Friday, October 12, 2007

Mr. Kirby

My father once told me, "If you don't want to spend your money, never watch a vacuum demo. They'll get you every time."

I thought that was really weird....until Rob and his little crew showed up at my house.

They told me they would clean my carpet for free if I'd tell my friends and neighbors about them. That didn't seem too unreasonable. I'm stupid. However, in my defense, I had no idea these guys were Kirby people. I thought the were a Stanley Steamer competitor or something.

A guy named Rob - who actually asked me to call him "The Kirby Guy" - vacuumed my carpet with my vacuum, then with his and made me feel like I had really disgusting carpet and made me feel guilty for letting my children touch the very fibers of said carpet. Okay, I'll bite. How much?

$2650.

Cute.

Two hours later I had him talked down to $1200 & 6 month, no-interest financing.

I still didn't buy it. For some reason my theory didn't work this time. I still feel a little yucky when I lay Olivia on my carpet. I'm now in the market for a new vacuum. I'll do my research in my Consumer Reports magazine and figure out which one is best. I guarantee it won't be a $1200 one.

16 comments:

terica said...

My sil was so excited about one she found at a yard sale for 75 bucks under a year old...now I know why she was so darn excited. We love ove our Dyson.

Anonymous said...

We went through the same ordeal less than a year ago, so I can sympathize with you. We bought ours for $1200, but he let us keep our Dyson (rather than doing the trade-in), which we turned around and sold for $300, and in addition to that he brought us another Dyson from his warehouse (completely against Kirby's rules), which we'd planned to sell also, but ended up giving to Neil's cousin as a college graduation present. This guy was desperate to sell us a Kirby! So all in all, we bought ours for $900. Sure, outrageous, but it has a lifetime warranty and works amazingly. I'm glad to know I wasn't the only one they made feel guilty about the condition of my carpet! You can get them on ebay for like $600, but they don't offer the same warranties, which is why we decided to pay a bit more and go through the actual manufacturer.

By the way, I tried the oven potatoes recipe last night - YUMMY!!! Keep those recipes comin'.

Brekke said...

Whatever your consumer reports say - I'm a Dyson fan. You can use your Linens'n Things coupons on them depending on the store. That'll save you 20%.

Anonymous said...

Mindy - You have to get a Dyson. I just got one for my 30th. (I know.. I was thinking jewelry too.. oh well.) But seriously it is AMAZING. My rugs changed colors the first time I used it.

Jon loves it too, although he's a little reckless. He just killed my phone charger with it :(

Miss you guys!
-The SF Micks :)

annie said...

mindy, It's funny, i had almost the exact same experience a couple of months ago. i looked on consumer report and bought the #1 rated Kenmore Progressive at Sears last week. I love it. It's a great vaccuum. (on sale for $250)

tara said...

I can't believe they're still selling those things! With the dyson revolution and all! Good luck in your search, you'll have to tell us what you end up with!

Beeks by the Lake said...

I love my Kirby, get them down to 1100 at least with lots of extras, bags and all. You will not regret it. That HEPA filter is worth it's weight in gold for anyone with allergies. And it does wonders for vacuuming the bed every week - when you have darrk color sheets the dust really shows up. I hate to think what is living in there! I grew up with one, so maybe I am biased.

Beeks by the Lake said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

Ewww - that is gross! What kind of vacuum do you have? I like my Dyson, but I don't think it cleans as well as everyone thinks. Whenever I deep clean my carpets (every few months) I'm always shocked at how dirty the water is. The carpets don't even look dirty, and I can clean them several times, and the water is still very dirty. So I think you should just get a good carpet cleaner and clean until the water is clear.

John said...

As an individual who has also cleaned your carpets, I don't think the problem is your vacuum as much as it is you have to actually use the vacuum every now and then to be effective.

Jodie Haney said...

That is funny! LOL!

Jodie Haney said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jodie Haney said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Brian said...

Rather than letting yourself feel guilty about Livvy being on the carpet, don't feed her, put her down when whe is hungry, and let hr pick up all the little things your useless vacuum didn't get. She won't miss a spot.

Lori said...

I love my Dyson too. If you are going to buy a Dyson just remember to use a Bed, Bath and Beyond 20% off coupon because it saved me $110!!! Great Deal. Good luck in shopping!

Valerie C. said...

After we had the demo, we looked on e-bay and got a new one for like $700. I love the Kirby. It is well worth the money! Since Steven makes the big bucks now you can afford it!

I Want to Hear From You!