Vacuum
Written By: Tom on March 12, 2002
488 Comments
Tonight we bought a vacuum from a door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman! It was his 3rd sale ever! The sales-manager (“the guy on the phone”) thought that it was his first. We got a really good deal. I’m such a softie for door-to-door people.
We bought a TriStar EXL. I won’t say how much it cost, but trust me I checked on Ebay and we stole this one.
a good friend of mine has spent 6 weeks working for this company. to my knowledge he has only made 500.00. he has been promised to make loads of money by his trainer who doesn’t have a car, a home, a liscence, and dresses like a hillbilly hobo, never has any money to his name, and is 35 years old. i have been getting the vibe that this is a scam from the beginning. How am i suppose to believe all this guys promises to my friend when the proof ain’t in the pudding. i have tried my damndest to convince him to run before he wastes any more time in this, but its like he has been brain washed into a cult of vacuum salesmen. when i told him what i have read on this sight he just says that the people who are complaining didn’t put in enough time. That’s there explanation of him not making any money yet. but he spends 10 hours a day messing with this company in some way or another. isnt that working pretty damn hard. How can I make him see the light before it’s too late?
Amber, It takes a Doctor 8 year’s to get a degree, and it takes a Lawyer 6. What makes you think it can only take 6 weeks to be a pro salesman making six figure income?
Amber, It takes a Doctor 8 year’s to get a degree, and it takes a Lawyer 6. What makes you think it can only take 6 weeks to be a pro salesman making six figure income?
Amber – I worked for a TriStar distributer for 3 months. I was promoted from Rep, to Field Manager, to Assistant Office Manager. In that three months, averaging 12 hours a day, I made a total of about $1000 – and I was the second-ranked salesman in the office (the first was not only first in our office, but first in our state). I quit a decent job to sell TriStar sweepers and lost my house and car – and while some might say that it was because my boss was crooked (he embezzled from the company, etc), what I’ve seen and heard from other people has convinced me that this is the rule and not the exception.
Yes, it’s a scam, especially if he’s in Indiana, Illinois, or Michigan. The only way to succeed in the business is to be crooked yourself – you’ll either scam or be scammed.
* * * * * *
The sweeper is a good machine, though. It’s worth every bit of the $350 that TriStar sells it to the distributors for. Yes, that extra $1700ish is all markup. Every bit of it. And the salesman is lucky to get a couple hundred of it – the rest goes to the people above him in the food chain/pyramid/totem pole.
First of all tyler, i am not expecting him to be making six figures, but in six weeks putting in at least 50 hours a week would be 300 hours. $500.00 divided by 300 hours equals out to $1.66 an hour. Who can survive or even put gas in your car for a 1.66 an hour. and i was giving it a generous 50 hours a week. most likely more than that. Slave labor!!!!!!!!!
I have asked for some proof of someone making money. Have you noticed how high the turn over rate is? Doesn’t that tell you something. It doesn’t take a degree or a genious to sell these things or a genious to figure out that this is a bull shit scam to make money for “the man” and none of the people that actually do work and put in the hours make any money.
yep and your friend at 300 hours @ $8.50 an hour could of made $2,550….LOL And making $8.50 an hour is pretty easy to do. Hell for my wife that is $12,600 bucks…yep go to school and get a degree. Even when I was working that was $4,350 bucks…LOL This is why I am back in school to get my law degree.
VACUUM SALESMEN HAVE A BETTER REPUTATION THAN LAWYERS DO!
Buyers, sellers of cleaning systems say they were sucked in
By MICHAEL McBRIDE
mmcbride(at)thestarpress.com
After scratching off a winning combination, Nick Young thought he had won a prize.
However, after a lengthy home demonstration of a TriStar cleaning system that cost nearly $2,000 new, the rural Portland man learned buyers of demonstration models did not qualify for the free prize.
Still, Young said he paid $1,000 for a used machine after discussing the special deal with Indianapolis regional distributor Greg Reece over the telephone — with the understanding that he had three days to change his mind.
Young said he did change his mind, but the company had already cashed his check. He carted the machine back to the Muncie office of ProStar, then a local TriStar distributor. Young said he was still waiting to see a refund check in the mail.
‘The law should issue warrants for their arrests, put them away and keep them from stealing other people’s money,” Young said. ‘I’ve got no money, no time, and no resources to hire an attorney.
‘I only make $9 an hour before deductions, and I’m working as much overtime as I can to try and make up for the thousand dollars.”
Officials responsible for sales of TriStar cleaning systems in Indianapolis, Muncie and all of Indiana say the company will respond to any complaint.
‘It is unfortunate when it does occur,” said Carl Gasaway, regional director of sales for an area including all of Indiana. ‘We get bad apples, but we straighten it out when we find out about it.”
ProStar, now Air Tech, had been the Muncie distributor — and the name at an Indianapolis office — for the nationwide TriStar brand, based in Dallas.
Dallas referred all questions to Gasaway. Gasaway, in Merrillville, said the company answers all inquiries from Better Business Bureaus and from State Attorney Generals’ offices.
‘TriStar? We’ve known about them for years,” said Linda Carmody, President and CEO of the Central Indiana Better Business Bureau. ‘[The bureau] has nothing negative to say about the vacuum cleaner. We felt it was a decent product. We questioned the sales techniques.”
The bureau began an undercover investigation last spring of an Indianapolis office called Blue Skies. Days later, Carmody said company employees began answering phones with ProStar — also a name used in the Muncie office until recently.
During the first call to a number listed on a winning scratch-off card, the company three times assured the BBB employee that she would receive her prize the night of a home demonstration.
The sales person was at the house more than two hours, Carmody said, even though the investigator repeatedly mentioned that she had children to attend to.
She did not receive her prize, nor did she get one at an Indianapolis office on a subsequent date.
‘She gave up,” Carmody said.
The encounter made the bureau’s hot topics list for May.
So far this year, the bureau had fielded more than 250 inquiries about two Indianapolis stores, including six unanswered complaints about a store on Allisonville Road.
‘I’m not saying that there was not a sour apple there before — he got too big, and he could not control every angle,” said Greg Reece, a regional distributor for TriStar cleaning systems in Muncie and in Indianapolis. ‘You can have a change of ownership in any business.”
The prior owner of the Muncie franchise is now selling machines in Illinois, Reece said. Reece said he is still looking for the former owner of the Indianapolis store, whom he said still owes him $19,000. Reece also said that he typically had his attorney with him when talking to a reporter.
‘It’s his business. He sells the product, and the only way we are related is because I am the regional supervisor,” Reece said. ‘My job is to make sure there are no complaints.
‘We’ve been in the Muncie-Anderson area for 15 years; we average 50 sales a month up there, and I have to keep somebody in place.”
TJ Glover has headed up the Muncie store, in Lyndenbrook Plaza for the past few years. Glover previously worked for the company in Fort Wayne.
Reece scoffed at mention of the BBB’s investigation, stressing that it was a private organization supported by dues’ paying members.
‘I’ve never been invited to join, and I won’t be,” he said.
‘What people consider high-pressure [sales], who knows?” Reece added. ‘Depends on the person.”
The attorney general’s office also has fielded complaints, according to deputy press secretary Summer Burgin. A few came from former employees who claimed they had not been paid; and a few came from people, like Young, who claimed to have been cheated.
‘I called the attorney general. They said get a lawyer,” Young said. ‘I called the Better Business Bureau. They file it away and do nothing. I’d like to put a stop to this thievery.”
Contact business reporter Michael McBride at 213-5826.
Companies use cards as hook to gain access to customers
Amanda Hudson’s fledgling marketing career spun off in a direction she had not anticipated this fall, days after the Winchester resident answered an employment ad in The Star Press.
According to Hudson, she did not learn until the last day of a four-day training class that she would be selling TriStar healthy home care systems in peoples’ homes, rather than training others to sell the machines, which — like vacuum cleaners — suck up dirt.
Hudson, a single mom, said paychecks began to bounce, affecting her credit rating, shutting down her checking account and raising questions from officials responsible for child-support payments.
She quit working for ProStar, then the Muncie distributor of the TriStar brand, based in Dallas.
Curious after she quit, Hudson and her brothers scratched off all of the scratch-off choices on leftover Bingo game cards she and other employees had been leaving in potential customers’ doors. Call a telephone number on the cards — like on Draw Poker cards the company also distributes — and people who qualify are told they can receive their prize by agreeing to an in-home demonstration.
‘Everybody is a winner; every card is the same,” Hudson said. ‘They all had the exact same numbers in the exact same order.”
A Ball State University professor said marketers of items that consumers might not ordinarily buy need a hook to get inside homes, and time to show the product’s benefits. He called the in-home come-ons stealth marketing.
‘Even though we are in an economic recovery, unemployment remains relatively high,” said James Lowry, a former chairman of the Miller College of Business’s Marketing Department. ‘Because of that, more individuals might be willing to try this kind of job.”
Another former employee, Marc Withers, claimed that he had had to file a police report before getting paid.
‘They don’t tell you that it is a sales job until the third day of training,” the Eaton man said. ‘Then we were told to stay in homes for as long as it takes to make the sale.
‘I did not enjoy lying to people, and I just want the public to know how the company operates.”
Both Withers and Hudson said training for handling phone call inquiries and conducting home visits centered around committal questions. On the phone, employees assess ‘prize winners’” financial situations before committing to an in-home visit.
Vacuum cleaners are never mentioned, Hudson said.
‘First they tell you they are not going to try to sell you anything, then they try to sell you a vacuum cleaner,” Withers said.
He sold one machine; Hudson sold several.
‘How could I have been so naive,” she said. ‘People tell me that I am intelligent, but I wasn’t intelligent working for them.”
Reece and his wife drove a Corvette and BMW automobiles to Hudson’s training session, Hudson said, impressing the trainees.
‘Looking back, it was actually pretty sickening,” she said.
If she could find a used TriStar vacuum cleaner on eBay for $450, however, Hudson said she would buy it.
If you are a winner:
Sellers of TriStar brand cleaning systems try to gain access to homes by convincing potential customers that they have won something.
Be aware that the come-on is a sales pitch.
Know the conditions — but if there are no conditions listed — be firm, and ask for the prize.
Central Indiana Better Business Bureau
The machine:
The http://www.TriStarclean.com Web site describes the cleaning system.
Unlike canisters, it does not pull air through a bag. The powerful TriStar motor directs the incoming air flow over the bag; impurities are caught in the bag because of a process called cyclonic action.
In Dallas: (800)854-6185. In Indiana: (888)756-6300. In Muncie: 254-9238.
Getting on the list
‘Since the state’s no-call list [for telemarketers] began, lots of companies have become creative about finding ways to keep prospects’ lists up,” said Rod Russell, public information officer for the Indiana State Police. ‘Getting folks to respond to gimmicks, claim free prizes, or register for free drawings is a technique companies use to bypass that list.
‘You’re saying to them, `Hey, it’s OK to call.’ Remember to use good judgment, because nothing is for free.”
The previous post is a copy of a Star Press (Muncie, Indiana) news article that appeared November 30, 2003 (about a month before we shut down.) T. J. Glover was my direct boss, and he stole money from the company, including me. To read it with formatting, click the link in my name below, where it appears on my Yahoo! group.
I am a tristar consultant and I own my self, I paid the same price for mine that people I sell too pay. I sold mine to my husband. Are you trying to say i was stealing from myself? It is proven their is NO other machine out their that purifies while it cleans. The tri star is NOT A VACUUM! The word vacuum means void of air, the tri-star uses AIR FLOW to clean, it is a room medicator, air purifier, aromatizer and cleans you home. It is a FACT that vacuums do more indoor polluting than cleaning and the tri star takes away indoor pollution. If you can put a price on your family’s health than shame on you!!!!!!!!!!!
Wow. I answered an ad in my local newspaper that said, “Local distribution company needs 25 people by (date) up to $22 \hour. General Labour, Customer Service, Setup \ Display, Warehouse, Management. Call xxx-xxxx” I call, get an interview, go to interview next day in a building with no sign. Just a marker scribbled note on the door, “Apply upstairs for work”. The interviewer scribbles on my resume and says to be home between 5 and 6pm. He tells me I am suitable for Management. Great! No problem. He calls and tells me I absolutely got the job as a manager in training for “air care products”. I show up for training the next day in a room full of chairs and 20 year olds who still live at home. Something is fishy. There is a Tri-Star poster on the wall. What is Tri-Star I wonder? The dude next to me has scribbled on his sheet that he is a manager too, selling “air purification systems”. What? So, Mr. Big Mouth enters the room and says he is a trainer and that we can be gazillionaires if we put our mind to it. Then another gazillionaire comes in to show off the ‘Air Care Product’…its a flippin vacuum cleaner. I sat there and laughed to myself. Then they tell us the pay structure, $1800 a month guaranteed, $300 per vacuum commission with bonuses and incentives. I am going to be a gazillionaire!! Wait a minute. Selling vacuums in other peoples homes for $2698 each? In a blue collar town? Right…the room is full of gullible teenagers. Got it. The clowns pump the room with dollar signs and the kids are stoked, they can finally pimp out a lincoln and move out of mommies house. The trainer and the gazillionaire showcase the Tristar (which I have to admit is pretty slick) and pump more dollar signs into the room with talk of Miami and Vegas and $$. I see through this like a clear lingerie. A telemarketer lies to an unsuspecting cold-called person about a great free gift. But the word FREE is gold to most, they accept. The newbies embarass themselves by selling a product they know nothing about to people who dont want a vacuum. But, lies of filth and SIDS and dust mites and high-pressure selling tactics yield a sale, MAYBE. But wait! 1:4 sell themselves and that means that if you get 72 appointments a month thats like $5000 a month!! No wonder the kids are having a coronary. I am skeptical and enjoyed my time, it was fun to watch the naive. I will continue my search for a FT job that actually has a contract and a paycheck. Phooey on TriStar…what a joke.
Amber, i’d like to apologize for what i said. You’re right, I’ve been at tri-star for 3 months now and I too have only made $1000. I was a suckered kid, Im only 18. and I was suckered in. At first I was all over tristar, i thought it was the best thing in the world, But now after 3 months taking a step back and looking at the ammount of time and effort I put in for the reward of $1000? Not worth It. I’m sorry for what I said, i was just really into tristar at the time but after seeing all the lies I have been given and lies I have been forced to tell people, I can’t do this anymore. Sorry.
Amber, i’d like to apologize for what i said. You’re right, I’ve been at tri-star for 3 months now and I too have only made $1000. I was a suckered kid, Im only 18. and I was suckered in. At first I was all over tristar, i thought it was the best thing in the world, But now after 3 months taking a step back and looking at the ammount of time and effort I put in for the reward of $1000? Not worth It. I’m sorry for what I said, i was just really into tristar at the time but after seeing all the lies I have been given and lies I have been forced to tell people, I can’t do this anymore. Sorry.
Amber, i’d like to apologize for what i said. You’re right, I’ve been at tri-star for 3 months now and I too have only made $1000. I was a suckered kid, Im only 18. and I was suckered in. At first I was all over tristar, i thought it was the best thing in the world, But now after 3 months taking a step back and looking at the ammount of time and effort I put in for the reward of $1000? Not worth It. I’m sorry for what I said, i was just really into tristar at the time but after seeing all the lies I have been given and lies I have been forced to tell people, I can’t do this anymore. Sorry.
After reading most of this page, I have realized just how many untalented sales people that are out there. First of all the Tristar is hands down the best cleaning machine (not a vacuum jackass) on the market. It stands in a class all its own. Anyone who can not sell a Tristar and calls themselves a sales man is a jackass. Not only can I sell a Tristar any day of the week I can sleep well at night knowing that the customer purchased a product that will last longer than most purchases they will make in their lifetime, and the most important part is that it works! It actually gets the dirt out of the house. So as far as feeling deceived by certain hiring practices, sales pratices, the fact of the matter is that you can’t sell shit anyhow! The bottom line is that you will get an hourly job and complain about the pay over there too. You are a weak complainer with no staying power. I’ll bet that you have a problem wherever you go to work. The training you get at Tristar would cost you more than a college education if it were for sale. For those of you who have quit the business, you are just that, a quitter. I have seen a lot of people like you you come and go in various industries, always complaining and never amounting to anything.
Tyler, you are a LOSER. I can’t beleive that you expect anyone to listen to your appologies. Look, nobody respects you, you say one thing and then another. Make up your mind! If you can’t hang in a real direct sales job then admit to yourself that you do not have what it takes and move on. As far as trying to appologize for your comments, nobody cares! Nobody is listening to your war stories. If you are right and everybody else is wrong then why does the product sell and the people love it? I’ll bet you can’t land a job that pays more than $8 an hour.
Amber, just because you do not have what it takes to succeed in business, why try and ruin it for other people? One thing is for sure is that you will never be a business owner nor a motivational speaker! I will be willing to bet that neither you, nor your mental twin, Tyler ever bothered to pick up a sales book from the library to try and learn something like a true pro would do. Instead you write back and forth to each other spreading negative energy. Has it made your life any better? I Did’nt think so! Perhaps you should take this advice, so you might be able to eek out a meager existance for yourselves.
I can’t believe in this day and age that people not only pay thousands of dollars for a vacuum cleaner but their dumb enough to believe…actually believe, its a “good deal”. Come on people it’s a freakin vacuum cleaner. It’s not rocket science.computers don’t even cost that much any more and that technology in lightyears ahead of a vacumm cleaner.If you can read grab an old copy of popular science and see just what goes into the construction of a vacuum cleaning machine. Pretty simply stuff.The technology has been around way to long to warrant those kinds of prices.If you can read then just take one apart and see for yourself how few parts there are and how simple the vacuum making process is. It’s idiots out there that buy these things who have jacked up the price of a truck to $40,000.00. If you’d stop being suckers and paying those ridiculess prices then the price would finally come down within reason. Hell, if I’m gonna drop 2 grand for a vacuum cleaner then it literaly better be capable of sucking paint off my house or a volkswagon thru a culvert. Now I know I’m gonna take heat for this and I totally understand because deep down inside you all know how right I am but you have to justify your poor decisions making abilities but firing a volly back at me… makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
if you’re looking for a small portable convenience vacuum cleaner, it would be a good idea to keep looking because you sure haven’t found it! (Model # 08240) granted, this small vacuum does make noise like a vacuum, and is shaped rather like one would …
I need to find replacement bags!!!!!!
I have a Tristar EXL, can anyone help??
Thanx… Brian
The TriStar vacuum has more virtue than their sales people. Sadly, that says it all. For the love of humanity, their devious sales tactics should be rejected by all of society.
I just purchased a TriStar MG1, for better or for worse, and have found that the motor seems to get quite hot through normal use. Does anyone else experience this, and/or is this just because of its cyclonic exhaust system?
We just had a Tristar salesman come to the door that picked up our address and phone from a drawing. He left a worthless knife set as a gift.
He came the next day and said he would be there for a few minutes. After a hour and a half he was just getting warmed up. We had to ask him to leave. He was going to give us $600.00 for a Rainbow that we overpaid on a few years ago (that is gathering dust in the garage) and was going to sell the unit for $2,295.00. What a bunch of bottom feeders! What a scam! Next time they come to the door they will be looking down a Glock.
No Tech-when the motor gets hot don’t worry it will at first.It is equipped with a thermostat so if it ever gets too hot it will automatically shut off and will not turn back on until cool enough-it is approved by UL and CSA so don’t worry,any other questions?
Hi Machine,
May as well post something to try and keep the crap off this forum. How does the new Filter Queen compare to the Tristar? My only complaint about the Tristar is that the vacuum wands should have been constructed out of metal rather than plastic.
DAve
What I find amazing is the people that sell this stupid vacuum actually beleive in it!
How dumb, sorry, naive, do you have to be?
I would rather be on welfare that do what they do….
I have been sitting here for quite a while reading all the posts listed. I had a lot of fun listening to all the yays and neighs everyone had. I am a tristar rep and my family owns a tristar distributorship here in Oregon. First and foremost there are definatly some salespeople out there with bad ethics. When you hire from the human race you are going to run into some bad apples. If the average Joe would sit back and consider for one minute what a vacuum salesperson goes through in there daily life. The amount of rejection endured in one day. You go into people’s private lives. No matter what the situation be like you meld into the scene. Working solely on commission there is no hourly wage. You have to have some self discipline and confidence especially this day and age. None of this would be worth it unless you truly had a product that changed peoples lives. I have been in vacuum sales for 8 years I am a granddaughter of a man who has been in it for 48 years both my parents and aunts and uncles have done door to door vacuum sales for 20-30 years. For years we were in Kirby. We believed that was the most amazing machine. 3 years ago we came across the Tristar and Purestar home systems and they are nothing less than amazing. I have severe allergy suffering customers that have called me thanking me saying they can breathe and smell again. A lot of people are over looking the fact that these are not just “vacuum cleaners” they are truly clean air machines. As far as “selling” the machine I think the machine sells itself. We are just there to become people
Yep, everything you said is correct, but if you wouldn’t mind: I’d like to get a comment on the markup from $350 that the Manufacturer’s Representative pays to the $2199.95 that your customers are asked to pay? I know it’s not the rep’s fault, because he has to make a living and the system won’t pay him much of anything if he doesn’t sell for full price, but the system is flawed when the product undergoes a 600% markup and the rep makes $25 on the sale because the customer has bad credit. Regards, Mike – former TriStar rep, still owed money by Carl Gasoway and Greg Reece. http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/unethicaltristarpractices/
Well have you ever looked at the mark up on cars and realestate???? Do you wanna talk about a mark up. Sales is what keeps America ticking along. Every single bussiness in this world wouldn’t be going without sales people. Tristar sales people help keep the economy going. I mean buddy I don’t know what your big problem is but leave well enough alone. Coustomers are happy if they don’t wanna pay the 1,800.00 which is what we sell most of ours for then don’t. If you looked at a machine say the Dyson they probobley cost 10.00 to manufacture and sell for up around 600.00. gimme a break. If you looked at any product like that and let it fire you up they would have to lock you up. If you got burned by a bad distributor take it up with them. Don’t get on the net and cause hard working sales people that are good loving honest people out there trying to make better lives for thereself and there family. Going door to door and genuinly want to show off there product that really helps people. Spending hours putting there heart into a demo and woring there butt off cleaning a customers house and making friends with someone. Then get kick out’s because you on your soap box making people think we are a bunch of scam artists out rip off the public and steal all there money. Tri star is a good old fashioned meats and potatoes door to door bussines. I don’t know about sales in your part of the country but everyone in our office is honest and out to please our coustomer. Most of our bussiness is word of mouth. So next time you are all fired up to kick out someones deal. I would consider the Karma you are facing. This job is stressful enough sometimes without this kinda stuff.
DAVE all the filter queen is is a “pretty” shop vac with a carpet cleaning attachment.It’s the same as any other vac it just has a different body shape,it does however have more suction than any other vac except the TRISTAR.Same thing in the past couple of yrs. they have been telling everyone that it has cyclonic action however we remain the only one on the market that will actually show you-to your face-the true cyclonic we have had patenet since the late 1930’s.I can even give you those old patent numbers and you can look it up online on the patent office web site.We also offer more convience- it still has all the plugins everywhere just like the rainbow and electrolux-now aerus-and yes we even did until 1999.In my going on 7yrs in the business half of the people say they like the plastic the other half says they like the metal and before we even had the plastic wands everyone who had metal wands wanted plastic-thats how it goes.Also please keep in mind that it is made of lexan plastic which is the same stuff used to make football helmets and bulletproof glass so its pretty tuff stuff,that doesn’t mean you can run it over with a car but its still really strong!In fact during my time there have been two instances where a vehicle and a tristar have met.One time this guy brought his tristar after he accidently ran it over with his full sized truck.the rear differential hit it and all it did was poke a small hole in the lid of the cannister,any other vacuum would have been completely ruined!Another time someone had their tristar in the truck of their car when then were rear ended by a jeep cherokee.their brand new toyota sedan was considered totaled by their insurance company,and believe me I saw it,the entire rear end was completely smashed but the only thing it did to their tristar was put a hair line bend in the side of the cannister about an inch long!any other vacuum would have been crushed!!!In addition to that it has been my experience that most filter queen people are corrupt in their business dealings.We had a little display in our local mall and the local distributor called the mall and told them we were friends and that we had ok ‘d him to take out our display to put his in-the mall didn’t fall for it so no big deal but how dirty can you get?!Not to mention we have a much better parent company!!!
Hi Machine,
Thanks for the information. When we got our TriStar, it was either we get new carpets or a good vacuum. It should pay for itself in the next 5 years alone on extending the life of our carpets and our hardwood floor in the foyey.
http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/unethicaltristarpractices/message/18 I don’t have anything against the TriStar or against the people who sell it, Natasha. My only beef is with the distribution “pyramid” system. Yes, you’re working hard to sell your machines, working 12 or 14 hour days hanging fliers on doors and doing demonstrations. I know; I was there. And your boss’s boss’s boss gets paid $200 or more for every machine sold in his region. My “big problem” is that I’ve been inside the business and I’ve seen what goes on in a crooked organization – and I came out of it burned, broke, and nearly homeless. It may be that the TriStar people in Oregon are honest; I hope they are, because the people in Indiana are crooks. I’m not trying to get you kicked out, but I am trying to keep anyone else from getting ripped off. I’m not the only one who has been.
Get a life Natasha. Coming on the net does not cause you harm and if it does, too fucking bad for you. Still no one has posted any sort of proof that a $1,800 vac does a betetr job then say a $400 Dyson, or even a $300 Hoover. I doubt it cost $10 to make a Dyson..LOL Plastic injection molding is not THAT cheap. It probably cost $10 an hour alone for the one person at that machine not to mention the guy keeping it loaded with plastic pallets in the hopper. Plus the mechanics that change the dies, and keep the machines going, they usually get $15-$18 and hour. Then you have the whole front office that you have to factor into the cost of that machine, and the utilities, plus there are some metal parts so those are being made elsewhere with all the same overhead. I would guess a Dyson cost maybe $120 to manufacture….over time if no change is made to the machine I could see it costing $60-$80 to manufacture.
I doubt the small market of TriStar, Filter Queen and any other $1000+ Vac keeps the economy running…LOL Don’t try and act like your job means anything in this world. What are you 18 and think the world revolves around you?? I hope you like the virus I emailed to you…LOL
Well Merry Christmas to you too you fantastic example of a human being. I am not 18 I am 25. I have been selling vac’s door to door for 8 years and have made a good living for myself consistantly. For anyone who has even done this line of work for a day can say that is not an accomplishment for the weak or meek.I do infact pity anyone that has the extra time you have on your hands to send viruses to strangers on a tri-star message board. Not to mention making up figures in your head on what someone working in a Dyson vacuum plant makes an hour??!! needs to either 1-GET a job or 2-check thereself into the nut house. I think what you need is a hug bud and I will say a little prayer for you tonight. You must really have alot of pent up anger rolling around in you to react like that. Sorry for your troubles. Wish you the best. Natasha
To the moderator of this message board I really did get a virus sent to me. This is terrible if anyone can read this don’t leave your e-mail what a bunch of wackos out there. If there is anyway to delete my info from the board please do so thanks.
I started my direct sales career when I was 19 selling rainbows. I then went to filter queen about a year later. My career in vacuum sales lasted till I was 30. Had my own distributorship for almost 8 years. All the direct sell vacs have their value points and flaws. From both ends of it….No matter how you are affiliated from the work side or the consumer end user, I think it’s one of the best experiences for all involved. No matter how it turns out. My association with the direct sales industry (door to door, vacuum sales) with out a doubt was the most valuable experience of my life, from a career aspect. It’s given me the confidence to succeed easily compared to others without it. I’m a showhost for a shopping channel currently. In no way is this “tooting my own horn”, the numbers I post is so far above hosts without it…you wouldn’t believe it. When you reach a level selling door to door is easy….believe me, there’s not much I’ve found you can’t do.
Hi. Can anyone out there recommend a good BACKPACK or HIP vacuum?? I want a quality vacuum that is lightweight & built to last. I don’t want to pay a small fortune either. Any suggestions on brands/models of backpacks would be much appreciated. If you have any suggestions, please post or email me directly at thelongs@tbcnet.com. Thank you in advance for any help! Julianne
Hello-Just found this site with a search engine trying to find out about Tristar. I am planning on signing up with a distributor in Austin named Beth Hanson. Anyone have any experience with her. Also any recomendations on getting a good start?She says her people work entirely on referrels. I am a soft sell person. Can I make it being honest and soft sell? Comments apreciated
Kyle, the answer is, YES! You will do a much better job working referrals if you come across as an honest and soft selling professional. But remember, there are FOUR basic things needed in the pursuit of referrals. First, the customer has to like you; secondly, the customer has to like the product (who doesnt fall in love with the TriStar afer they see it?), Thirdly, there has to be something in it for them, and lastly, there has to be something in it for YOU!
As far as the first and second points go, that is entirely up to your presentation of yourself and the machine. If you’ve got a people person personality, you shouldnt have any trouble with this; also, the TriStar sells itself… as I am sure everyone who has ever bought a machine would agree with. The third point, TriStar has been doing a good job with. TriStar Enterprises has been designing several different ways to entice the customer to reccommend them. There’s the PureStar, the Ionizer, cash gifts, and so on. Get with your distributor to find out exactly what he or she uses. Lastly, if you show the customer that referrals are your ownly source of business, and your job security, the customer will most certainly help you out if they like you.
P.S. Honest people are the easiest type to like!
Wow, I don’t think I’ve had this much fun reading people’s bitchfests as much as I have here!! haha, it amazes me how incredibly stupid people are lol. All this crying bullshit about “those goddamn distributors mark up their shit way too high”–come ON! People are in the direct sales business to make money and GOOD money. I should know, as I’m a sales manager/recruiter in the FilterQueen business, and have been with it for a year. I’ve, no lie, made $105,000.00 in the last year and could not be happier–and I’m not even a distributor. To those of you who laugh and say “thatz a bunch of crap”, at least I know that I’m honest. To “I Fucked Nathasha”, first of all who cares who you fuck, and second of all it doesn’t matter what you buy, the manufacturing price is always pennies compared to the price it’s sold at (you don’t think your precious TriStar is marked up Natasha? You’re stupid). We all know that, so quit trying to prove a point that has already been beaten to death throughout this forum. And to “The Machine”, the FilterQueen as a “pretty shopvac” with lots of “suction”, but not as much as TriStar–if you knew ANYTHING about cleaning abilities with whichever machine you use, suction doesn’t mean SHIT without AIRFLOW which creates AIRPOWER, or the ability to clean. All this bullshit about SUCTION SUCTION SUCTION you are so fucking stupid! Know your shit before you open your mouth! And please tell me how you have cyclonic with a bag in your machine? Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t see how that is possible. Oh, and I loved your stories about the guy who ran over his TriStar…he liked the machine so much that he had it laying outside in his driveway?? hahaha that made me laugh…and the person who had their TriStar in their trunk…did they seem to need quality time with their vacuum and brought it along for a joyride? And just so happened to total their vehicle but not the mighty vacuum? lol…then why don’t we make vehicles out of the indestructible material of the vacuum? That’s funny. I would love to hear the thoughts of others on that. Also, Dave, as far as the FilterQueen goes, all vacuums have either a bag, a flat filter, or sometimes both. The FilterQueen has neither, as it uses a one of a kind filter cone, with 100 cu. ft. of air per minute continuously washing around the outside of the cone, preventing it from plugging. Vacuums with bags and flat filters allow air and dirt to slam into the walls, forcing dirt through and quickly plugging. Just a little info. I’m not here to bash any machines, just had to put in my two cents worth.
Oh, and one more thing. One of the comments was about the fact that the Distributors make all the profit…well, hullo?! Who is taking all the risk?! The Distributor is fully responsible for his inventory, employees, customers, etc…if you own your own business, whether its a vacuum business, construction business, fast food restaurant, etc…the owner always makes the bank…duh. That is why people open up their own business in the first place. Sorry, had to throw that in.
FilterQueens are the same dirty vacuums like all the rest. They do not have suction capacity like the TriStar. I had a FilterQueen and Replaced it with a Kirby and now a TriStar.
The carpets have never been cleaner, the ease of switching tools is amazing etc. The entire point of the Tristar is to have increased airflow in all of its cleaning tools to the suction never stops. I would say the bags can be around 90% full before their is any compromise in the suction power of the machine. Vacuuming up pure dirt from the garage or drywall dust will see the suction capacity dwindle at 60%, but try that with any other vacuum.
The filter Queens and Kirbys do not compare, this is from first hand experience. We needed new carpets, or extend the life of the vacuum, we got the vacuum.
Throw in an Electrolux carpet cleaner (3 spinning components) and the carpets look brand new.
Sorry FordGirl, I am afraid your vacuums do not compare.
Actually had someone try to sell us an Filter Queen, I vacuumed before they came over and they could not find any dirt. I told them the vacuum we had was ok. She tried to explain the benefits. She threw down some dirt on the carpet and told us to vacuum it first with ours.
I got the Tristar, threw on a new bag, just to make the competition fair and vacuumed. She looked worried when I brought it out, vacuumed and let her vacuum up the residual. There was a smidgeon, but that would be expected anywhere.
Lest to say, she went home very frustrated.
This is to all the Sales Persons out there. This is valuable for you. I’ve worked for the kirby company almost six years now. I am here to say it doesn’t matter which vacuum you sell. I won’t dispute which is better. This will work for all vacuum sales. Kirby has been doing it for so many years, they perfected the sales method.
1. Make a Friend.
When you go in a home you HAVE to make a FRIEND. With out a friend, you have no sale 98 percent of the time. They have to like you. I’ve had ladies tell my team leader/field supervisor that im so nice they want to adopt me. The men? its a love hate/relationship. I have to win them over with hard work and good ethics, especially if they are old. Always make the guy laugh, and include him. If he isnt being sold, sell the wife more.
2. Your Contest.
you have to have a contest. This is your now factor. Buy now factor, So you don’t look like a money hungry vacuum salesman. Set up your contest so you can use it as a close through out the whole demonstration. Sometimes you can close them half way through the demonstration. Its easier when they say they will take it and then make it rock solid when you impress them even more. Let them know you are out there working hard for a goal. Your contest, if you don’t have a contest you are going to hear “Maybe in a few months when a few bills are paid. Or maybe next year! hah!”. You need to create a buy now factor. My boss use to say, If you go into a home with out a contest close its like going out on a date and forgetting your dick. That just doesn’t work.
3. Create a Need
When you are in a home, you need to create a need. Ask questions. Every little tool you pull dirt with, ask them a question. How do you normally do this sort of cleaning?, they will tell you. Then ask them do you think you could use this?. Odds are they will say “YES”. You need to sell every piece of that machine in their mind. You never know whats going to sell them. You want to hear “YES”. This is creating a need, and they are being sold. If you aren’t doing this, again you will hear “I want to think about it” or “I’m not paying that much money for a vacuum!” Sometimes they will ask if “Can I sleep on it?” Your answer to this should always be “I don’t know mary, its awfull lumpy. Won’t that be uncomfortable?” Remember to always break the tension, you dont want to pressure them now do you?
4.Put them in the market
Putting your potential customer in the market isn’t exactly meant to make their vacuum look like look like junk and no longer work. You need to put them in the market for ALL vacuums. All opposing vacuums shall no longer work in their mind.After they have seen how much of a need they have for this vacuum, and how hard you are working for your contest it all comes together and makes the close for this sale much easier.
5. Dirt.
Lots of dirt, i’m not sure how all the vacuums pull dirt to display for the customer but you better have a bunch of dirt that you took out of their carpet, furniture, mattress. Lamp shades. EVERYWHERE! Everyone has a dirt tolerance level. In kirby we have a little round white filter. A person could be sold with just one dirt pad laying out on the floor. While another person will need to see 100 of them laying out on the floor! Don’t get lazy and hope you found the person who only needs one dirty pad with your fancy dancy reinventing the wheel demonstration that doesn’t work but you still do it because it put together a few easy sales that we call LAY-DOWNS in this business.
I could go into this further but I have to get to get ready for work.
I was a distributor for tri-star for about a year, and I’m still paying for it. Don’t ever work for them or be associated with them. It will come back and bite you in the ass. My boss directly above me was a liar and a theif. I was on the news and now I just read he was indicted on three felony counts of bank fraud. These are the kind of people you will be working for. Good luck. I don’t knock sales people its noble work, but only for the right company.
Kittykat, sorry you worked for a “liar and a theif”. Just because of one bad apple don’t knock the rest. I too started working for a distributor that was not the best in the world, but i have since started working for a different person with TriStar and things could not be better. TriStar itself is a good.
Hello to all you want to be employees for Tri-Star. Let me let you all in on a little secret about these guys. I once worked for them as a Distributor. I know what kind of bull they pull. They place an ad in the newspaper for employment usually like this needed 25 people to fill office positons or they’ll make it sound like its a factory. $500 dollar sign on bonus, call this number (phone #) When you call the phone number you will talk to a girl who works in the phone room. She’ll ask you questions like name, are you currently working and if so would you be able to start asap if you are hired by our company, also they ask your age (why isn’t that discrimination) yes it is exspecially the reason they ask your age is they try to keep the age level between 18 and 29. Because they say the young croud are better looking and that helps for sales. If you don’t answer there questions right they will tell you a blow off pitch like this, well right now all our positions are filled but, if something does come available we will keep your name and phone # just in case. If you do meet the criteria then they will give you a time to come in for an interveiw they even tell you to dress up or look nice meaning no tennis shoes or blue jeans. They want to make sure you are good looking for this position. Then if you are hired that day you do go through training class then the weekend after the training class you do what they call a practice on your friends and family weekend where you run as many appointments possible all weekend long and you get bonuses for how many demos you do and if you do sell to family and friends you will get so much money. The distributor will also shock you and your family when you call them to let them know you are done with the demo with a crazy price for the machine like usually it costs 1900.00 well since its your familty or whatever we’ll knock 500.00 dollars off the price and so fourth. The guy who was the actual distributor in this office I helped run also, like pretty phone girls. He had a family he moved far from their home town just to open this business. But, that didn’t stop him from having affair after affair. He would after everyone was off there appointments would buy alcohol for everyone even the miners almost every night they would sit around and drink till wee hours in the morning like 4:00am. I also walked into Mr. xxxx office to find cocaine on his desk, his office manager tried to cover it up with some papers so i wouldn’t notice. Needless to say the distributor himself lost that office one reason is because he has a child he don’t want to pay support on. But, months later he reopened another one in the same state. Then again he folded up his stuff and moved again to open another business. Also why I worked there the Main head quarters would lie for their distributors so they would’nt have to pay ungodly amounts of child support to their children the big boss and the other distributors would stick up and say that so and so are just a customer service rep and they barely make any money that way the child support division couldn’t take money out of there checks to help support their children. Also the Muncie In. office there was a guy who worked there that liked to keep his stash of drugs in his desk. Sometimes there would be guys come in and go in his office and they’d be in there for a little bit who knows what kind of stuff went on behind closed doors dealing of drugs your guess is as good as mine. If anyone out there wants any info on this Tri star company from Indiana and surrounding areas feel free to email me cheadawn@yahoo.com
Oh yah I almost forgot something. The company has a name for their special program of hiring. Called the Turn and Burn program. On the 1st weekend with family and friends you have to sell sell sell and do as many appointment you can. If they do decide to keep you on they will run you about 2 appointments a day commission only because on the last training day they make sure you sign a contract to work for commission only. That means you don’t make the 25 dollars an appointment and you lose the 500.oo sign on bonus. They have a very good pitch so you decide to change to management trainee as they call it. If you do decide to try out a position with them and they give you the contract to pick between the 25$ an appointment or the pitch where if you sign the mangement trainee contract you could make 1000.00 or more a week don’t sign the contract and if they ask why say well that way I am guaranteed 25$ an appointment whether or not I sell a machine. The next thing that will happen to you is you’ll be fired. They will figure out a way to fire you. 2-3 weeks later you will see another ad for the same company in the newspaper. What they do is hire you until you sell alot of machines for them then they find a way to fire you, so they can hire a new bunch of people in and start from scratch all over again. This process like I said above is called Turn and Burn ask your distributor about it, he or she will now exactly what i’m talking about. Also, for anyone out there that has been jerked around by this company please write me and let me know. I know the phone # of the main headquarters in Indiana, it may be of some help to you and I also know of some locations they might be working out of. Like one of the people wrote above in the forum. They like to open and shut there doors often and use different names each time the reopen just like the muncie indiana office did and the richmond and new albany and probably angola just to name a few.
I BOUGHT (was not sold) a TRISTAR EXL about 4 years ago from CARLSON TECHNOLOGIES in Des Moines IA. The door-to-door guy got my info from a “phone survey” that my wife did a couple months previously. I’m in sales, so I knew going into it that it was going to be high-pressure sales. That fact is, I just happened to be in the market for a kick-ass vacuum that I hoped to have for a while. Per the advice of my mom, the one household appliance worth spending $$$ on is a “vacuum”. The Kirby upright she bought (for more than double the $1,100 I spent on the Tri Star) almost 30 years ago is still used. I asked around, and pretty much knew that I was going to buy it before the guy showed up, assuming that I could talk him down to what I was comfortable paying. I made him do the whole dog and pony show, and was even more impressed. He really focused on the quality and touted the warranties, particularly on the powerhead. To make a long story short, I got exactly what I wanted until about 2 days ago. I have a broken powerhead, a dirty house, and a TRISTAR distributor that, according to the BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU of DES MOINES, has apparently been driven out of business, as the most “current” phone # for Carlson Technologies is conveniently disconnected. All I want is my once kick-ass “vacuum” fixed. WAS I LIED TO ABOUT THE WARRANTY? IS THERE ANY RECOURSE ON THE WARRANTY, I’d like to know how to get my EXL back up and running. Principalities will not allow me to spend 1 dime more on what now appears to be nothing more than a $1,100 piece of shit paper weight. I will not pay to have it fixed, but rather buy another kick-ass vacuum from a more “established” local distributor. By the way, I highly recommend to everyone reading this to find “Super Suckers”, staring Jeff Daniels, at their local BlockBuster.
Sorry but i have been reading most of this crap and see who is under the ether and who is a freak and so forth ….heres the deal i have been in this business for 25 years and sold more machines than all you freaks dns’d (demo no sale) i never crammed one down a customers throat and i have sold them for 2875.00 american most recently to 1000.00 american as of old, most old dog vac pukes try to get paid everything over a 1000.00 comission but most newbees pukes make between 200-650.00 p. deal. id like to see one price for all i really would but ya know what you so called savvy fags wouldnt beleive that was the bottom line cause of all the vacuum sales crap over the last 50 years and still try to steal the reps commision, also i might add there is no such thing as a call back sure its an immotional sale but i tell you this if your not motivated to get the DIRT out when you see it what makes you think youll want it out when the dirt pads are thrown away and the pud is gone .i love the we have to research your company bullshit too…if you took the time to research your current vacuum you wouldnt have bought it cause its a piece of shit.now lets talk price on these guys ….a golden tristar distributor or whatever thyere callin it now buys the pieces of shit for 440.00=540.00 american but now lets talk about leads it takes phone bitches who suck that get paid 10.oo an hour to sit around and do nothing but try to set leads (so basically it costs about 50-60 bucks to drop off some gifts to you moochers not including the commission only reps gas,and the national actual REAL percentage of good sales is 1.5 good deals per week for 12 demos run on a new puke so do the math) office overhead gifts to give you pukes that want something for nothing advertising for reps all the time cause people treat them like shit in the houses and they quit the trainers override for lying to the classes the free machine bonuses to sales reps that sell 10 in a month or more depending on the lying scank distributor hes working for finance company percentage hits for offering you freaks 90days to 6 months s a c cause you dont want to part with your money on the spot….shall i continue …its called direct sales a car on one lot identical will sell for a different price on a differnt lot bonuses overheads, parts of the country volume,commissions to play with, play a part .kirby doesnt use a bag cause it clogs when they demo !tristar using sand in theryre demo cause powder and dust will clog the shit out of it and sand is porous dugh… rainbow says dirt goes into the water but gives you a tooth brush to clean the seperator fins that get dirty after everytime you use it and they sit atop the water figure that shit out! and you can fry an egg on the top of a filter queen.as for the indusrty 90% of the people init i wouldnt let in my neighborhood let alone my house the other 10 per cent are so taken in by the bullshit they have been taught they are under the etherlike a goddam moony cult as i like to say.Bottom line ive sold them all and the all are NOT worth the money but thats the way it goes you have to pay for the extra bullshit invloved and your paying for the song and dance entertainment performed in your very own living room.you need to look at your budget way the pros cons of all of them and the prices and FACTORY warranties NOT dealer WARRANTIES and then go buy your self a SILVERKING VACUUM even though the owner is a ripoff lying piece of shit hes got one hell of a vacuum or buy a watermatic closet thing to a sk for half the money!