While at Sears (department store) we noticed a Dyson DC23 Animal Canister Vacuum Cleaner. We'd seen Dyson advertised on TV so we decided to see what it was like. The salesperson, Suzette was very helpful showing us how it didn't need a bag or replacement filter. Lovely! It was on sale from $549.00 down to $439.20. That's still pretty expensive for a vacuum cleaner. She said it would be on sale for two days and that Sears would conveniently handle the Dyson 5 year service guarantee. (If you want to buy a vacuum cleaner at the Pearlridge Sears store, go see Suzette. She's great!)We really wanted to buy it but decided to check online to see what critics thought of the machine. Besides you KNOW we can never make up our minds that quickly.
We then stopped at the Base Exchange and discovered that they didn't have the model we wanted, but they had the cheaper model for about $50.00 MORE than Sears had it on sale for. Strange.
Our next stop was Target. They had the model we wanted. It was over $500.00!!! What the heck!
We stopped at a Vacuum Repair place and the very nice fellow said he can't fix Dyson because he can't get the parts. Hmmmm....
We were ready to go back to Sears and just buy the darn thing. However, I really wanted to check online so we went home instead.
Back at home I read the reviews. Apparently tall people complained that the wand was too short. Gee... I'm short... sort of. So no problem.
Checked Best Buy (online) to see if they had a better price...just in case. By golly! They had it on sale for $399.00! (No shipping charge! Just pick it up at the store.) Woo hoo! But what about the guarantee? How would Best Buy handle that?
I called Dyson and asked about their 5 year warranty if we bought their vacuum cleaner from some place other than Sears. What would happen if my machine broke? The very nice lady said Sears handles the guarantee no matter where you buy their machine. If the machine stops working, you call Dyson, get a work number and take your machine into Sears where they are supposed to repair it.
Cool!
Called Best Buy in Aiea. The nice lady said they were all out, but their computer listed two Dysons available. She gave me the number to the Honolulu store.
Called the Honolulu store. Put on hold forever and a day! Finally a woman answered the hold I was put on to say they had NO machines in stock and none back ordered or available for purchase.
What?
Went back online to the Best Buy site and bought the Dyson on sale. It stated that it was ready to be picked up at Best Buy Honolulu now!
What?
I called Best Buy Honolulu back and talked to a rather not so friendly fellow which meant I had to resort to my teacher voice. He said they do have the Dyson ready for pick up. I asked him why the woman I talked to earlier said they didn't have any and wouldn't have any in the near future. He said she probably didn't know that it was in the storeroom (even though it's listed on their computer inventory, mind you).
I looked at the rating for Best Buy Honolulu. They got 1.5 out of 5 stars from 64 customer reviewers and I can see why. The Aiea store got a better rating but they don't have the vacuum cleaner available there.
Wouldn't you think that if a store had such terrible customer service ratings from so many people that they would do something about it? When I mentioned this to my brother, he burst out laughing saying he makes it a point not to go there.
Can you believe we made this decision in ONE DAY? That's a record! Now let's see if we really like it.
POSTSCRIPT 1: We went to Best Buy Honolulu to pick up our Dyson Animal Canister vacuum cleaner. I'm happy to report that the pick up counter person was very friendly and helpful. We brought the cleaner home, quickly assembled it and tried it out on our rather clean looking 4 X 6 feet oriental carpet. We could NOT believe how much dust it picked up!
Needless to say, we are quite happy and satisfied.
POSTSCRIPT 2: Uh oh! I just talked to my friend, Diane last night. She said their school had a Dyson and it broke within a year. Sigh...
Well... thank goodness for the 5 year parts and labor garantee.
Ah-- the good old days when we didn't have knowledge at our finger tips. You would have just paid too much and not known any better.
ReplyDeleteI do the same thing and beat my computer to death before making a purchase.
Sure wish I had your teacher's voice though. Little old lady voice gets no respect.
Hope your Dyson continues to amaze.
I've had mine for 2 1/2 years now with no problem, I love it :)
ReplyDeleteWe've had a couple of Dysons for a number of years and really like them. They seem to have a poor reputation for reliability but ours have been fine.
ReplyDeleteWe had a Dyson for about five years with no problems and loved it. It stopped sucking properly shortly after we moved and I'm afraid that we decided to just go and buy a new one rather than try to get it mended, though it's often not much more expensive to buy a new one. I can't believe how expensive they are in Hawaii though, they're much cheaper here, perhaps because they're British made.
ReplyDeleteI wanted a Dyson but Dick did the due diligence thing and decided against it because of poor customer reviews.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what we have know, except that it is blue and our cleaning lady likes it.
Keep me posted on how it does.
Had to laugh at the comment about your Teacher Voice. Dick has a Teacher Voice, too, which you wouldn't believe from his normal conversation. He can sound downright fierce on the phone, so I get him to make all the "difficult" phone calls.
-- K
Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel
Kay, we had a Dyson and it quit after 1 year and Sears would not take it back to be fixed and we had to take it some where else Dyson told us to. After waiting 3 weeks the person told us that it couldn't be fixed. So much for that vacuum that we spent $628.00 on!! No more Dyson's in our house for sure! I hope you have better luck! We now have a dirt devil and it is great!
ReplyDeleteGood for you getting a new vacuum. With my carpet cleaning obsession, I am always on the lookout for a new sweeper. I've wondered about the Dyson's. Their a tad pricey for me, but if they work and last a long time, it is worth it. Sounds like you got a good deal. Too bad about the salesperson attitude though. Happy sweeping;)
ReplyDeleteStrange looking thing. Enjoy your vacuuming.
ReplyDeleteI hate those new-fangled overpriced vacuum cleaners. I think they are a rip-off. We have only one rug to clean and otherwise broom and swiff around the place.
ReplyDeleteWe bought the absolute cheapest vac we could for the condo in Seattle, which is carpeted. And a dust-buster, which is really a toy but handy for quick clean-ups. What we gave up some bucks for, though, was a steam carpet cleaner that our kids over there can use, too. It is very nice.
How cool to hear from your former student! and now you have a Dyson too - that's living!
ReplyDeleteWarmly, with Aloha from "town"
Comfort Spiral
><}}(°>
><}}(°>
I hate vacuum cleaners! But they are a necessary evil. Fortunately Tom does most of the vacumming now that I have a back problem.
ReplyDeleteI hope your new machine is a great purchase for you.
Great information. Our vacuum cleaner isn't cleaning as well as it used to (it's cheap and not worth fixing) I may be in the market for another one.
ReplyDeleteI prefer vacuums with a disposable bag. It doesn't spread dust in the air when I put it in the trash can.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your purchase.
I hope you have better luck than some of the people in these comments. It´s amazing that you were able to make up your mind so quickly. :) Congrats!
ReplyDeleteAaaack! Do you see why we usually don't make up our minds quickly? This is what happens! Doggone it! It sure looked like a good thing. I'll certainly tell you when and if it dies and what kind of support we get. Aaack!
ReplyDeleteHeavy sigh...
I have had a Dyson for four or five years. It has been a wonderful vacuum. Mine is an upright.
ReplyDeleteStay tuned, I have a vacuum story coming up on my blog very soon.
I am amazed that you made that decision in a day! Wahoo!
ReplyDeleteI have had better luck with Sears than Best Buy.
Myself...I have one of those 8 lb. Orecks!!
I am certain that the school had a whole different kind of workload than your house will, Kay, and you won't be vacuuming up staples, crayons, paperclips, etc.
ReplyDeleteAmoeba says (in pretend shock), "What?! You want reasonable prices and good customer service?!"
that was quite the saga Kay. I think I heard Dyson is supposed to be top of the line.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on making a one-day decision! Also on the vacuum. I just can't see spending that much on a vacuum. Hope it's worth it.
ReplyDeleteNever thought I'd see the day you made a decision in one day. Sounds like it was a whole day's work and I'm exhausted just reading about it. Hope it works well for you.
ReplyDeleteLinda: But Linda, look what happened when we bought too quickly. Sigh... I'm hearing that it breaks down quickly and is too expensive. Arrrgh...
ReplyDeleteHeavy, heavy sigh.
I've had Dyson for five years now -- I love it!
ReplyDeleteKathyA: Phew!
ReplyDeleteWe have a Dyson upright, the yellow canister, and it works very well. My husband uses it. We hauled it back and forth to SF, and it cleaned the tiny apartment's carpet so that it looked like new when we moved out. I think we've had it over 5 years and it's never been to the shop. Having never had a canister vacuum of any kind, I couldn't say how well they work or for how long. In 36 years of marriage, the Dyson is only our third vacuum cleaner. The other two were Hoovers.
ReplyDeleteHi, Kay. Glad to hear you both ended happy and satisfied. The fact that it picked up dust you couldn't even see says a lot too. Happy cleaning to you!
ReplyDeleteNow don't get carried away and go off cleaning all the neighbors' houses. Just kidding!!!
Did you happen to see my vacuum cleaner saga?
ReplyDeletehttp://lettersfromahillfarm.blogspot.com/2010/06/vacuum-update-and-thank-you.html
And this is the post where I asked for recommendations:
http://lettersfromahillfarm.blogspot.com/2010/06/calling-on-my-faithful-readers-for.html
So far, so good on the Electrolux. I am still amazed that I empty that thing five or six times when I vacuum once a week.
wow, all that decision making has helped you gain speed in making decisions. I like sears service too.
ReplyDeleteRather amusing story. I loathe vacuuming, but it is a necessary evil if you can't stand dirt and dust...The best thing about vacuums is that they last for years.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason many Best Buy stores have a bad service reputation. My experience has actually been quite decent at the local one
I bought a second-hand upright Dyson in 2003. It was the first of its kind and I have only just exchanged it for a new one. I am hard on vacuum cleaners and it was brilliant.
ReplyDeleteMy new one came free from Freegle, and it just had a loose wire that my husband fixed. He raved about it because he said that Dyson have made it even easier to look at than the old one. I expect to get at least nine years out of this one.
I wouldn't buy any other kind of vacuum.
Love your account of buying a new vacuum...why are life's choices so difficult? Hope your new machine lasts longer than 1 year...
ReplyDelete