Kirby Vacuum Cleaners Reviews

Ok, so first off, did you notice the bait & switch Job they did on me? A beautiful woman comes to my door, but then two trolls are the ones barging into my home later. The first woman said she would be the one doing the demo. Lie number one. The two trolls set up the Kirby equipment and the guy suddenly leaves. So the other girl is left in the home with me, wanting to clean my carpet that had just been cleaned earlier by the maid service. The girl was nice but I had agreed only so that somebody on the earth could go to freaking Mexico, for God's sakes!

Upon completion of the 3 hour long demonstration, yes it took 3 hours... the girl went from nice demo person to hardliners sales demon. She laid into me hard about buying a Kirby vacuum cleaner for $1300.00. Who purchases a vacuum cleaner for that kind of money??? The second lie came when the girl told me that she could not go to Mexico unless I bought the unsightly machine. That's when I lost it and went looking for her manager who was somewhere in the neighborhood lying to another family. I was very angry that these people were being so deceptive in an attempt to sell me something I didn't want. Did I mention I use a maids service? I was only trying to be nice to the women who said they would get to go to Mexico on the company's dime. I finally kicked them out of my home when they would not accept no for an answer. They were totally disrespectful to me in my own home.

To make a long story short, the Kirby Vacuum Cleaner Salesmen in the Houston, TX area are liars, and manipulators. They possess no integrity, and are very rude and disrespectful. They took my kindness for weakness, and that turned out to be their mistake. Don't let these sales people into your homes. I researched and discovered that the Kirby sales people are trained to lie in an attempt to sale their super expensive vacuum cleaners. They are a very unethical group of people to say the least.

The 20-year-old young man tried convince me he had the very same issues but he still was able to handle the heavy machine, etc. I said, "Boy, you have a lot of health issues for a 20-year-old." It got pretty entertaining hearing him twist himself into a pretzel just to make a sale. They will also negotiate wildly just to make a sale. That means you can name your own price if you stall long enough. The problem is, most people are checking out these reviews after they have been taken for a ride. I bought a Kirby 40 years ago after the same kind of home intrusion. But I didn't buy it from that salesman, I got a deal on a brand new one from guy selling them out of his store.

I only paid a couple hundred bucks for it, had it rebuilt when it wore down, and it lasted 40 years. I only got rid of it because it was too heavy and became like hauling around a tank. It is a top-of-the-line vacuum. But I would scout around for a used, refurbished, or nearly new one. I would not reward these kind of sales tactics with a sale. The only reason the guy got in my house is through false pretenses. Said he wanted my opinion on some products, said I looked truthful, said he needed my help to win a trip, and then he shoved a 'free gift' at me - air freshener. THEN, he hauled in his paraphernalia.

I knew what I was in for having experienced the same tactics 40 years ago, so just let him clean my house free. Be prepared to have him there for 4 hours. You may have to call the cops to get them out of your house without a sale, though. Hyperbole, but not far from the truth. By the way, it is impossible to rate the vacuum without the sales overall experience for those of you that chastise that in these reviews, because they make a great product, but SUCK at how they treat you during the sale. No pun intended.

So before he started the demo he asked me what product do I have for vacuum and if I can grab it really quick to show him so I said NO. He asked me the 3rd ** time. I said No and when he saw my husband he asked my husband to get it. I was mad! This person doesn't respect the people in my place and me! So I wasn't happy and told them already if how long is it gonna take because my husband have an appointment at 6:30pm! So this guy said "Why do I need to help my husband for his eye appointment? Am I going to assist him?" Like are you ** kidding me?!!! Always say inappropriate joke!

I keep telling these guys our appointment but he seemed that he didn't care! So I was mad already then he assembled this smaller one and said that one is good for mattresses! So he suddenly got up and heading to our master's bedroom with no permission and not even asking me! He was already on the stairs and I shouted that they need to leave and we don't really want any strangers going in our house especially bedroom! And told them it was my mistake to let them in! So he said "Why are you hiding something? Is there a dead body in your bedroom?" Wtf! This is a crazy person!!! Told them at this moment that I'm not getting any of their products and he said I was the 1st person who said that and my neighbor bought 2 already... So I am???? And told them that our appt is at 6:30 and my husband was mad too because he's been waiting for me outside so we were arguing already because of these people!

It was already 6:20 and he even put a lot of baking powder in my carpet then used my vacuum to remove it!!!! I was like crazy mad. And they intentionally packing their stuffs really slow so we will be late on our appointment so they can stay!!!! Then while he packs up he asks me about which vacuum am I going to buy in the market like nothing crazy is happening! He officially ruined my day off!!! I'm not going to say anything bad about the other guy (** guy) because he didn't do anything wrong / he even said nothing. He was just standing there and help him clean up! But this ** Guy is crazy! I don't have anything good to say about him! He is just crazy!

It was November 2015 since we got the item. I've been calling them for that request, unfortunately no one came. I called their customer service number but they keep promising they will send someone. We try to used the machine without our full knowledge of the product coz it's 13thousand dirhams. Their product has a lot of usage that's why we are requesting a proper training but they never grant our request.

Then I called the office again to request for purchasing of shampoo so and a training again. There was 1 guy name Jazon who came over to bring the shampoo for 100dhs. I told this guy to come to my requested date so he can train me as well for that machine. He said just pay the shampoo and he will come back in the requested date.

I change my weekly off just for that training. Then 10 am I was trying to call him his phone was switch off so I decided to call the office. They said that maybe he's on his way, but unfortunately no one came. The next day I called the guy he said they are close at that time. He didn't know that I called their office to ask where is he. I was so shocked because those people are always fooling. Always playing around. What can I expect from saleslady to their manager???

Then after 1 year November 2016 this guy Jazon came to my place because I requested again and again for proper training. After 1 year of waiting he came over to grant our request, I was about to open our DVD player for the cd so it's easy for us to know how it the machine use, but shockingly he said "excuse me I can give maximum 10 mins of my time for this training coz I have so many clients to attend." Imagine after 1 year of waiting he never grant our request for the training and he was very rude in front of our 2 boys which is 4yrs and 2yrs old, to think that we are the customer. We were so disappointed, sad to say they will call us for payment and it's always been payment in advance but the service they are offering was so disgusting, so annoying and so disappointed.

One of my friend also from Abu Dhabi return the item after paying almost 9 thousand dirhams because of their very bad service. I want to sue them. I went to police to file a complaint for this company who's doing this kind of business. I hope this company in UAE will close because they are sucks. They don't have knowledge about customer service, they know only how to sell but they don't know how to keep their promise. Every time I see this Kirby Vacuum I felt cheated. If only I can turn back time I will not buy this disgusting product. Imagine for 13 thousand dirhams we cannot use the product. I will post the add in Dubizzle or Facebook not to buy this kind of item here in UAE. They have a very bad customer service. On June 2017 we completed our payment that's why they never called us because this is their work. To fool people for their business. I will definitely go to police and sue them.

He warned the guy not to come back or the officer, personally, would arrest him and put him in jail. He DID threaten someone. My daughter also tried to contact Kirby, at two different numbers. NEVER talked to a human being ONCE! Even tried every button and only listened to the auto bot. I do have a Kirby and felt pressured into buying it but after 10 years, I love it!

Other Kirby reps have come to my house to try and get me to upgrade but I always say no and have not had anyone be rude or threatening. I have stopped letting them in my house, now with good reason, I guess. I tell them no thanks, I have one, don't want a new one and will contact you if I have any problems, which so far hasn't happened. Kirby needs to up their game as far as their reps though. Sounds like they will hire just anyone and their customer service gets an F. I sent them an email, detailing all of the above and telling them they seriously need improvement, maybe not with their vacuum cleaners but with the people hired to sell them.

When I asked for shampoo for the carpets, which was initially told they were doing and never did, he said all he had one this, and it was an empty 8 oz pop bottle filled a 1/4 of the way with sudsy water. I asked him for a distributors bottle and he said he didn't have it. He was really trying to race out of the house and I asked him if we have everything he looked and shuffled all the pieces in the tattered box and said yup. This was not new equipment and did not make it clear we were purchasing old equipment for $2,200.

As he ran out of the house his reasoning he had to catch up with his boss. I immediately checked to see if all the equipment was there from the instruction Manual that tells what comes with it and we were lacking pieces. We honestly felt like we had purchased old equipment with parts missing and then coming on here showed us not only that we paid almost 3,000.00 when we thought we got the military discount, and people on here bought one for less than 1,000.00! The most infuriating thing is we didn't get all the parts that go with it. Are all the Kirby sold USED? I guess that is my real question. He laughed when I said can I have a new one with a new box? He told me that is not how it works, with a chuckle.

But sure, the vacuum worked great. Our rug and couch are extremely clean. We'd just bought a decent vacuum, and the Avalir performed better than it. We figured if the Avalir was under $300 we might consider it, at least. Nope. The vacuum is $3000, not including tax.

No consumer vacuum is worth that much money. It performed well, but I wouldn't have pegged it for over $500, max. Maybe good for commercial cleaners, but no way am I spending that much money on a vacuum ever. Again, this isn't a review against the demonstrator herself. She was very personable and earnest, and we liked her. But Kirby needs to rethink how it sets up its demos. I looked for a place to leave a review, and turns out, a lot of reviews are saying the same thing. That is a lot of time that I wish I could get back on my day off, and I know others feel similarly.

These sellers were so good and I was so stupid that finally I bought cleaner. When they left I realized that it was bad decision. By the way when they left they took my vacuum cleaner. I called them immediately and request to take their Kirby back and to return my vacuum. They came next day and returned my cleaner. It took another hour to convince me about advantage of Kirby. But that time I was strong. They promise to refund money within a week. Today is one month passed, no refund. I called many times to local Henderson representative. No reply. I called RJP Enterprises (Palm Spring, CA) - no reply. This is not all.

One of my neighbor, (she is mentally incapable to make decision) also bought Kirby cleaner. When I asked her what did she buy? She actually have no idea about this purchase. Her daughter from CA request to take Kirby cleaner back. They took it but did not return her vacuum cleaner. And so far no refund. These Kirby sellers target mostly retirement community and prey on old and incapable persons. Be aware! I am not suggesting you to buy Kirby cleaner or not. It will be your decision, just told you my bad experience.

Another hour passed and Earl returns trying his best to sell this thing to me. "Don't I want the best?" "What about a payment plan?" "Well, Why not?" My answer was still no. He then looks at Kate and says "So you can pack this stuff up. I have to get back to my other house." Where was my free shampooing? Scam. Scam. SCAM! Do NOT buy this vacuum!

So I invite her in and right away I noticed her dirty disgusting pair of Vans she had on and told her to leave them at the door. "You won't have to worry about dirty shoes in your house ever again sir after what I'm about to show you!" Seemed so scripted. Then a knock at the door. I opened the door and there stood some dude who looked as though he hated life with a Kirby vacuum. At this point I knew what was happening. Big mistake on my part but whatever.

So they set it up, kept talking about how amazing this behemoth was. Don't really care. Asked me where the woman of the house was to which I replied that she's somewhere far from here, luckily. He thought that was funny. So he leaves in his van, "high-level clients". Yeah whatever. Don't care. She requests to vacuum my hardwood floors with my vacuum. Sure, knock yourself out. She then uses the Kirby vacuum in the same spot and right away points out how amazing this vacuum is compared to the pile of heaping trash my wife and I use all because it picked up some hair? I don't know. Still don't care. Told her to cut to the chase. How much? "$2,400 with available financing." Nope. "But sir this is an amazing vacuum that will work wonders on those pesky dust mites and hair. Did you know that dust mites crap in your mouth and eyes?" Nope. Don't care.

So this presentation went on for an hour. She ended up getting the price down to 1,000. I told her if that vacuum isn't worth 2,400 l, it sure isn't worth a 1,000. Please get out. "Can I at least show you the shampooing side of things?" On what? My door mat? Nope. Not interested. Wouldn't pay 1 grand for a vacuum in my lifetime. She then starts in on how I don't care about my health or more importantly my wife's health because our vacuum doesn't rid dust that cause asthma and other illness. Still don't care. I grabbed her vacuum and all the silly attachments and set it in my sunroom while she was using my restroom. She comes back out upset that I moved her vacuum outside my house and into the sunroom. Told her she had 2 minutes to vacate or I will call the police. So she pleads with me to have her boss talk to me. She doesn't want to get fired and she really wants that trip to Anchorage. Don't give a damn.

So she finally grabbed the vacuum out of my sun room and boxed it on my patio. Her boss picked her up and they left. I know how this looks. Yeah I'm a ** whatever. She would not take no for an answer during the 1.5 hours she was here. Insulting my Shark vacuum and mine and my wife's cleanliness. Saying I don't care for my health. Really? Not to mention she dressed very unprofessional and looked like a rat. Same with her boss. Sorry. If you want me to buy a vacuum even for 500, you've better look the role of a decent salesman and persuade me into buying it without insulting myself or my belongings. Yeah, and that oil stain in my driveway from that scum mobile pissed me off as well.

After he left, I had to finish the rug he promised to finish. I called 208 490 3077 the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd business day got answering machine and left my number. No callback. I filmed my calling Magic Valley Home Care Investments, expressed my regrets and desire to back out of the agreement and told them to bring back my $200.00 down payment to get their product back and that I am changing my bank account so nothing can be deducted. Federal law allows me to change my mind within 3 business days. I consider this very statement to make the agreement I signed officially null and void.

I was so bored and tired of listening to this man trying to sell me a $2,500 vacuum. I told him "No, I don't have the money. I just bought a new house." He kept lowering the prices, kept saying just sign here. When I asked him why I would sign anything because I was not interested, he told me to go ahead and do it. That he will just leave it here and it's easy to return. I have 3 days. Then he begged me, because he wanted to win a trip to Virginia. Then he made me feel awful about not buying a vacuum. Then he lowers his price to $638 for a different model of the Kirby. He wouldn't take no for an answer, so after 2 hrs. of him being manipulative trying to make me buy the vacuum, I finally did. Then he told me that I really took him for all he has and that I was a good negotiator. (Turning the tables on me, when I didn't was not interested in the vacuum.)

He never finished shampooing all of my carpet, he only did a small section! Then I look at the vacuum cleaner he left me and it's dirty, has scratches, and looks refurbished. He never told me this was a refurbished vacuum. I was not prepared to deal with manipulative "don't take no for answer" playing with your emotions person. Now I just feel disgusted with people. Which I mean honestly the vacuum cleaner does a decent job cleaning, but it's got too many options in which I will never use. The shampooer on it sucks. I don't vacuum enough to spend this much on a vacuum cleaner. I am going to try to return it within return policy, but I have a feeling it will not be easy.

I don't mind people trying to sell things. I would like honesty. I had bought the Kirby from two young men doing the same sort of thing, but they said they wanted to show me the Kirby. They were honest and upfront and I appreciate that. Don't tell me you want to vacuum my carpet and don't vacuum my carpet. I guess I won't be letting salespeople in my house unless they are girls selling cookies.

I was thinking it would be at a different time than today since I'm sick. She then went away and brought back her friend, Mortez or something like that and they brought the stupid vacuum with them. She then proceeded to leave the house and left with me some random dude in my house who proceeded to NOT clean my stairs, but clean 5 of them and a corner of the living room by pouring baking soda as a comparison to my own vacuum. He was there for 3 FLIPPING HOURS (not exaggerating) because I told them I was not the head of household and I did not have the money to buy a new vacuum since I'm a broke college student. They said they could speak to my mom when she got home and I told them she wouldn't be back until between 5 and 7. They said they'd come back if I gave them a call and they left the vacuum here at my house so I was forced to call.

I then immediately spoke to my mom and she told me to call back immediately. I did that and I called and told the lady to come back and take their vacuum because my mom did NOT want the vacuum. She quickly said she'd call back and then didn't and then came back at 4:30 and asked if whatever his name was could finish his demonstration so he could be paid his $30. I said fine thinking it would take 30 minutes and he proceeded to count the number of stupid dirty pads he lined up in my house to make sure he had enough. He then soaked the hardwoods because he didn't know which pad to use. And then the lady came back to tell him he was using the wrong one and then went over the same 7 ft area of the hardwoods of my house for 10 minutes. She then told the guy to clean up the extra water and then clean the vacuum and she left.

He then proceeded to spend THIRTY FLIPPING MINUTES putting the vacuum into the stupid box by spending 10 minutes wiping down the stupid vacuum with a paper towel. The lady finally came back as he wiped down the vacuum and she said to stop trying to waste time to wait for my mom and pack it up and she's ready when he was. (In other words, she admitted to me she was wasting my time so she could until my mom got home). They were here for a total of 3 hours and to top it all off, she asked me how much I thought a vacuum costed and I said about $500 (which is cheaper than a Dyson for crying out loud) and she said, "Are you crazy?" Like I was an idiot.

She spoke to me saying that it would insane for that type of equipment to be $500 because it was a 13 in 1 machine and it picked up so much more dirty and blah blah blah. She then said it was $1100 or $41 payments for like 36 months which is still like $1400 dollars. FOR A VACUUM. The lady was rude when I assumed that a vacuum should be a reasonable amount and she was rude by wasting my time. If I could give them a -100 stars, I would. What a waste of 3 flipping hours.

The sales pitch went on for 2 hours. Seriously. At least my kids had a blast. He did the side by side test with my vacuum. I was almost fooled, as his little thing picked up a bunch after I used my vacuum... I later realized that the guy "cleaned" my area rug, but had to go over it about 600 times before it stopped picking up junk. Tonnes of junk. Now... I know that means I have a dirty house, but it also means the results from the side by side comparison weren't all that amazing now either. Just a thought on marketing. He really made me think it was great, but that's suspect.

Into hour 2 he finally got to the price. $2,700!!! WHAT??? But since he could win some random trip by selling this vacuum, all expense paid (because I really want to finance this) he was going to give it to me for $2,400. Nope. Sorry. Called some random someone who gave him the go ahead to bring the price down to $1800. Nope. Sorry. Called again. What, she's not a sucker? Ok, another person is coming to try to convince you to buy this thing. This guy knew I wasn't buying anything but he didn't want to get in trouble or something. Marketing? So he set it up all nice for me to look at with all the dirt from my floor lined up on pads.

Different guy comes and tries to convince me that I have to have this vacuum to have a clean house and it's not just a vacuum, it's a whole cleaning system. Nope, sorry. Calls random someone again and says things like, "I know she's crazy but can you give her a better deal? WHAT? SERIOUSLY? Ok, I'll talk to her and call you back." Comes down to $1,300. Then $1,000. No. I don't want it. Yes, I will say no to a deal I can't turn down. Finally ends at $800. Nope. Sorry. Earlier I had told them that $300 was my max that I'd spend on a vacuum. By the end he said, "So you'd buy it today if I told you $300." Nope, not now, sorry after that runaround. I just want to know the lowest price off the bat. "Ok, well..." They finally left.

If they are willing to start it at $2,700 and shave off $2,000, you know they are ripping you off and we hadn't even looked at any contract stuff. This company is a joke. How can you trust how great it is when you can't truly compare and when they can drop the price like that and still be making money? The man who actually did the demonstration wasn't super pushy and was nice enough, but the 3rd guy who came in was very rude and unprofessional, and honestly a bad actor. He was willing to say I was an idiot because I wouldn't pay an outrageous price and tried to make me feel bad that this dude may not get an all expense paid trip because of me. Nope, sorry. Please, If it's a great product it will sell itself. If not don't push it on me by using such foolish tactics. That makes me want to go out of my way to promote others to not buy the product.

Needless to say, they said, "Well your husband just agreed to the finance company to purchase the vacuum. They said I need you to sign his name on everything. They also stated we had a 30 day trial period and unlimited warranty and they would be back 3 times that month. Needless to say when we called and said we did not want it since no one came out 4 times like they were supposed to, to show us how it works and we changed our mind 9 days after the nonsense. The guy said, "Oh you only can change your mind the first three days." Then he said he would personally come out but never has he. I want this off our credit. This is an unauthorized sale since my husband was distracted at work and unaware to what he was told to say. Plus the vacuum doesn't even work!

With that said, I must also state that the majority of complaints have absolutely nothing to do with how this piece of equipment operates. It has superior airflow & suction when adjusted to a proper height for the carpeting. The beater bar is capable of retrieving far more debris from deep with carpet fibers than competitive brands. The unit's sheer weight is partially responsible for its performance. As an owner operated carpet cleaning company for more than 10 years, Kirby is by far the most powerful vacuum on the market. I personally pre-vacuum every job using a G10 Sentria model. Personally, Kirby is a tool allowing me to outperform a superior job.

If you have spent good money on your carpet - you need to be careful about the vacuum you are using. The first thing the flooring store we bought our carpet from told us when we bought our VERY pricey carpet was to be selective about our vacuum. We previously had a Dyson. And yes we LOVED it. Mostly because I was pretty sure it was going to suck the backing off the carpet. And the gents from the flooring store said that's not too far off the mark. It has a very aggressive beater bar and that is actually a lot of what makes it seem like it is working so well. Yes, it has a lot of suction also, but that aggressive beater bar is destroying those carpet fibers I just paid so much money for. They actually recommend Kirbys as a first choice (if you can afford it).

Make sure you can push it around - because it is heavy. It is cumbersome. And I do not recommend it if you have stairs. No joke. I don't think I would have bought it if I had stairs. I hate to even pick mine up when I take it in our camp trailer to clean. And I am young! I was younger when I bought it. I have owned it for many years.

How frequently are you going to use all those fancy attachments? For me... NEVER. I hate taking the "head" off this machine. Yes, it is supposed to be easy, but even during the demonstration I pointed out that it looked like a total pain. And even then, it is not the most convenient system. So, if you want or need little attachments a lot, I would say pass.

Do you love quality and reliability? Kirby has been around since 1914 (I had to Google it). So, if you are looking for a solid company, there probably isn't a more solid vacuum company. If you have an issue with your vacuum, you will not have an issue getting replacement parts or having it repaired. My friend still has hers which was purchased in the 70's. She has had it repaired once and put a few replacement parts on it. And I buy belts and bags on Amazon. Couldn't be cheaper or easier. So, you have to weigh it out. Yes, this is expensive for a vacuum. But it is an investment. It is the only vacuum you will ever own. Unlike other vacuums that will only last a few years, (8 on average - Google again) like my first Dyson, may it rest in peace, this one can be passed on to your kids so they can build up their muscles toting it around.

Now, regarding sales tactics, since that is what nearly all the reviews I read were about. I had a fantastic sales person. I can say I would not have purchased if I didn't. The one thing that I did not like, and if I had it to do over again, I would never do, is they asked for my old vacuum. I asked why they wanted it. The salesperson did not know why they collected them, just that I would never need it again. My assumption is that it was resold. It was nearly new and had I kept it, I could have sold it myself or donated it.

The Kirby is heavier and less convenient than many of the canister with hose attached units. But they do not work as well. I had a good sales experience but I also knew they were here to sell me something so make them get the price down. I am glad I bought the Kirby, it is an investment and I will not be buying another vacuum for a many years. So do with what you will the Kirby is a good device and legitimate reviews will not be the junk that I have read through here. People want to complain about the sales experience that is not relative to the function of the device. I am glad I own a Kirby and would purchase it again.

He never once called anyone or pushed us into buying and even walked outside so we could talk about it. He even cleaned up the parts knowing we were buying and put everything back very neat and organized. He also went over everything about taking it apart, changing the belt, and did this several times to make sure we knew how everything worked. We did not have to do a credit app we just put it on our credit card. I have not had any problems out of this unit and it was 12 years ago. I have changed the belt every 6 months like he said I would have to and they are 5 bucks for 3 belts. You can get bags at a great price on Amazon. I just changed the wooden roller brush and it was 18 dollars. We paid 1500 dollars and it has been well worth the price.

1.It took time to allow the process to work.2. The distributorship was not going to make it easy to remedy the issue. All conversations are recorded.3.Proper documentation with dates, time stamps, names of who you interacted with, verifiable promises made written or spoken and sticking to the facts are highly important.4.Stand firm in your assertion when you have the facts on your side. Do not donate; trade-in your good working equipment for pipe dreams. 5.Remain respectful. 6.Appreciate the mediation process. Thanks to Kirby and Sean in particular, they have the right person representing them, fairly assessing and mediating with an acceptable solution to my particular issue. Finally, thank you Consumer Affairs for providing a way to complain, vent, and mediate a solution.

Original Review: Feb. 13, 2017

I am writing this review due to the tactics and lack of customer concerns. Kirby representative came to my home in October as a door-to-door sales pitch without any prior interaction on my part. The initial representative handed me a small can of air freshener and said that I would be helping his young trainees out if I would let them demonstrate the Kirby vacuum. So, my husband and I agreed to help them with the demonstration for training purposes but, with no commitment to purchase. The representative left the two young men, one we learned a new recruit and the second a little more experienced and who was working on getting sales so he could take a company trip to Disneyland. The unskilled recruit gave the demonstration over a four hour period of time demonstrating all features, parts, accessories, ease of use, lightweight etc...

I informed them that although I've always wanted a Kirby because it was at one time a top of the company and customer friendly but, I have fibromyalgia and don't have the muscle strength that I once had. Both young men assured me that the machine was not difficult, was lightweight and wanted to get one for their own mothers and grandma. It's supposed to be a canister Vacuum as well as an upright. We were shown all the accessories that makes life easier and are built for specific purposes. That excited me as I mention more than once that we were looking at new flooring for the kitchen, hallway, and bathrooms but wasn't sure the type of material so having the different attachments for hardwood, tile, and carpets was great. When they gave us the cost of the vacuum, shampooer and accessories of a little over $2000. We told them we could not afford the machine and with my medical issue we weren't able.

However, the trainer reminded the learning recruit that if we had another vacuum to trade in that could get the price down. Well we had two an older Bissell and a Dyson that was still under warranty. They got the price down. My husband decided to finance it after letting them know that the loan may not go through and I would need time to see if I could manage the machine. We were given three days to take their loan which payments would start in January 2017. I informed them that if the machine was too difficult for me I would let them know when I did my Christmas cleaning the first week in December as we were planning on being out of state. At no time did either state the three day period was for a nonrefundable sale. They said it was for loan purposes. My husband did want the high-interest rate loan so, he got a low-interest rate loan from our credit union.

Well, at the end of October, I got the machine out, put the DVD in my computer and went over use of product a couple of times before plugging it in, as I mention to the men it has a learning curve so, anyone buying the machine would need time to learn the parts, taking it apart and putting it together. They agreed it had a learning curve. I opened the box of accessories started putting temporary labels on the pieces and realized three accessory parts were missing. I called the manager that brought the two sales recruits to the house and told him three accessory parts were missing, he came over that night October 31, Halloween night to see what I was talking about and when I showed in the manual the parts that were missing he said those are optional. I showed him all the accessories were optional and the salesmen demonstrated all of the accessories and implied that they were all part of the purchase.

He said "I can let you have one and I have to pay for it out of my (meaning his) own pocket," so I said I want the Turbo accessory... Haven't heard from him since. Called Kirby KOF &Associates LLC Fredericksburg, Virginia on January 6, 2017. Talked to customer service, explained that the machine is too difficult for me and I'm still waiting on the accessory promised. The customer service person said she would have the Kirby representative call. It's February 12, 2017 and haven't heard from anyone. We also talked to the Golden Ager/Disabled Consumer Relations Department explained the sales, the problems with use because the machine and attachments are too difficult for me. They referred us back to Kirby Fredricksburg. As I told the salesmen, the customer service and consumer relations I've waited a long time for a good vacuum so, I am really disappointed with how Kirby takes advantage of people.

They never corrected any misunderstanding during sales pitch, complaints or my purposely stating at each point during the demonstration and sales that I have fibromyalgia and do not good muscle strength so I may have to return the machine. The salesmen stated that Warren Buffet owned the company so, it had a good reputation. At the time we did not know that, the mention of Mr. Buffet's name gave us the incentive to go forward because people like him don't allow their name to be associated with a product that isn't in good standing.

After trying to use the vacuum I found it very hard to detach the head without getting down on the floor, the extension tubes are very long and unstable, I found it difficult to control them when trying to dust lighting on the stair landing, the canister does not allow use of powerhead on steps unless you hold the heavy canister with power head downward on the step and the body of the canister in your other hand which strains the back.

I like to vacuum the kitchen nightly but, I have to get down on the floor detach powerhead, attach hose and reverse operation so that I can vacuum the carpet. The extension pieces would slide apart as I attempted to use them to vacuum walls and other hard to reach areas. I haven't used the vacuum since December because it is too heavy, awkward and unwieldy for me. I bought an $80.00 Black and Decker, to do basic vacuuming. I asked customer service to just return the Dyson and I'd just let it go as I need something that would not wear on my health, she said that they don't keep the trade-ins. I told her that their sales representative said that they had to keep them for a certain time period and that they had a bunch of trade-ins stockpiled.

The sales people also pulled a fast one. They put my name as purchaser even though I told them I won't be able to get a loan, they said I would be secondary. The loan shows that I made the purchase and the owner registration has my husband's name as the owner. So on that premise the customer service representative dismissed my petition, the sales and management have made themselves unavailable and I now question the whole kit-in-ca-boodle from Buffet to the trainee. Unlike Buffet's chocolate choice I will never die for the need to fulfill my desire for a Kirby again...

Unlike the cheaper and more convenient upright vacuums with onboard attachments, the Kirby requires a 3-4 step transformation from upright to canister (that takes too much time) for vacuuming under furniture, chairs, tables, kitchen kick spaces and upholstery/drapes. It seemingly only has 2 upright settings. Setting #1 Doesn't pick up **. Setting #2 sucks so GD hard you can't push it even in power-drive mode. The biggest con is the pain in the ass going back and forth between upright and canister mode. I would never recommend one of these 75 pound doorstops to my worst enemy. If another Kirby salesman ever darkens my door, I'll toss a bucket of cold piss on him.

I was FAR TOO NICE!!! How many times did Vanessa, the salesperson, ask me what I liked most about the product??? I lost count!!! There were many deceptions. I was told that Vanessa would be paid for executing her presentation and so when she asked me to take my Dyson out of my cupboard so that she could compare, I said no that it was not necessary. She replied that she needed to do this to be paid!!! This presentation went for over an hour and a half!!! What I don't have anything better to do with my day? I should have turfed them out as soon as I saw the advertisement on the van. Then came the phone call to the boss who reduced the price by $1000. Mm, I'm still not interested!!! Thanks Kirby, DO NOT CALL AGAIN... EVER!!!

Vladimir asked if I have a vacuum and I said yes, then he made me bring it out and started to tell me all the reasons why HIS is better than mine. All I wanted was a carpet cleaning for free!! He tells me to bring my boyfriend out so he can show me all the things it can do to him. I felt weird about that, but he was really persistent. My boyfriend has no money and is only 19 so I figured he'll just listen to the salesman babble and be done with. Well, I had to go to work, so I said goodbye and left.

When I get off work, I get a text from my boyfriend he bought the ** vacuum!!! They took his credit card info and his social security number. They knew I was the head of the household, but they still felt the nerve to push my boyfriend to the limit when I wasn't home! I was furious. I also came home to find out, my boyfriend traded in my vacuum to lower the price to 2,800... which is still outrageous for a vacuum. He said he told them no he wasn't interested many times, but they pushed him to give him his personal information and SS just so they could "check to see if he qualifies for it." He then just demands that my bf signed it, which was a horrible decision on my bf's part to go through with it!

I was crying and called the seller back two hours after they sold it, and let them know that we want to cancel everything and they said they will be back in 30 minutes. We wait, and they never show up. I call Vladimir again two hours later, and he says he has nothing to do with the finances and that they will come back in the morning. AGAIN, THEY NEVER SHOW UP. I asked my boyfriend if they said we could cancel it when they were selling it to him. My bf said that Vladimir said that you can cancel it at ANY time. He straight up lied. You only have THREE business days after the vacuum is sold to cancel it. We called and called and called, giving many notices to the manager we want it canceled. He kept ignoring our calls and saying he was busy.

In the contract it was very unclear and said to "mail" the contract back to them, signed, but it had to literally be in their hands within the three days. Mail can usually take up to that many days to ship somewhere, so it would be too late. We wanted to deliver the mail ourselves. We went to the address, and all we saw was a big green shed that looked like storage units. No building that said "Kirby." No official businesses. Just a sketchy private building. We googled the address and it only popped up an AC company. We called the company and asked if they were in relations with Kirby, to which they replied "Absolutely not. Don't ever call us back!" and hung up on us. We assumed they must get a lot of calls from people that need to return their vacuums!!

On the LAST day that we had to cancel the contract, the only thing that helped us was that we decided to contact the cleaner Vladimir since Deante (the owner) was not being helpful at all. To our surprise Vladimir told us he's not working there anymore and he quit. The owner didn't pay him for his work, and Vladimir is planning on suing him!! Vladimir explained to us that the green shed looking building is the official office. We were finally getting somewhere and we felt some hope!!! We told Vladimir thank you and good luck with his case. Right after that conversation Deante finally called us back, and his first concern was "When did we sell it? It's already been three days right?" And we were like "We still have all day until midnight today, it says so on the contract." So it's clear these crooks want to make it as hard as possible to contact them until the three days are up!!!

Deante got mad and said we are "frustrating him" by constantly trying to contact him. Anyway we drive over there, and go into the sketchy ass green building and luckily did not have to see Deante, we saw one of his employees who was really nice and took the papers for us and said we were good to go. We are sooo lucky that we got out of this. PLEASE don't let this happen to you! I already ruined my boyfriend's credit score, and made him stressed to the core! If he had to pay them the 2,800 for the ** vacuum, then he was planning on moving out to his parent's house out of state JUST so he can pay that off!

Overall the vacuum is a good one that can be used for many home projects like paint spraying or an air compressor to blow up an air mattress, but I mostly use it for vacuuming. My mother had one back in the '70s and my husband's grandmother has one that was purchased back in the 1930s and it is STILL running strong! If you want one, buy one off of eBay or Craigslist. Buying a new one today is way too expensive! Mine cost new $800 back in 1986. I am considering buying another one for the upstairs.

So for anyone even slightly interested in buying from this company or associating with United Consumers then you might want to think twice!!! WORST COMPANIES EVER!!! I have a 1 year old daughter I'm struggling to support because they stole my money over a FORGED signature. The top signature is mine and the bottom is FORGED. It's not even spelled the same!!!

This thing never worked right, is terribly inconvenient and extremely heavy. Not to mention, just to buy replacement bags is extremely expensive too. Who uses bags anymore!!! We ended up buying a cordless Shark for $75 and LOVE it. But I still can't get rid of this Kirby or the ridiculous monthly payment. They push through your door and wear you down until you crack. Kind of like military prison tactics! (Haha). But seriously, don't trust them. Turn the porch light off and pretend you're not home. It's not worth it.

Last time I checked I agreed to a professional steam cleaning, not a Kirby vacuum demo!! I have 6 kids so this was a major inconvenience for me. Casey, who was told I had less than an hour for all of this **, starts telling me about how he isn't trying to sell me anything, just explain the great benefits of the Kirby. So, he starts demonstrating to us his vacuum by inserting these white discs into the vacuum and cleaning a portion of my living room with it. He pulls the disc out and shows me all the dog hair and other nasty ** he pulled out of my carpet, then proceeds to set them on my coffee table. Ummmm, yeah, this is why I wanted a carpet shampooed, not a vacuum demonstration. He then did this 6 more times and then had the nerve to pour a bottle of sand all over my carpet without my permission. Totally uncalled for.

Howard was also lurking around "looking" at my house, probably scoping out things they could possibly steal. He continues on with the demonstration and then they FINALLY start the carpet cleaning. But this wasn't carpet cleaning, this was the vacuum spitting foam onto my carpet and then simply sucking it back up. He called this the "Kirby bubble bath". He did that in the rest of my rooms. The other guy Casey kept rambling on about his personal life like I cared while the other guy Howard was doing the vacuum cleaning. Not to mention, this vacuum was 2500 dollars. Absurd.

Once the cleaning was over Casey then cleaned the parts of this vacuum in my kitchen sink and left black pubs and whatever else from all the other houses he cleaned with this Kirby POS vacuum. And cleaned it with one of my towels. Don't open doors and definitely do not open them for Kirby. Very false advertising and invasion of my privacy and waste of time. Thank god my husband came home or these sales people scam artists would've been here until 2 in the morning trying to convince me to buy this stupid vacuum.

So he packs up and leaves. He knocks on the door again to ask me if he can use my phone to send a text to "someone" to come and pick him up because his phone was "acting up." I admit I don't know for sure, but this seemed like a shady sales tactic to get my number, because the whole time he was here, he was trying to get our phone numbers to make follow up calls, and he declined to leave his number with us. My friend was visiting from Mexico so I called the number from her phone and heard what seemed to be the saleswoman on the other end. I just didn't want there to be a chance for them to obtain my number. Be careful.

Anyway, I let the guy start his what he called his demonstration. Nice stand up respectful guy to me anyway so to say. And he started pulling out all these pad things. I was telling him that "we just got through cleaning and stuff and my wife gone look at this like you just making a mess." And we (my wife) already own a Dyson Ball and a Bissell so we don't need another vacuum. Now the guy wanted to go to my bed and clean. I'm like "No buddy. No way... My bed ain't the problem. We don't like no one in our room." Anyway, my wife said go ahead and I was impressed with what he had clean out the bed because I do have asthma.

Most of all, I like the attachments, the ability to reach up high on the walls and everything. I can paint my walls with this thing great and deep clean. Things when he compared it to my Dyson it kill it. The Dyson is just lighter but it doesn't clean deep like the Kirby. Don't know why the bad reviews. I bought mine straight out for 1-800. The extra grand is for the finance charge, if your credit good you could get it for I guess $100 a month. But overall I got mine and it works fine and I will pass it down to my son one day. It's a great product that been around over a hundred years and pushing. It's really for people who love long-lasting professional products I feel.

After every other demo he would call his "boss" and say, "Positive. This is Pat." The demo was hitting the 90 minute mark and please understand I was very impressed with the Kirby but I knew it was out of my price range. I asked Pat if I could just be given documentation because I knew his "boss" was going to try and sell me on the product.

When it came to the point where he wanted to vacuum the mattresses I declined. I was kind of OK where he was and that was in front of my front door. He asked me if I wanted to fill out a credit application. I declined. That's when he picked up his phone and called his boss. 5 minutes later his boss, Nicolas, came in the front door. Just by his attitude I knew he had his head up his rear end. Allow me to preface and say that I used to work at a Shoe store when I was younger. I know what selling on commission does to a person. This guy was the definition of a shark. I'm in my early 30s and these two are in their early 20s.

So back to the story. Nicholas comes in and starts trying to sell me on the Kirby. At this point I tell him I have no interest on buying a vacuum cleaner today. He said he was fine with that but asked if I would fill out the credit app just so they could find out what my monthly payments would be if I decided to get one in the future. I then informed them that I didn't want to "write in" my Social Security Number. Nicolas then informed me that they would tear up the credit app before they left.

I reluctantly filled out this credit app. While I was filling out this credit app I noticed the number they were dialing. (800) 222-8237. Pat, on his third day was calling in his 1st credit app. He didn't know their "distribution number". So the credit app lady scolded him over the phone. Pat has to call his "boss" Nicolas back. Nicolas gives him the instructions on how to call in the credit app. Once I noticed this I stopped filling in vital information, obviously less vital than my SSN. Pat asked me if I knew what my bank account number was. I admitted ignorance. He then said they wouldn't need it. He calls the credit app girl back and I then hear her over the phone say, "he's not approved."

I breathed a sigh of relief because finally they would leave right? Nope. Here comes Nicolas. He can get me an amazing deal. I informed him that definitely didn't want it and I was ready for the demo to be over. He said, "this Kirby can build you credit. " To which I rolled my eyes and just asked how much longer this would be because I was told this would be quick. He said, "not much longer", and walked out the door.

During the time Nicolas goes back to his car and comes back Pat & I have been talking about everything under the sun. We actually got along. He was legitimately a good guy. Then his phone rings and it's Nicolas. He feeding him numbers over the phone. The call ends and Pat says that Nicolas "worked his magic" and I was magically over approved. The Kirby would originally cost me $2700 dollars but now it's down to $2300. Once again I said that I had no interest in buying. Pat was kind of upset because he couldn't clean my mattresses and now he wouldn't get paid. I agreed to let him clean my son's mattress so he would get paid because he had a kid at home to take care of.

5 more minutes goes by and here comes Nicolas with all of his paperwork. I'm seriously upset at this point. He starts talking about if I purchased this Kirby he and Pat would be one step closer to their trip to Las Vegas. I once again informed him that I wasn't buying. He tries feeding me this long line of BS that this would be a great gift for my wife. I inform him that my wife handles the finances in our household because I'm the only one working and I work all the time. The price of the Kirby then drops from $2300 to $1600. He then asks me to fill out this paper to see how low he could get my payment.

At this point I tell him that I'm not putting my signature on anything. This bothers him. He tries every tactic in the book. "If you sign this, the Kirby is yours for 3 days so you can show it off to your wife." Every offer I replied with no. He then drops the price to $1300. I just laugh and tell him I'm not signing anything and asked for them to leave.

He begins to try and question my "man-hood". This kid is 5'9" and maybe 180 lbs soaking wet. I'm well over 6 foot tall and weigh around 290 pounds. I'm pretty sure I can take him if I needed to defend myself but the one thing he forgets. I'm holding my 18 month old son. I'm past upset at this point. I told him the deal Isn't going to happen. He attempts to cut me off and my son Is tired, hungry, & getting agitated because I'm getting upset. I then cut him off, remind him that he is a guest in my house, & tell him the deal isn't happening. He would need to pack up and leave.

Nicolas doesn't get the hint. I stand up and ask him to leave. He then asks when my wife will be home. I tell him to never think about talking to my wife. He then stands up and tells Pat, "I'm sorry you won't be able to go to Las Vegas. " I point at the door with a lot of anger. Nicolas tells me will leave but he has to allow Pat to clean up. I apologize to Pat for my attitude and he was only grateful he would get paid for the demo. It took him 10 minutes to pack up and leave. This whole "quick" demo lasted 4 hours! This was a day I was supposed to spend with my son. After everything was over I looked the Kirby up on Google. They only cost $900-$1000.

They started me at $2700 for the Kirby. I told them that last time one of theirs stopped by, I didn't even accept $1500 for price. Eventually I took it for $1500 after it got so late at night and my wife started liking the machine. They also don't tell you how the interest works. If you try to pay it early, you still have to pay a good chunk of the interest. It's a ripoff and dishonest business dealing. The government should be on the owners' case.

I paid only $1500 plus outrageous interest. I feel bad for those who paid $2700 - $3000 plus the outrageous interest. Is this free enterprise or people abuse? Abuse in stating the price and abuse with interest calculation. Here is my advice: Don't let them in if it's not too late. Don' pay more than $1200. Stick to this price. (You and your spouse can play the same tactics they play by pretending, or may be really, getting in conflict about the machine and the price in front of the sales people. This will either convince them to go or give you the deal that works for you. Be real. Be wise). Pay cash if you can, or negotiate the interest. Otherwise they can either let you get your own loan or the deal is off. I have nothing against people doing business - it's a free country - but abuse and misinformation should not be allowed by people or the government.

I stayed downstairs with the 2nd guy while he finished the carpet upstairs. Once he was finished he came downstairs. I referred 2 people for the cleaning. I was finally able to take my shower. After getting dressed I went to put the $25.00 in my pocket and the 5 dollar bill was gone. My fiance was still sleeping. I woke him up. He didn't have the number to call the Kirby guy back to let the boss know. How petty. He was also walking around lurking. Beware. They steal.

Today I came home to a Kirby box on my porch. I'm guessing to return the vacuum in? Anyway listed right on the side of the box is a breakdown of the entire home cleaning system WITH PRICES!!! MANUFACTURERS SUGGESTED RETAIL PRICE = $1,798.00. That's why that idiot took the box with him!!! And was careful that I didn't see it! Don't let these crooks in your home!!

The guy vacuumed small spots on my carpet leaving these disks all over floor. He made the comment that only ** people could afford this vacuum and they are trying to make them affordable to ** people. I am ** with great credit and good job. I could afford it if I wanted to. He tried to make conversation by saying he had a college degree and it took him 4 months to learn how to work this machine. I told him several times this vacuum looks complicated. I was trying to tell him I needed to feed my diabetic son but he kept right on vacuuming. I was so naive. I should have told the fool to leave. At one point, he stopped and used my bathroom. He also took the vacuum in my bedroom without my permission.

I tried to stop him but he right on saying the dust on those stupid disk were dust mites and dead skin. I had bought this bed two months prior. He even got on his cheap phone with boss and tried to get me to agree that I liked the vacuum. He lied to his boss about how many disks he used. My BF walked in during the demonstration. He was weak and liked the stupid vacuum. My Bf said these were the guys that had came before but I was in bed and had to go to work that night. When the guy was finished in the bedroom, he went back to the living room and started talking price of $2699 and then started shampooing a section of the living room. So my BF and I started discussing the price. The tall, very skinny guy happen to walk in without knocking and then sat on my couch without asking. He also started listening to our conversation. My BF really wanted the vacuum, I didn't.

So I said I need some time to think this over. They even said we have payment plans and came up with $90 down and $100 a month. I still didn't feel right so I said I needed sometime to think about this. The skinny guy got on his phone and then came back and lowered the price $2400. I said "no, I need time to think about this, like about two weeks." The tall guy said "this is the only day you can get it at this price." They came up with a new payment plan $40 down $60 month for 36 months. The demonstration guy immediately started filling out a credit application. The tall guy got back on his phone and came back with $2200. My BF really wanted this vacuum so I told him "why don't you get on your credit?" I'm trying to save up for a house. I don't want my credit to be ran. My BF credit is bad and wouldn't be approved.

I finally gave in and said "will you take $2000." The skinny guy got back on his phone; came back and said this price is way below our market value but you can have it for $2020. My BF said he would pay me back the $2020. I agreed but I used my credit card and signed the agreement and they left. I was told I had a lifetime warranty but there is actually a three year limited warranty.

I was not happy. I was actually pissed. My BF tried to figure the vacuum out but couldn't. So this vacuum sat in my living room untouched. I just looked at it for 4 days and I finally said to myself; something is not right. So I pulled out the contract and ready about the 3 day return policy. The guys didn't say anything about the 3 day return policy. I also looked up reviews which I should have done at first. I told my BF that I saw the vac online for $400 brand new. I told him we've been scammed.

So on day 5 immediately sent in the contract and a certified letter to LA Cleaning Systems saying if I didn't receive my money back, I would contact the BBB and the Consumer Protection Agency. I also disputed the charges with Capital One. The tall skinny guy called me back two days later saying "I thought you said you were happy with Kirby." I never said I was happy with Kirby. I yelled at him and cursed at him to come and get this POS out of my house. He went on to say he was out of town but showed up at my door about 10 minutes later. He didn't ask questions. He got on his phone and reversed the charges to my credit card and hand wrote a new agreement which I took a photo. He took this vacuum and all parts and left. I am hoping Kirby salesman come back to my home. I will slam the door in their face or play them.

When I told the company this, they told me I would have to send the entire device back to a company in America to get it repaired, instead of offering to ship the part needed to the Japanese company. When I went to the local post office to ship it back to the states, they told me that I could not ship it without paying for freight charges because it was outside the biggest size box they would let me use, and outside the weight allowed.

This company then pretty much told me "tough luck" when I explained the situation, and asked what they could provide to allow me and my family, who move back to the states in 2 months, to get the vacuum repaired once we get back to the states without paying $1300 again just for repairs. I was sent over to another guy at the company, about returning my device, in which I was told that they wouldn't accept my device back, as it was outside of their 3 day option. This company is an absolute joke. An outrage. How they have been able to still operate is beyond me. The way they treated me, made me feel horrible. Please, if you're considering buying anything from this company, please don't. Save your money and get a Dyson.

After I had enough I said, "Please leave" and he started cursing and saying how I took food out of his newborn baby mouth. I was very upset and told him I was calling the police. The second guy said, "Ma'am please don't call the police. We will leave." The first guy took his time gathering his equipment. I made them take it outside to finish packing it. The white van came a few minutes later to pick them up. I could not get a tag number. I am making a complaint with the local police as well. After asking for credentials, none given but he cursed me and my husband out because he didn't make sale.

Sure, I've had to make a few repairs over the years. Someone ran over the cord one too many times while vacuuming and I had to swap that out. The beater bar has been replaced once and I think one of my boys let it fall down the stairs and I had to replace a plastic piece on the handle. So? That's not even the worst of it, I've used it as a shop vac for a couple of years, until my current wife put a stop to that by buying me a real shop vac. Does anyone know how long a $200 Shark lasts? 3 years maybe? Can it suck up a penny off a tile floor? My Kirby is 18 years old and will pick up a quarter.

When the salesman sold this vacuum he crossed out the part NOTICE OF CANCELLATION. I actually hate this thing!!! He stated that his men would be out to fix it. No one has come yet. Now, I am still paying for this Kirby vacuum and looking to buy a brand that will stand behind its product!!! As it said if you mark below, this is saying you are not trying fix your problem so I ask you how can you fix something without talking them? I do not have an order # but I do have serial #.

Probably fueled by his anger at the vacuum, he decided it needed to be replaced as soon as possible. My husband is also very nostalgic and recalled his parents having a Kirby when he was a kid that was a pretty reliable vacuum, so instead of doing his research first, he, for whatever reason, decided to take it upon himself to call Kirby directly and actually invite one of their sales people into our home willingly... By the time I got home the deed was done. I could tell something was off, because he walked outside of our house to my car as soon as I pulled into the driveway and started off by telling me he had done something that I was probably going to be unhappy about.

He went on to tell me the story of how the Kirby man came over, gave the same crap story that seems to be in ALL of the negative reviews, about how he was one sale away from winning a big trip through the company and blah blah blah. While I wasn't very impressed with the stupid thing anyway, I figured it couldn't have been that expensive and if it was, it had to have been worth it or he wouldn't have paid for it.

Another thing about my husband is that he is VERY frugal. He is a saver and always thinking about having money for the future, which I actually like about him and has made me more financially responsibly myself. So when he told me the amount of money he dropped to purchase the vacuum, I almost ** myself. I mean, seriously, over 2k for a vacuum?! In what world?! Especially when you can buy a perfectly fine, well-rated, lightweight, easy to use Shark for under $200.

Anyway, I thought I'd at least give the thing a chance, since it already seemed to have cast some sort of spell over my husband. After all, it was ours now, right? From the moment Kirby and me first connected in an attempt to clean, I hated it. The weight of this vacuum alone is insane. I am a 31-year-old, fit woman, who should be more than capable of lifting a vacuum, and I want nothing to do with this Kirby. Aside from the weight, I honestly don't feel like it gives me the best vacuum experience of my life, which surely it should do for the price. We have cats, which means cat litter, and I can rub my hands over the rug in the area of a litter box after a vacuum and find several remnants of litter. I figured a 2k-3k vacuum would be able to take on cat litter and win hands down, but nope.

Then there are all of the gadgets. Who needs 25 different attachments for a vacuum and how is that convenient in any way? The "caddy" they give you to store these parts is made of cheap plastic, not sturdy and takes up a lot of space. And if you don't take off some of the parts correctly by turning off the belt, they don't work when you reattach them and have to be reset. Also, the vacuum is so bulky. It doesn't even fit under my bed, like most vacuums do. It just bangs the bed-frame, as if it's laughing at me.

There is also the issue of them promising to send us the steamer so we can clean areas of our carpet. It was supposed to be mailed within 3 business days of the sale. I think it took us about 4 months to get it, and that was after I made my husband start calling them every few days to get a status update. They kept telling us we were at the top of the list for the next shipment. I didn't understand? Do they have a factory make them hot off the press as the Kirby's are sold? When we finally did get it, they forgot to send a crucial part that is required to actually use the steam cleaner portion of the vacuum. At that point I pretty much gave up.

The thing that sucks the most is that I have to pretend I tolerate the damn thing. I know my husband feels guilty about his splurge and really thought he was doing something great for our household. I am currently working on a way to "accidentally" destroy it. Lucky for me, I am unbelievably clumsy and good at truly accidentally breaking things that are meant to be pretty solid, so I know one day I will win the war against the Kirby. My advice to anyone and everyone, is DO NOT BUY THIS VACUUM. It will come back to haunt you over and over again.

The young lady tells me she'll be right back. I didn't see her again. I was greeted a few minutes later by another young lady (going to refer to her as Lady B) and a guy instead. Here's where things went downhill. Lady B introduced herself and her sales guy (the Lackey) and left. It took the lackey nearly 2 hours to finish. Like Joan's situation, the lackey left dirty paper discs all over my carpet. He was going to put them on my kitchen table at first, but I instructed him not to. He kept trying to stall time and convince me how this vacuum cleaner was essential to my house even after my refusals every time. I told Lackey to hurry up with the cleaning and leave.

Lackey then called his "manager" after receiving his 10th or so rejection. Lady B comes back within a few minutes of this call and tried her sales tactics on me. She boasted about all her signatures and sales numbers and how she "already won her trip", but wanted to help Lackey win his "trip". I could care less about their "trips". They were taking up my time now because they went well beyond the "30 minutes" and I was getting irritated. I told Lackey and Lady B that I get up really early for work and they're putting me behind my schedule. They ignored that and went on about getting me a "good deal" that's "affordable" for me. I shot down their offers again and told them to leave. They ignored that too and tried working another "affordable deal" with me. I rejected them again and told them I was getting upset because they're now messing with my time.

Lady B explained that they could not leave until Lackey performed the "carpet washing" in my house so he'll get credit. She insisted that he needed to clean all my carpet areas in the house. I told her ** he's doing that. That would take another hour or so. She did not specify how much Lackey had to "carpet wash" to get credit, but only recommended for me to let him clean all my carpet areas. I should have kicked them out at this point, but let my "caring side" get the better of me. If all he needed to do was perform this "carpet washing" to get credit, then he can wash a small designated area of my choosing and be done within 5 minutes or so. They agreed and were allowed to do their "carpet washing", but took around 10 minutes to clean a very small portion of a corner area.

Lackey then suddenly goes uninvited to my nearby restroom and washed his ** dirty vacuum pieces in my bathroom sink. What's worse? He left a mess in there while Lady B distracted me by attempting another failed deal. I was fired up at that point and told these ** to get out of my house because they already wasted enough of my time. Lady B said I was walking away from a "great deal" many of her customers don't get. I told her I didn't care and instructed her to leave. She left, but not with Lackey. She said he'll leave when he's done packing his stuff.

Lackey took his sweet time packing his stuff and tried again to make me feel like I was losing out on a good product and a "killer deal". I told Lackey that if he wasn't out of here with all his ** within 5 minutes, he's going to regret stepping foot in my house because he was now trespassing. Lackey became more quiet, but tried making friendly conversation with me at this point. I kept my responses short and to the point to prevent further conversation. Lackey packed up his vacuum and was getting ready to leave, but I told him to pick up ALL his stuff including the dirty paper discs. He acted like it was okay to just leave those dirty things behind and I told him to grab those discs with him or I'd shove it down his throat because he already left a mess in my bathroom. Lackey grabbed his paper discs and left.

These Kirby dealers were completely unprofessional and inconsiderate. They lacked basic customer service skills and should not be working in this type of job. As a salesman, you don't go and create a mess in someone's home and not clean it up. You don't argue with the customer and you don't go to places in someone's home you're not permitted to go. If Kirby is a reputable company, people like these dealers will definitely tarnish their reputation. I was close to calling the police to get these ** off my property.

I may have considered purchasing their vacuum cleaner at a later date/time had they been professional and considerate. I'm on a busy schedule Mon-Fri and they set me back at least two hours all because I was being the considerate one allowing them to do their thing (on my time) so they could get "credit" for whatever earnings. Lackey was so unprofessional that I almost ended up attacking the guy just to get him out my house. I've always been leery of solicitors, but made this mistake by falling for their "free promotion". I will never let solicitors in my home again. There's too many possibilities that a catch is always included in their "free promotions".

He continued showing me the number of customers who purchased the equipment and who are satisfied with. And later on, he showed the price! My goodness! 12,950.00 Dirham, the equivalent of 3,532.50 USD. I apologise immediately and told that I cannot afford such a price for vacuum but he was too pushy and made a lot of proposals as well as easy instalment schedule, plus extra gifts coming with... After one hour more, he convinced me and I accepted to close the deal. We agreed that he will send me someone to teach me how to use it and to enjoy my new gadget. At night, I couldn't sleep and I felt I was scammed by the way he was pushing me to buy it, because even when I tried to get them out of my home, asking for some time to think and take my decision, he didn't give up and continued till he got what he wanted.

Next day, I called the director, told him that I don't want anymore the vacuum and asked him to cancel the transaction. He came within one hour, tried to convince me, but I was firm. However, I was seen paying 4,000.00 Dirhams equivalent of 1,086 USD, which he took cash, refusing a cheque. Finally, I lost 4,000 Dirhams but I saved 9,000 Dirhams. Now, I am confused what to do? The first thing, I wrote this comment and I will think to take any action to avoid scamming other people.

She walked out to her van where she came back with a younger guy, probably mid-20's. I noticed he was dressed in a white button up shirt with a tie and black pants, and I honestly thought that they were Jehovah's Witnesses for a moment. As they got closer to the door, I saw that the box he was carrying said "Kirby". My brother had went through the same thing about a year ago and I knew the troubles he had; he spent around $3000 for a vacuum that was way too heavy, had too many attachments, and he never used it. I already decided that I didn't want it before they walked in the house.

After they come inside, she walks out to the van, where I assume she goes to get more stuff. However, she ends up driving away, leaving this guy in my house. He starts off with the whole, "I'm selling these for a trip to the Dominican Republic and I only need 2 more sales to go." I figured it was just a scam to get people to give in to buying the vacuum. He started in my living room by showing the air blower, the car shampooer, and the various vacuum pieces. He then moves on to our bedroom, where he proceeds to vacuum the bed. He tries to say that the stuff he was sucking up was dead bugs and their excrement, but anybody who knows anything realizes that it's just dead skin that is in every bed.

He then goes back into the living room, where he tries to vacuum and show the amount of dirt. He doesn't have much luck though, as I already pay to have my house cleaned weekly. About that time, the woman, which I found out to be his supervisor, and another man, her boss, shows up and let themselves in my house. He finished the demonstration by showing the sweeper attachment for hardwood floors. The top boss asks if I would be willing to purchase the Kirby if we could find a good price. I reluctantly agree, as I found some of the attachments to be handy for cleaning the cars and some upcoming projects, like painting. He goes through the list of possible discounts and finally settles on a price of $2,142.48.

I decided to take the plunge and bought it outright on a credit card, as I thought it would be a very handy device. They made sure to say that I had 3 days to return the Kirby if I was unsatisfied, but that it would cost the salesman $300 if I did. I thought to myself, whatever, that's probably his commission. That's the way it goes. They also made sure to take my old vacuum and give me $200 credit for it. Oh, and the entire demonstration took about 2.5 hours, way longer than the "few minutes" the original lady claimed it would take. Once they all left, I tried the Kirby in my bedroom and I did like the way it handled, but it was way too heavy. As I laid in bed that night, I could barely sleep as I had a great deal of buyer's remorse. I couldn't believe the fact that I spent over $2000 on a vacuum cleaner. I read reviews of other people's experience with the company, and felt that I had been scammed.

All of the experiences everybody else had were identical to mine: the "big trip" prize, the haggling of prices, just all of the same stuff. I honestly felt that if I had declined buying the vacuum, I would have received a barrage of insults like many others. I decided that I didn't care who it affected, I was taking the vacuum back the next day. It took me a while to figure out which building they were in, but I finally showed up the following day with the Kirby and full intentions of returning it and getting my old vacuum back. I walked in the door and they asked how they could help. I stated that I bought a Kirby the night before and wanted to return it. The guy asked me why I wanted to return it, in which I said that I didn't think that I needed it anymore. After that, the guy proceeded to look at me and say, "Yes, you do." I looked directly at him and firmly said that I just want to return the Kirby.

He dropped the salesman pitch, brought me back my old vacuum, and we signed the paperwork to void the purchase. He told me that they would issue the refund today and it might be a few days until the money was credited to my card. I thought to myself, they were sure fast taking the money out, but they like to take their time putting it back in. And I was right. Three days later, I called to see if they had issued my refund yet. A hateful woman answered and just said that it will take 7-10 days for the refund to hit my account, and that was the end of the conversation. The Friday of the following week, the money still hadn't been refunded. I called again, where they said that it had been submitted and the money should be in my account any day. Monday morning, exactly 2 weeks after I purchased the Kirby, the manager of the store called me and said that he didn't realize that the return never went through.

He came to my house and gave me a check for the refund, but postdated it for that Thursday, 3 days later. All I have to say is DO NOT BUY A KIRBY! The salespeople are far too pushy, they tell the same lies to try and gain sympathy from the homeowner, they sell the vacuum for many various prices, and they beat around the bush when you try to get a refund. I'm going to take the money I spent on that Kirby and put toward some needed house renovations. The vacuum cleaners may be nice, but they are definitely not worth $2000, or whatever price they try to haggle you to.

This is my third Kirby. The first was a Sentria II, which I will not part with. I love it! I purchased two more, two years later for family members at a fund-raiser. Now have to convince them that this is a great product. The problem lies within the lies of the raunchy sales people. Do they not understand that they are ruining the reputation of a perfectly good, overpriced product? The salespeople should be well trained in the area of selling a great product to the right demographics. I have no complaints about the product and I had two very knowledgeable, non-pushy salesman, who convinced me with their demonstrations that I want them to live with me and spring clean my whole house!

So long story short he began to show me how filthy my carpet was and began to talk about dust mites and their poop, so on and so forth. He showed me all the gizmos and gadgets, and attachments. He vacuumed my floor and my floor WAS nasty I must admit. But anyway he tried to sell it to me. I declined. I told him me and my husband are trying to get OUT of debt. But he came with his tactics. "Your husband will buy a TV but nothing for your children's health?" I told him if I bought it my husband would be upset. He then said, "Haven't you pissed off your husband before? Didn't he get over it?"

I guess because I asked for a cash price he thought he had me wheeled in. He went on about this trip to Jamaica and if I don't help him he won't win. And I can't get it later because I wouldn't get a discount. He also told me he could give me the "wife alone discount." He started from 3200 dollars to 1600 dollars then he said he could hook me up for 1100. I told him, "But you sold it to my friend for 900." He said, "No I didn't. He got it for this much and tried to act like he didn't buy it for that much."

After he realized I wasn't budging he started to insult me on the sly like "Most people who don't buy it have bad credit and their floors are normally the nastiest." I asked who was the competition. He said there is none. "Of course you going to say that but who else is out here selling these glorified vacuums Mister?" After I told him it's getting late he called his loudmouth manager and put him on speakerphone. He didn't know he was on speaker and cursed. He said **. Anyway after my mind was made up he stop talking to me and I was fine with that. He packed all his ** and said, "I usually leave my vacuums. I don't know how to put it back together. We'll figure it out." He ask me when my husband would be home. I said, "A while." And I guess he said, "She is young and gullible. I'ma get her. No problem." Ha nobody bullies me into spending my money.

I felt so good seeing him leave. He was tough but I was tougher. I KNEW he bullied his way into other people's pockets not mine. I learned my lesson. NO SOLICITING will be up outside TOMORROW! Don't let these trigger-happy sales rep scare you into buying something you will regret. His name was L.T. **, older guy. Slam the door if this creep comes by.

She quickly introduced us (Patrick was his name) and ran out the door. I asked her "what if I like the job do I call you" she yells over her shoulder "just talk to him". I then knew I had gotten myself into something. I looked at the box and saw Kirby and could have kicked myself. I began to tell the guy before he unloaded all the crap he had that I had a demonstration in the past and could not afford it then and cannot afford it now and I did not want him to waste his time. Patrick said "oh it's ok just let me clean your carpet". Well 3 hours later he was trying to sell me a 3500 dollar vacuum cleaner. More like pressuring me into buying one. Before walking out the door he had gone all the way down to $600 dollars for a refurbished one. I still declined. He made me feel bad about not buying one. He began to be really rude.

He said to me if I want to be a real housewife I would buy one and continued to talk crap but I couldn't understand a whole lot because of his accent. I finally just said, "look I'm not interested and I'm sorry". He says "why are you sorry I did my job. If you want your kids to be on dirty carpet that fine." I was appalled. I then apologized again and explained to him that the young lady that came to my door never mentioned he would be selling a vacuum cleaner. Never mentioned Kirby. And said that my carpet would be cleaned. He says to me "well she just gets us the appointments and she gets paid to do that, she don't care". WOW. The machine itself was very impressive but I will never buy one because of this experience. And you can't even make any direct complaints to the Kirby company. And on top of it all the flyer the girl gave me he snatches it off my table and said "you won't be needing this".

He was preparing to do whatever it is they do to show comparisons. After going back and forth with this guy for over 10 minutes I asked him to please leave. We were not going to buy a vacuum from him. He mumbled something about me kicking him out because of the color of his skin, then proceeds to get on the phone and call his 'manager.' He's claiming to this person that I am being unreasonable and he has been asked to leave (yet not making any moves to do so) and then he tries to hand me the phone to discuss this with his manager. I said no and then I said you need to pack your stuff up and leave now. He states he cannot until his manager arrives. Two minutes later Manager is at the door. I explained again to this guy that we cannot afford to buy a vacuum and had no need to even see the demonstration.

I was then hit with race baiting like I have never seen before. Both the manager and the salesman started in stating that if they had been say Mormon or white they would not have been asked to leave. I was shocked. This had absolutely nothing to do with skin color. I was on the phone with my mom when he showed up I had no indication of his skin color as if that would have made a difference as I drove over to tell a salesman that we could not afford to buy a vacuum. While they packed their stuff up I had to listen to non-stop race baiting. I am so disgusted that a company would allow their salesmen/managers to conduct themselves in this way.

When it came to the actual purchase, my wife and I had already agreed on a price. There were no manager calls or insults, and I did not feel overly pressured. Obviously she did try to make the sale, but she was polite and I feel like she was honest. After about 20 minutes of haggling and mostly chatting, we did agree on a price and make the purchase of a "demo model with full warranty." When we were all finished I ended up with the new one for only about $25 more. I was also very polite and explained that we don't purchase on credit, and couldn't afford 2-3k for a vacuum. I also pointed out, that since the vacuum is made to last 30 years, I could purchase a used one for about $600 and maybe have it last 15 more years. Not all salesmen for Kirby are rude and try to take advantage of people. As I expected, the whole process did take about 3.5 hours including training us how to use it.

For the Vacuum, we have hardly used it much, but I think it is very good. I expected it to be much heavier than it was. We are about 30 years old and neither my wife nor I had and trouble holding it and cleaning the stairs. It was actually a little bit lighter than my 5-year-old hoover. As far as the attachments, I'm very mechanically inclined and had no issues learning how to switch between attachments. My wife is more average on the mechanical scale and just needed a few pointers to figure it out. It was NOT a heavy confusing nightmare like I'd read.

So why am I dissatisfied? Two reasons: First, it takes a month and a half for them to rebuild it. They say 30 days but it's actually 30 business days after they acknowledge receipt of your vacuum. Throw in shipping and it's easily 6 weeks. So you need to have a back up vacuum cleaner to take up the slack every few years while they're putzing around rebuilding your Kirby.

Secondly, although the basic vacuum and beater brush is genius, the attachments are cheap plastic junk. Most times the only reason I rebuild my Kirby is to get replacements for the crappy attachments that have long since broken or worn out. To compound this problem they update the vacuum every 2-3 years often times modifying how the attachments fit. This leads to short production runs of their attachments and ultimately not being able to provide replacement parts for their older machines. Shame on you Kirby! For this reason I wouldn't recommend a Kirby to anyone that doesn't have all wall to wall carpeting. If Kirby really wanted to make a stellar vacuum they would engineer quality attachments that could support their machines year after year.

Well, he came in, set up his equipment and went to work on the demo. About thirty minutes in, I told him his time was up and he had to leave. He ignored me and continued the demo. I told him that he had about two minutes to grab all of his vacuum parts and leave or I was going choke him out and he would wake up next to his vacuum face down on the curb. It was then, finally, that he called for the van that dropped him off, to pick him up.

I post this because I know that salesmen like this guy probably prey on older folks like my parents. Had this guy been in my parents living room, it would have been hell for them to get him to leave. So they would have called me, then he would be paying hell for not leaving. Why does this company promote these sales tactics?

I've been calling Kirby as well with my financing company that I went through & they just now called me back a month later telling me I am not able to return it after several calls. I am so upset & really disappointed at this point. Cody, did not show us how to connect anything or show us how we can assemble our Kirby. A night when I needed to use it, it took me about 3 hours to figure out how to make my Kirby work & how to put the parts together. Now I don't even want to take anything off to wash my carpets because it might take just as long!

Now I have owned a Kirby Heritage II for near three years and never had any problems with it and know very well it's the best performing vacuum you can ever have but I did not buy it from the Kirby company. I am extremely happy with it. Yeah it needs belts and bags time to time but that normal for owning a vacuum. The belts with me usually last 4-5 months until it needs replacing.

Also this is my personal belief that the vintage Kirbies are better than the new ones. To me, the Kirby company has changed a lot from the last 40 years, and how I see it's not good. Now when it comes to me and my strong opinion owning a Kirby, I advise is not get a Kirby from the Kirby company and don't believe it's a good idea to directly buy from them but just buy one from eBay or Amazon. Don't pay the overprices for one - that part is absurd. Max one should pay for a Kirby is 800.00 if near new but I won't buy any higher. This same goes for a Rainbow.

Yeah, I know if you don't buy from Kirby you don't get warranty or you can't bring a Kirby to them if anything goes wrong, so what! Take responsibilities to fix them yourself and save money if you can! Example, eBay has brand new Kirbies time to time and they are usually 400.00-700.00 with shipping, depending where you live. I am done talking about Kirby but that's my review.

My salesmen were from Tuscaloosa AL. The salesman told me if I changed my mind within ** amount of days, I want to say 50 days, I could return it. So while on the phone with finance Co. I mentioned this and they said no way. So I caught him in a lie... which was a deal breaker for me. He was pissed. But after they left I decided to buy it, they offered it to me at a price I can't even mention on here. Very low, having ceramic I needed it, to replace my older Kirby. But the other "boss" had to come back from Tuscaloosa the next day to bring it to me. Don't be afraid to haggle for the lowest possible price and zero interest. Don't listen to lies. That's my rant.

When it came time to close he told me he has to leave all the little dirt covered discs laid out until the end for his boss and that he was gonna call the office and they will haggle. He warned me it would take a few calls because they will keep lowering the price. I said "cool do whatever" so after several calls they tell him he can put up the shampooer part and his boss is on his way to try and close the deal. The kid told me he would probably work out some great deal if I really wanted it. I jokingly tell the guy when he comes it would have to be less than a grand and less than $30 a month. (the price started at $2495 and they wanted $100 a month) The guy says "sold!" and puts his hand out for a close-the-deal-business-shake. I looked at him incredulously. He said, "Hey, they may not like it but I like you. Blah blah blah. Wanna help people out." Maybe it was the several cold canned Dr. Peppers. I'm not sure.

So anyway we signed some paperwork. Gave them our checking account. I clarified that we would be approved and he said "automatic approval with a checking account" then he says the first payment isn't until October 6th and the rest of the details. The next day he comes back for a couple signatures he forgot. Fast forward two weeks and without a phone call. The pregnant girl shows up with a new guy to pick the vacuum up. When I asked why they said they didn't know. It was just on the pickup list. I made him call and he couldn't get a straight answer basically. I told him we haven't missed one payment. Payment isn't even there for another month.

He explained that sometimes they go ahead and leave the vacuum but it's possible they didn't approve it. Especially after he heard the discount we got. What **! Nobody ever said, "this sale is pending approval" or anything of the sort. No warning. Nothing. The worst part is this new kid had no identification for being a salesman and I only recognized the pregnant girl. They were very insistent on needing to pick it up and I'm calling first thing tomorrow to put a stop payment at my bank. If they try to take the payment now I will raise hell. IDK what kind of business they run but they all seem sketchy and full of **!

The whole time he kept trying to look in every room like he was casing the place. When he called his manager every time, he would try to wander out of earshot and sight. Some of the times I could hear his conversation with his "manager". They were laughing and making jokes about how if we sold our stuff we could afford it. The deal started at $2500 for a new unit, and the last offer three hours was $1400 for a used one, a $69 trade in for my current vacuum, and $55 a month payments. He kept acting very nervous and was constantly looking around like he was expecting something bad. The other reviews on this site that are bad about this company are sadly spot on. Nothing seemed very legitimate about what he was doing. I was so glad when he finally left.

I honestly wasn't paying much attention to him as my son was crying and I was trying to comfort him and I was jet lagged from having only just gotten home from an overseas trip that morning but nevertheless he talks and talks and I get the gist of what he's saying. Give me your details and go in the draw, we will call you if you've won a free carpet cleaning, blah, blah blah. I'm not really interested but I'm preoccupied and I feel kind of bad for this scruffy kid out in the cold and rain having to hand out these fliers for what I assume is dismal pay. I give him my name and cell phone number and off he goes. Except he doesn't. He stands on my driveway under his umbrella for 30 MINUTES talking on his phone. I thought this was really odd at the time but I now realize he was probably calling his "boss" to let them know I was easy harassment material.

As soon as he leaves and I've settled my son, I decide to google this Avalir Home System thing that I've never heard of and I came to find out it's a model of Kirby vacuum. NOWHERE on the flier was there any mention of anything to do with Kirby and as far as I recall from the scruffy kids super fast speech, he didn't mention it either. I did a little more searching and that's when I found this page. I then remembered reading online recently about a local woman who was basically held hostage in her own home by a Kirby salesman for 8 HOURS until 1 AM! Like most people she didn't realize until it was too late that he was a salesman and then he wouldn't leave. She was a single mother with young children in the house and didn't know what to do to get rid of him. I think she ended up calling the police.

Anyway I realized my mistake in giving the guy my details so I told my husband should anyone call or come to the house mentioning anything to do with carpet cleaning or Kirby, he was to immediately slam the door in their face. Then the next day I get a call on my cellphone from a number I don't recognize. I just knew it was them so I didn't answer. Looking back I should have answered that first call and told them where to get off. But I didn't so they kept calling back approximately every hour throughout the day. I never answered and the more they called the more intimidated I felt.

I told my husband when he got home from work and he said the next time they called he would answer it. Sure enough another call came through and he put the phone on speaker. A woman was on the end of the line and seemed genuinely surprised that someone seemingly not me answered the phone. She asks for me and my husband asks her what her name is and what she wants me for. She never gives her name but says "Oh, I'm from PUT Ltd. We made a call at (my name) house yesterday and she was interested..." My husband hung up the phone. Then literally 20 seconds later she calls again. I don't answer, she calls again, and again, and again. Then suddenly I start getting calls from an unknown number. I was honestly starting to feel scared and was now MAJORLY regretting ever even answering the door to that scruff ball.

After about the 10th call back my husband is getting really pissed off. He picks up the phone and unleashes an obscenity-filled tirade at this woman that I think even surprised him. He ends it with "IF YOU CALL THIS NUMBER ONE MORE TIME I PROMISE YOU WILL REGRET IT!!!" And he hangs up. Finally my phone fell silent for the first time all day and thankfully I haven't had any more calls since. Today I figured out how to block numbers on my phone too so I blocked the listed number she first called off for good measure. All I can say is thank God for my husband!

Backtracking a bit, it seems PUT Ltd doesn't even exist. There is nothing about them online so I figure they're another one of these "independent" Kirby suppliers. I'm legitimately flabbergasted at the amount of effort these people put into harassing me. Unlike most of the other reviews here they never even got into my house yet they still managed to intimidate and harass me! I don't know what they thought they would gain out of treating me like that. Perhaps they figured pretty early on that I wasn't taking the bait so they decided to have a little sick fun instead. Who knows. But even if my carpets start growing new life forms in them, I sure as hell will NEVER EVER be buying a Kirby.

I am clearly upset and say: "I don't want all this loose dirt here, Please throw it away." He says: "I can't yet! I have to show them in pictures to my supervisor" (a HARD SELL LOUDMOUTH I could hear thru the phone). I was getting mad and my home was becoming a mess! He would not stop the hard sell! I said I was hungry and I had company coming. I said: "Please wrap this up." He says: "I can't. I have to call my supervisor before the carpet shampoo." I say: "I'm done, I would NEVER buy this. I'm hungry and tired. Please go now." He does not listen. He fills the shampooer and starts soaking my carpet! I am HORRIFIED! He tells me only the top is damp and it will dry in 1/2 hour... It is over 12 hours later and I have a fan blowing on my WET RUG! He washed all his dirty parts in my sink and used my clean DISH TOWELS for his FILTHY MACHINE PARTS! WTF?

Now for the Coup De Grace: Calls supervisor and I can HEAR them discussing overcoming my objections and making a payment plan... The price goes from $3000 to $1600 in mere seconds, because 'I'm getting the friends & family special'. Ummm... I was born at night, but it wasn't LAST NIGHT! He was INCREDULOUS, when I told him to get out! He took his sweet time and kept up the hard sell. I was furious and SAD. I wanted to help an independent young business person and get the stain out me carpet! HEY? WTF? Where was MY consideration? He was suddenly surly and cold. He left muttering about how my FILTHY HOUSE WAS MAKING ME AND MY FAMILY SICK!

I am sure Kirby is a pyramid scheme. It was EXCRUCIATING and I am still paying for my open minded friendliness. One of the WORST experiences I have had in a long time! I feel very sorry for the people taken in by this PYRAMID SCHEME! The Kirby sales force are PAWNS in a much bigger corrupt game. I am NEVER opening my doors to ANYONE again, thanks to KIRBY HELL!

I told him leave a catalogue or a number for his boss because I wasn't buying anything today. As he packed his "boss" showed up. She was a pushy individual when I told her I had to leave. She said, "I can give you a deep discount price of 1300" which I could pay $53 monthly. I laughed and told her I don't do monthly payments. If I can't afford it with cash I don't buy. At this point she got nasty and said, "I don't understand what you are telling me. That's stupid. What's wrong with you?" At this point, I told her I have to leave so they need to go. She tore up the yellow sheet of regular lined paper she wrote the price on and glared at me. It was ridiculous and unprofessional. I, like most people, don't buy products without researching them. They didn't have a catalogue, a store, or online shop... she claimed. Kirby needs to step into the 21st century and fire these high-pressure sales people... invest in advertising and a website.

Also, she was using a filthy vacuum to make it seem like my house was dirty. I know this because the first time she turned on the vacuum she just demonstrated the suction by showing how an entire stack of HEPA filters would stick to the nozzle. Yet the filter she then removed from the vacuum was filthy from all the dirt that had been picked up "out of the air". Finally, as she packed up she muttered something about "your dirty house". Not cool.

She leaves and comes back 10 minutes later with 2 other guys. A big guy, about 5'5 blond hair, beard. He wouldn't give me his name at the end. And a younger gentleman by the name of Samuel who did the cleaning and demo of the vacuum. My boyfriend got along with Samuel. He was very respectful and did a great job. We loved the vacuum but to pay $2000 for a vacuum seems INSANE so we declined but thanked them for the demo. We tried to be patient after an hour of them being in our house and delaying me of cleaning as I was doing when they showed up.

After 1.5 hours, I got impatient as my boyfriend had to leave to help his dad in an emergency. So I was straight up with the salesperson in the photo, I told him that my life isn't about cleaning and I could care less what is under a microscope. I've traveled to rural places and have seen the living conditions of others. What I have is LUXURY. Yes my vacuum doesn't work like the Kirby but can I sleep at night knowing that? YES I CAN. When I was trying to express my feelings, his phone rang and he didn't even excuse himself and gave me his back as he answered the phone. I GOT SO MAD. I let Samuel to clean up and for them to head out.

The salesperson got off the phone and continued to be extremely rude with me telling me that I was rude. First of all, at this point as a salesperson, you excuse yourself and try to make things better and not point out that I'm becoming irritated. YES I'M IRRITATED. My boyfriend hasn't eaten dinner and is too nice to tell you to get out. Recommendations to make experience better for the customer: TELL THE TRUTH. If you come knocking on someone's door, it's likely that you're interrupting something. Be honest as to what you're offering. This will save you irritated customers.

CUT IT SHORT. Dragging it on to 1.5 hours was just too much for me especially at dinner time and having been cleaning my house. WHEN YOU MESS UP, ADMIT IT AND FIX IT. Having been a secretary for 3 years, I learned this is the best thing you can do to turn around a bad mood/experience. Admit your faults and apologize and fix the problem. He left storming out all mad in such an unprofessional manner. I WILL NEVER BUY A KIRBY VACUUM EVER. I feel bad because Samuel did awesome and the vacuum is great but I believe that customer service comes before the actual product.

Tells me the carpet would be dry in 15 minutes compared to hours using a steam cleaner. The carpet was still wet at 10 pm! He kept offering to vacuum different areas, showing me how nasty my carpets were after I had vacuumed with my new Shark Rotator Powerhead, which I absolutely love. He kept pulling these white discs from the vacuum showing the dirt and telling me how the Shark was ripping my carpet and that was what was on the disc. He just kept trying the hard sell. I tried to be pleasant.

Finally, he sits down to tell me I can have this carpet vacuum/cleaner for as little as $58 a month. He started at 2,400, which all the discounts he was giving me "because I like you" he says, it got down to 1,700, then 1,500. I kept telling him no, even when he got down to $1,040, or $39 a month. I then started asking, "is there interest charged." "Yes, there is, over 19%," couldn't even tell me exactly. But, kept saying there was no prepayment penalty, I could pay it off any time. He kept saying if I bought it, it would help him win another vacation. He said he was bragging but he was ranked #7 best salesperson with the company. I told him I couldn't buy it that night, but if he could give me 2 or 3 days I would think about it and see if I could budget for it and I'd give him a call.

At that he said, "everyone says that". At that point I thought, there is no way I would buy this vacuum from him. I should believe everything he says, but he doesn't believe what I say. I have a one of those very old heavy Kirbys, never use it anymore. I really was thinking of buying the Kirby. But, once he said that, he lost the sale. The next day I looked at the carpet he cleaned, and once dry, didn't look any better than when I clean it with my Hoover carpet cleaner. That whole disc thing they do trying to tell you how much is being picked up is a bunch of baloney!

Buyers beware! These guys were the epitome of the door to door, hard sell salesperson. Oh, and by the way. They weren't family. Joe, the one that cleaned the carpet, said Robbie, the person that came to the door, was his boss. They finally left at 8:30 pm all upset that they had to clean and pack up the Kirby! But, they'll sell it as brand new to the next unsuspecting person. :(((

Recently, Kirby's representatives were back in my area and I had a relative have them demonstrate the use of the machine. This guy was more professional and very patient but still there is too much to change from one thing to another to get the service you desire from the vacuum. Also, he told me that I paid double the price that he was asking this time which made me even more mad. I know it's my fault but I was surely duped and have a vacuum that I can't use. I wish I had just gotten a Dyson or Shark which cost a whole lot less.

Cons: The shampooer has a very small holding compartment and must be emptied frequently. It is also a bit flimsy and I can see breakage happening if not handled with care. If you mix as recommended you have tons of bubbles and run through shampoo quickly. I mix the proper amount and put it in a spray bottle and pre-treat area to be done. I then put water and a small amount of shampoo in the container in order to get the suds. It is easier to put the container on the machine and then use a measuring cup to pour in mixture. I recently found a wonderful dog and had him neutered. Everywhere he sat he left small amounts of blood. The Kirby shampoo/vacuum got it out of my light tan carpet!!!

I love the extra long cord, the power and capability of this machine. The cost is high but I will get several more years out of my carpet due to this vacuum. I would not recommend this to my 84 year old mother but I would recommend it to anyone who is physically capable and has some mechanical aptitude especially if you have young ones crawling on your carpets. I will be taking it to a few of my older friend's homes and giving their carpets a good cleaning (yes my parents will get the first cleaning). If I could afford a cleaning service this is the vacuum I would want them to use!

They gave me the same spiel about a contest and how they just needed to do a quick demo and the new guy would get paid. The lady takes off and leaves the guy at my house. I told him straight off, I have a son at football practice, the team is going for lunch after practice then I need to pick him up. He says 'Oh it'll be quick and so he played with my dogs and spent forever hooking things up and taking them apart and 'cleaning' small areas with every single flipping attachment. Meanwhile, it is now 2 pm and my son texts me and says he's done with lunch and practice.

I told the demonstrator SEVERAL times that I HAD to go pick up my son from the school. We live 20 mins from his school, walking home is not feasible. He continued on with his spiel as if I said NOTHING. I texted my friend freaking out about needing to leave and that I was stuck. She couldn't help me out, her car was broken down and her husband had the other. So she sent my other son and her son down to my house to tell me that Son #2 NEEDED to be picked up. They got to my house and the demonstrator introduces himself and seems all nice. My sons says LOUDLY, 'Mom, T needs you to pick him up, he's been waiting for an hour already'. The demonstrator got kind of short and says 'Oh yeah we're almost finished' and carries on.

Meanwhile I'm trying to find my kid a way home because it's 3...then 3:30...then FINALLY he calls his people he was riding with and says he needs to finish up so I can pick up my son. An HOUR AND A HALF after I first told him. So, the lady shows up again and then offers me several prices. Makes me feel guilty about not wanting her cool vacuum and this guy's stupid trip. I tell her I can't commit to such a large purchase without talking to my husband. She tells me that he'd just be like 'Oh well do you like it, I don't care if we get it' because that's how ALL husband's are.

Finally she gets down to $50 down and 54 a month. At 4:30, my child has now been waiting for TWO AND A HALF HOURS. Her response is, "aw a little extra practice won't hurt him." He's NOT practicing! He's sitting at a school by himself! She still has to make phone calls for financing and stuff. First call she makes, they say no--but, there's another avenue she says. But they'll come back in one hour so I can go get my kid. FINALLY they pack up their stuff and go. At 5 pm. I had finally found someone who could go get him for me. I don't think they came back. I wasn't here because I had stuff to do, but she did call.

My son answered the call while I was at dance with my daughter. Hah. She wants me to call her back?? NOT likely. I didn't give her money and I didn't receive any merchandise so I'm hoping they can't charge my account for anything. I don't like them having our info on the application, but I really just needed them to leave so I could get my kid!! I could not believe the blatant disregard for a child!! He waited for just under 3 hours. Absolutely disgusting. I would never consider buying from them after this experience.

I was then told that I should be ashamed of myself because the salesman spent 6 hours and would lose their vacation to Universal Studios. They didn't bring back my vacuum cleaner that evening. Now they're sitting at my door with my vacuum cleaner pounding on the door for over 30 minutes now when a posted note was hung in huge letters to leave the vacuum cleaner at the door!!! They're still pounding! I'm going to call the police and report this as harassment and retain an attorney to sue your company for harassment. Someone better get to the bottom of this horrible sales program your company is promoting.

Original Review: June 14, 2016

I had a legitimate Kirby Sales rep stay at my establishment for 1 month while selling Kirby Vacuum cleaners in our area. He left without paying his bill which is over R20,000, even after filling in his booking form and Indemnity with all the terms and conditions. I was offered a vacuum cleaner instead of payment. I was so insulted. I have taken the matter to Kirby South Africa but to date I am still no closer to getting my money. It has been 4 months and I keep getting the Runaround. My services were delivered and I went above and beyond to assist this guest and I've been left with Pie on my face. This is totally unacceptable, Kirby cannot have people representing them that are dishonest especially that these people are coming into our homes. Kirby does not seem to be too concerned with the trail of destruction of its sales reps that I've now been reading about. I want what is due to me as my services have been delivered 10 fold!

In those 8 years, we have absolutely loved our Kirby Sentria. We haven't bothered with the shampooing system and don't even know if it does a good job. We don't really care. We've tried Hoovers, we even had a second vacuum for a while because we decided that the Kirby was too heavy and we were too lazy to order the bags and belts from Amazon that time around...and then realized how much of a POS the most popular Hoover WindTunnel was that Costco sells and returned it. We've demoed Miele and Dyson units -- and hey, those are nice. They might actually be better value. But if you can get a Kirby for $900, it's a better vacuum. It has AMAZING suction and it DOES the job very well. It's a solid machine. It has patented technology that other technologies just don't match no matter how clever they are.

It baffles me that they use salesmen to sell their vacuums door to door who ask for 3x the actual price of the unit. Go online and ask how much you should pay and you'll see that $900 is about the price from a salesman. Go on eBay. You'll find them there from $400 and up. It's completely worth it.

I don't understand some of the bizarre reviews on here. I'll clear some things up. Yes, you have to attach a belt and you have to replace bags. It's a commercial grade vacuum, so you might need to actually learn how to use it. If you smell burning, your belt is on wrong or you need to replace it. Sorry. Our belts last at least a year -- sometimes 2. They aren't that expensive on Amazon. Again - buy one from eBay, not from a rep. This review does nothing to benefit Kirby at all because I am encouraging people to practically put the company out of business by buying a pre-owned reconditioned one. I'd love Kirby to be FORCED to sell their [initially] overpriced scam that is an awesome vacuum at Costco and Sam's and other places like everyone else. If they had them on sale next to Dyson, perhaps Dyson's would not be as popular.

If the ONLY way to buy a Kirby was through a rep, I'd tell you to get a Dyson or a Miele because I am completely disgusted by their reps and their method of doing business. I think I might go get some Saladmaster stuff off eBay now while I'm at it... as that's another one of those door-to-door pushy things that is a great product in need of losing its sales force.

Again I thought Kirby was a trusted brand. My grandma had one after all. I thought "ok I'm buying a house soon and this would be good" so I purchased. BIG MISTAKE that I'm ashamed to say that I'm still paying for. One would think if you have to finance a vacuum cleaner it would be amazing. It practically fell apart the first time I used it. Near impossible to switch attachments and the belt fell off on the third use. Hate, hate, hate this piece of junk.

We ended up shoving it to the back of the closet and buying a cheap stick vacuum that does an amazing job! I've had it for almost 2 years and used less than 5 times due to breaking. If I could return this for a refund I would but I'm sure they would have another excuse on what I'm doing wrong or that it's been too long (Couldn't find the paperwork to file a complaint until now). Do yourself a favor and DO NOT BUY THIS.

As they start to demonstrate, they are pulling out these little white filter papers and laying them on my floor to show me how dirty my carpet was. But the filter papers keep getting knocked around as the rep is demonstrating, and the dirt is going right back into the floor and onto the carpet. About 1 hour in and I ask them how much longer this will be and how much this vacuum system is going to cost. They let me know that they are going to be here awhile and that the price is about $2,500. I am taken aback, and tell them that is far too expensive and that their girlfriend said 30 minutes. Just then my husband walked in from work and I tell him that we are having a carpet cleaning as a demonstration of a vacuum cleaner. The first question out of my husband's mouth is, how much? I tell him the price is $2,500 and he immediately goes to his phone to look up comparable pricing.

Turns out the cost of the vacuum everywhere else is somewhere around $900. At that point we tell the sales folks to leave, we have plans. They start packing up but with all these parts, it's going to take them a while. When they've finally finished packing, they don't leave but instead, stand on my porch because they have to wait for someone to pick them up. The next day I called their manager to let him know that I would not be interested in purchasing the vacuum cleaner. He fought with me for 15 minutes telling me that there's no possible way I could have found the vacuum cleaner for less money online. He told me that these kids were getting a trip and that I was ruining that for them. It was a terrible experience. If a Kirby vacuum cleaner representative comes to your door, don't answer the door.

The interest rate are outrageous and they refuse to work with consumers...shocked they have the word consumer in their name because they are not there to help consumers when they charge above market rates of interest on overpriced products. I have also seen Kirby on sale for a few hundred dollars online while a door to door salesman never has a price list and will gladly sell you a $700 vacuum for $3000 at 39% interest from United Consumer Financial...buyer beware.

We periodically see the salesman that sold us this stress-inducing monster and he has the grace to at least look ashamed of himself. He rarely looks us in the eye and when I have approached him to ask about parts (consistently replace broken belts), he always places the blame on our inappropriate use of the machine. We actually had a couple of younger guys come to our house out of town and hand me a bottle of detergent as a gift for participating in their survey. I just got smirky with them and questioned them hard. Thankfully, I was out in our yard at the time and absolutely refused to let them do a demonstration. Once again, I told them what a lemon Kirby had been for us and I was certainly not interested in replacing the present lemon with a newer hunk of junk. They laughed at my stupidity for not taking them up on their generous offer.

When they finally understood that I was serious about my intense dislike for Kirby they began to walk back to their vehicle. I had to laugh out loud when one of them had to backtrack and ask for the bottle of detergent back. Poor guy was so embarrassed. I hope it was a good lesson for him and that he found a reputable job collecting garbage rather than distributing it!

Admittedly, he was a great sales person. He was warm and friendly but it took forever. "I just want to show you one more thing" was uttered a thousand times. He did a HUGE area of the floor with the vacuum and shampooer and he also did the bed. It took an hour and a half so it sounds like I'm extremely lucky based on the experience of others. Thankfully he didn't seem to be any kind of a nefarious character like some others have mentioned. He did say he was trying to win a trip.

I was eventually offered all these discounts and told I could get a display model for $999. I politely declined and he was not too pushy. He understood and called his boss to come pick him up. We even talked for a while and drank a couple of beers. I have had friends who own a cleaning company swear by these things. As far as I can tell they're great, but the price tag is insane. I'd rather strip out all the carpet in my house and pay for 1/3 of the place to be floored in wood than buy a $2500 vacuum.

I will start with the vacuum - every time I use it I spend more time pulling the cat hair out of the brushes and sucking it up out of my hands with the nozzle then actually vacuuming. It doesn't suck up into the want, it just gets stuck on the brushes (I have all hard floors). The zipper tool that is supposed to get pet hair off of the furniture, same thing. The pet hair just gets stuck in and in the little holes do not suck anything in it just all gets stuck there so I have to stop several times take it apart, clean all the hair off of it and put it back together. This is for a small area where my cat always lays on the back of the couch. Other than that the vacuum is clunky and heavy.

We used the shampooer on a very low pile carpet in our basement - I thought it worked fine until that room got some water in it and I used my old carpet cleaner to suck the water up. I had to keep emptying the reservoir because there was so many suds from what the Kirby left behind. I did not put any soap or water in the old carpet cleaner so it wasn't from that. The Kirby is the worst vacuum that I have tried. I haven't tried to return it as I figured I am locked into my contract. But, I just would like to warn other people to not let them into your house. Do not buy a Kirby. It does not work as they show it to work.

I believe that Jed ** took advantage of 2 senior citizens, one with a disability. He gave us an old Kirby vacuum and I believe he kept the newer one for himself. The vacuum look at least 10 years old, the brush is stained. I have tried to contact him by the cell number he gave me and he never answers!! What can I do to make people aware of the salesman running a scam selling old Kirby vacuum cleaners for new ones. Do I contact the BBB? Please get back to me.