Saturday, June 25, 2011

Rainbow And Delphin Vacuum Cleaners

Has anyone bought either of these brands of vacuum cleaners for SGD3,000+ and up?

Basically what they do is they either get your contact via a referral from a friend, or they give you a free pot(or something) at a household fair. They then lug their huge-ass water-filtration based vacuum cleaners to your home and tells you it's a one-off free cleaning service.

Once they enter your home, the selling begins. From praising you, giving you irresistible offers, spouting all the healthy living spiel, to very amazing demonstrations sucking up your bed and sofas to leave you almost embarrassed that they are so dirty.

Finally they refuse to leave, throwing everything at you from interest-free instalment plans, free gifts, cheaper rates if you gave her a few names of friends who could use the product, leaving at least a small initial deposit, using their cleaning service. Anything just for you to part with your money.

I did abit of searching for both products online and was amazed by the amount of negative news, comments, reviews available.

Basically, if a product were this good, it would never receive so much negative publicity bordering on people calling them scams and con jobs. Now I won't say that they are, but I believe there are a few things that you readers should know so that you know what to expect when you next receive such an invite for free cleaning service etc.

Point 1. The vacuum cleaner seems quite good. There are not many water-based filtration vacuum cleaners around and it is true that water does contain dirt and mites better than your normal filter bag. The machine itself is as powerful as it gets too. A check on US websites actually gives the vacuum cleaners a four out of five star rating on average.

Point 2. The most common complaints I can find on the use of the vacuum cleaners are that firstly, they are too bulky. At 30lbs that's like 15kg of rock to lug around. Sucks if you have stairs in your house. Secondly, the assembly and cleaning process is extremely tedious. Unlike conventional cleaners where you just turn off the machine and store it, this one you have to assemble, and after cleaning you have to clean out the filter bowl, grimy dust filled water and all. Thirdly, they're loud. But then that's because they have a huge motor to suck right? Lastly, they have no retractable wires, so you have to wrap the wiring around the machine and basic storage looks ugly.

Point 3. The price factor. The Rainbow was offered to us for SGD 3.4K. NOT KIDDING. This hulk of a machine actually costs about USD 300 to assemble according to most online opinion. Yet the magic of removing dust mites from your bed does make people part with their money rather easily. Now I see little marketing for this product, so most of the extra profits should be used to pay the salesmen. Thats a very high profit margin. It explains their pushiness to sell.

Point 4. You have to understand how this company works. From what I've read, they could be abit like pyramid selling, Get-rich-quick selling, or MLM even. The salespeople themselves are lured with high income for little work adverts and the focus of their training is direct sales techniques. The salespeople apparently are not paid a salary and are paid on a tiered basis based on how many machines they sell. Apparently they can earn up to 1K per machine? Hence the pushy sales.

Point 5. Do more research online. Honestly, I only did it because I found it funny that I've never heard of these two brands prior and yet they dared to sell for such obscene prices. The online negativity and tsunami of bad experiences is one thing you might want to try not to get sucked into if you want an unbiased view. Just try to read the genuine experiences, some are really quite satisfied while others are downright terrible like getting cheated of even more money by their salesperson! Read and decide yourself.

Point 6. Aftersales support. The biggest complaint from owners of the machines, is after sales support. Most say they cannot locate who to be responsible when machines breakdown, when wanting to service under warranty or simple when trying to get in touch with the company. And most times the salespeople would just run you through an endless loop of people transferring you in circles. Next biggest complaint is high cost of servicing if not covered under warranty and sales of spare parts.

All in, do your check and balance before committing to buying the product even if you think it will be worth every cent of your thousands of dollars. It is not right to be aggressively pressured into buying after only one demo. If all else fails, there is always the Small Claims Tribunal. So far, several cases against Delphin have been won there.

14 comments:

  1. Anonymous4:29 PM

    Good analysis! I didn't buy either...

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  2. Susie Tamarine6:06 PM

    Thanks for the insightful analysis. I ended up not buying after deliberating for quite a long time over this.

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  3. Anonymous12:52 AM

    Wts delphin silver vacuum cleaner free floor steamer selling at $2000

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  4. Thanks for this very good post. I actually chose not to purchase in the end because I figured that I will probably use it once a year only. Damn right those sales people are pushy!

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  5. Anonymous12:13 AM

    I found Delphin a fantastic product n my sales person was not pushy at all I did my research on both product , rainbow n delphin I found the new delphin s8 is fantastic as doesn't use any hepa filter and 8 years motor warranty + 8 years extended service warranty, I know it's expensive but this is the same price everywhere...beside its good for my family n ESP if u have pets, allergies n good to prevent future allergies, it clean faster , lighter easier...no no filter u need for decades trust me, I have tried many vacuum cheaper as well but not satisfied , I mean if u have better idea to keep ur house cleaner then this n cheaper then do let me know , I have paid by Instalment with 0% so I dun feel the pinch, I also like the rainbow but I found its bigger n heavier n too hassle as compare to delphin....

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  6. Anonymous9:14 PM

    I think there is a lot of salesperson or company reprentatives is writing the ingenuine comments or even starting their own thread in a forum. I have bought one delphin and I really feel that it shouldn't cost that much. Hate myself for making the decision. And damn the salesperson, they are damn pushy.

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  7. Two years on, it looks like the company structure and selling methods are the same. Just know what you are getting into and what to expect before you sign on the dotted line. There seem to be more advocates of both vacuum cleaners these days so maybe Singaporeans are getting richer or the product negatives are being addressed.

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  8. Anonymous10:27 AM

    Hi I bought my delphin S8 last week , I think it's over priced so I check ard German and Europe side, n shocking its more expensive in there......

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  9. Anonymous10:34 AM

    Hi I just trade in my old delphin they give me 1400 for my old delphin, I got a new model as well , it's seems stronger tho I din want to trade in my 10 years machine but my husband was convinced with new technology , so far I m happy with delphin machine , it really helped my children allergies problem , I find my carpets are deep cleaned after using delphin, n touchwood so far I dun have any problem yet from company, lol mayb I m the lucky one

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  10. Anonymous10:41 AM

    Hi there actually I did not want to buy firstly, but after seeing a demo myself i m convinced, but I did not buy on the same day, I asked for rainbow demonstration as well, both machine was doing a good job, I have seen dyson not bad, but it's just a vacuum it doesn't clean deep my mattress and my rugs, eventually I bought the delphin, it's smaller n lighter and its true it doesn't use hepa filters, anyways I din get so personal about salesperson as I dun care , it's my decision I never get carried away with their sales tactics but I focused on my need n product, I just read in new papers about company , good enough and 8 years warranty...I m happy with delphin so it's a thumbs up

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  11. Looks like there are alot of good comments more recently!

    Perhaps I should do another review soon to keep things up to date.

    Would be nice if some of you could leave a name rather than leave yourselves as anonymous though :)

    Cheers!

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  12. Hi after reading several reviews online, I have rejected 2 demos from my best friends referrals, but made me think few points
    1 . I was at PP and this guy approach me from delphin to demonstrate n clean the mattress for me and my kids, he gave me a free gift too, so I finally said yes. But when I spoke to my husband about it n told him I should cancel the appointment he told me why don't you try, I i tried n the demonstration was done. And I bought the machine after 3.5 hrs of demo.

    2. I would like to share my feelings to everyone, pls do not believe anyone writing about the product reviews as I did, some may have bad experience with someone or a bad day and the reviews go bad, some may have good ones too, but any1 including me writing a review one should not believe blindly.

    3 . As I was looking for these systems so I checked already about technology before demo, my husband told me if its a good product or bad we are the best ppl to review with our own eyes rather believing anyone from net. Our reviews are more valuable then anyone, and everyone has their own taste, I was like hmmm, you are rite.

    4. beside if the product are sold online or shops where you can't see how it's practically working in your house , yes review might help little bit, but I had a chance to see delphin or mayb any other products which they bring to your home practically working, so you can imagine this product in your house and therefore decide to buy or not buy.

    5. Now some of them talked about commissions and structure, now how many of us gone to car dealers, insurance agents, property agents and so on to say your have high commissions? MLM or other sales target? I mean you can negotiate with your best but can't get personal with their pay or commissions , I mean to be fair. Every1 have rites to earn money and commision probably some of us making triple or more in our field or products too.
    Finally be a fair buyer, see the product yourself as you have a opportunity to see it practically and put your needs, benifits , and financial terms in priority rather to believe someone who might not have even seen the product , lastly choose the product which suits you the best. It could be any brand, remember your are the customer and no one should push you to buy or you should feel conned or obliged, may this help you to get your rite products
    God bless Everyone

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  13. Anonymous3:16 PM

    Not a bad product
    But warranty sucks, they can tell you 10 years warranty for their product but when I called the service centre for replacement parts was told another story.
    The guy told me that warranty is only for 7 years and I need to purchase a new water container that broken into 2 pieces i.e (top have seperated from the bottom one at the joint)

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  14. Anonymous10:48 PM

    It is getting ever more popular!

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