I called first to ask if they provided repair service. The owner asked for the nature of the problem. I told him the cover would not close, so the vacuum would not work. He told me to bring the unit to the store for repair.
When I brought the unit in, the owner immediately told me the Electrolux I had was a Eureka which had been properly re-branded as an Electrolux. (I was aware of this and knew this to be true due to the sale of the company to a European firm years ago.)
Instead of taking a look at the cover and filling out a repair tag, the owner immediately began to disparage my machine as a piece of junk, insisted that it wasn't worth fixing, and said he could not even get parts for it. He then put on a full-force, high-pressure sales pitch filled with horror stories about the same model I had and that I should do as the other users did and trade my useless vacuum in for a real Aerus Electrolux machine. He offered $400 for my broken machine towards the price of a real Electrolux, which would reduce my cost to a mere $700 (such a deal—pay for it within one year and there would be no interest.)
When I explained that my machine is about 6 years old, has given me excellent service, is quiet, and has powerful suction, he heightened the sales pitch and continued to insist my unit was junk, that the first time it breaks (as in 'now') I can expect continued problems with it, and that it would cost me more to fix it (over time) than to buy a new one now. I told him I could not afford to buy a new vacuum, would have to research my options, and he politely carried my piece of junk to my car.
Today, I took my vacuum to a generic repair shop. Here is what happened:
1. They CAN get parts for my vacuum, no problem.
2. The lady looked at and under the cover, explained that I had not inserted the new bag correctly, removed and reinsterted the bag, and closed the cover.
3. Problem fixed. No charge.
I feel that the owner of the Aerus Electrolux franchise misled me when he told me to bring my vac in for repair because, as he stated when I entered his store, he cannot not even get parts for the vac. It's quite possible that the reason he cannot get parts is because he is not licensed/authorized to perform repair and not because parts are no longer available. As I discovered, other companies can get parts.
I feel he "baited" me to go to his store and the "switch" was his high-pressure attempt to talk me into buying a new machine from his franchise. I am glad that I paid attention to my intuition and heeded the llittle voice in my gut that told me to take my machine and run!
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