UPDATE to Update: STAY AWAY from this shoddy product (or buy at Sears)!
Written: Sep 02 '03 (Updated Jun 10 '04)
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Pros: Lightweight. About the best I can say at this point.
Cons: Breaks down easily; outrageous "shipping and handling" charges even under warranty! Customer service is horrible.
The Bottom Line: Great until it breaks, which it does easily; then look out! Useless warranty, can't repair it yourself, proprietary parts you can only get from Euro-Pro. Lousy customer service. Avoid!
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| starstuff's Full Review: Euro-Pro UV610 Bagless Upright Vacuum |
Update to my update: At this writing on 6/10/04, Sears is offering a Merchandise Replacement Agreement for $9.00 on the Ultra Shark Cordless Sweeper. Note that Sears sells model UV615, not UV610; there is no difference I can tell between this one and the one Euro-Pro sells direct. I think it's just a different code for the units sold through Sears. Anyway, the agreement gives you two years of protection beyond Euro-Pro's one-year warranty, BUT you never have to deal with Euro-Pro if anything at all goes wrong with the product during those three years, even "maintenance items" that Euro-Pro won't cover past 30 days from purchase like a broken belt. You simply return the unit to Sears and they give you a brand new one, NO QUESTIONS ASKED according to the salesperson. Sears regularly has 10 percent off sales and mails out $5.00 off coupons, and you can use these coupons during the 10 percent off events. Sears sells these units for $59.99, which is exactly competitive with every other vendor I've looked at. This is by far the best deal and the only condition under which I can recommend buying the Ultra Shark sweeper. It's a nifty little product when it's working.
If you choose to do this, do it now! I can't believe Sears is offering this deal -- maybe they haven't yet heard how breakage-prone this product is, or maybe they have and they're trying to empty their warehouse of the things! But once you buy that agreement they would be obligated to honor it for the three-year period.
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UPDATE
In September 2003 I wrote a rave review of the Euro-Pro Ultra Shark cordless vacuum, having used one for a month. At the bottom of this update, I have left my previous review for comparison.
I continued to be pleased with the Ultra Shark and bought another one in December 2003 for my parents for Christmas. They, too, were happy with their Shark. It was lightweight, convenient and did a great job.
I now must drastically change my review due to problems with the durability and maintenance of this product and the OUTRAGEOUS charges Euro-Pro makes to buy replacement parts for this vacuum, not to mention the horrible (HORRIBLE!) customer service I experienced with this company.
DURABILITY -- HA!
My Shark was in use for only six months when suddenly it made a horrible noise and the roller stopped working. I suspected a broken belt and was correct. The belts on these things turn out to be skinny little things about 1/4" wide. Such a butch product, picking up bolts and broken glass on TV infomercials, depending on this teeny little belt! Ah, but the real zinger is trying to install a new belt. See, the Shark is engineered so that you can't remove the bottom cover to easily get at the parts the belt hooks around. The screws are in deeply recessed holes and so tiny that I don't have a single screwdriver that can reach them or fit the screw heads. Not only that, the Shark takes a SPECIAL belt only Euro-Pro makes, or so their customer service told me; and they demand $9.99 for three of these little things, plus $5.00 shipping
At just about the same time, my parents told me that their Shark had stopped working, period, and the green light wouldn't come on when they tried to charge their unit. They had owned their Shark only about four months when this happened.
I took my Shark to their house and we put my working battery in their unit, to try to find out whether the problem with their Shark was a bad battery. It was. Then we found out another juicy little trick Euro-Pro has pulled with the engineering of this product: The battery pack is attached to the cover plate, so you cannot get a replacement from any other source but Euro-Pro, at $19.99 a pop plus, of course, a huge shipping and "handling" fee. That's more than 1/3 of what a brand new Shark would cost!
There's more: When we tried to put my original battery back in my Shark, it wouldn't fit back in all the way. It now will only work if pressure is put on the bottom to push the battery down against its contacts. So we now have two useless vacuums.
WARRANTY -- HA! HA!
The manual that came with our Sharks said that Euro-Pro would repair or replace defective units within one year of purchase if the entire thing is returned to them -- not just the nonworking body, but the stick handle, too (just TRY and get those things pulled apart once you've assembled them). YOU have to pay to ship their defective products back to them, PLUS pay them for handling and return shipping. The manual says $16.95; on the phone, their customer service rep said it's $11.95. Either way, what an outrage.
Moreover, they won't repair the broken belt because it didn't break within 30 days of purchase. Belts aren't covered under their "warranty." No matter that you can't get replacement belts at your neighborhood repair center, nor can you get at the part it hooks around without practically ripping the bottom of the machine off with your bare teeth.
CUSTOMER SERVICE -- HA! HA! HA!
The only saving grace Euro-Pro has, in my book, is that they have a toll-free customer service number. Since I spent more than an hour on the phone arguing with their rep and then her supervisor, this was a good thing.
I was outraged that not one but both of the Sharks I bought broke down well within the warranty period. The customer service rep could only repeat that the company policy demanded we pay to ship the thing to them and include a check to cover their cost to return the repaired or a new unit to us. And, of course, they wouldn't repair the belt on my machine, they would only sell me their $9.99 three-pack with a $5.00 shipping charge.
I asked to speak to a supervisor regarding these charges and was told no one was available to talk to me, but I was assured my comments would be passed on to their quality department. Yeah, right. I refused to hang up until I got a supervisor on the phone, at which point someone calling himself "Leo White" miraculously became available. His accent, like the service rep's, clearly indicated he was from India, where they don't tend to have names like Leo White. After a lengthy conversation, "Leo" finally said he would "revoke" the $11.95 charge if my parents wanted to return their unit for servicing, but they would still have to pay to ship the entire thing to Euro-Pro's Plattsburgh, NY repair center. He wouldn't budge on the belt problem on my unit. At this point I was still unaware that, once removed, the battery pack won't go back in properly.
Still unhappy with their response to my problem, I requested the name and address of Euro-Pro's CEO. "Leo" told me the CEO's name is "Jeff Franklin" (yeah, right, again) and he's at their Montreal headquarters, but he refused to give me the address. I was to write to their general Customer Service address at Plattsburgh and my letter would be forwarded to "Jeff." Suuuurrrre it would. I argued with "Leo" for at least fifteen minutes about this, to no effect.
OTHER PROBLEMS DISCOVERED
One point I want to mention is that dirt and hair get into the guts of this machine and you have to do a lot more than just empty the collection tray to clean it. When the belt broke on my Shark and we opened up the compartment to check on it, we pulled out clumps of dust and hair that got up inside. We couldn't have reached them with the belt still in place. It's probable that the accumulation of this dirt was a factor in the belt's breakage. No way I could see to avoid this -- another engineering flaw in this very poorly designed product.
BOTTOM LINE: IF IT SAYS "EURO-PRO," RUN!
A bad unit can get by quality control every once in a while, but when it happens twice to the same buyer, look out. These units have clearly been engineered to require servicing by Euro-Pro only, at Euro-Pro's prices, and it's such a hassle to get servicing through their so-called warranty that they're obviously betting most customers will just toss the non-working units in the attic and forget about it. Don't be one of these suckers!
Please learn from my extremely negative experience and avoid dealing with Euro-Pro or its products. And let companies like Sears, which is pushing at least three of Euro-Pro's cleaning products, know that this company does NOT stand behind its products and does NOT offer an acceptable level of customer service.
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PREVIOUS REVIEW:
Like other reviewers, I saw the Euro-Pro Ultra Shark Cordless Sweeper on a TV infomercial and wondered if it could possibly be as good as it looked. The initial price was prohibitive and I was reluctant to risk non-refundable, expensive shipping/handling charges. However, when I saw it at my local Sears, I decided I had nothing to lose by giving it a try -- if it failed to live up to its claims, I could get a full refund without the hassle and expense of shipping it back.
OUT OF THE BOX
The Ultra Shark comes in a lightweight 10" x 14.5" x 4" box, great for wrapping as a gift. Nobody would guess they were getting a vacuum cleaner!
There were a minimum of parts to assemble: a handle, three rods to push together to form the stem, the cleaner itself, and another piece to attach the stem to the cleaner. Everything pushed together pretty easily, and there were no screws to wrestle with or lose. The main "works" were completely assembled in the cleaner head, even the little edging side brush (ingenious -- and it works great!). In less than five minutes I had it all put together and charging.
The parts were very securely packaged in cardboard, which I was delighted to see. Being environmentally sensitive, I hate to see parts packaged in styrofoam instead of recyclable cardboard.
CHARGE!
The Ultra Shark comes with a simple charger that plugs into any outlet and easily inserts into the back of the unit. A green light indicates charging. The sweeper must be charged for about 12 to 18 hours prior to first use, and it takes two to three full discharges and recharges to get the full benefit of the NiCad (nickel-cadmium) battery. Some other reviewers who had problems with early discharge of the battery may not have charged it sufficiently or realized that NiCad batteries usually need to be charged, fully discharged and then recharged a couple of times before they're fully functional. Also, the manual states that a charge will hold for about 35 minutes but that it might be less depending on the surface being cleaned (i.e., carpets vs. bare floors).
I got enough power after an initial charge of about 15 hours to do my entire, carpeted three-room apartment, plus the bathroom and a long carpeted stairwell, with no discernible loss of power. It took me about 15 to 20 minutes.
THIS SUCKER REALLY SUCKS -- LITERALLY!
The Ultra Shark is extremely lightweight and easy to maneuver. To turn it on and off you simply press a large silver button on top of the cleaner head with your foot. You release the handle from its upright position by pulling it gently backward while holding the cleaner head down with your foot.
I bought this sweeper primarily because I have four cats and I was tired of having to haul out and plug in my Oreck to vacuum up tracked cat litter two or more times a day. I had no plans to use the Ultra Shark for more than "litter patrol" and the occasional spot-pickup, not for general vacuuming.
Imagine my amazement when the Ultra Shark not only picked up the fine, scoopable litter with ease, but also sucked up an astonishing amount of cat hair embedded in the carpet that even the Oreck hadn't gotten up! The easily-emptied collection tray was crammed with cat hair and litter particles. After this I went over the carpet in my bedroom, living room, bathroom and stairwell and got two more trays crammed with cat hair! My carpets all looked every bit as good as they do after I use the Oreck.
You can pull the stem out of the plastic piece attaching it to the cleaner and use the Ultra Shark as a hand vac, but I found it difficult to pull the stem back out and really don't find it all that big a deal. The entire unit is so lightweight that using it on the stairs with the stem inserted didn't pose any real problem. Also, the inserts are made of plastic, and although it seems to be pretty sturdy stuff, repeatedly pulling it out and then reinserting it could damage the part that snaps in to secure the stem to the cleaner.
CLEANING THE CLEANER
Emptying the collection tray is simplicity itself: Just grasp the edge of the tray on the side of the cleaner head, press lightly and pull. Dump the contents and just slide the tray back in until you hear and/or feel a slight snap.
If you have allergies to dust and/or dust mites, you might want to cover your nose and mouth while emptying the tray, as some dust will inevitably waft up as you dump the contents.
You should empty the tray frequently, especially if, like me, you have pets. It can fill up amazingly fast, and if it gets too full the contents could be pushed back out onto the floor.
The outside of the Ultra Shark is all lightweight, brushed-gold colored metal and black plastic, with a clear plastic cover over the roller brush. A wipe with a damp cloth is all that's needed to clean the outer casing.
The manual suggests periodically releasing the roller brush and pulling off any threads or hair that may become entangled. This is an unfortunate consequence of using vacuums with roller brushes no matter what model you're using, so I don't consider this a drawback of the Ultra Shark in particular.
Though I've only had the unit for a short period and haven't yet had to clean the brush, the instructions look very clear and an inspection of the assembly doesn't indicate any major problems in releasing and reinserting the roller. However, extra caution is called for, due to the fact that it's powered by a battery and therefore could be accidentally turned on if you hit the ON button while you're trying to release the roller assembly. I shudder to think what that thing could do to a person's fingers! This also warrants caution when allowing children to use the sweeper.
STOW IT!
I love that the Ultra Shark is so slim that I can push the head down and hang the unit flat to the wall instead of taking up valuable floor space to store it in an upright position. The handle has a built-in notch to hang from a screw or nail.
The only thing you have to be careful of is to empty the collection cup before you lift the unit off the floor to carry or store unless the handle is locked in the upright position. Otherwise, the contents will spill out.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): $59.99
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Epinions.com ID:
starstuff
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Reviews written: 6
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