Tristar vacuum cleaner sales - subjected to unwanted sales pitch

# 4 for May 17, 2003

Complaints.com received the following on May 16, 2003:

From: Dawn Pickrell [Email User]

RE: Tristar vacuum cleaner sales - subjected to unwanted sales pitch

We received a scratch off lottery ticket in the mail saying if you had a winning hand to call the phone number listed on the card and we would be guaranteed to win one of five very nice prizes. So we called and they said a representative would come to our house with prize, check our card and match it to a master list all we had to do was listen to a 30 minute presentation and we would receive our free gift valued at least $250.00. Well in walks a girl with a big plain box and out comes the tristar vacuum cleaner.

We listened to their sails pitch for over an hour about how our vacuum cleaner was horrible along with other big name cleaners and how much of a health risk we were taking especially with our child by having all that stuff in our carpets. We were not moved by her speech and actually were rude to her especially when she told us the price of the vacuum. $1800. I told her there was no way I'd ever pay that much on a vacuum. So she had to call her boss, she also had to call and let him know she had arrived (on our phone) Anyhow when she called to tell him we weren't interested he had her offer us a lower price I ended up getting on the phone with him and he was very rude I had to hang up on him.

I told the girl we were done and that she wasn't wasting any more of our time. We asked for our free gift and would you believe she forgot it. But told us it was a 3 day hotel stay at a destination of our choice but we had to pay airfare and what ever else. She never even looked at our card so we asked about matching it to a list to see our prize and how she could know before even looking and we were told they knew what we had won before she got here she said we would receive our gift in the mail. We still haven't seen it. I don't believe there were any of the other gifts on the list.

And she took our card with her. I got the number off our caller I.D. but it is a different company . Our next door neighbors had the same experience the night before us( I didn't know until after ours or I would have never gone through with it)

And they had a different sales person but the same experience and their person forgot their gift also but told them it was a 3 day hotel stay.

Do not let these people in your house! It is a scam there are no free gifts. I checked on the better business bereau website and they also have a complaints list.

Nowhere on the lottery ticket did it say anything about vacuum cleaner sales and when you call to claim your gift they say nothing about trying to sell you something! They were also very nice until you told them you weren't interested.

Thank you,

Cary and Dawn Pickrell

Comment On This

I'm very sorry you had such a poor experience with anything related to the tristar and the tristar business. It really makes me sad to hear for customers having bad experiences when dealing with a product and company i am so proud of. Like with lots of other companies different people do different things and they aren't always right. With all things considered there are always 2 sides to every story. Im not saying anything about you but not all folks involved with tristar are bad people and we do sometimes give the wrong people a fair shake and they in turn dont treat our customers the way we expect. These folks leave our business fast when we find this to be happening. As a business owner we have laws we have to follow when hiring people and if we dont follow them we can end up in hot water, so you stating you found the sales rep had a criminal background isnt something we as a company can discriminate against. Im not saying he was right for his past or you arent right for your concerns. All im saying is his past life n poor choices shouldnt stop him from making a honest living. Lots of people have colorful pasts but punishing them for ever isnt what we are taught to do. People make mistakes and move forward is all im saying. I wish i could fix all the bad experiences people have had with sales people showing our products cause it truly isn't our plan or intention to harm people or take advantage of them. All of my sales people take everything need for all appointments every time no questions asked. I would rather we to go to an appointment then be made to look like a liar. As for giving the referrals for earning a air cleaner, im not saying you didn't give them but just giving a name or setting an appointment wouldn't earn you a free air cleaner. the appointments must always be ran and the people actually view the equipment. If this is the case with you and your people you set up and referred that they actually did have someone over and they saw the equipment then yes 100% you should get your air cleaner. i would encourage you to contact myself to get a resolution to your poor sales experience. I hope that when folks are reading all the things found on the internet about companies that they arent always true. Lots of times they are but there are also lots of times rival companies, unhappy past sales reps, and sometimes just angry people say things untrue about products and companies just cause the internet allows them to. I may be a business owner but like my customers i have kids i love and support, a wife and bills to pay. I never would want to harm your family and would like to think you feel the same way. I live in a very small town and have lots of family ties to the area. My integrity means alot to me and i never would want to do anything to hurt it. We are a small business, were dont make millions and millions selling vacuum cleaners like some people would lead you to think. To be just plan honest its hard to run a business and i can tell you that there is a majority of our customers who purchase our equipment who make plenty more then i do. I make my living with 12 hour days, weekends, holidays, no retirement and lots of time away from my family. I wouldnt do anything else for work in this lifetime cause i love our products and manufacture very much. If you can reach me via email i would love to help you get that air cleaner, my email is tristarvac AT hotmail.com

God Bless :)

Comment On This

I recently had a lady from Tri Star come to my moms and I listened for around an hr. I told her no, she was very nice about it, even after I said no. She told me she had to call her boss and that he was going to offer a lower price, so I told her I still wasnt interested, but she still had to call. She was totally on my side, very nice lady.

She brought the hotel stay booklet with her, she didnt forget it. I knew it was a hotel stay before she came over. She told me if I had 2 people to book a showing, I would get the car air purifier, I did while she sat there, she told me if I book 2 more (they would call the people I listed) I would get the big air purifier for free ($500 value). She said someone would call me to confirm these other 2 people. I have not heard from anyone since. Nothing, not a call. My cousin bought one the vacuums, traded in his other vacuum, which was practically brand new. The owner of the company called him on 1/9/08 and said that they had one his vacuums and he was going to call the cops for theft. My cousin found out the guy who showed the vacuum has a very serious criminal record. Anything from identity theft to fraud and alias names. I feel terrible, because I am the one who asked him to do this for me to get a air purifier for free.

Reedsburg, WI.

Jody