Dyson DC-17 Animal Vacuum Problems

We bought a Dyson vacuum in December of 2006. When we bought the vacuum, we were amazed at the power as most new owners are. The Dyson vacuum is very impressive when it's new

A couple of months ago it started acting up so I called Dyson support. on the first call, they told me to check a few things on the unit. When I got on, I checked those things but the unit was still not running correctly. So I called Dyson and made an appointment for service. The nearest service location is about 30 miles from us. Water Appliance Service, Inc. in Gaithersburg MD. Another friend of ours had a unit that needed service so they dropped our unit off while they were picking up their unit. Their unit took about three weeks to get repaired.

So our friend dropped off our vacuum on September 12. The appliance service company had no knowledge of our vacuum so I had to called Dyson for the third time to have them fax information over to the appliance company.

So today is September 28 and I have heard nothing from the appliance company. Today I called the appliance company and asked about status of our vacuum. The woman who answered told me that our vacuum was not completed being repaired and they would call us when I was ready. I told her that it's been over two weeks already since we dropped it off and asked will it be months or weeks before it's completed? She replied, "Weeks". I stated that it is hard to go for a long time with no vacuum and she apologized for the inconvenience and stated that this is a warranty repair and they are completed on a first in first out basis.

The implication that I read into this situation is that warranty repairs are not as important in terms of speed to completion as non-warranty repairs.

So although the Dyson is a very powerful vacuum upon purchase, I would have to say that you are probably just as well off to buy cheaper vacuum and replace it every couple years than to buy a Dyson. When the warranty is up and this vacuum dies, we will not be purchasing another Dyson.

Farmers Insurance Policy

Last year, I switched our auto and home insurance to farmers because I knew the agent personally. I got very good support from her. However, she moved to another company and I was given a new agent. In June I contacted him regarding an update to our policy. He was very responsive and sent me documentation detailing costs associated with the update. At that time I did not make the policy change.

This month on August 17 and on August 31, I sent e-mails asking questions about performing the update. When I called on August 31 his voicemail stated that he was on vacation the week of August 10 so I assume he is back now. I left a message asking for him to call me back.

I still haven't heard back from them either via e-mail or phone so today I called the farmers company directly. The problem with farmers is that each agent is essentially a franchise operation so if your agent is out of town, you are a bit SOL. Farmers put me in touch with his district manager. At least they gave me the phone number. When I called the district manager's office, I got his voicemail and I started to leave a message. I was about five seconds into the message and I thanked me for my message and hung up.

Auto insurance and homeowners insurance seems to be a competitive business so it seems odd to me what poor support I am receiving. I will probably be shopping around soon. I realize that people go on vacation in August but it seems like they should have contingencies in place when that happens.