Vacuum cleaner salespersons

I try not to judge one's job, but this got me curious. A vacuum cleaner salesman visited the house tonight. My wife decided to hear him out while I went back to running on the treadmill in another room. By the time I was finished 45 minutes later, the guy was standing on the devil strip by the road, his $2,600 vacuum by his side, waiting for his ride. I watched him for a minute, feeling a little bad. Sales has to be a brutal job. I know I could never do it.

So, I am curious. Do any of you know anyone who did those kind of gigs, or perhaps did them yourself?

 

I've seen lots of documentaries about these guys. They make it seem like a great job. They come and knock on the door, a woman will answer and ask how the vacuum cleaner sucks up dirt.
Guy says, "Oh, it sucks a lot of stuff. Cereal, dirt, nails, even ball bearings."
Woman says, "Ball bearings, huh? What a coincidence..."

 

Are you kidding me? There are vacuums that cost $2,600? I don't know who the bigger idiot is, the guy trying to sucker someone into buying that, or the sucker who buys it. That guy better have a whole lot of shit to sweep up.

 

Um, they suck?

Ba-dum-bum... CHING!

 

It's hard to believe people are still doing that, isn't it? I remember my mom got suckered into buying a $1,000 vacuum from an apparently very convincing door-to-door guy when I was a kid. Dad was not happy about that one.

When I was young, foolish and poor, I answered an ad for this hot sales job with immediate management potential, and it turned out to be basically a pyramid scheme selling knock-off perfume and cologne door to door. There was money to be made, but I quit after a few days out of sheer self-loathing.

 

My wife's friend's husband sold them during his time at university.

His stories are absolutely hilarious. He knew he was trying to sucker people in all the time. The sales pitches he used, people he met, all that shit, are hilarious.

I used to feel bad for them until I met this guy. He said most only do it for a short while. All of them know its a scam.

They're just telemarketers — only at your door!

The one line he always used was in response to people who said "Well, I have a central vacuum system."

He'd say, that's fine. But that's like trying to suck a glass of Coke down from here to the roadway. It's easy when the Coke is in a glass in front of you. But what happens when it's on the road and your straw is 50 feet long? How easy is it then, huh? How good does it work then?

Just stupid shit all the time, he said.

 

We got a free bottle of detergent out of the pitch at least.

 

Yeah, sales....it's a tough racket.

 

I didn't realise they still had guys doing vacuum cleaner sales door to door. I thought that went the way of the Fuller Brush man.

When I was a kid, there used to be guys selling World Book Encyclopedia's door to door.

I didn't realise until later how mind-numbingly bad they were. Kinda a very poor man's Encyclopedia Britannica.

 

... are very happy that the most recent Woot-off item finally sold out.

 

Door-to-door vacuum cleaner salespeople aren't in it for the money.

They're in it for the trim.

 

Check this out. Not only is the Fuller Brush man alive and well, he has entered the 21st century: http://www.fuller.com/

I had a guy try to sell me the Encyclopedia Brittanica circa 1994.



He left disappointedly.