JMG Distributors

Review: High pressure sales tactics.

We had a Kirby representative come to our door offering a "free" carpet shampoo for one room or a hardwood floor buffing. I let the young man (who showed no photo identification at any point linking him to the Kirby brand) know I wouldn't be buying a vacuum. He said he would receive college credits for each visit he booked and I would be helping him out. I agreed to the carpet cleaning to help him with his credits and he said he would be "right back" with his equipment. Ten minutes later a red unmarked van pulls up and a different gentleman gets out of the van with equipment and comes to the door. He also had no photo ID (besides the Kirby equipment). He goes over the features of the Kirby machine, vacuums the carpet and then vacuums two beds to show us the dust mite debris that was "hiding" in our mattresses. He then started the sales pitch. I indicated SEVERAL times that we would not be buying the machine. The price changed a few times during the conversation and I still continued to reiterate that we would not be buying the machine. I indicated that I liked the cleaning capacity, but did not want to spend $2,000 on a Kirby. The representative continued to try and sell the machine, also pulling my children into the mix asking me if I wanted my children to sleep in beds where the dust mites resided. The doorbell rang during this timeframe and it was yet another Kirby sales rep. Never before have I had Kirby come to my door. We have been at our residence for 10 years. The rep told me he was going to talk my husband into getting this machine for me, AFTER I told him it was not something we were going to move forward with. During this time another rep (the "manager") came in to assist so I had 2 Kirby sales people in my home. My husband came home at the tail end of the THREE hours this representative was in our home. My husband felt ambushed and at that point indicated that he would think about it and if we changed our minds we would call him. The rep told us that this was a one time offer to buy a Kirby at a discounted rate (and help him win a scholarship) and if left and we didn't take the offer we were out of luck and would have to spend $3,000/full price down the road if we wanted to purchase a machine. He suggested we buy the machine to get the discounted rate and if we changed our minds we could return it within 72 hours. My husband was very irritated that we were being pressured this way and left the room and the rep finally packed up and left. Desired Settlement: None requested.