Saturday, January 30, 2010
A Late Christmas Present
Part 1: Why I Love Bed Bath & Beyond
For Christmas, Shelly gave us all a new vacuum. That is, she wrapped up a piece of paper that said we should get a new vacuum. We do this kind of gift-giving a lot, especially on items (like a vacuum) that need a bit of research to determine the best brand and model to buy. So this month we've been doing a little bit of research, though most of the websites that allegedly review vacuum cleaners are pretty much useless. After some searching around, we were kind of feeling that the Dyson DC25 might be the best vacuum for us, but it was insanely expensive - usually over $500. But then I found that Dyson is currently making a limited edition model called the DC25 Blueprint, which is exactly the same except it's white-and-purple instead of charcoal-and-orange (that is, it's prettier), and it comes with an additional attachment designed to fit in the small spaces underneath couches and such. And I found that Bed Bath & Beyond was selling it online for $400.
Of course, the beauty of BBB (as we call it) is that they have these ubiquitous 20% off coupons, but the catch with them is that they can only be used in the store. If we ordered online, the total cost (including shipping) would be $430, but if we got it in the store, it would be $320 (still a steep price for a vacuum, but a very good one for one so nice).
So off I went to the local store, not really expecting them to have a limited edition vacuum in stock, but hoping that their legendary (at least in our family) customer service would somehow allow us to get the best available deal. Sure enough, they didn't have one in stock. So I asked a representative about it, and was told that they could order it for me, but they couldn't waive the shipping fee for the online order. But wait, another guy will come help you.
The other guy took me to a computer, and the first thing he did was go to dyson.com. He noted that although they sell the DC25 Blueprint for $530, they offer free shipping. Therefore, BBB would give me free shipping - they match their competitors. Then I asked if I could use my 20% off coupon. Sure, the guy said. I didn't explicitly mention the fact that the coupon states that it is not valid toward Dyson items, because BBB is so consistently lax in enforcing the restrictions on these coupons (i.e. expiration dates, one per customer per visit, etc.). So I was able to walk out of there with my $530 vacuum for $320 plus tax.
BBB has consistently been awesome to me and my family in situations like these. It started when we registered there for our wedding (they allowed us several discounts simply because we were registered, and gave us actual dollar bills when we returned stuff - even stuff that wasn't purchased there), and our admiration for their customer service continues to grow. We are loyal customers and always will be.
Part 2: The Vacuum
So the vacuum arrived the other day. While everyone was napping, I set it up and got it ready to go. It's quite a futuristic, cool-looking machine. And when you turn it on, it continues to amaze. There's a reason Dyson vacuums have such a good reputation, I guess. This thing picked up a disturbingly large amount of crud from our floors. It's the kind of thing that makes you think "And I've been letting my children crawl around on that?!" It's easy to maneuver. And best of all, the extend-o-reach wand makes it easy to clean things other than the floor. I've never really thought of a big vacuum cleaner as something that can be used on anything other than the floor, but I was cleaning cobwebs out of corners, lint off of bathroom air vents (I've never taken a vacuum into a bathroom before), and even dusting the tops of picture frames on the wall. We have no regrets about purchasing this incredible cleaning machine. It makes vacuuming so much fun, we (that is, me, Shelly, and Ellie) were fighting for taking turns with it. That bodes well - I think if vacuuming is fun, we're more likely to do it more often. In that way, even the pretty purple trim (Ellie's favorite feature) will contribute to keeping our house cleaner.
For Christmas, Shelly gave us all a new vacuum. That is, she wrapped up a piece of paper that said we should get a new vacuum. We do this kind of gift-giving a lot, especially on items (like a vacuum) that need a bit of research to determine the best brand and model to buy. So this month we've been doing a little bit of research, though most of the websites that allegedly review vacuum cleaners are pretty much useless. After some searching around, we were kind of feeling that the Dyson DC25 might be the best vacuum for us, but it was insanely expensive - usually over $500. But then I found that Dyson is currently making a limited edition model called the DC25 Blueprint, which is exactly the same except it's white-and-purple instead of charcoal-and-orange (that is, it's prettier), and it comes with an additional attachment designed to fit in the small spaces underneath couches and such. And I found that Bed Bath & Beyond was selling it online for $400.
Of course, the beauty of BBB (as we call it) is that they have these ubiquitous 20% off coupons, but the catch with them is that they can only be used in the store. If we ordered online, the total cost (including shipping) would be $430, but if we got it in the store, it would be $320 (still a steep price for a vacuum, but a very good one for one so nice).
So off I went to the local store, not really expecting them to have a limited edition vacuum in stock, but hoping that their legendary (at least in our family) customer service would somehow allow us to get the best available deal. Sure enough, they didn't have one in stock. So I asked a representative about it, and was told that they could order it for me, but they couldn't waive the shipping fee for the online order. But wait, another guy will come help you.
The other guy took me to a computer, and the first thing he did was go to dyson.com. He noted that although they sell the DC25 Blueprint for $530, they offer free shipping. Therefore, BBB would give me free shipping - they match their competitors. Then I asked if I could use my 20% off coupon. Sure, the guy said. I didn't explicitly mention the fact that the coupon states that it is not valid toward Dyson items, because BBB is so consistently lax in enforcing the restrictions on these coupons (i.e. expiration dates, one per customer per visit, etc.). So I was able to walk out of there with my $530 vacuum for $320 plus tax.
BBB has consistently been awesome to me and my family in situations like these. It started when we registered there for our wedding (they allowed us several discounts simply because we were registered, and gave us actual dollar bills when we returned stuff - even stuff that wasn't purchased there), and our admiration for their customer service continues to grow. We are loyal customers and always will be.
Part 2: The Vacuum
So the vacuum arrived the other day. While everyone was napping, I set it up and got it ready to go. It's quite a futuristic, cool-looking machine. And when you turn it on, it continues to amaze. There's a reason Dyson vacuums have such a good reputation, I guess. This thing picked up a disturbingly large amount of crud from our floors. It's the kind of thing that makes you think "And I've been letting my children crawl around on that?!" It's easy to maneuver. And best of all, the extend-o-reach wand makes it easy to clean things other than the floor. I've never really thought of a big vacuum cleaner as something that can be used on anything other than the floor, but I was cleaning cobwebs out of corners, lint off of bathroom air vents (I've never taken a vacuum into a bathroom before), and even dusting the tops of picture frames on the wall. We have no regrets about purchasing this incredible cleaning machine. It makes vacuuming so much fun, we (that is, me, Shelly, and Ellie) were fighting for taking turns with it. That bodes well - I think if vacuuming is fun, we're more likely to do it more often. In that way, even the pretty purple trim (Ellie's favorite feature) will contribute to keeping our house cleaner.
Comments:
We also have a Dyson and we love it! Like you, I was amazed at how much stuff it picked up the first time we used it. The only down side is that our carpet is so old that our wonderfully powerful vacuum has actually sucked up some of the carpet :) I suppose that's a big sign that it needs to be replaced. Have fun with your new toy!
Well, I can't speak to Oreck (the name sounds like something disgusting you'd find in your drain, though, doesn't it?), but if you go with the Dyson, definitely do it the way we did it - go to BBB and use the 20% off coupon. Like I said, you get a $530 vacuum for $320.
Dang. I'm not super happy with our Orek (it tends to go to one side) and we paid $300 for it. Good job...
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