Complaint Review: Kirby - Toledo Ohio

There may be a good chance I worked with/under you, Ed. That was in December of 07, however. As a dealer, I was misled as to what the actual job was, up to and including the first day of actual "work". I had nothing better to do at the time, and could use something to do, so I played along. After the initial training, I directly asked if there was any canvassing involved. I was told no. This, however, was completely false. You do nothing BUT canvass. The dishonesty was apparent from the first morning, when the owner of Trebor lecture his dealers and crew leaders for not providing a convincing excuse to get into people's homes. It was an extremely awkward feeling, standing there at the front door of some stranger's home, having the crew leader try to lie to the resident to get you inside and then try to flip around what they said and turn it into a sales pitch. Standing there, knowing that, is a great blow to any form of enthusiasm. I often just told the people up from that the dealer was lying, and that I was there to sell them a product. I asked their permission to go ahead and give them a demonstration of the product, before I pulled a single thing out of the box. If they declined, I'd wait an appropriate amount of time, call the crew leader and make some excuse on their behalf that I needed to leave. Someone who can afford such an outrageously price machine that does a singular task well knows beforehand whether or not they may be interested in it. I knew they didn't want it, and I wasn't going to put either of us into an increasingly uncomfortable position by imposing myself. The worst part, however, is when I'd have to call the boss. I'd have to play a game, then, where I'd pretend to give an offer, repeat what he said verbatim, and feed him back their response. As he grew increasingly pushy, it became uncomfortable because they were being pressured by the boss, and I was the one taking the flak for it, because they did. not. want. it. At all. The minimum demo quota for the guaranteed check was absurd. The chances of actually reaching that number was next to zero. 40 in one week, which is 8 a day (aaahahahahahaha). The reality of this job is as follows: Sitting in a cramped minivan sitting 5 (or even 6) people to the middle and front seats from 10 in the morning til roughly 10 at night, on a good day. Going from door to door, feeling terrible about the awkward, unbelievable lies the crew leaders would think up, and being pressured, and in turn being forced to pressure, people who could not rationally (though there's really no rationalization for the initial price offered besides pure greed) afford the product. John Toledo, OH US

what kind of X manager are you? That's obviously a lie. Anyone whos worked for kirby for 2 days can tell you it blows every other vacuum out of the water. An average vacuum for 200 or 300 dollars works just as well? Bull**** its one thing to talk about a dealers sales practicies, but it's another thing to insult the machine. I've been selling kirby's for almost a year and I feel d**n proud to sell a machine like this, it saves people thousands of dollars. To the guy who wrote this rep off report, go to hell

and I must say that the Kirby experience is what you make of it! I was recrited in a cattlecall in 1983 by a man namedBob Ogles. I will never ever forget that man or the things he taught me. First, NEVER SELL A LITTLE OLD LADY! Treat her well, drink weak tea and eat stalecookies. Make her carpet look "NEW" if it takes all day, then SELL HER KIDS!!! My career started in the office of the Dinosaur, Bob McKenzie, out of Westland, Mi. I only went on set appointments and never walked into a cold door. My big close was, "So, do you want one or not?" 4 out of 5 did! We were the ones that would clean up the mess left in the wake of Van Crews. Van Crews = Bad thing! Kirby stood by THIS Rep through thick and thin! They were there when I fell apart with my father's death and made sure my needs were met when I was not able to do that myself. If not for Bob McKenzie and the Kirby Opportunity, I would certainly not be where I am. I would not have the understanding of people that I do and I would not have the abilities neccesary for the life I currently live I have since worked in many offices in this great nation of ours. Some were good. Some sucked! As far as Dist. checking out at $200? That's LUDICROUS! $500 if they have been around since dirt, maybe! I, personally, love the business and I'm sure it will "suck me back in", lol! I can never seem to stay retired for long. I miss making the world a cleaner place, one house at a time. I miss seeing little ones get away from breathing treatments just because I took the time to educate their folks! Just the girl next door

First off, I empathize with both consumers and former dealers who have been taken advantage of. This is a sign of the times, being that morality isn't what it once was in past decades. To say that this is the fault of the Kirby company is not quite the case. I have been in the employ of 2 offices totalling 4 1/2 years, and have myself had a few bad things happen, from my manager taking an appointment from me, which resulted in a sale to having a distributor re-neg on promised bonuses. Here is my argument FOR Kirby. In society, we have good folks, and not-so-good folks. Sales accociates are often payed on a commission-based scale, the higher up you are, the lower your cost. This allows the dealer, crew chief and distributor to profit. The average life of the Kirby is over thirty years. The average vacuum, made of plastic, lasts 2-5 years, depending on frequency of use. Many households that vacuum 1-3 times per day replace their vacuums 1-2 times a YEAR. Combined with its longetivity, the Kirby is a complete system, protecting furnishings and mattresses, as well as carpeting. I myself have NEVER needed to resort to high pressure sales, and do not condone it, or teach these tactics to my new dealers. Unfortunately, there are people that don't share my view, but this is not to say that the product is not worth the cost. In a market where planned obsolescence reigns supreme, Kirby continues to produce quality, reliability and performance, with 90 years of experience and counting. Having compared with virtually everything under the sun via in-home demonstrations, I have yet to find an equal in terms of cleaning ability.

Kirby is the greatedt business in the Universe! I am a kirby employee and have been for almost one year! I find the majority of the people who are NOT successful in this business have negative attitudes, love to live lives filled with drama and misery and are just all in all LAZY! I was taught this business by an awesome distributor out of Jackson, Michigan. (R.D.) and now work in Westland, Michigan. (B.M.) The kirby business offers the greatest opportunity - the chance to own your own business. I am well on my way! Kirby is the BEST home care system available, and infact is under priced if you ask me. Look at the amount that is being charged for rainbows and filter queens. I thank GOD each and every day for the opportunity that KIRBY has offered me!