In July of 2011, I wrote a post about Rainbow vacuum cleaner salesmen. I pulled my punches a bit at that time because I was giving them the benefit of the doubt. I was hoodwinked into letting them in the house with a story that they just wanted to give me a free air purifier so that I could test it and give them input on it. It was their foot in the door to keep me and my mother trapped with their sales pitch. I kept asking them to leave and it took a LONG time before they finally did.
Mom has been feeling quite ill since yesterday and we'd told her to stay in
bed and rest today while we were gone.
When we came home, we were a little alarmed to see shoes outside of our front doorway. Who would be visiting mom when she's sick?
When we went into the house we saw a man with the vacuum cleaner, a RAINBOW vacuum cleaner! Again! And there was mom standing there in her nightgown looking very weary and not quite knowing what she should do.
I was really angry, but I felt like the salesman was a young man trying to do a job and not understanding what a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad business model this Rainbow company has!
They send a very innocent looking person to a house first, offering the free gift and asking a favor of the kind senior person. Once the door is open, they pretty much barge their way in. Mom says this time it was a young lady who came first.
I told the salesman that my mother is very ill and had no business being out in the living room with him. She doesn't even understand English very well. He responded that he did have a hard time explaining the fine points of his machine to her.
I told him I wanted him to leave NOW! I wasn't nasty, but I did use my teacher voice. He asked to borrow our phone so he could call his boss to pick him up. (Why doesn't he have a cellphone?) When I handed our phone to him, he called his "boss" and said, "Hello, Boss? Can you pick me up? The daughter and husband just came home and they're kicking me out."
Boss? Who calls their employer Boss?
I'm really angry about this the more I think about it. Why did he have to borrow our phone to call his "boss"? It's all sounding fishy.
Mom is back in bed. She's shaken up but resting. I've told her to never open the steel screen door again when we're gone.
Perhaps this was a good lesson. Mom did once let a woman in who said she needed to use the bathroom.
Sometimes seniors can be very trusting. I say that because I was also fooled by the salesman working for the same company.
Be careful everybody. I'm sure this isn't happening only in Hawaii.
Mom has been feeling quite ill since yesterday and we'd told her to stay in
bed and rest today while we were gone.
When we came home, we were a little alarmed to see shoes outside of our front doorway. Who would be visiting mom when she's sick?
I was really angry, but I felt like the salesman was a young man trying to do a job and not understanding what a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad business model this Rainbow company has!
They send a very innocent looking person to a house first, offering the free gift and asking a favor of the kind senior person. Once the door is open, they pretty much barge their way in. Mom says this time it was a young lady who came first.
I told the salesman that my mother is very ill and had no business being out in the living room with him. She doesn't even understand English very well. He responded that he did have a hard time explaining the fine points of his machine to her.
I told him I wanted him to leave NOW! I wasn't nasty, but I did use my teacher voice. He asked to borrow our phone so he could call his boss to pick him up. (Why doesn't he have a cellphone?) When I handed our phone to him, he called his "boss" and said, "Hello, Boss? Can you pick me up? The daughter and husband just came home and they're kicking me out."
Boss? Who calls their employer Boss?
I'm really angry about this the more I think about it. Why did he have to borrow our phone to call his "boss"? It's all sounding fishy.
Mom is back in bed. She's shaken up but resting. I've told her to never open the steel screen door again when we're gone.
Perhaps this was a good lesson. Mom did once let a woman in who said she needed to use the bathroom.
Sometimes seniors can be very trusting. I say that because I was also fooled by the salesman working for the same company.
Be careful everybody. I'm sure this isn't happening only in Hawaii.
A scary situation, Kay. I'm glad you got home when you did.
ReplyDeleteTHIS SHOULD BE REPORTED. It could've ended very differently. Help prevent this from happening to someone else. I think he might have already lost his job and had leftover 'product' to get rid of and used it as a way to get into the house. Not meant as a lecture. I care about you.
ReplyDeleteThe thing is I don't know who to report it to since no actual crime was perpetrated. I asked my brother who works for the police department and he said there's really no legal recourse.
DeleteIsn't it awful?
DeleteOh, how awful! I don't let anybody into the house because my husband won't permit it. If he were not here, it would be different. I would probably be hoodwinked just like you and your mother were.
ReplyDeleteI agree I would report it also...
ReplyDeleteThe scam artists are working overtime. All these seniors and a bad economy are behind some of it. Meanwhile, you must be ever alert. I feel sorry for the young man who is probably an underpaid kid, but more sorry for your poor Mom. Perhaps he learned a lesson about tact if not ethical behaviour?
ReplyDeleteyup, report this, your poor mum.This apartment building we live in is not a seniors building but its a no children building, its a lovely building built 38 years ago and most of the original people are now 80 and 90, we had trouble with rug cleaners pulling this kind of scam and it was amazing how many let them in, and our building is a security building, older people are so trusting, thats just sad.That fellow sounds fishy to me, yes I think report this,
ReplyDeleteIt does all sound pretty fishy....it is a good thing you came home when you did. Hopefully it will keep your mom from letting in someone else in the future. I hope she feels better soon.
ReplyDeleteGosh Kay, glad Mom's okay. I'd forgotten that many areas around K.C. do not permit solicitation. You could put a reminder note on the inside of your door to remind Mom. Even a "no solicitation" sign on the outside of the door, might keep some from trying.
ReplyDeleteHope Mom feels better soon. Keep her hydrated, as elderly folks get worse quicker in only 1-2 days. May want to consider a doc visit late today, or tomorrow if they have Saturday hours.
Don't know if Rainbow's corporate office cares about the pushiness of it's sales force, but it almost sounds like he was trying to sale his own vacuum.
Aloha, DrumMajor
We actually DO have a No Solicitation sign on our entrance way after that first Rainbow episode. However, these people just ignored it and mom was so groggy that she wasn't thinking. She thought she was answering the door to the mailman. Putting a note on the inside of the door is something I shall think about doing. Thanks, DrumMajor!
DeleteHow awful! I agree with others that you should report this. Does your area have a consumer protection office? They may be interested to know the details.
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard of any consumer protection agency. I was hoping somebody would tell me. Perhaps I'll write to the newspaper and ask them.
DeleteOffice of Consumer Protection, Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, State of Hawaii
DeleteBetter Business Bureau
Thanks, Lorna! I did look into the Better Business Bureau but couldn't find a good way to complain about this company in Hawaii's actual sales practice. I'll look into the Office of Consumer Protection.
DeleteOK, I did it, Lorna. I wrote my complaint to the Consumer Protection Agency and told them what happened. I have a feeling there's not much anybody can do because it's not like somebody was defrauded. It's all to do with the way they train their salespeople. Still, if they are able to send them a message, it would be great.
DeleteAgree with everyone that this sounds very fishy. You are right, asking to use your phone and calling his boss "boss" seems like a staged act to make you feel bad for "kicking them out". Is this the same company that sells Kirby vacuum cleaners. When I was much younger, I too was sucked in by many a door sales people, buying overpriced framed pictures and.... a very expensive Kirby from I believe the same company in the 80s if memory serves me.
ReplyDeleteL...w
Another girlfriend who wrote me an e-mail after reading this blog post said they'd had the same thing happen with Kirby vacuum cleaners and they had to be "very direct" in order to get the guy to leave. He then called his boss also and told him he was being "kicked out".
DeleteIsn't there some kind of law now that if you get coerced into buying something like this, you have 48 hours or something like that to change your mind?
I googled to read more about the 48 hours "cooling off" law. Good to know about this, thanks! http://consumer.findlaw.com/consumer-transactions/canceling-a-sale-the-cooling-off-period.html
DeleteThe article mentions your state's Consumer Protection Agency. I would call them just to talk to someone at their office to see what can be done to ding the company's reputation. Also BBB. Nothing like a consumer scorned. I've written my share of nasty reviews.
The Kirby sales person 30 years ago was rather nice, but he did play on my guilt feelings for not having the "best" vacuum money can buy once he found out our son was allergic to dust mites.
L...w
Thank you so much! I looked into BBB but didn't find a way to make this kind of complaint at that site. I'll check into the Consumer Protection Agency tomorrow. Thank you very much for this info. I would like to help others avoid this aggravation.
DeleteI think the call to his boss from your phone is a bit suspicious. That should be reported and stopped if they are doing it to cull phone numbers.
DeleteL...w
There have been a number of home invasions, too, where men pose as cops, barge in, tie up the owner, and steal things. Do be careful!
ReplyDeleteThat's so awful that the salesman pushed his way in. I'm so sorry your mom was so very ill that she let him in. Will she remember not too let anyone in again? Truly awful.
ReplyDeleteThat really does sound fishy and needs to be reported. What a shame. Door to door salesmen are trained to be aggressive but like you, that phone call did not sound right at all.
ReplyDeleteHope your mom is feeling better.
The problem here is I don't know who to report it to. We haven't really be scammed. Legally, we've just been excruciatingly imposed upon.
DeleteHate to tell you this, but they now have your phone number on the other end. And because you called them, they can use that number, or even sell it, as you now have a "relationship" with them and the "do not call" law does not apply.
ReplyDeleteRainbow, Kirby, Cutco. They are all the same. They pay very high commissions and want their sales people to be very pushy. I had a former student work for Cutco, promising her the moon. Well, this girl could sell ice to Eskimos and she made huge sales. They didn't pay her as promised. I always told my students to stay far, far away from these companies. Their products are good, but their tactics are terrible.
Oh NOooooo! More things to worry about. We've had run-ins with Cutco people too. One of my daughter's friends told us she just wanted to practice on us, but didn't expect us to buy. Nope! I showed her knives we bought from another friend just to prove we didn't need another Cutco knife. Still, I was disappointed in her that she'd not told us the truth.
DeleteYes, that "practice" gambit is their method of selling. As we all know, we hate to say no to someone we know, and that's exactly what the companies know, too. I also told my students not to ever call me and ask me to "listen" to their sales presentation.
DeleteMy husband and I have had to deal with scammers. My MIL was targeted by a man and his brother. Terry had to face them off and tell them to stay away. They had no respect for women, and only a man could chase them off.
ReplyDeleteyour poor mom! I'm also bad with this stuff, have to be careful.
ReplyDeleteThere should be a consumer protection agency through your state office of the Attorney General. that's how it works here in WA.
ReplyDeleteGosh, Kay this is awful! I'm glad Mom is okay and nothing more happened. Everybody would get 'HOT' letters about this starting with the RAINBOW vacuum cleaner's local office, then their district office, and finally their Head Quarters/office. After that, the State Attorney General's office would get one. Oh, and also the BBB (local, district, state, and national)...EVERYBODY!
ReplyDeleteI'm a letter writer, especially when it involves unethical behavior!
Liked this:)
ReplyDelete