Ok. Here goes. This is MY experience working as a Kirby dealer.
I am a professional saleman, have been for ten years.in early January I was going to a store in a little stip mall near my house, when I saw a group of what appeared to be salemen hanging out infront of an office front. There was a help wanted sign out front.
I approached one fella and asked what they did there. He was evasive, but friendly and suggested I go inside and speak to a recruiter. I went inside and was immediately approached by a woman, who had me fill out an application.
I filled it out, figuring I had nothing to loose but a few minutes. When I finished my application she took it, said my quals looked great and told me to call 'Craig' in three days to see if my application was accepted. I asked her several times what exactly the job was and all she would tell me is that it was a sales position. I pressed for more info and asked where thet leads come from and she assured me that managers arranged for leads and set appointments for the salemen the night before a sale attempt was made.
I call back at the appointed time, and I get 'Craig' on the phone. He starts telling me how great my credentials are and how I am management material and how he has "marked my application for review in 30 days." He also adds that my references have given me glowing reviews. Well I never gave any refrences to be checked.
My radar was WAY up by now cause I knew I was being fed a line of crap. But I went along with it cause at the time I was on a LOA from my job, taking care of some personal business in FL and I really had very little to fill my days while I was there.
Anyhow. I show up for training on a Wednesday. There were probably fifteen others who started that same day a me. Well now I get my introduction to 'Craig.'
He is the trainer / recruiter in this office. He proceeds to yell scream and generally make an a$ of himself. He uses virtually every swear word and racial slur I heard in my life, to discribe, not us newbies, but various former employees and prospects who said NO. He tells us how rich he is and how successfull he has been as a rock musician, and a Kirby saleman.
He brags about how he lives in a $750,000 home and owns 5 exotic cars how he is a 'famous' musician, and he name drops constantly, peppering his training with slurs aimed at every ethnic group I ever heard of... And a few I NEVER heard of.
By now (day one) I have allready decided this isn't for me. However as a sales pro I allways feel I may be able to learn and take away something of value from every experience.By now I suspect this is gonna be door to door sales, but I swear, I have asked Craig every day of training (3 days), where the leads come from and if this is door to door. He is evasive, even when I press him.
I have never done the door to door thing so I figure i will give it a shot. So Monday my fellow trainees and I are assaigned to a Team Lead and we heard out to give demonstrations.
Now my job is to simply do a demo and let my TL close the home owner. My experience consists of me watching a "veteran' do ONE half assed demo, (he didnt do the demo the way we were told it is mandatory to do it.)
Well my tl's other job is to "knock me in." Meaning it is his job to go door to door and convince people to let me in. Well this proceess of soliciting sucks, and most importantly, they blatantly lie to do it.
The TL's use the following pitch: " Hi, my name is Craig, and this is Al. We are in the neighborhood generating some word of mouth advertising for a new store we are opening down by the (INSERT NAME OF NEAREST SUPERMARKET OR MC DONALDS) on BLAH_BLAH road. Al here gets paid $25 just to do a demonstraton. If he shows you something really cool really quick, could you help him make his $25?
At this point the person will usually ask, what kind of store it is. To which the TL replies 'home cleaning supplies.'... Anyhow this form of prospecting is lame and results in a LOT of wasted time and energy.
But beleive it or not people actually fall for theese lines and let us in. So in I go. The line about really quick is a joke. It take an hour and a half minimum to do a demo. During which time we are supposed to vacuum floors, upolstery, and matresses. Now point of fact the machine does pull up ALOTTA nasty stuff left behind by the prospects current vacuum, and I have to say the product works. BUT IT ISNT WORTH THE $1924.00 ASKING PRICE.
So I work for SIX days, thirteen, fourteen hours a day from the time the morning meeting starts at 0900 til 10/ 11/ or 1130pm!!! So week one I worked more than seventy hours. It was sorta fun I have to admit. Going from place to place, getting outta my comfort zone and giving my sales muscles a real work out. I sold four machines that first week. Only one deal stuck because of the prospects not qualifying.
I was employed under the condition that I had to do 15 demo in a week to get paid $350 or a $900 split. Whichever was higher.
Well I did 17 demos. But at the end of week one I decided fun time is over, I need to comeback to my home in another state and I quit Kirby. I go into the office at Kirby on payday and am given the run around about my paycheck. I am told I need to see Abe, the owner and that he is unavailable. The receptionist, (who is the bosses girlfriend I am told) even has the nerve to tell me that because my deal was done below Abes cost that I actually owe him money. I laughed in her face and told her I will be back.
Well I return later in the day and of course he isnt there. So I give up. For the day. The next day I see his car parked out side and I enter the office and asked him for my paycheck. He printed it handed it to me no problems. I have to say I was surprised.
So that is my experience with Kirby.
They lie to prospective employees.
They lie to employees.
They lie to prospects.
They just lie constantly. I heard of veteran employees getting short pay checks, comission terms being changed in mid week to benefit the boss, and other shenanigans. I just feel they are underhanded and have found a way to take sales, and sales management to its lowest possible level. (BTW I used to sell used cars at a lot that was run by organised crime, and the Kirby guys make the wiseguys look like honest, upstanding citizens. I AM NOT KIDDING.)
Please take my advice. If you are thinking of working there RUN THE OTHER WAY, or expect to be taken advantage of. If you want to buy a Kirby. Get one at a pawn shop for $150-175. If you want to buy one brand - new do it on a Saturday (best day to get a bargain and to pressure the saleman to lower the price) and stick to a price of $250. Trust me they will sell it to you for that price and at $250 i think it is a good, sturdy, long lived machine.
Ciao
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