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We received a postcard in the mail saying if we set up a time for a demonstration for a home cleaning system we would receive one of three free gifts. 1: cutlery set 2: a two day vacation 3: money, so I set up a time with a guy for the demonstration. Dave Morgan showed up at our house at 6pm and didn't leave until 8:30pm. We listened to his discription of the vacuum (home cleaning system) and the demonstration of how much dirt it could suck out of our carpet and in the middle of his speech he said that we would receive 2yrs of carpet cleaning for free, plus 12 extra vacuum bags for free with the purchase. And he would take our dependable Hoover off our hands for a $800 discount on this new vacuum! Well, I will tell you that if he took off $800, that was one expensive vacuum! We signed the contract for 2698.00+tax of 190.21 =2881.21. Then you have to tack on the finace charge of 1031.83 to that total making it 3920.04! Also the loan had a 21% interest rate for 36 months with payments of 108.89, after 8 months of paying on this vacuum we have only paid 423 towards principle and 413 towards interest! Do the math and you will see how much we are going to be spending on this darn thing! On top of the fact that we didn't get our free vacation because Dave never signed the voucher for the trip so it isn't valid, when I called the company and talked to the main guy he promised to mail us two signed vouchers, the vacuum bags we were supposed to get from Dave and didn't. I mentioned the carpet cleaning that was promised us and he said that Dave would never have promised that to someone in the Kansas area because they don't have any aggreement with a cleaning agency here. I asked if he was calling me a liar and he said that Dave would have never promised the carpet cleaning! Also Dave had told us that a store front would be up in Salina soon so that we could get the vacuum fixed if it broke down! That's not happening either!He said Salina is too small build a storefront there so why would Dave say it was happening? So, yea I guess I just make stuff up like free carpet cleanings and store fronts to make the manager of the company feel sorry for me so that they would take this vacuum off my hands! Which by the way I still have the darn thing. Not enjoying it because I get mad everytime i think about how I fell for that stupid scam pitch that Dave threw at me and my husband!Oh yea, he also mentioned that my son would be crawling soon and how could I let him crawl on a carpet that I know is so full of dirt?! I wouldn't have felt like it was a half way decent deal if he hadn't thrown those extras in his sales pitch! Morale of the story, don't set up an appointment with this company, always look companies up on the better business bureau before aggreeing to sign anything, and read every contract like its that last thing your eyes are ever going to see! In my search to retaliate I also found out that if a door to door salesman doesn't have a badge to sell and hasn't made an appointment to enter your house, they can be arrested! So, take this new found info and do with it as you please, I learned a lesson the hard way, I hope I have saved someone from the heartache that I have felt over the whole ordeal.
I purchased from a door to door salesman by the name of Chris Hill. He has full payment and 6 weeks later, I have received nothing but promises. His distribution has been delayed by factory problems with the new model that incorporates a shampoo system per Mr. Hill. This is The Fort Worth, TX. Area.
I do not sell Tristar Vacuums and never have - however you will enjoy the quality that comes with a Tristar vacuum for the next 30 years if you simply keep the machine serviced. ( Change to bag frequently and keep the secondary filter clean.)
Yes you paid alot for the Tristar but you have purchased one of the finest cleaning machines money buys.
As to the salesperson over promising! Well this is how a sales person gets a bad name.
Keep you Tristar serviced and enjoy a clean home for the next 30+ years.
If you follow these simple instructions you will wonder how Tristar is able to sell their product so cheap!
You have made a wise investment, enjoy your clean home.
God Bless
Tim Tario
Lakeland, Florida
Interesting to read the different sales tactics used to market the TriStar vacuum. We also received the telemarketing call from 'Amanda', congratulating us for winning a two day vacation to a resort because we had responded to a short telephone survey at an earlier date (which by the way never happened). Someone would be by to give us our vacation voucher and explain the merits of the TriStar system. Well, we made the mistake of letting the guy in for a '15 minute max' demonstration and after an hour he gave us the sticker shock of $2, 600 purchase price. We would be eligible for a $200 credit for trading in our older vacuum and $100 if we donated some food to the Salvation Army. We politely declined. The salesman then made the proverbial call to his supervisor and loudly explained how nice people we were, blah blah blah, and suddenly he offered a display model out in his vehicle for $1100. Then, he offered us the original new demonstration model at the employee price of $999 (but we had to swear not to tell a soul about that offer). He proceeded to explain that you couldn't get one at that price even on E-Bay. Well, son of a gun, I happened to have my laptop up and running on the table so I said, "Let's check that!". I punched in the TriStar on E-Bay and found the same models available for less than $500. After showing him the website, he explained those models did not have a lifetime warranty and were older models with outdated motors. Anyway, we thanked him and sent him on to find new victims. Buyers beware!
Regan Schmalz
Corona, CA
I bought or shall I say am still paying for the vacuum about 3 years ago. I do not know how much I owe or how much I actually have payed. i dont know who to get a hold of because I was never given a customer service number to call. I pay $89.00 a month with 33% interest. I enjoy the vacuum but not the never ending payments or lack of communication from this so called TRISTAR company.
Mandy Kenworthy
Spokane, WA
They set the appt. So they were interested! The bought the Tri Star so the must of liked it. Sounds to me like they had bad credit, thats why the interest was so high. They like the machine but don't like to pay for it. Why sit there and bad mouth the company if they can't afford to pay for it. And for all those people out there who post negitive comments, WHY DID U SET THE APPOINTMENTS IN THE FIRST PLACE! Idiots
In our case, a routine title check revealed a lien held by Bay Finance for a $2500 vacuum we had never seen. Bay Finance did not have our correct address nor a valid SS# and even sued in the wrong county, after falsifying that we had been served with their complaint. Subsequent investigation revealed that it appears the signature on the contract was forged by their sales agent to perk up her sagging sales history and we never heard from them until we discovered the liens.
The judge had to drop the liens since it was in the wrong county and we had not received notice. Now Bay Finance has listed this alleged debt on our credit reports and refuses to budge even though they do not have a contract with a legitimate signature. As the economy has worsened such egregious abuses have become more obvious
Door to door sales scam?...REALLY PEOPLE ? First of all, i have been in direct sales for 16 years and know all about Tristar, kirby, Filter Queen, Silver King, Patriot, Airstorm, Watermatic, Thermax, Rainbow, etc, etc, etc. Obviously all vacuum cleaner companies. I personally know factory owners, distributors, recruiters, and of course salesmen. For all the bent out of shape consumers out there i have just one word for you...NO. In direct sales all the lead generation sources at our disposal are based on consumers greed (free gift, free carpet ceaning, referral programs, etc.). Did you really think a professional gift deliverer was coming over? I have been witness to people complaining that admit to, when i'm over, that this is not they're first vacuum demonstration. Grow a backbone and learn the word NO so you dont waste any more of our precious time so we can deal with intelligent, open minded people ( whether they buy or not!).
I bought my Tri-Star at a garage sale for $45 which, granted, was a steal. They can be bought on Ebay used for under $300. They're great machines but, seriously, no vacuum cleaner is worth $1, 500 on a payment plan with interest. Secondhand is the way to go in buying vacs. I used to be a vac repairman and will tell you that a refurbished pre-1985 Hoover or Eureka for under $50 is a safer and more reliable bet than anything less than $1, 000 currently being sold new.
I bought a Tri-star about 25 yrs ago and i still have it and it works great! It IS expensive, but obviously worth it. I asked a Hoover Vacuum guy what the average life span of a vacuum cleaner, & he told me 1-2 yrs. So obviously, i got my money's worth. Customer service is great. They always answer the phone. If any parts need replaced, they mail it to you and explain how to change it.
I haven't anything bad to say about this company.