Ordering food...

For what you pay for a Kirby, you could get a decent shop vac and a Porter Cable Orbital Polisher (with the bonnets), and even a TOL extractor.
 
My parents have a Kirby - I believe they bought it about 2 years ago? Anyway, in my opinion, it didn't work much better than my Hoover WindTunnel (self propelled).



She brought it down to our new house to help clean the construction "residue", and neither of us could see any difference between the Kirby and the H.



I'm sure there's tons of Kirby models available, perhaps some of them are better, but for the considerably higher price it's not worth it.
 
Too funny-today, while I was detailing a customer's pick up, a van pulled up and a really hot girl got out and asked if it was my house, and I told her I was just there to clean the truck. She then went to the door and talked to my customer, then she walked to the van and got in. Two guys got out, carrying a box with a Kirby vacuum in it to the front door, then the van left.



I guess my customer was not too happy with the old bait and switch-using the hot girl to gain access then sending in two guys for the demonstration, but it was obviously not a sale, because the guys were out on the end of the driveway waiting for the van to return in about 5 minutes.



My customer told me there is no way he would pay $1500 for a vacuum cleaner and attachments. IMO, Kirby's are for those who just have to own the most expensive products.
 
Kirby's are great....but c'mon, 2,000 bucks? That was the amount my salesman tried to sell one to me at. He told me he used to be VP of some big company, but because he believed in Kirby's so much, he quit his job to devote his life to selling Kirbys.
 
They are expensive and the older ones are heavy...my step mom had one...not that impressive but it was a '79 model.



I cannot believe that are worth that much...not too me.
 
My brother and sister-in-law have one and they love it. They got it online for like $600 new. My parents (who are the king of garage sales) found us an older one maybe 5 years for under $50. I like it but I don't vacuum as much as the wife does. She likes the Sears canister better.
 
I think the benefit of Kirby's is that they are designed mostly for commercial use so an individual can buy a serious machine for the house (kinda like everyone buying Sub Zero fridges and Viking ranges). Kirby's have lots of metal parts for durability, excellent factory support and good parts availability.



But they never seem to do well in consumer testing. In the Feb 2002 issue of Consumer Reports they test 47 vacuum cleaners. Kenmore, Hoover, Eureka, and Panasonic are at the top. The Kirby *6 upright finished 13th. Cost was $1300. Top Oreck was the XL21-600 finishing 12th and costing $700. The Oreck XL2600 finished 23rd and costs $370.



The #1 Kenmore Progressive w/direct drive costs $380. The #3 Eureka Ultra Smart Vac 4870 costs only $180.



FWIW, I went back to the May 2000 issue for another vacuum test. #1 was the Hoover Windtunnel Ultra. Kirby *6D finished 6th ($1250) and the Oreck XL2600HH finished 12th ($370).
 
This should probably be in the Product review section. I only spotted this post now so apologies for the delay!!



Someone did a Demo of a Kirby at my in-laws house last summer and I was really impressed with it. The only thing that put me off was the price - over here it was about $1800(coverted approx): aka EXTREMELY DAMNED EXPENSIVE!! Anyway, after a bit of fishing around I picked a used one up at about 1 fifth of the new price - still expensive, but it is excellent.



Firstly, although very heavy, it is small - great in the van. Second, the suction is fantastic: First I throw the mats down and run the regular attachment over them (the one for doing carpets) - perfect size for the mats. Switch around to the hose and suck out the car interior: There's an excellent attachment for this - has a spinning horse-hair brush to agitate the carpet and fabric so it deep vacuums everything. Long horse-hair attachment to do the dashboard and vents.



Switch the shampoo attachment over (Its like a paint spray gun, but shoots a very light foam onto the surface). Rub it in to the carpet / upholstery / headlining with a soft brush and it is spotless again. The foam is so light that it dries up in half an hour or less - not bad (although I like to rub it all down with a clean soft cotton cloth to finish off).



After Washing the exterior of the car,you have a powerful blower. Blow the excess water off the car and then dry with the towel. When blowing the dust-bag is taken off so there is no chance of anything coming back out.



For the mobile business, its a real time saver. I've knocked a good half hour off my interior valeting time with this and that makes a huge difference. Doing two or three cars a day, thats an extra hour plus that I have saved. Mobile people out there will know exactly what means.



Conclusion - there is no way I would purchase a new one at that price. I bought the used one from someone who laid hard-wood floors in the house, so didn't need it anymore. Its 3 years old and rusn like new. The attachments are extremely durable. Except for the price this thing gets a huge Thumbs-Up from me. :xyxthumbs



Brian.
 
Has anyone ever gotten hungry enough while doing a long correction job that they ordered food to be delivered? Is this within acceptable behavior at a client's home? Thoughts...opinions?




Sent from my HTC EVO using Tapatalk
 
I usually don't stop to eat during a detail. But hey, why not? You are entitled to have a lunch break.
 
I think the better idea is to bring your own food and drink that way you can eat when you want to eat plus it is likely cheaper than say calling out for a pizza.
 
Perception and appearance is everything.. I think it would be better to bring your own prepared lunch or take a break and go out for lunch rather than having delivery people coming to your clients home. What if for example the client had an expensive exotic and the delivery person had a criminal background and decided to return at a later date.
 
I'm like Barry i.e. I don't stop to eat. Non stop anywhere from 6 to 14 hours. I will stop in between steps and wolf down a banana though.

If I was at a client's home I probably wouldn't want to order food to be delivered for the reasons already stated. I wouldn't want the "appearance" of taking a liberty at a client's house.
 

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