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SpenceAlmighty t1_iqqgla5 wrote

Never, Ever, Ever let a Kirby Salesperson in your house. Solid product, awful boiler-room sales practices.

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carl84 t1_iqqwtp1 wrote

I briefly got a job selling them as a teenager, following a very vague job interview. As soon as I realised the job entailed hunkering down in an old lady's house and spending hours persuading her to spend fifteen hundred quid on a vacuum cleaner I noped out

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BeatBoxxEternal t1_iqrw9oo wrote

I used to do door to door for charities. Completely different experience. Our boss, however, was a former Kirby salesman. We were all 18 -20 starry eyed idealists just trying to do good for the world, but when Sam was out on turf, you could fucking tell his past. He was like a shark out there, we would be knocking on 100 doors plus in a day running a numbers game, he would knock on like, 4. He really tried to push us into that style of fundraising and I pushed back because that's how you get people turning the idea of charitable giving from a positive into a negative.

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Andyb1000 t1_iqsuy99 wrote

In the UK that type of people involved in aggressive charity fundraising have their own name, “Chuggers” or “Charity Muggers”.

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BeatBoxxEternal t1_iqt4xri wrote

Really depends on what outfit you get at the door. There were quite a few name brand charities that used commission as an incentive (when I started there was no base pay all though that's changed.) The pay was pitiful unless you broke a target then the pay was livable but barely. It was like MLM in how you'd have to get people under you then you'd get commission on their sign-ups. They don't teach the nice style of fundraising in the commission groups. You get to the door, go through your schpiel, then immediately put pen to paper, turn your head down to look at said paper, then ask "what's your first name." In my experience, people will give you their first name, last name, address, phone number, everything. Moment you ask for the credit card is where people will say yes or no. Does this tactic translate to donations? Yes, probably. But it feels bad, and wastes a lot of time generally. I always opted to just excitedly ask them if they wanted to help out. If they said no I said thanks quickly and bounced. Hit more doors and found the people who actually did.

The other outfit (good wage) I worked for with the Kirby salesmen didn't really have proper training. Was really nice to see what people came up with at the doors. I heard of donors and workers breaking down at the door in tears sometimes, was a lot more spiritual and felt good. The organization I worked for was more ruthless to the workers, though. There were still targets, but certainly not "make rent or die." People were more content on sticking around until they were fired, where as on commission they would just leave after the first day.

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theskymoves t1_iqvhv1h wrote

I remember one coming to our house as my parents have an old old one. The salesman said with a straight face how their filters only let oxygen through and block everything else. Even at 13 I knew this was bullshit. Anything to make the sale!

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w3stvirginia t1_iqriqo7 wrote

True. Apparently you can but then online as well now though.

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BagelPoutine t1_iqpvjf3 wrote

Wait.. so Kirby from Nintendo games was named after a vacuum?

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alexplex86 t1_iqqigld wrote

One would think so, seeing this post. But the Nintendo character is actually named after an American lawyer, John Kirby, who represented Nintendo in court against Universal Studios.

That a vaccum cleaner, of all things, is also named Kirby seems more like a curious coincidence.

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phirebird t1_iqqjh5f wrote

John either sucked at his job and this was the most passive aggressive troll on Nintendo's part, or he was just adorably pudgy.

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alexplex86 t1_iqqlfth wrote

He might have ate the other lawyers and gained their powers.

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kissemintheear t1_iqqr05q wrote

Kirby Vacuums are named for their inventor Jim Kirby, who also invented the spin cycle washing machine.

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laxyak26 t1_iqp6oyq wrote

Built to out last us all!

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2dirty4indy t1_iqp9cu0 wrote

Is that a BIFL craftsman radial arm saw in the back as well that I see?

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bostoncommon902 t1_iqpk710 wrote

It’s only BIFL because they are known to dramatically shorten the operator’s lifespan.

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scarabic t1_iqru19i wrote

They also have a reputation of lasting forever because they sit in so many garages forever without being touched.

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roadglider505 t1_iqpkndb wrote

Try vacuuming a penny off the floor and see what it does to the fan blades.

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benefit_of_mrkite t1_iqpkjla wrote

I have used this this model vacuum many times (only the green model). It weights a ton - I remember vacuuming stairs and carrying it up stairs many times.

They also tend to not pick things up nearly as much as modern vacuums.

Yes it is made of metal and will last forever and the bag is thick material.

They have a much larger head (no idea if that is what it’s called) that picks up more area at once.

I’d be interested to hear from others.

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RhoOfFeh t1_iqqtkvl wrote

It's built like a tank, and weighs about as much.

We had one from my grandparents, who probably didn't know how to say 'no' to traveling salesmen. My wife and I took it in the '90s and used it for a while, but it's a gigantic pain so we got rid of the thing.

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pneumaticTuba t1_iqq84vc wrote

Weirdly reminds me of the Brave Little Toaster....

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PlexFD t1_iqr4d5j wrote

The characters name was Kirby :)

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corenee89 t1_iqs2z17 wrote

My dad has a Kirby that’s about 35 years old he still uses too! Sent him this photo and he had to take his out and send me a video of him using his as a response lol

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vipertruck99 t1_iqr9x6n wrote

I bought one years ago. Knew about them..phoning back to the office etc. kept the guy on doorstep..told him the lowest price I had heard anyone getting one for -50. Let him phone his office on my doorstep..they tried to tell me price was nonsense. Long story short they agreed my price…I let the guy in for a short demonstration..paid by card. End of story. To be fair I mainly use it for cleaning the cars now and maybe spring cleaning. But it is true..they are beyond industrial quality and do a lot of stuff.

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dzakich t1_iqsvmkv wrote

It's great but heavy af.

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Yak_Mehoff t1_iqrkcbm wrote

Had the same one when I was a kid, lasted maybe 12 years or so

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tossaroo t1_iqs8d4z wrote

My Mom bought one of these around 1970.

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littlebigmama810 t1_iqt80z4 wrote

Omg. My gramma had this when I was a kid and then gave it to my mom. It was a beast.

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Adventurous-Bag7166 t1_irbcouv wrote

My mom had one of these for 20 years. She had to get rid of it. Where she lives, she couldn't find bags for it anymore (pre-internet). She actually cried when my father took it to the dump.

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dKhanBloo t1_irsvno9 wrote

My mother has the same one - still running great. Which is why I bought the G3 in the 1995 and it runs like a champ.

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