So some time ago Lincoln took a phone call from ACT Distributing. They said they wanted to come shampoo our carpet- for free. (Red flag) He said "You'll have to talk to my wife about that. Call another time." Got him off the hook, but put me in the hot-seat. So every time I saw ACT Distributing on my caller ID I didn't answer. (At this point I didn't realize it was the same call). I got so sick of them calling I finally decided to answer and tell them to leave me alone. Then I found out it was these people Lincoln had talked to and since he hadn't told them to just leave us alone I thought it was something he was on board with. (Note to self: Lincoln is never ever on board with anything being distributed over the phone. He just prefers to put them off, repeatedly.) So I say to these folks, "What is the obligation, what's your angle?" Them: Nothing. It's just the only way we advertise. (Red flag- who advertises by giving away their product? Obviously there is another motive). So I'm thinking I covered my bases. Probably they will come and try to sell me other carpet treatments. They will analyze my carpet and home and tell me I need the allergen reducer (for just $25!) and the pet scrub (just $15 more!) and with 5 kids all of that would be pointless without the stain guard (just an additional $50 and completely necessary!). But I know I'm strong dang it. They can give me their spiel, but in the end they will have cleaned my carpet for free and who will have the last laugh?! So I scheduled for 9am today. Well, last night they call to confirm and tell me it will have to be "closer to 10", (aka 10:30). So I say Ok whatever and hang up. Then the conversation sinks in and I realize they used a company name for the first time. They breezed over it very quickly, but I'm sure now that they said Kirby. The realization sickens me. I say to my husband, "They're going to try to sell me a vacuum." So immediately I start formulating plans to get out of it. Pack up the kids and spend the day at Walmart. Turn off all the lights and hide out in the basement watching movies all day. I finally decide to call the number on my caller ID and just cancel. (They conveniently never gave me a contact #). So I call and it rings and rings and rings and rings and rings. No answer, no machine. So, I think, I'll call in the morning, maybe they're just not in the office. (It's late.) So I start calling at 8 am and get the same thing. This is obviously not a number for receiving calls, just making them. Around ten my phone rings. At this point I'm thinking I'll just not take any calls. Maybe they will not come if they call and don't get an answer. I don't check the ID, but I don't answer. There's a message waiting so I check it. It's them alright. Calling to say it will be "closer to 11" before the guy can get to my place. But if I need to contact them call 555-555-5555. A breakthrough! I call them back immediately to cancel. It rings and rings and goes to an answering machine. Aaargh! Fine! I leave a detailed message about how they can save themselves the trip I'm done don't call me again CANCELLING! About 11 the phone rings. Hmmm, ACT Distributing. Maybe they got my message and want to find out for sure that I don't want them to come. I answer. The guy tells me his guy is at my house and I'm not there.
Me:Obviously he's in the wrong place because I'm here. But it doesn't matter, I called and cancelled this appointment an hour ago.
Annoying Supervisor Guy: You did?
Me: Yes. I was originally scheduled for 9, you changed it 10, then 11 and I don't want to do it now.
Annoying Supervisor Guy: Well what time do you need to leave?
Me: It doesn't matter. I'm done.
ASG: Well my guy drove all the way to Dodgeville from Madison.
Me: If someone had answered the phone when I called or checked the messages even, this wouldn't have happened. (ASG seems baffled to hear they have an answering machine)
ASG agrees to cancel the appointment, it will be easy because he has the Guy on the other line.
I hang up and go to the computer to google Kirby Company. I click on Customer Complaints About Kirby Company. I'm reading about a creepy salesman who wouldn't take no for an answer when suddenly i hear my front door open. Freaking out, i run to the door to find my husband home for lunch. Relief floods me- fleetingly because he says "Your guy's here". What?! There he is at my front door. I forcefully explain to him that I JUST CANCELLED THIS APPOINTMENT when I talked to Annoying Supervisor Guy 5 minutes ago. And I CANCELLED THIS APPOINTMENT an hour ago on the phone.
Guy: You cancelled this appointment?!
Me: AAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaagh! YES!
Guy: I'm gonna slap my supervisor in the face. Sorry.
Me: Hit him once for me! (No I didn't say that because it just occurred to me)
Lincoln is mildly amused that I fell for this whole thing and got myself into this. I blame him. He took the first call ;) !!
So want to see some cute pictures?
Devon helping me make cookies.
I totally do NOT drug my children. She's fresh from a nap and a little grumpy.
Jesse practicing his new skill-Up AND down the stairs!
Renie giving Devon a horsey ride.
5 comments:
We didn't get a call... Just a guy on our doorstep who wanted to clean our carpet for free. My husband, let him in (my house was a mess -unannounced visitor- NEVER GOOD) He did his shpeel and 1,200 dollars later we had a Kirby!!!!!!!!!!!! I'M SERIOUS! We are total suckers. We ate everything he had to say up. We have had it for 3 years, and seriously I LOVE IT! It is a powerful vacuum and transforms into lots of things ie: hand held, carpet shampooer, vacuum. But still I know what you mean about those annoying sales people. THEY do NOT take NOOOOOOO for an answer!
Oh my gosh! Are you serious? I just had A.C.T. Distributing come to my house this last weekend. They came early and the salesperson was extremely polite. My husband and I were suckers also though!!! :( We also bought the Kirby Sentria. We absolutely love it and shampooed our whole house already. I guess some companies have bad days and good days! Seems like on your day they were having a busy day. I also know what you mean with sales people too, but they are just doing their job. I said NO to my husband 6 times before our first date, and if he didn't keep trying, we wouldn't be married for 14 years with 2 kids. Just an outlook with an open mind! Enjoy your spring!
The Kirby man is coming to my house tommorow. They came to the door and offered to do the cleaning demo, and Im in the market for a new vac anyway, so I figured why not let em do a room.
But if it costs $1200 bucks its gonna have to be all that and a bag a chips before I'll bite.
-Wish me luck!
As someone who used to work for ACT Distributing, I got a real kick out of reading this page. Let me tell you that if they were 2 hours late, they were actually EARLY for that appointment! Sometimes we would miss a 1:00 and then "ASG" would call the unsuspecting customer at 6 and completely play dumb about the time delay. But give em a break, like Mary Kapowski said, people are programmed to say "no" to salesman and that's why no respectable salesman would take the first "no" as a finality. Do they cross the line sometimes? Maybe, but Kirby is an amazing product, and even though I don't work there anymore, I feel sorry for anyone who doesn't own a Kirby. They are really missing out! The thing is flippin awesome. As far as the price, quality costs less than cheap in the long run. It does a heck of a job and lasts a lifetime, stop throwing away money on disposable, useless vacuums. The majority of Kirby reps really believe that they're helping people by selling them a Kirby. I did. Anyway, I laughed pretty hard when I read your story because it brought back personal memories for me. I got sent to so many places, only to find out that the appt was canceled. I was mad at the time, but comical in retrospect. We did it because the more resistance we got at first, the easier the sale was in the end. Every salesperson should be immune to rejection. Do you think I went out in my car and cried when someone didn't buy a Kirby? Heck no, I just forgot about it and moved to the next demo. If you really are NOT the least bit interested in the "spiel," you should just politely tell them, and then if they persist you can get angry. But what we found is that most people are at least a LITTLE bit curious about Kirby. Anyway, now that I'm out of the company I can see both sides of the issue and wanted to shed a little light on the salesman's perspective. I can totally agree with a lot of the post though, as far as being extremely late to appointments - that happened all the time and was a joke. What other business does that? It's because they schedule WAY more appointments than they have personel for. But I have to end by saying that despite the flaws of ACT, Kirby is a truly fantastic machine and I would never own any other kind of vacuum.
So my scoop on the Kirby bull Crap. I needed a job and thought i would give it a try so i go to get this job for A.C.T. well it is a contracted company and full of B.S. you do 30+ hours of training and orientation and don't get paid they say the latest you will be out is like 7 7:30 you go to work at like 11 in the morning and yea you don't get home till like midnight without seeing a dollar, what kind of job is that. If you don't meet the contract quota you don't even get paid they talk about commission i knew a dude that sold some and than was told he would be payed and never got it.
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