Anyway, on Christmas Eve last year, my vacuum cleaner died. I begged it to hang on another few days. I tried to explain to the turquoise blue machine (which actually lasted more than a year) that it was Christmastime, and it would be impossible to get to a store and purchase a replacement. The lines would be awful. I would get run-over by crazed parents buying last minute toys. Traffic would be a nightmare. Alas, ol' Turq didn't listen. He coughed and sputtered and surrendered to the dog-hair-cat-hair-kid-crumb infection it harbored for several months. It quit on me. Thanks, Turq.
I was devastated. Reality told me I had to face the fury of the Christmas crowds, for my house would be disgusting at the end of a day with no vacuum. My children couldn't possibly open their gifts on a carpet coated in hair. So I ventured out in Gold Lame' and bought the vacuum that got high reviews on Amazon.com...a Shark Multi-Purpose vac that claimed to NEVER lose suction.
And here's what I found out: it doesn't lose suction. It just falls apart. Christmas night, while in use, the dirt compartment simply fell off. It didn't just come unlatched, it broke off. Guess where I was on the day after Christmas? In the return line at Best Buy, along with 9,000,000 other people returning and exchanging Christmas gifts. I could have spit nails. I wanted to cry. I wanted my floors clean.
And then I stupidly exchanged my broken vacuum for another one...the exact same model. I figured mine was a fluke. This one wouldn't break. And it didn't.
For 3 more weeks, anyway.
Today the new one broke. Same thing. In the middle of vacuuming, the dirt compartment started making a whistling noise, and then broke off. I wailed in dismay. Not really, but I wanted to.
So on my Sunday that would be full of running around anyway, I had to add a trip to Best Buy. But this time, I would not make the mistake again. I explained to the Customer Service clerk that this vacuum was entirely impossible to use in my home. Maybe it was just not cut out for the kind of rigorous vacuuming my house requires. Perhaps it would be great for a less-chaotic household. It didn't ever lose the suction, so that was positive...but I needed more stability. I needed heavy-duty. A friendly (and maybe commission-hungry?) sales clerk empathized with me, and suggested the all-powerful Dyson. I must say, there was probably a look of wonder on my face at the suggestion. After all, I have pondered the Dyson before. I've run my fingers over the smooth, steel grey exterior and stared, with glazed eyes at the cyclone technology...but (snapping back to reality)I cringed at the $449 price tag. No way. Not when it'll just die in a short while. "But it won't die," he claimed, "it has a five year warranty, too"...."and this one is on clearance, only $269." Hmm...
I read the feature-card. Lots of nice features. But $269? I don't know. I didn't see a box anywhere. I asked him, and he looked in the back. Nope, turned out they didn't have this one anymore, anyway. Too bad, I was nearly convinced.
Until happy-friendly clerk spoke to his manager, who told him to sell me the vacuum for $219, display model, no box.
A Dyson for $219? Okay!
Plus, there was the $129 refund from the ill-fated Shark. So my out-of-pocket expense on this particular day was less than $100...and I was feeling fine about that.
Better yet was my reaction when I got her home and plugged her in. Unbelievable. I had just vacuumed this morning with the other vacuum before it broke, and this new machine sucked up things that may have been in my carpet for 1700 years. The compartment filled in minutes. It was amazing.
If you find a good deal, get a Dyson. Just for entertainment, if nothing else. But I promise you'll love it to death. If you're sick, like me...
Oh, and your kids will like it too.
Mine did, anyway.
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