Stark’s Vacuums – Portland

Amazing company, that hires quality employees who actually know information about the products they are selling! They helped me find a vacuum that was perfect for my needs and my budget!
Also, they have the BEST DEAL on home steam-​cleaning rug cleaners (In every way better than the Rug Dr’s at FM). They are always clean and work to perfection, because they actually service them between uses!

I went to this store to get a replacement bag for my vacuum cleaner. The store clerk who attended me was very distant. I am African American. Didn’t say a word and treated me in a dismissive manner. And after I paid for the bags, he more or less showed them toward me from a distance of about 4 feet, and at the same time not looking at me. And didn’t say a word. As an African American, you get used to it, but it doesn’t mean you’ll be doing business with that co. again.

My vacuum cleaner was clogged and I wasn’t able to get it out myself. My landlord was supposed to come over the next day so I brought it in to get some help. It was great! They helped me right away and unclogged my vacuum for free within 5 minutes. It was a real lifesaver and I’ll definitely go back!

I am grateful for the service I have gotten at the Beaverton Starks. It compares favorable with Les Schwab and Nordstrom. Very knowledgeable staff who listens and seems to care about my questions and needs.

We have shopped at Stark for 20 years. We used to shop at the Westside one. Two years ago, we bought a Dyson from the Grand Ave store. It broke, we took it in, they could not find the computer record of it but it was a small fix so fixed it. It then broke again, and we went in, and they could find no record again. I had decided I wanted a different vacuum as this one was scratching my wood floor, so they said they would buy back the Dyson for TEN DOLLARS. Really, on a $ 400 vacuum? So we took it to Goodwill, where the gentleman assured me they could repair it, got the $ 200 tax refund, then went to Sears where we had a great guy who was extremely helpful and bought a new $ 400 vacuum there. The whole reason we go to stores and not order from Amazon is customer service, and if you can’t get that, why bother?

I’d used their steamer rental service once before and everything was fine but this latest time after I got the rental and hauled it up to my apartment I discovered that the handle was broken and the machine therefore unusable. I took it back and did get a refund but nothing else for all the time and energy I wasted because of their deficient equipment

Fairly rude service and the prices are very high. I found replacement vacuum cleaner bags through ebay for quite a bit less including shipping.

I guess I feel a little suspicious of vacuum cleaner salespeople and a store devoted to vacuum cleaners seemed like an overall frightening prospect to me. I had previously bought a $ 50 vacuum cleaner at Fred Meyer, which ended up being a big plastic doorstop, so I just held my breath and walked in to Stark’s Vacuums and was won over in about 30 seconds by the salesman there. On the wall they post a moneyback guarantee that I haven’t had to worry about since buying the vacuum cleaner, and I would encourage anyone who needs a vacuum NOT to get a dirt devil from Freddy’s (no disrespect. there’s plenty of great things at FM), but go here first. And check out the vacuum museum, if you’re into fun old stuff.

We bought a commercial grade vacuum for our home here. May seem a bit extreme, but when your other half is a dirty carpenter with whom you share a house full of animals (six at the moment), you’re going to need a great vacuum.
That being said, the people at Stark’s are the best, hands down. We discussed our different options and are incredibly glad we made the right decision.
Cut to a month or so later, we get a hand written card in the mail thanking us for our purchace. I didn’t even know people, let alone businesses, still did that!
We will be customers for life.

Vacuum won’t vacuum! Took it here! Excellent service, met me at the curb, and $ 6.99 later, vacuum as good as new! Why buy a vacuum anywhere else!!?

Needed a carpet cleaner fixed as it was not sucking the water out of the carpet and just leaving me with a wet mess. After Stark’s had it for six weeks, telling me it needed a replacement part, it was returned to me with several other parts broken. It was MORE broken than when I originally brought it in! It’s clear they don’t care about their work, otherwise the carpet cleaner would have been tested before it went out the door before it came back to me in even worse shape than it was. Now it’s BACK at Stark’s with no indication of when I’ll have an operational piece of equipment. Considering we are housetraining a puppy, not having it for this length of time is wrecking my house.

I was a little reluctant to go here after reading a bunch of bad reviews, but I’ve passed this place hundreds of times by bike/​bus and didn’t want to drive out further. I talked on the phone with them and they were very willing to help me out, so I decided to go to the store to get the parts.
When I got to the store they did a thorough diagnosis and made sure the vacuum was working fine. They put in a new air filter that was in stock and when I got home and tested out the vacuum on my disgusting carpet it was working much better. The only bad thing was that the air filter cost $ 20 compared to $ 10 with shipping online, so I guess I’m rounding up my 4.5 star review to 5 stars.

Sent my employee in to have the cord on a vacuum replaced. The old one was caught in a car door and cut. The estimate was $ 175, $ 110 for the part and 65 for the labor. I found this more than excessive. I sent the employee there because in the past (6 or 7 years ago) I received fast «friendly» service. Prices were a little high, but acceptable. This time was not!
Having the employee in the store, I thought I would have her pick up a wheel for our old Kirby. It is old, but one of the biggest selling points of a Kirby is that they have replacement parts for all models, regardless of age. The person on the phone was terse and said (without looking or offering to call the factory) NO there are no replacement part for that old of a model. I beg to differ. A quick call to the Kirby store in a nearby suburb, just as quickly, said yes, «I can order one or I might have one in the warehouse.» I said I would be by Saturday and a used one would be fine.
Starks is not the same place I visited in the past. In my estimation, they are over priced, and the service, at least from the person I talked to, is not worth the expense. I will now go to the Kirby store in Milwaukie or buy from Amazon. Cheaper, friendlier, easy returns, and free shipping on items as expensive as vacuum cleaners.

I have been a loyal customer of Stark’s vacuums since the 70’s. I have had four vacuums in that space of time. They have always provided excellent service. However, times change and there seems to be a new breed working there. My four year old Royal canister needs a new wheel. My husband took it into the Gresham branch, to be told they do not carry those parts and sent him home. I was disappointed that they would sell merchandise that cannot be repaired. That was shock number one. When I called them back to see what other kind of remedy they
could offer, they said that they would look for a wheel. However, it has been more than three weeks without a call back. I have no idea if they looked. I have called numerous times to be told I need to talk to the manager. I would do that, but he seems always busy and has yet to call back.
I have now called the main store in NE Portland, and was told they would look for a used part, which makes me wonder if the Gresham store really did anything!
I am being told that they will call me back in about two weeks… so we will see

Took my hoover there to check it out. They said it was the motor and it
was going to cost $ 350.00. Took it to the Hoover dealer on Sandy Blvd.
and they diagnosis it to be the fan. $ 15.00’s later, it was running great again.
Will never ! go to Starks again. !!!

We were in the market for a new vacuum. Got tired of buying a new «Walmart» special every year. So we decided to go local. From the get go I was not a fan of the pushy salesman. I should have walked out right there, but we stayed like idiots listening to this jackass go on and on. And like a couple of suckers he convinced us to buy an over $ 400 vacuum, a brand of which I had never heard of at the time. But we figured since it was so expensive, it was going to last a long time. This is all of course before I became aware of user reviews online. After about a year of use, the Simplicity vacuum they sold us started acting just like all the junk brands we had bought before it. Losing suction, squeaking, shutting off randomly, and the bag full light never worked from day one. What do you know, the salesman’s info about this vacuum was 100% wrong!
We took it in to get serviced and it cost us over $ 100. When we got the vacuum back, it looked like it hadn’t been put back together properly. The cheap plastic body was separated in a few spots and wouldn’t close together. And the wheels would make a terrible screeching sound every time you would push it forward and backward, much worse than before we had it serviced. Then about ONE MONTH later, it started acting up AGAIN. Shutting off randomly and making strange noises. Suddenly it just stopped sucking all together and blew dust and dirt all over the place. I mean this thing is one steaming piece of crap.
Should have just stuck to the «Walmart» special every year, and we would have saved a lot of money. These guys are all about sales and could give a hoot about the customer and quality products. Plus, they’ll half-​ass the work on your vacuum if you take it in to get serviced. Trust me, you’re better off going to Walmart.

Our Miele was coughing, suctionless, and unresponsive. We needed immediate care and so we rushed it to Stark’s Vacuums. In less than 2 minutes, the rep was able to resuscitate our vacuum back to its happy, healthy self!
No charge!
The service was fast, effective, and free. Can’t beat that!
We’ll be back since they have a great supply of bags and such!

I really like to shop local, and I would much rather repair or service my vacuum cleaner, however cheap it might have been new, than buy a new one. I searched for vacuum service in Portland and Stark’s was all over the place. I bought a filter for my vac there a few months ago, and they seemed nice, if a bit spendy over Freddy’s filters, so I took my old vac in.
I was greeted with a grimace by a woman who asked me what she could do for me, and when I asked for a servicing of my vac, she grabbed it, hoisted it up on the counter and turned it on. She reassembled the hose, which actually seemed to be the only thing wrong with it besides needing a cleaning/​service, but in about two seconds she was hard-​selling me on a new vacuum.
I listened with interest to her hard sell spiel about how what I really want is a bagged version, b/​c «they get you with the filter price» on the bagless versions, and after I’d heard her out, told her I thought I’d just get my vacuum serviced, thanks.
She proceeded to attempt to take apart my vacuum right there before we’d even agreed upon a price for service without even asking me if she could do so, and almost broke apart the already cracked casing (which wasn’t affecting the vac’s use at all — and still doesn’t, thank you) by forcefully pushing on the slightly cracked plastic. I literally had to tell her twice to stop and then had to remove my vac from her grasp to get her to stop attempting to break my vac right on the counter in front of me.
No way I’d trust anyone like that with servicing my vacuum. Anyone know of an actually reliable, honest, local vacuum servicing center in Portland?

Seriously, this place sucks, no pun intended. We stopped in ready to buy a Miele vacuum that my wife had researched online. We literally were just going to walk in, pick up the model we wanted and walk out. We had cash busting out the seams of our pockets. Literally. I’m not kidding.
Imagine our surprise and chagrine when we couldn’t get anybody in this f**king store to acknowledge our existence. The two salesmen were semi-​busy with other customers, and seemed like they could handle a couple at a time, but they wouldn’t even look us in the eye. No «be right with you in a minute» or anything.
We took a peruse through their shitty little vacuum museum, hoping that perhaps when we were done with that, somebody would say hello or something. Nope. 45 minutes later, we were still standing there.
When my wife asked if anybody could help us anytime soon, the salesdick gave her attitude. «I’m busy! Sheesh!» I swear to God, that’s what he said, as he rolled his eyes in his fat, puffy head. Since my wife was the only non-​caucasian person in the store, I couldn’t help think that perhaps there was a racist component to the demeanor of the clerks at Starks. They clearly didn’t want our business. We ended up leaving with our cold, hard cash still in our pockets. We spent a healthy chunk of change someplace else. Booyah! Up yours, Starks!
What a bunch of jerks.

My wife and I had a really weird experience with a salesman here a couple of years ago, which drove us right out of the store and straight to Amazon.
It was June 2010. We walked in to the store on NE Grand and were greeted by a salesman. I usually want to browse a bit before talking to anyone, but it was just the three of us in the store, so I figured we’d try to play ball.
We told him we were interested in a Miele canister vacuum for our little apartment. He steered us directly towards the $ 900 top-​of-​the-​line model, then, seeing my face, dropped it down to the $ 750 model. I had been looking at a $ 350 model online, and was feeling a little bit of sticker shock from even that price, so this was feeling less-​than-​welcoming. He launched into a sales pitch, asking a series of pseudo-​rhetorical questions designed to make it feel interactive, but obviously leading me down the $ 900 primrose path. Kinda pushy, a little tactless, but whatever, that’s his job.
My wife said we’d like to just look around the store a bit, and that’s when things got weird. He got a look on his face like we had just insulted him so vulgarly that he was at a loss for words. He stammered a bit, said «okay???», and then walked back to his counter at the back of the store.
It was very awkward. Again, we’re the only people in the store.
We both wanted to leave at that point, but we politely browsed through some other models, walked through the vacuum museum they have (neat!), and then went to leave. I called out «Thank you!» as we were leaving. He took a few steps toward us and said, «Well I wish you would have let me help you!» There was a surprising level of emotion in his voice. Dude was not taking this well.
Again, very awkward. I can’t remember if I said anything in response. «This is why people like to shop online,» is what I was thinking. We left, and bought the vacuum from Amazon.
I know this sounds like a really petty thing on which to base a review, but it really left me feeling icky. I hope that guy isn’t there anymore, or that he’s had some counseling or sales training or something.