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kirby sentria disappointment

by katrina
(bridewater,ct)

oh where do I even begin? Well lets see. I had purchused a kirby sentria vacume about 2 weeks ago and let me assure you that it has been nothing but an absolute nightmare between the actual product and its customer service, which they claim they thrive on. But where most businesses say the customer is always right this business says the total opposite.

About a year ago i had my first visit by the kirby company (a family member recommened me) the rep who came out was a very strange man. He was eating the soap from the rug shampooer and continuously kept trying to shake my hand over and over again telling me that if i bought a vacume from him he would win a vacation to florida. I didn't quite see how that would benefit me in anyway and besides the fact he was in my house for four hours after i repeatedly told him i wasn't interested in the product.

About 2 weeks ago i received a phone call from the kirby company asking if they could come out for another visit to clean my couch and carpets. I told them i wasn't interested in buying their product but they kept pushing and said that by law they were only allowed to stay for 60- 90 minutes at the most and i would get a free carpet cleaning so i figured what the hell its christmas time and i had family coming over why not clean it up. When the rep showed up around 4:30 he was very nice and one of the stores managers so i wont say anything bad about that but as he continued with his demo it dragged into dinner time so i began to cook and offered him some food out of kindness and he also helped himself to about 5 beers.

Finally around 8:30 after i felt i was pressured into buying the product he finally left. It's almost like they dont leave until you agree to buy one. I had used the vac about 2 days later and was very disappointed in how it worked. The smell was horrible, the hose kept falling off and getting clogged, it was extremely hard to push and the belt kept falling off. I called the company and told them these problems and said all i wanted was my money back ( i had 3 days to make a return) i was told that they thrive on their costumer service and wanted me to be happy with their product so they would bring out a brand new vac because the one i was sold was a demo used by numerous reps at other peoples houses and had scratches on it (why was i sold a used vac for $1,000)? and that i would receive and additional 3 days to my return if i was unhappy.

The next day the same rep came out to my home and rebelted the vac and showed me that it worked. He told me if i wasn't happy with it again to call and i would be taken care of. Well when i tried to use it the next day to shampoo my carpets the whole thing fell apart and blew foam all over and wouldn't pick any of it up. I tried to reconnect the belt for about 45 mins and watched the demo video but had no luck. This all happened on christmas eve about an hour before guests came over.

So all of my rugs and rooms were soaked and filled with foam. I lost it at that point and was fed up with this product and all of its broken promises that i called the seller again and they basically told me that there was nothing they could do about it but bring me another one, which at this point that was the last thing i wanted. I said that i was given an additional 3 days for my return but the manager then claimed that was never said but indeed it was. I called the main 1-800 telephone # and spoke to a women and she basically told me the same thing that i wasent getting my money back and there was nothing they could do about it and i could try to do whatever i needed to do to get it back but it wouldnt happen.

I was never offered a new vac when the rep came out the second time second but they claimed it was in the car afterwards. So in conclusion i have a $1,000 kirby vacume sitting in the coner of my house unusable because every time i try to use it i have to spend hours trying to put it back together and arguing with customer service.

I would on the other hand recommend the bagless windtunnel which has never let me down and only costs about $200 and i use everyday while my hard earned money goes to waste with the kirby. I also own my own cleaning business which was an even bigger disappointment to this whole situation and i would never recommend this product to any of my customers,family ,friends or anyone in general.

thank you, sincerely a very disappointed and upset kirby customer.

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kirby sentria disappointment

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Jun 05, 2010
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Here is some help.
by: Anonymous

If a Windtunnel is what you are comfortable with, sell your Kirby on Ebay or Craigslist.

But, it sounds like you can't figure out how to use the attachments. (The vacuum height must be all the way up to change them.) First, when you detach the shampoo attachment or the vacuum attachment the red lines should always be touching while they are off, hook the two fingers on the bottom ledge first, push the attachment against the base, then flip the big latch. After it is securely on, rotate the handle until the Green arrows are touching. Lower the height. While shampooing, reverse is the main direction, not forward, that sucks the foam in better. There is a dial on the soap dispenser to adjust the amount of the foam, keep the height low so the tray spreads the foam out in reverse, go slowly and empty the tray occasionally, if you see wet spots forming on the carpeting, it's time. Once you have let the foam sit, turn off the dispenser and slowly go over the carpet to clean up the foam, (sometimes the foam piles up on the tray front, use a towel, you had the dial too far open). It takes a day to dry, don't clean your carpet an hour before your guests arrive. ***If your belt is off, hold it in place with the green arrows touching, holding the belt rotate the handle to the red position (it might be tough to do), that should attach the belt correctly to the attachment. When the attachments are off, they should always be in the red-red position).*** I hope this helps.
Apr 09, 2010
Rating
starstar 		Sentria
by: Judy

I purchased a Kirby Sentra in 2006. The first problem I noticed after a few times of using it to vacuum my house was that my throat started burning and my nose was plugging up every time I vacuumed. I found that the "vacuum cleaner" smell coming out of the unit almost made it hard for me to breathe. I called the company who sold it to me and all they told me was to try changing the bag. That did help until I had used it a couple of times and found the same thing happening again. If I change the bag every time I vacuum maybe I wouldn't have any problems with my allergies, but this is a very expensive solution to an unacceptable problem. If you are vacuuming to clean your house, it seems very self defeating that you should at the same time be spewing allergens all over your house. I was lead by the salesman to believe that such a thing as this would never happen with a Kirby. I guess I should have listened to my intuition that it was nothing but sales hype. But it had enough features I really liked that I decided to purchase it anyway, but I regret now that I did. I have an electronic air cleaner on my furnace and I have had to resort to turning on the blower when I vacuum to be able to use it without getting a sore throat and plugged nose.

I love the idea of being able to plug in a vacuum cleaner and go and not have a hose to trip over as I did in the canister I had to haul around before. I have never had an upright vacuum without a bag, so I don't know how they would work, but I would not recommend a Kirby to anyone until they do away with the bag.

Although the vacuum cleaner does have some features I love like the self propulsion, overall, for anyone who deals with environmental allergies like I do, I would DEFINITELY NOT RECOMMEND IT!
Mar 29, 2010
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		whatever..paid tooo much
by: Anonymous

just bought a kirby ourselves..it does vacume wonderfully but the shampoor is a joke.its nothing more than lavender smelling carpet deoderizer..and does not come off youre carpet once its put on..yuk..
Mar 07, 2010
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		sentria
by: Anonymous

Honestly, I've taught my five year old on how the to use the Kirby Sentria, I have one and havent had one problem. Sounds to me like your not that bright. Its a vacuum, shampooer, canister, it replaces the broom and dust pan, and is a portable, along with a lot of other things. Anyway...I'd rather take a few minutes to switch it from one to the other, then buy 3 different vacuum or ever have Stanely Steemer or a carpet cleaning comapny come over and ruin my carpet. Sounds to me like you werent paying attention when the they were demo ing it for you. Watch the dvd. I havent had any problems at all with mine. I don't mean to be rude, but what I like about it is that it's very easy, to use and doesn't take any effort, I'm 50 yrs old. Kirby has been around for 96 years and they're in 78 countries. I'm guessing there doing something right.
Jan 23, 2010
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Sentria Ripoff
by: Keith and Kelli

You are most assuredly right when you say this vacuum is worthless. We have had ours for a little over 3 months and have had nothing but problems. Their customer service does nothing and they lie when they say there is a lifetime warranty. I say class action lawsuit for fraudulent practices. They have our money and we have nothing. DO NOT BUY ONE OF THESE!!!!! Their customer service is not helpful....traded our generation 4 ( which is great by the way) for this new piece of crap the Sentria. Whatever you do do not purchase this vacuum. We had it not even 1 month and the fan broke. They tell you full lifetime warranty....nope, we paid another 42.00 for that. Now 2 months go by and the belt brakes. In 15 years of owning the generation 4 I think we bought a new belt twice for it. Not to mention the vacuum bags themselves are cheaper. We called Kirby, told them to keep our down payment and our 3 monthly payments all we want is our old vacuum back and they said no way, at this point we just want them to take it back and resale it to the next people they run their line of lies to. They lie about their product and the warranty that goes with it. STAY Away from this!
Jan 13, 2010
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Ethics makes or breaks the experience
by: Samuel D.

From reading all of the stories here, it's clear that what can make or break the ownership experience is the ethics of the company making the sale.

Kirby distances itself from the practices of their individual distributors, and that's a shame. If they policed it better, you'd see far fewer complaints.

Unfortunately, there's not too many ways to know if the guy at your door comes from an ethical distributor or not. But, if they say they'll bring you a new machine later, and not now, while leaving you a demo, that seems to be a common indicator of a lack of ethics.

Our salesman had his demo, and a van full of new machines. His manager traveled with him. I tried to buy his demo, and we made a deal, until his manager offered me a new-in-box unit for $100 more. We made a good deal, with upright people.

They had ALL paperwork in hand. Nothing was left with a "we'll get it to you in a few days". They left the distributor's number, and the salesman's.

A number of Kirby salesmen go on to start their own distributorships. Many bomb out. I suspect the ones with the poorest ethics are those that vanish.

If you see something that makes you question the ethics, step back. It'll save you hassle. It's okay, because somebody good will step in at some point to sell you a machine you'll be happy with, and make a deal you'll like.

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