We have a vacuum cleaner salesman in the living room.

[trof]

He's the son of a friend.
Called Friday.
Gonna do this part-time for some extra cash.
"Not gonna try and sell you anything, I promise. I just need to practice my demonstration a few times before I get started. I'd appreciate your critique, etc. Mom suggested I call you guys."

Oh jeez.
What are you gonna say?
"Sure, Jim. When?"
"How about Saturday at 10?"
"That'll be fine."

And now he's in there with Miz t. and it sure sounds like he's 'selling' to me.
Trouble is, this is the Rainbow vac and it goes for $1900 ('Special Price' for us).

I'm sure it's a real nifty vac, but $1900 is a deal breaker for me.
He's been here a couple of hours.
The things we do for friends.

[skygazer]

1. I didn't know vacuum cleaner salesmen still existed

Do people still sell Fuller brushes, I wonder? And yes, the things we do for friends. :rofl:

[Wcross]

2. Poor kid is being used.

My brother did that, I forgot the brand (I think it was Kirby or something). He was on straight commission sold two of them (one to my parents, one to my grandparents). After he ran out of people who loved him he was done.
These companies use the kids to make sales to their families and then move on to new kids.

[marzipanni]

5. I was going to tell trof it's a good thing they're giving him some practice.

My brother tried selling Kirbys, too, a long time ago. He did the demonstration for my mom, showing us the filter that trapped a little pile of fine dust from the mattress, quite impressive.
One day, shortly after that, he came home embarrassed but also amused by a botched rug cleaning demonstration he had performed where he caused the Kirby to regurgitate dirty water on the carpet!
I just googled "Kirby vacuum cleaner demonstrations"- the complaints are pretty funny. trof should tell his friend's son to read it so he knows what not to do! :rofl:
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/in_home/kirby_demo.html

[Roon]

10. Just like the mortgage business

You go to work for them. Refi for all of your friends and family. Then when you run out, they just move on to fresh people. It really sucks! My exlover really got burned doing this. Poor kid! :(

[matcom]

11. ummmm not quite

your ex wasn't a very good broker apparently.

[Roon]

15. He was an excellent broker

he ran out of contacts.

[matcom]

20. didn't he know how to ask for referral business?

:shrug:

[trof]

12. So THAT'S how it works. His mom IS buying one.

I felt sorry for him, but just do not have the heart to tell him I think the market for $1900 vacs is VERY limited.

[NightWatcher]

3. Yikes, That sucks

sorry for the pun

[matcom]

4. ask him if he has a set of encyclopedia's in his trunk too!

:rofl:

[trof]

19. I actually did that. For a day and a half.

I was a LOT younger.
Took me that long to catch on.

[wildhorses]

6. rainbows are good vacs but $1900.00--sheesh

:wow:

[matcom]

7. Tell him you can pick one up on eBay for less than half (Link)

http://cgi.ebay.com/RAINBOW-E-SERIES-E-2-E2-VACUUM-CLEANER-SUPER-NICE-NR_W0QQitemZ220099574794QQihZ012QQcategoryZ43520QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[Little Wing]

8. There's no vacuum cleaner in the world worth 1900

well, maybe Salma Hayek's lips, but that's probably the one time price

[Roon]

9. That's a tough way to make a living

I could never do it. I would rather work at Mcdonalds where at least I know I will get my hourly pay.

[Jamastiene]

13. I use those types of situations for one purpose:

While they are demonstrating, I ask, "...but how will it clean rooms that really need cleaning?"

Free Cleaning service for a day, if you are subtle about it, that is. :evilgrin:

[Nikia]

14. I think that our Kirby was quite a bit less expensive

But it was still really expensive. I would say that it was a waste of money, except that it works well which was not true for our $100 vacuum cleaner that we had picked up at Sears the year before.
I am not sure what the difference between Kirby and Rainbow vacuum cleaners are and if there are other good vacuum cleaners out there that are actually inexpensive.

[NMDemDist2]

16. i absolutely LOVE my Rainbow vacuum, BUT I bought it used

for $600 14 years ago and it still runs like a champ in spite of my abusing it for years

[havocmom]

17. Son of a friend? Damn. With all the pet food problem, door to door salesmen may come in handy

I have a BIG dog :evilgrin:

[Maddy McCall]

18. LMAO!

:rofl:

[Blue Diadem]

21. My kid fell for selling them too..'cept they were kirby

and yes we bought one from him for some ridiculous "negotiated" special parent price and no he didn't get his trip they promised him if he sold two that weekend.

I agree with the poster up thread..they use the kids to sell to those who love them and want to help them out. The kids don't make much at all. I think my son was in it for a month or so, long enough to find another job after repeatedly not getting what he was told he'd get from his area manager.

[crispini]

22. That's ridiculous.

A Dyson will only set you back $500 or so. Cheap in comparison! Did you buy it?

[trof]

24. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! His mom called later.

She thanked us VERY MUCH for letting him do his spiel.
The 'kid' is in his mid-to-late 30s with a 12 year old little girl.
I was really hoping for something better for him than schlepping vacuum cleaners door-to-door.

[Kali]

23. Just GIVE him $100 - make everyone's life easier.

Poor kid.