The Service Call that Wasn't

Yesterday, I was once again reminded that just because a vendor seems nice and helpful doesn't mean they are.

For my 40th birthday, my father gave me a brand-new Electrolux canister-style vacuum. I was especially thrilled because I have owned one of these vacuums ever since I graduated from college. My last vacuum lasted for nearly 20 years, and died when the motor finally gave up. Since I couldn't find an authorized repair center, I bought a replacement motor on the Bay of E-ness, but it didn't work nearly as well as the original.

So my father bought me a new Electrolux for my birthday. He got what seemed like a fair deal. he bought the vacuum, all the attachments, plus a whizzy power head you can use for vacuuming furniture and stairs for around $600.

Now it turns out that Electrolux vacuums have undergone a bit of transformation. They are now selling what used to be the Eureka brand of vacuums under the Electrolux name, and the original, tank-style vacuums are now sold by a company named Aerus. This happened some time before my 40th birthday, which was why I couldn't find anybody to repair my original Electrolux vacuum.

Anyway, somehow my father managed to track down the folks at Aerus, and he bought me a shiny new Lux Classic, which was the new version of the tank style vacuum. I liked it, even though the entire thing was made out of plastic, and it did a pretty respectable job of cleaning the carpets. Even better, it had a 5-year warranty.

So, fast-forward 3 years later, and I noticed that the vacuum didn't seem to be sucking with as much power as it had originally. I didn't think much about it, really, until last week when I got an out-of-the blue call from the folks at Aerus.

Well, I'm not sure if it was Aerus or not. The caller ID frame that came up listed Vacuum Express as the caller. I spoke to a very nice lady who told me that an Electrolux rep was going to be in the area on Thursday, and wanted to know if I wanted to make an appointment. I readily agreed, figuring the rep would be able to give my vacuum a tune up and send me on my happy way.

Well it turned out that this so-called "rep" wasn't at all interested in doing anything to fix my existing vacuum. He claimed that it was automatically out of warranty because the motor was rusting, and the reason that it was losing power was because the motor was overheating. He told me that my vacuum would soon be toast, and that the motor would need to be replaced.

I figured as much. When a vacuum starts to die, it's never anything inexpensive.

So then, he gives me the kicker: it was going to cost $500 to replace the motor in my $600 vacuum.

I couldn't contain myself. "Are you nuts?" I asked the guy.

He assured me that was the price, and there was nothing he could do. He told me that my problem was likely I had been vacuuming wet carpet (I hadn't) and claimed that if I used a home shampooer, the pad could remain wet for up to a week, and vacuuming over carpet, even if it felt dry, would suck moisture into the motor and make it rust.

Then he tried to sell me a $1,200 carpet shampooer. "I can give it to you for $799.95 if you buy it today," he told me.

I explained that my wife wasn't working and that we weren't in the market for a new shampooer. When our conversation drifted back to my ailing vacuum, he told me I would have to pay the $500 to get it fixed, or I could trade it in on a newer model.

Suddenly, I realized that this so-called "service" call wasn't a service call at all. Instead, it was a thinly-disguised attempt to sell me a new vacuum to replace my 3-year-old vacuum.

I told him no, thanked him for his time, and sent him on his way.

Then I called the folks at Vacuum Express and complained. They said they would refer this to their "verification department" and have someone get back to me. The woman I spoke to informed me that they hired independent contractors to peddle the Aerus vacuums, much like the way another, well-known, door-to-door vacuum rip-off works.

The sales man inadvertently showed me his pricing sheet, which showed he would make around $400 per machine he sold. I told that to the woman when I called to complain, and she said that she could understand why I was so steamed up.

I tried calling the Aerus corporate offices this afternoon, but they are already closed for the weekend. I'll call them on Monday and give them a piece of my mind.

But really, don't show up at my house claiming you are going to give my vacuum a service call and then try and sell me a brand new vacuum cleaner and carpet shampooer to replace a vacuum that's only three years old.