An unusual request for folks living in Cheshire County

[David]

I am attempting to become a paid demonstrator for of all things a high end Kirby vacuum cleaning 'system'.  The company I am working for wants me to prove I am comfortable going into folks' house to demonstrate the system. 

My request: I need 5 demonstrations to be hired.  Essentually I go into your house, and show you the system.  I promise I will never pressure you into buying anything, and there will be no charge for anything (unless of course you actually want the system!).  And you do not have to pretend to be even the least bit interested in the system, other than watch the demo.  It shouldn't take more than 2 hours.  I will clean an entire room in your house, so feel free to direct me to the most walked on or otherwise dirty area. 

If you are concerned about letting some guy into your house, I will be happy to give you my cell number.  Also, I am a frequent contributer to this forum, and am known by close to a dozen folks here.  I have not asked anyone personally for references, so I cannot list their names, but if anyone feels comfortable publically stating anything, please do here.   

I need to do this anytime friday afternoon, anytime saturday, and sunday.  Please send me a personal message, or call my cell at 603-717-2801. 

Again you do not have to buy anything or even pretend to be interested. 
Thank you.
David Krouse

[error]

You're going to vacuum my bedroom for free? COOL!

[David]

Actually sometime sunday I should be there, already talked to Alec.  Tentatively around 11 am, I can't do the whole house though.   

[Insurgent]

One of my friends in the Concord area recently posted this blog entry of his experiences with Kirby. Take it with a grain of salt, but consider it before jumping in to this job headlong! 

===================

"So I stumbled over this company called "L&R Merchandising" last week while I was looking for a job.  They called me in for an interview, and told me that I would be displaying Kirby Vacuum systems for $550 a week. I asked them If I had to find my own appointments or go door to door . . . all that horse-shit that companies like Cutco and Quickstar are into.
  They hired me, showed us the vacuum--uh---"home care system" . . . which is a nice machine, and I'd hope it would be at $1699--That's One-thousand six-hundred ninety-nine dollars. They assured me the payment plan would make it affordable. I was also to understand that they "had their eye on me" as a manager.
  I tried to sell a machine to my parents who could not afford it, and told me, but when I got on the phone with my manager, she tried to do the "hard sell" which made me feel like a spineless chode. During training, one must page their manager using the client's phone at least three times.

Here are some of their mottos:

"We are positive!"
"There are two things that sell: dirt and excitement."
"The program doesn't fail, people fail"

  The "program" consists of getting names, calling the homes of these names, setting up appointments, going to the appoint ment to show all the settings of the vacuum while scaring the people with how much dirt their cheap vacuums can't clean, scaring them with dustmite horror-stories, and don't forget to pull a hundred pads every visit. Pads are filters used to collect dirt instead of a bag that OSHA would not let us use. The reason why we had to stay so long at peoples house pulling pad after pad was because the company wanted customers to see how much dirt was coming up . . . which pissed me and several customers off especially when I later learned that an appointment doesn't count if I didn't pull 100 pads. I worked 45 hours in three days (possibly 60 in five--my head was so fucked from not sleeping I couldn't keep track) and was expecting one of the shittiest pay-checks of $30 I've ever received.
  My car shit the bed, and I couldn't afford the gas anyway so I agreed to get on the van (which pays even less!). I thought the van was going to take us to various appointments that were pre-set, but (get this!) they had me get out in the fifteen below windchill to walk from house to house trying to get people to invite us in. I was witness to two knock-ins. Neither homeowner could afford the vacuum, and we our superiors did the hard-sell until I thought I was going to be sick to my stomache.
  The Kirby people are so self-delusional, they don't think that people get pissed off when we demonstrate a vacuum for them for two to three hours (they are often under the impression that it will only take a few minutes!) and they think anyone can afford a Kirby at $200 down, the homeowner's original vacuum, and $50 a month for 30 months. Kirby employees are literally brainwashed . . . it happened to me until the day in the van.
  I went to inquire as to how much money was coming to me from the company. $30 . . . a "bonus" for the six appointments I did over the weekend. I told them they were a scam, that they were dishonest to me, and that I was going to tell their new students what to expect. They offered me $100 after that which is still an insult after working up to sixty or more hours that week so I accuse Rick of bribing me. He dialed 9-1-1, and suggested that I leave before the police arrived in two minutes . . . so I made my way to the "class-room" where I proceded to tell the students that they were being scammed. I was in the middle of drawing a cute little diagram of just how screwed they were getting when I tall man who reminded me of Mr. Show (but way less cool) grabbed me by the wrist, and forced me out of the room.
"Ah, now we see the violence inherent in the system," I said, "Help, I'm bein' repressed!"
"Go be a loser somewhere else," the Mr. Show wannabe said.
  I got away before the cops got there.
  Let this be a warning to anyone who thinks it's a good idea to sell Kirby vacuums."

[Kat Kanning]

I had a miserable experience with them trying to sell me a vacuum here in Keene.

[toowm]

I had a bad experience with them several years ago. There have been several news shows on their sales practices.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirby_Company#Complaints

[David]

I quit them.  Thanks for the heads up.  Caveat Emptor on my part.  It seemed to good to be true. 

[Spencer]

I quit them.  Thanks for the heads up.  Caveat Emptor on my part.  It seemed to good to be true. 

I bet that you got some good stories out of the experience, though.

There's a reason that Kirby doesn't put its name in the ads in the employment section (it is always something like, "home improvement equipment").

"I wish I could quit you, Kirby" -- reminds me of that horrible movie with no real plot

[dalebert]

"I wish I could quit you, Kirby" -- reminds me of that horrible movie with no real plot

I liked that movie, but I guess I'm biassed. 

[Spencer]

If we're talking about movies with gay themes, then I've got to say that there are much better movies out there.  One of my favorites is Jeffrey with Steven Weber and Patrick Stewart (in an unforgettable role).

My dislike for the movie was just that it was boring, not that it centered around a gay relationship (I enjoy Will & Grace as much as the next guy).

[KBCraig]

Kirby sucks.

[Kat Kanning]

Kirby sucks.

That was a good movie.

[Insurgent]

I quit them.  Thanks for the heads up.  Caveat Emptor on my part.  It seemed to good to be true. 

Sounds like you made a wise choice