carpet cleaning in our home to advertise the opening of a Kirby store in Fredericksburg, VA. I said okay thinking I'd help out a local business & perhaps use them for future cleaning services. A young, friendly couple arrived at my door at the appointed time (6:30 pm Saturday evening) and brought in a new box with a vacuum cleaner. Within minutes, I realized this was a sales pitch to get me to buy an expensive vacuum cleaner. I listened to the pitch and watched them demo the Kirby vacuum. All fine, they were polite & courteous salespeople trying to sell their wares. They showed me the dust & dog hair from my carpets & crud from our mattress that my Oreck wasn't picking up.

Towards the end of the demo, I asked the price and they started the pitch at $1999 for the Kirby system. There were of course many options, credit was available & they'd happily trade in my 2-year-old $500 Oreck Vacuum and give me credit towards a brand new Kirby! I didn't bite. I did a quick bit of Internet based research and found the volumes of complaints against unethical door-to-door sales tactics, poor customer service and misleading contracts. Then I showed the sales people in my home how I can buy the same exact, brand new Kirby on eBay for $500. I offered them $600 since they had been so nice & done a thorough job with their demo.

After a brief call with their less than courteous boss on my home phone (apparently they don't carry their own cell phones!), no way. The boss was misleading, saying Kirby vacuums bought on eBay don't carry any warranty, they are not new and Kirby will NOT service them! Wow! Even if my mom or neighbor handed down this great Kirby vacuum, you are saying Kirby won't stand behind repairing it because I wasn't the original buyer? "NO," said the boss. He realized his number was up when I mentioned the consumer affairs site having many negative reports from misled, unhappy customers. He likened it to GM or Subway Sandwiches being a large company and there would always be someone with a complaint. It was not compelling, in fact, downright poor excuse in my book. Since they were careless enough to use my home phone, I just looked on my caller log and found the boss' home or cell number. He is Archie ** of Spotsylvania County or Fredericksburg City VA, phone **.

I strongly objected to being offered a free carpet cleaning to advertise a new Kirby store in Fredericksburg, VA and sales people who carried no ID trying to pitch a $1999 Kirby Sentia vacuum. I hope the young couple who visited my home move on to a more honorable way to earn a living, like becoming the nurse and electrician they said they were training for. They'll be happier and so will many other people.

They teach them to clean them to look brand new. They will tell you anything you want to hear to get you to sign on that dotted line. I know someone who has the vacuum and I have no complaints at all, but it IS way overpriced. I just want to let people out there know that if someone comes to the door saying FREE CARPET SHAMPOO TODAY ONLY, DON'T DO IT!! They say it only takes me 30 minutes when actually they have a TWO-HOUR demo they have to perform. So just beware. Thank you.

Of course the company selling the Kirby would be of no help getting me out of the financial obligation. UCFS stated the only ways to stop the obligation is for TW Enterprises to advise UCFS of my cancellation or I was to provide proof by faxing the information. I paid $3.85 for the fax service. Well worth it to be free of the $1200 purchase.

I contacted the office and she finally sent the products out about 4 weeks after her first visit. When the shampoo kit came, I decided to shampoo the carpet. Well, the shampoo that I was promised was not a shampoo but a stain remover. I called to ask if I could exchange the stain remover for the shampoo since that was what she had promised. She told her assistant to tell me to go and buy my own shampoo if I want it, that she is not sending anymore free things to me. Okay, fine! About six months after she came to service the Kirby, it lost its suction again. For the past three or so years, it has been sitting in our garage. Every time I think about it or I go past it in the garage, I want to kick myself for ever purchasing such a worthless machine.

Once the gentleman had realized there was in fact a bigger problem, he took some pictures and muttered that someone would be in contact. No, you guessed it. No one did. So I had to contact again this time explaining I would go to a solicitor and a kind man at Kirby headquarters told me that he would sort it out and someone would contact me. No one called. So I spoke again and eventually an apologetic man took my Kirby away for tests and I would be contacted the next day to let me know how it was progressing. There was no call.

I waited a week - no call. I spoke to the kind man at Kirby who assured me he would sort it and he would call back and the franchise would call - no call. I called the franchise and was told the manager had been in interviews all day and would call me back and no call! This was another week since and you see a pattern here... No calls, no nothing and no Kirby.

So I'm writing this and will be seeing a solicitor as I have been treated badly. I have had the runaround, had bully boy tactics, have no hoover and am hundreds of pounds owed and have a ruined carpet. All I wanted was a nice house, not a headache. I would have bought Anadin who by the way I do endorse.

On the 14th, after talking with the Abilene Police Department, I found out that they had not registered to solicit the product. So I called the Team 1 back once again and begged them to pick up the product. During both conversations, I have informed them that I have placed a stop payment on my check, filed a police report and filed with the Attorney General’s Department. I would like to give them the respect of being upfront. Team 1 has threatened to turn me over to a collections firm. I am very sick over this. I had always thought that Kirby was a very honest brand. Paying $1,000.00 for a product, I believe it should be what they promised it was.

It was a very disappointing demonstration. They ended up shampooing a portion of our carpet that had not been vacuumed by the Kirby; it ended up looking worse than when they came in. I asked if someone could come back later (after it dried) just to vacuum my carpet so that I could get it professionally cleaned afterwards. It was such an easy fix as far as I was concerned and would have been satisfied with this. I was not asking them to pay for the carpet to be professionally cleaned. My only reason for contacting you is that this group of people are stating that they are representing Kirby with direct sales and I believe this experience is very bad advertising for your company.

We waited patiently for them to mail out the shampooer which, of course, took longer than the three-day grace period to cancel. Well, it's February and we are still without what was promised to us. When I called to talk to someone, Joe basically told me that I was not promised anything and they would love to sell us the shampooer attachment! Now it is too late for us to return it, and all we are getting is a runaround from everyone we talk to. Advice to others, don't trust anyone that has anything to do with this company! They are a bunch of crooks!

She then requested a second glass of milk, used the bathroom, then wrote on a piece of notebook paper a final quote on the vacuum from the person on the phone. She wanted $1,000 in cash now and $40/month. My grandmother told her she was nuts and asked her to kindly leave as she was not interested in the cleaner, and had already wasted 3 hours. She was very insulting and rude. Not to mention that when asked to leave, she said she couldn't leave the house until my grandmother signed a paper (plain) that verified she was there from 1-4PM. Then told her for verification to print her name, address and phone number.

Wouldn't they already have that as when she came, she knew their name? Then said she needed permission from her boss before she could leave. Then they picked her up in a large white van with no markings on it. These people must be stopped!

Literally one week later, I called them and they said there was no way I could return it because the finance papers had been filed. So a while later, I started receiving bills and it said the price of the vacuum was $1,600, outrageous! Now, I don’t know how to get out of this situation and not to mention, it’s ruined my boyfriend’s credit.

He asked me if I had ever eaten at this restaurant called Taste of Texas. I said no and he said, "Well, they have really expensive, but good steaks. Our boss took us there last week." To be nice, I said, "Oh, that's nice." He said, "Would you ever go there?" I said sure, maybe sometime and he has the audacity to say, "You'll pay for a really expensive steak dinner, but you won't buy a vacuum that will protect your health?" My jaw hit the floor and I began laughing. He tried to insult me every way he knew how. He said I was cheap, selfish, mean, etc. We continued on this exchange for quite sometime and I kept trying to razz him. He kept lowering the price and I just kept saying no. I think he thought he could eventually break me down, but when I heard the initial price of $1,800, it was firm in my mind that this is not the product for me.

At one point, the guy was vacuuming my bed to show me the dust mites and I pretended to lick the dust mites. He was supremely grossed out and I thought it was hysterical. Eventually, I broke him down to the point he gave up and left. I found out during the time he was there that the things really only cost $250. The kid used my house phone to call his girlfriend, smoked on my back porch and drank my bottled water. I think he quit after he left my house. I certainly made him work really hard for a non-sale. I felt bad for the guy. The bosses don't give a crap about them.

At the time of the return, another salesperson came in my house and saw the damage. He admitted the chair was damaged, told me the vacuum had been used incorrectly by the previous salesperson, told the person in the distributor office that the chair was damaged, and promised (writing on the return receipt) that the value of the chair would be replaced by the company. He also promised that the full replacement value of my old vacuum, which they took away at the time of the original sale (for $200 more off the price), would be returned to me.

The people in the Freemont office said I had to supply them with original receipts for these 2 items, and I did more than once. Repeatedly, I was promised the check is in the mail but I have never received any compensation. This company misrepresents itself and its products, and they do not hesitate to lie to the consumer. Because I allowed these people into my house, I lost a $266 vacuum cleaner (and so had to spend money buying a new one), and my living room is missing a $475 chair - which was in excellent condition before they tried to clean it. I am out nearly $750!

She went back out to the van and came back with a young man and a whole lot of boxes with Kirby(?) marked all over them. She then left, mumbling something about having to pick someone else up, and he began setting up (which turned out to be a 20-minute process in itself). It was apparent that the kid was new to the business. He had trouble with the machine, he was awkward speaking with us, and he even accidentally broke a light bulb on our ceiling fan trying to demonstrate how one of the attachments can be used to unscrew light bulbs. (I really did feel bad for the kid. He was young and was only trying to find a way to provide for his family.) After every two seconds of vacuuming, he would remove the filter discs to demonstrate what his vacuum was picking up that ours wasn't (apparently the more discs he uses the better).

After over an hour and a half, Boss Mike shows up. Mike is the real salesman. He took control, vacuuming the room, the stairs, and leaving a trail of dirty filter discs along the way. My head was starting to hurt at this point and I was starving. Yes, it's true that this vacuum cleaner (Mike corrected me it's called a home cleaning system, not a vacuum cleaner) worked very well, so we asked about the price. $2,200! Forget that! Well, Buddy Mike went down to $1,150 for us because he likes us and that's the same deal he could get for one. Still way too much.

Well, Mike fed us some pretty good lines like "If you could see this dirt everyday that your other vacuum left behind, wouldn't you want to do something about it?" Our response was when we are well enough off to pay cash, we might consider it. Well, why pay cash when you could get it for 6 months same as cash financing? It will be like you paid with cash, and you can have it today!? Thank you, Dave **! Our response was, we will live in our own filth like no one else so that's when we are debt free we can then really live like no one else and reward ourselves with a cleaner lifestyle (if that is what we decide we really want). Mr. Mike did not like that very much. And you know what? He wouldn't leave any way for us to get a hold of him should we get the money saved up. Nope, they cleaned their stuff in my sink and got dust and hair all of the dinner I had started making over three hours earlier (my headache was raging at this point). Mike tore up the papers he had used to write his offer and threw them, along with over 100 filter discs, in my garbage.

From reading the other posts, I have no doubt that these guys would have weaseled away from any kind of responsibility. If you are going to sell something as expensive as a car (the kind of car I am in the market for, anyway), and you aren't even going to put your name and reliable contact information behind it, then something is seriously wrong! By the way, I saw someone on eBay selling the exact same vacuum, Buy It Now, for $550. What a scam. And what was up with the laundry detergent?

The pictures on that camera are irreplaceable, not to mention that it was a very expensive digital camera. How dare they do something like this! I feel so angry that the company did nothing about this. I want the camera with all the pictures on it back. They deny they took it but I know that they did!

Tried emailing corporate in Cleveland several times, only for them to tell me that Kirby salespeople are individual businesses and do not represent Kirby well I beg to differ if you have someone selling your product then it reflects on you. I hate this Kirby and now I am stuck because Johnny told me today that since I did not get in touch with him before the 3 days or cooling off law, then I am pretty much stuck with this Kirby vacuum that I don't even like in fact I told him I hate it, it's too bulky and its heavy. I ran over my big toe the first time I used it, this thing is heavy.

Oh well I learned the hard way so now I have a Kirby and am a very dissatisfied customer. I explained to Johnny that I did not get a phone number to call him until today 12-30-08 only after corporate finally contacted him and someone from that number called me and left a message with a phone number, something I had tried to get from corporate for over a month. I think Kirby vacuums stink and so does their customer service. I even read the emails to Johnny over the phone today and after all that talking, he just said, "Well you didn't call within 3 days and they would have mailed a form to us and we could have cancelled this sale."

Okay that's my bad, but I am in the direct sales business and we work one on one with our clients to get them the very best products at the very best prices. I am a consultant with BeautiControl and my company is not a multi-level marketing or pyramid scam. My company trains us to be have complete integrity and honesty with our business and our clients we sale to. I just made a complete assumption that just because Kirby has been in business for almost 100 years and this salesman that came to my home seemed completely honorable. He and his company holds themselves to the same standards as mine! I was shocked and disappointed to find out I was wrong!

At 2:30am I woke not feeling right about the whole transaction and decided to Google Kirby Vacuums and was floored to read so many complaints from so many people! I felt the sales guy being only 24 was working hard to scrape out a future with the hope and dream of winning a huge sales promotion and trip to Mexico, but I also sensed he really didn't really feel right about what he was doing and this business. So I do not fault him for his sales tactics because these kids are brainwashed to believe that their whole life and future can be staked on the sales of this vacuum. I do not fault the product, because it is a good vacuum, it's just not worth spending $2000.00+ on!!!!!

I fault myself for being stupid enough to sign a contract and purchase a product when I was dead on my feet. I fault Kirby Co for setting up these scams, defrauding millions of customers out of their hard earned money, brainwashing these kids in thinking the best way to get thru life is selling and scamming Kirby Vacuums, and #1 on my list is giving direct sales businesses a dirty name! I always wondered why some people shy away from me when I demo my products at a local trade show. I now know why, they are afraid of getting had like I did with Kirby!!!! I will be returning the vacuum as I do know California state laws.

I got hustled into his private office first. He seemed surprised I had a resume and glanced at it. The only remark he made was one of bewilderment at an address (a town about thirty miles away) and then told me to tell him why he should hire me. I told him about my degree, good work history, and to check my list of personal references I had just given him. Then he dropped the bomb. “Have you heard of Kirby?” My heart sunk. Yes, I said. “We are the region's exclusive distributor for Kirby! Are you interested?” I shrugged saying I didn't know anything about selling vacuum cleaners - me being the first person to say vacuum cleaner the time I'd been there. He said “That's okay. We’ll call you later about orientation.” Resigned, I walked out the door and drove off.

I had barely gotten home, still in my suit, and was telling my roommate about how I fell for an ad to sell vacuum cleaners when the phone rang. It was Mr. Babyface Pinkyring inviting me to show up the next day to begin training. I asked if I would be paid for the training. When he said no I hung up. I drove by the same converted house a few months later and a For Rent sign was in the window.

I said I was at work and set up a time for them to come and get it a few days later. When they came to get it, they didn't bring my vacuum back as promised but said they would bring it the next day. When I said I wanted my money back, they said they had 10 days to return it. I challenged them on this and they called their boss. They put me on the phone and she was incredibly nasty to me. I was informed that if I didn't turn over the Kirby immediately, I was stuck with it and would never see my money. I felt trapped so I forced the salesman to sign a receipt for the Kirby. He did and it stated that the money would be returned in 10 days. The next week, we called the Kirby company direct and they were able to get us an address of the group that sold us the vacuum. We then went to the business where were told that they had lost our vacuum. They told us we could take any of the other vacuums in the place. None were in anywhere near as good of condition as mine but I desperately needed to vacuum. Now I'm stuck with someone's old junk and still don't have my money back.

I called Kirby within my 3-day grace period to state that I wanted my old vacuum cleaner back and that I was not interested in their product and requested that someone come to pick it up as a return. Nick stated that the cost of this would be more than it was worth to him and he assured me that this was his mistake and would clear it up with the credit Preferred One agency. No one came to pick up the Kirby and I again called SC Enterprises with my complaint and requested that the Kirby be returned to their company. Nick left a message on my cell phone that he had taken care of the mistake.

Upon calling Preferred One, I was being charged $1600 after the trade-in and down payment. I again called SC Enterprises and they stated that this would be taken care of. I again did not receive the paperwork that was stated to be arriving by mail and I called the credit agency again. Once again no changes were made to my account. I again called SC Enterprises and was told by Julie that Nick had been embezzling money and that his poor service was an ongoing problem and had been terminated. She assured me that this problem would be resolved. I still have not had the issue resolved and I can no longer find SC Enterprises with my mailings, and all phone numbers have been disconnected. I continue to have an outstanding credit account for $1100. This is more than the original purchase price of my Kirby and negatively influencing my credit history and overdrafting my checking account. I don't know what further I can do?

Two hours later, he is cleaning up after vacuuming the carpet, couch and then shampooing one area of the carpet. And of course the pitch which I told him to halt. What a terrible misrepresentation and Like I said shame on me - I was taken. Please advise this scam to the public in order that they will not be taken in also.

And lastly I was not informed that I would be harassing customers and insulting them in order to get them to purchase a Kirby. While I do believe it is a good vacuum, I know for a fact that it cost about 300 dollars and they charge the consumer about 2 grand. I do not in any way want to be a part of a company that is going to belittle, harass, insult, and lie to a customer just to get a sale. So thanks to all of you on this site because tomorrow morning I will be returning my demo Kirby and leaving the company permanently. By the way, the demo Kirbies that they sell you are used. We use them in every demo until they get sold.

So the consequences are that I am not getting paid for the 70 hours that I put in last week. I wasted about two weeks of my time on a job that is scamming not only the customer but the employee too, and now I feel like I violated a bunch of really nice people that didn't deserve it. I'm surprised no one threw me out. Whatever you do, don't ever let a Kirby salesman in your home because while I was smart enough to get out, not everyone is and they WILL push you.