Kirby salesperson worst nightmare

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Hi vacuumsuck213

I was a training manager for Kirby for over 15 years, and I never encountered that problem.


 


To start with, the office staff booked our appointments, and found out what type of machine we were up against, be that tank, canister, or upright, we also knew the brand, and finally, most important, the age of the machine. Part of my job was training the sales reps on how to 'pull' a machine, by using the features the customers machine didn't have. And, yes, this also applied to older model Kirby's. A Classic 111 could easily pull a D-80, D-50, or older. (Wider nozzle, and so on).


 


The demo was set up with husband and wife watching, and it began with the Handi-Butler. There was a reason for this. To whet the husbands interest with power tools. We got him to drill a block of wood, then sand it, and showed how he could use the buffing pad on the flexible shaft to polish his car, before going into the sprayer, telling him it could be used to kill the bugs attacking his rose bushes.


 


By the time we got to using their vacuum cleaner, they were so dazzled that the Electrolux, Hoover, or late model Kirby didn't matter, they wanted, and needed that new Kirby.


 


As I said at the start of this, the key was training, and that began by watching a training demo,  learning the machine, and finally a section I called "knowing your competitor," where they were taught about other brands. This was followed with several practice demos, then I went out with each trainee and they got 'on the job training.' So another brand 'killing' the Kirby, didn't happen, at least not in the various branch offices I worked for.


 


I hope this sheds some light on how the demo was conducted, and the mind set of the sales staff.


 


Alex Taber.


 


 
 
Most Agreed

I my self personaly did demos for kirby for a few weeks and While I agree that with the multiple tools to my knowledge only kirby provides such as the turbo accessories and no tangle cord air pump/worlds smallest vacuum etc. I am also wondering if any machine has out performed in terms and of deep cleaning. For example if one of my first sales a nice old lady had a riccar ran it across the floor several times And 30 pads pulled from the kirby loads of sand come to find out her children draged in over 50 years ago. After that we were trained to bury the out preformed machine but I tell ya It would have been embarrassing to bury the kirby. So to sum it up baking powder test. Do any vacs have the ability to make the kirby pull a clean pad afterwards
 
make the kirby pull a clean pad afterwards

I don't think that really matters. You could vacuum with a Kirby and then go over it with a Dyson and it will still pick up left over dust, because no amount of vacuuming cleans a carpet 100%. Which ever vacuum goes second is always going to pick up something left behind.
 
Kirby's Are Great

And while I was a victim of the poor kid (saying he was putting himself through school) I still have my Kirby as my basement utility vacuum. My Patriot just walks all over my Kirby, but hey, my Patriot does not turn into a shampooer!!
 
Well...

The only thing i could think of that could truly challenge a new Kirby would be an old one I still think it's weird that my heritage II and Legend II moves more air on the hose than my G6 but it's probably due to the motor having the drag from the transmission or the higher filtration outer bag.
 
Never saw it.

I demo'd and sold Kirby back during the Tradition model. There were some machines that were easier to show up, but the Kirby was always the top performer because which ever one goes first loses.

The only homes where the Kirby pulled smaller amounts, not clean pads, were homes that were vacuumed everyday, and had little traffic. I have pulled dirty pads from carpets that were only laid a day before.

I always did very well with the salt/sand test. The Kirby would win this one every time. (I know there will be uproar about that comment). I was demoing a brand new machine with all new parts/belts and an empty bag/dirt meter against a used machine with a worn belt and usually a full bag.

The only true measure is to put in a set, weighted amount of sand and then weigh what is pulled out. The salt/sand test is impressive as is the bed/mattress test.
 
You killed a Kirby

During a Kirby demo, with the Sanitaire going first?
The Kirby demo is to show what "your"machine left behind. Every machine leaves something behind, so for the Kirby to win they only have to pull something and I can show "this is what your machine left". For your machine to win or the Kirby to be killed during this demonstration there will be nothing on the pad when the Kirby finishes.

This, of course, is impossible, because if I pull a clean pad then I am going to put something there for your machine to miss. This is a Kirby demonstration, I am going to win.
 
Hi,

<span style="font-size: medium; font-family: book antiqua,palatino;">Hi, I've never had a problem or worried about another vacuum out performing the Kirby when I did the demo. No matter if it was up against a Dyson, Filter Queen, Tristar, Sebo or another direct air machine like a Senior or Sanitaire. I'd just keep pulling the pads till there was nothing left to see. It was also the high quality and versatility as well as  the high performance that helped differentiate between the Kirby and the vacuum you was up against.</span>


 


<span style="font-size: medium; font-family: book antiqua,palatino;">James
smiley-smile.gif
</span>


 
 
I suppose another question might be, against which vacuums does the Kirby wind up looking the most impressive? Patterns of use matter, too, and that's harder to tell, but I imagine you'd pull up a lot more fuzz behind a Dyson DC01 used weekly, than behind (say) a Sebo D4 used daily.
 
which vacuums does the Kirby wind up looking the most impressive?

From personal experience, there is one high end vacuum that consistently walked out of the house with me. Remember these were the days before Dyson so it isn't that one. The name itself I will not give for fear of a lynching, and I do not want to take away from an excellent machine in itself. Most of the blame fell with the user not properly maintaining the machine and believing that as long as the machine was running the bag/suction was still ok.

If a machine is used frequently and correctly they are capable of keeping the carpets and rugs in good shape. A machine that is used is far more beneficial than one that stays in the closet. If Granny uses her Oreck everyday, she is getting far more benefit that if she uses her Kirby, Rainbow, Dyson once a month.
 
Hi vacuumssuck213

Some Kirby branch offices did 'bury' the customers old machine, none of the offices I worked for did it, but they did hold a 'smash a vacuum' day every few months. The sales staff and so on would meet in the parking lot, and take a sledge hammer to the Electrolux, Eureka, Hoover, or other machine on the 'execution block.' Being a man who loves ALL vacuum cleaners, I couldn't condone this, and because it was held on a Saturday afternoon, I never attended. I also made it clear to my manager that I didn't want to know the details at the Monday morning sales meetings, so it was never brought up.


 


As for the side by side test of their  Electrolux (or and other brand) and our Kirby, was to do 50 strokes (25 front, 25 back) then make 2 passes with the Kirby. The idea was to show that we could pull more dirt. What the customer didn't know was that it also works in reverse. That's right, if the Kirby did the 50 strokes first, that old Electrolux would pull more dirt. So that's one thing we didn't tell our trainees. Bottom line, if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with b.s.!


 


But by far, the best trick was the mattress test. That's too disgusting to go into here, but it worked, and I closed more sales right then and there, then with any other part of my demo.


 


Demoing Kirby's was a magic act, a bit of theater, with show and tell added for good measure. If you like your product, tell them the truth (okay we'd bend it a little) and offer them a great deal, you usually made a sale.
 
I would say you could "kill" a vacuum if you show the owner enough dirt. Rainbow people will tell you that dirty water sells Rainbow's. I saw a demo of a Rainbow on Youtube once that showed the salesman vacuuming with the owner's machine 50 times. He then went over the exact same spot and vacuumed 10 times with the Rainbow and pulled out a black cloth with a pile of dirt on it. The owner exclaimed "oh my gosh!" She was instantly convinced her old vacuum was not cleaning as good. I don't regard the Kirby as universally the "best." I hate uprights and no upright can do all the things a canister can do as well as a canister. There is always something inferior about uprights. Even Kirby's attachments don't impress me nor does the hose. I will say that a direct air machine like Kirby is very good at removing dirt from a carpet. I'm not convinced it's because it's direct air though. I rather think it has more to do with the manual height adjustment and the weight of the machine pushing the nozzle deeper. They are hard to beat on carpeting for sure.
 
I enjoy my canister cleaners, getting around tight places,tools, ect. However if I am going to deep clean, like before a shampooing out comes the dirty air upright. That much air flow and deep agitation NONE of the powerhead canisters I have tried can match.Just my own experience of course. I have some dark blue commercial carpet in the garage, near the kitty litter box, wow can you tell what beats the carpet and what doesn't.
 
The newest Rainbow should give a good go, did the Rainbow demo vs. new Kirby about a month ago. The Rainbow killed the Kirby with a new bag at that on a demo standpoint. 50 strokes back and forth on the carpet with the Kirby, did 3 inches of that same carpet, 1/2 inch of dirt on the test cloth. Granted that is how it is supposed to work, but 1/2 inch was might impressive for 3 inches of a single stroke. I suppose if you did a very good cleaning with any quality vacuum the demo is going to be a lot less impressive.
 
When I sold the Ultimate G, we were killed by a green, plastic, bagless Dirt Devil Vision... Seriously, the Kirby got nothing in the home that was regularly cleaned with that machine and the Dirt Devil wouldn't quit pulling stuff up... I was horrified and shocked all at the same time!
 
man114:

1/2 half inch of dirt on a 3 inch section of carpet - I find very hard to believe.

You said the Kirby had a new bag, but you forgot to mention it wasn't plugged in!
 
I think the worst nightmarte for any vacuum salesman-not just Kirbys-is the client you just demoed the vacuum to doesn't have the credit to buy it-honestly-the customer wants it badly- You the salesman knows he wants it-but no agency will lend him the money to buy-so sadly you have to pack the machine up-this happened a few times while selling TriStars.
I have both a Patriot and a Miracle Mate-'fraid my Kirbys kill them everytime I try on my carpets-BUT-the Patriot or MM kills the Kirby when you use them as hand tool or bare floor tool canisters over the Kirby's "canister".-and no worries with the MM or Patriot if you pick up that coin,pebble,or nail with the hose.I can make use of BOTH types of machines.
 
No lie on the half an inch. Mostly dog hair. The Kirby was plugged in, and I'd never have believed it if I didn't see it. The carpet was a dense pile manufactured wool area rug in a dining room. The carpet hadn't been vacuumed in a bit, the lady admitted she had been too busy to move the table. She owned two Kirby's (Ultimate G and Sentria) and said she knew how the demo worked since she had two Kirby demos done before. So she put a fresh bag in using the Ultimate G and proceeded to do the end of the carpet that stuck out, and even lifted the carpet and vacuumed underneath it. She thought it was pretty clean so my wife who was doing the demo (as I mentioned before my wife and I sell them part time as a team because my wife believes it helps he asthma, and despite what I believe is an insane cost having paid $20 at a thrift store for my E series she insists it is worth full price) for her put the test cloth on and literally as soon as the powerhead was turned on, she pulled it back three inches and you could hear that it was clogged, and really there was half an inch of dirt, albeit mostly dog hair. She then of course wanted to vacuum the whole rug, which looked fantastic when she was done, the mud on the bottom of the rainbow pan was literally 1/4 inch thick. It was quite impressive, even owning two Rainbows and maybe 5 Kirby's myself I was quite surprised. I imagine if you had a newer Rainbow the Kirby demo will be much less effective.

Now we have done test demos at home for practice using Kirby's, Fantoms and even Rainbow vs. Rainbow, you can still pull test cloths even on two identical machines, a lot of that is what sells the buyer but no one ever reverses the demo in a home and does it.

The moral here is the better the vacuum you use the less likely the Kirby demo will be impressive.
 
Additionally the Kirby was in excellent condition and it did not sound like it was bogging down. If anything it sounded like the brush was too aggressive like it was really pounding the carpet.
 
Those who claim to have killed a Kirby

Are missing the scope and intent of the thread, or at least the literal way I am reading it.
Lets go back and read the thread heading together.
"Kirby salesperson worst nightmare"
I second that the worst nightmare is doing a two hour demo and then they don't have the funds or ability to purchase.

Now the text of the OP:
"So imagine your a Kirby sales Rep you go into a demo and there vacuum is just killing the Kirby what vacuum is that ?? "

Now my contention is for Man114 and the others.
In a KIRBY demonstration the homeowner's present machine is the machine that goes first. (remember the one that goes first loses). The Kirby then goes after the homeowner has made 30-50 passes, and in some cases you may help them out and do another 25 or so. Then the KIRBY rep will make One pass forward and one backward and show the dirt that was remaining. Kirby won the KIRBY demo. In order for the Kirby to be Killed as I posted previously would be if they pulled an absolutely clean pad, meaning the previous machine left nothing behind. This is not and rarely is the case the Kirby will always win in a KIRBY demonstration.

Not detracting from Kirby, or any other machine out there, it is simple physics and vacuum efficiency. A carpet can hold 1 1/2 time is own weight in dirt. No vacuum is 100% effective, some better than others, but none are 100% there is always going to be something left behind.

Many who are operating a machine, be it Kirby or otherwise do not use the machine to it's greatest efficiency. I have seen Kirby users adjust their machines in many manors other than the correct one where you go one step after the motor changes tone. I have seen some, like my sister, that just adjusts it all the way down "So it will really deep clean." In effect shutting off the suction completely. OR Too high, in which case they are just wasting electricity.
 
not killing but impaling

What I am hearing is what everyone says Kirby's are smoke and mirrors pure and simple the use of basic physics is what makes this possible that Kirby is the most wonderful machine so one could argue my worlds largest retail bought bissel is just as efficient lets not go into specifics on the title after so many passes what vacuum made the Kirby pull its unusual lightly dusted pad.
 
Actually that is what I said in my post, the last vac to pull wins because dirt is always left behind. The Rainbow demo is the same and it always wins. If the vac it is up against isn't maintained it makes matters worse. You could do the test with a Kirby and pull a cloth with the Fantom. My contention was what would make the Kirby seem less impressive in the demo, that would be a higher end competitor, I used Rainbow as an example, but you can substitute any number of other high end vacuums.
 
Hi,

<span style="font-size: large; font-family: book antiqua,palatino;">Hi, I Strongly disagree the the Kirby is "smoke and mirrors" It's more than capable of deep cleaning a carpet <span style="text-decoration: underline; font-size: x-large;">better and quicker</span> than most vacs out there and with out damaging the carpets. If you look at the CRI (Carpet and Rug institute) to which Kirby got a Gold level approval.</span>

<span style="font-size: large; font-family: book antiqua,palatino;">To say a Kirby's no better than most of the crap out there is stupid.</span>

<span style="font-size: large; font-family: book antiqua,palatino;">Yes I accept the Kirby demo is biased towards the Kirby but so is every demo whether it's by a Rainbow,Filter queen,Tristar dealer or every TV ad/infomercial for regular off the shelf brand. (Dyson,Hoover, Bissell etc.</span>)

<span style="font-size: large; font-family: book antiqua,palatino;">When doing a demo there was <span style="font-size: x-large;">no vac</span> we worried about coming across. Whether or not the machine was high end or low ends made no real difference. What brand another vac was generally made little difference to what showed up on the pads.</span>


<span style="font-size: large; font-family: book antiqua,palatino;">We would also keep pulling the pads till nothing appeared which depending how dirty the carpet was in the first place would depend on how may pads this took.
</span>




<span style="font-size: large; font-family: book antiqua,palatino;">Regular daily vacuuming keeps the carpet cleaner than running a vac once a week. Getting the dirt before it gets ingrained in the carpet. Which most vacs leave behind once it's worked it's way to the bottom of the pile. Saying that I've seen some other machine struggle with surface litter!</span>


<span style="font-size: large; font-family: book antiqua,palatino;"> At least Kirby deep cleans. It's not a "miracle machine" it's just a well engineered machine the deep cleans quicker and better than most and doing this efficiently a possible. "Who goes last wins" is true but it doesn't mean a Kirby won't deep clean better than most.
</span>


 


<span style="font-size: large; font-family: book antiqua,palatino;">James
smiley-smile.gif
</span>
 
<span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;">Has anyone tried to compare the new Kirby Sentria vs older Kirby (Classic, Sanitronic, 516 etc)</span>


<span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;"> </span>


<span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;">I compared my Classic 1CR & TriStar CXL with VGII; & I filled the TriStar bag 100% full.  My guess is could that be because my Classic 1CR has a generic paper bag conversion?  My Classic came with the Eureka F & G style conversion bag</span>


<span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;"> </span>


<span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;">When a Kirby sales rep showed the new Sentria, my old Classic 1CR outperformed the new Sentria despite the 1CR being equipped with generic conversion bag & 4-row brush</span>

[this post was last edited: 1/9/2014-22:55]
 

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