Resident sucked in by door-to-door salesman Don’t be sucked in: Jean Williams with a vacuum cleaner given to her by a neighbour after an unpleasant experience with what she said were pushy door-to-door salesmen. Door-to-door vacuum cleaner salespeople are again being accused of heavy-handed sales tactics. Avalon woman Jean Williams says she was sold a Kirby vacuum cleaner for $4212 after watching a demonstration by door-to-door salespeople from LSM NZ Ltd on May 30. Despite telling the salesmen several times she didn't want to buy, they kept up the sales pitch, she says. Ms Williams is on a sickness benefit, and says she feels ashamed she "finally gave in". The contract was for $27 a week over three years, and left her lying awake at night worrying how she could pay. The next day she tried to initiate her legal right to cancel the credit contract within seven days. She says phone calls to LSM's Wellington offices were not answered and answerphone messages were not returned.

A neighbour phoned the Auckland office, and LSM representatives reluctantly agreed to return. The neighbour stuck to an agreement that he would handle the discussion on her behalf, despite the salesmen trying to talk her out of the cancellation.rainbow vacuum cleaner system "I thank the Lord for that, I didn't think I would have ever got the refund," Ms Williams says.vacuum cleaning inside pc LSM NZ Auckland and Wellington sales manager Vijay Kumar rejects claims that the Kirby salesmen used pressure tactics.vacuum cleaner bagless vs. bags which is better Kirby vacuum cleaners are sold for as much as 10 times more than competing models due to the "lifetime" quality, he says.

"We explain it very carefully to the customer. "I said 'Jean, I don't think you can afford it, and we don't want to be any difficulty'. "But she said 'no, I want to have it'. " When asked how he spoke with Miss Williams before she signed the contract, because he is based in Auckland, he said he calls every customer personally to talk the sale through before they sign. Ms Williams did not attempt to contact the Wellington office to cancel the contract, and her story was "totally fabricated", he says. An online search of Kirby vacuum cleaners in New Zealand returns many reports of people unhappy with pushy salesmen, and similar stories. Ms Williams wants others to be aware. "I think it's better if people are warned - especially people living on their own, with no other support to help talk it over before buying." Other neighbours also felt so strongly about what had happened that they pooled their resources. One gave her a used vacuum cleaner they no longer needed, and another reconditioned it for her.

"They came to my rescue," she says. Consumer New Zealand adviser Maggie Edwards says while there have been recent complaints about door-to-door salespeople in Lower Hutt, there had been none about Kirby products recently. Complaints about Kirby sales in the past have not been about the quality of the machine, but rather from family members after they have found out about how much was paid. "We think they are over priced, but of course people don't [realise] until later," she said. She recommends never paying a door-to-door salesperson in cash or with a credit card, as credit contracts are the only way customers can use the seven- day legal cancellation period. "In fact you don't have to talk to them or let them in." "New Zealanders are so polite, but you can say 'no' ."Originally published: May 4th 2011, 9:00 PM EST Kirby is one of the most interesting companies in America. Not always in a good way though. A few facts about the company- Kirby is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, and was founded in 1914.

It is currently owned by Warren Buffett's conglomerate Berkshire-Hathaway and has always sold its vacuum systems door-to-door only. In fact, in-home demonstrations and word-of-mouth are the only way the company advertises at all. The company sells over 500,000 machines a year worldwide, generating revenue of over $1 billion per year. I spent a month and a half at the Huntsville office from the end of February to the middle of April, 2011. The money can be quite good if you are able and willing to convince people to pay $1500+ for a vacuum. They make it easier than it sounds, actually. Like I said, the company is interesting, but not always good interesting. -The vacuum is actually quite good at capturing dust (see the first link at end of this page) - Kirby never advertises on TV or online. - ALL advertising and sales are either face-to-face interaction or occasionally through a phone. - The job often involves a lot of driving around in vans, and a lot of late hours, so Kirby offices can become a tight-knit group of people.

- Kirby circulates inspirational/instructional videos that encourage dealers to create unscientific fears in customers and embarrass customers into buying. - Kirby sells many of its machines through underpaid, new dealers who are told about quick promotion opportunities that often never come up. - All new dealers sign contracts stating they are independent sales representatives, but many Kirby offices tell them they are on a salary system anyway, so they can threaten to fire them if they don't follow that office's Program. As a result, despite "being on a salary", some new dealers earn less than minimum wage when they struggle to sell the vacuums for high-dollar amounts. If your house looks like a mess from these little, white dirt pads [seen here] from a vacuum demonstration, and then a nicely-dressed manager comes in, you will probably feel embarrassed about how your home looks. In order to stop feeling embarrassed, you are much more likely to purchase an expensive vacuum cleaner from the nicely-dressed manager.

I might have stayed longer if it was just about getting customers to pay top dollar because they liked me. The Program though, encourages dealers to use ill-founded fear and embarrassment when necessary to get the sale. If I was good enough at it and needed the money enough, I don't doubt would have stayed. But even after a month and a half, I wasn't great at it, and the $250 a week I was getting wasn't worth putting up with what I disliked about the Program, although working with the people at my office really helped me learn how to be extraverted, and that alone made my time there worthwhile. I actually have a lot of respect for Kirby people. It's a high-stress job, that requires you to constantly learn and adapt to new situations. Also, it's easy to believe the spin that Kirby puts on the health issues and also easy to accept the Program as simply part of the job. What interests me most about the job is the advertising aspect. Most producers outsource advertising to slick PR firms.

These firms make carefully-tested, high-budget ads for TV or online that depict whoever owns the target product or service as cool, and whoever does not own it, as out-of-touch. Kirby, however, uses only face-to-face interaction between customers and employees, who are often new to the job. Every firm in a market system must promote an image of the firm that is usually going to exaggerate the firm's strengths. Image is the only thing in determining the market price of a product, a service, or stock. So does Kirby exaggerate the proof backing its claims of the dangers that dust mites pose to people's health? Does Kirby exaggerate the ease of using the machine and its ability to “protect the value of your couches and chairs”? Yes, but every firm in a market economy exaggerates its image to potential customers. The main difference is that other firms hire advertising agencies to “do the dirty work” of spinning and exaggerating how good its products and services are. Outsourcing the dirty work allows salaried employees to feel good about helping consumers that for whatever reason “have to have” the product or service, while CEOs and shareholders enjoy the bigger share of the profits.