Andy Poirier clearly remembers the night when a vacuum cleaner salesman showed up in front of his Shakopee house.

He said that the salesman in his early 20s spent nearly two hours showing a Kirby vacuum cleaner worth $2,500, and ignored his request to leave. Then, Poirier said, a supervisor showed up and told him that the salesperson needed to make another sale to get the reward trip.

"Aren't you sad?" Poirier recalled what the supervisor had told him. "You just wasted the kid's time all night, and you don't plan to buy anything?"

Instead, Poirier said that he posted a sign prohibiting solicitation and filed a complaint with the police and the Better Business Bureau. "This is not an acceptable way of doing business," he said.

Homeowners in different parts of the metropolitan area found themselves open to salespeople who, according to police reports, used excessive sales strategies to sell vacuum cleaners.

Several homeowners specifically pointed out the representatives of RG Enterprises in Burnsville because they thought it was annoying, confusing and very scary.

Mike Gerber, the owner of RG Enterprises, said in an e-mail to Star Tribune that he was sorry for the setbacks caused by his business and that the method he demonstrated at home "sometimes caught people's attention." He said that so far this year, his company has sold 140 vacuum cleaners.

"Because I am not always with all salespeople who are connected to my business, sometimes I don't know what shouldn't happen until afterwards.... I know that Kirby cannot tolerate'aggressive' Sales strategy," Gerber said.

Officials said that residents of Savage and New Prague called the police after the sales visit by the RG representative. Two cities-Isanti and North São Paulo-said they had had enough and revoked RG's sales permit.

According to reports, the sales staff took free cans of air freshener and spent several hours showing off their Kirby until they were asked to leave. Then, based on the patterns mentioned in anecdotes and police reports, they became rude and resisting.

One homeowner reported that he pulled out a gun to speed their departure, while another homeowner gave them $20 to let them leave.

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) ​​recently updated RG Enterprises' online profile to reflect four complaints about its "misleading and high-pressure" sales strategy.

"We are paying close attention to it," said Dan Hendrickson, a BBB spokesperson.

At the North São Paulo City Hall, “our phone rang suddenly,” said city manager Craig Waldron. "This is very worrying."

Halle Sminchak, chief compliance officer of Kirby, based in Cleveland, said that in addition to RG Enterprises, four other companies also sell Kirby vacuum cleaners door-to-door in the metropolitan area. This is the only way they sell.

The sergeant said the problem is usually not the door-to-door sales. São Paulo police spokesman Mike Ernster (Mike Ernster). This is a radical approach taken by companies like RG.

"I think they used human kindness," Ernst said.

Since RG recently ventured into Sao Paulo, residents have filed five complaints with the police. Ernst said some people claim that salespeople make them feel unsafe. They don't always follow the law; Benjamin Thomas Gibson, 20, was summoned by the police for selling without a license in February.

Ernst said that when a São Paulo lady asked the salesperson to leave, they replied that their time was precious and suggested $20 as a reasonable price for the presentation. He said that she took out the money to let them leave.

The North São Paulo police received 12 reports of promotional activities. Waldron said the sales staff did not carry their licenses, but used "crude and mysterious" sales techniques; he said the company requested an appeal against the revocation but did not attend the hearing.

Hannah Fitzmorris submitted a police report to the police about the night she said a crazy young salesman pushed her away when she opened the door of her home in North São Paulo. He took a sip from a container, she said, and told her "he drinks while drinking."

Another salesman attended an hour-long demonstration with him, but Fitzmorris said that neither of them would disclose the cost of the vacuum cleaner. Both requested to use her bathroom, and after they finally left, she noticed a picture frame on the floor of the bedroom. Fitz Morris, who lives alone, said that the whole incident made her feel uncomfortable.

The Mayor of Isanti, George Wimmer, said that the RG representative came to his house and would not leave, and even stepped his foot on his door, so the door could not be closed. The city revoked RG's sales permit in October 2016.

"I think this is ridiculous," Wimer said.

Gerber appealed the revocation. After the city council revoked the permit, according to the video of the meeting, he shouted that there are many other places hoping to have the opportunity to buy his Kirby.

"I can't believe they are allowed to operate," Wimmer said.

George John, a marketing professor at the Carlson School of Business at the University of Minnesota, said that door-to-door sales are not common these days, and this may be the reason for some of the boycott of RG Enterprises.

Officials from the Better Business Bureau said they receive complaints every summer about visiting lawyers selling magazines, asphalt, and alarm systems.

"Naturally, when a company tries to buck the trend, they will be hindered," John said.

Selling door-to-door is expensive and time-consuming, but it can sometimes work if salespeople can come in.

"It's effective, but it's also a social punishment," John said, adding that the salesperson might get a sale, but it would close many other potential customers.

When asked about general complaints against RG Enterprises and Kirby, Sminchak said that sometimes misunderstandings occur because people are not used to door-to-door sales. She said that it is difficult to please everyone, and research shows that dissatisfied customers are more willing to share their experiences than satisfied customers.

Nonetheless, she said, home sales are a "unique opportunity" for customers, who feel comfortable at home and are therefore more likely to ask questions about the product.

This is not the case for a man in Baixiong Lake. He complained to the BBB about RG's marketing activities and said that he "almost had to use force to remove these knuckles from my house." When they did not stop their conversation after two hours When, he brandished his gun.

In response to the complaint, Gerber wrote that the salesperson was never actually asked to leave—he suggested, which showed that the customer was interested in it.

"Part of our dealer's job is to make friends and show off equipment," Gerber wrote. The salesman "really finished his job in this house."

Erin Adler is a suburban journalist covering Dakota and Scott County for the Star Tribune, working on Sunday's shift breaking news. She previously spent three years in charge of K-12 education in the Southern Metro and five months in charge of education in Carver County.

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