obviously no one tests the unit or has communication with the assembly line. i was excited to receive my TRADITION® Upright Vacuum SC688B. the first thing i did was follow the instructions, even though i am a machine repair tech, and also a mechanic. i follow the chart, only to realize later that there is a teensy itsy bitsy icon on the instructions that is supposed to tell someone that never assembled this before that the cutout notches on the handle pipes have to be aligned a certain way with each other. otherwise, you snap on the cord supports and find out if they are in the correct position and need to be removed and the pipe disassembled, rotated 180 degrees and start again.
now, that wasn't the dissatisfying disappointment that i was pretty upset about. i go to turn it on, and the stupid plastic foot switch, didn't even work properly. i pressed it down, and half the time it makes a snapping noise like its binding on the housing cover. i look, and discover that to turn it on, you have to press so hard, that the top cover is flexing and being pushed down just to get enough switch travel to turn it on.
i thought about returning the cheap thing, but i needed it for the cleaning crew in 2 days. and i thought it would go to returns and then i might get a "factory reconditioned replacement" that i didn't want or had ordered...so i removed the cover and find that the switch is sitting in a U shaped support, with a metal bracket pressed onto the plastic frame to hold it in place. now, mind you, the switch does have a threaded housing shaft, and i suspect that at one time, the switch may have been supported with a nut on both sides of that metal bracket to hold it in the correct position for ease of use. well, companies cut corners and omit the 2 nuts so that they might save a few pennies.
so instead of getting two nuts, i had to make a shim out of the packing slip, which was a simple 3/4" X about 3" long folded up paper and placed between the bottom of the switch and the housing to raise the switch up. i then realized it needed another shim, which made it work like it was supposed to for $224.99 dollars.
and when i called the company customer support to get additional info prior to the purchase, i wanted to get the comparison between this model and the similar one SC888N with the metal chrome cover for an additional $68.00. from the picture, it has the simple metal exposed switch, not a cheap plastic cap creating issues for positive movement. that support rep seemed to be making the comparison and answering a few simple questions like it was his second week on the job. unfortunately he had trouble giving me the info that was already on the website under specs. and when i told the owner of the cleaning crew what i had to do, his response was, why didn't you just send it back? he already has his own, but we need this one for inhouse use. not someone else's dust and hair clumps that come out of it on my rugs. now, i will say, this thing sounds like a gang buster. i bet it would yank a speck of dirt lodged in the rug right up and out. so don't leave it on in one place.
overall, after I fixed the switch, it seems to be working well. but it is just exasperating to have these issues that could have been eliminated with a little quality control on the assembly floor.
so one star deducted. i have only had it a few weeks, so i cant comment on any longevity or reliability issues. but wish it had the ability to also vacuum hard floors without spitting stuff around.