GreatVacs.com was recently awarded the Utah Top 100 fastest growing companies award. Its a fun event/award because it is based on growth over a 5 year period no matter the size of your company. It was a fun event for our employee's and their families and to be recognized for our hard work. The details of the event and the award are below if you want to read that, but I wanted to talk about WHY this happened and HOW it benefits you. WHY did this happen?

Our growth can be broken down into 3 categories. Great Team Members, Great Products and Great Customers.

Great Team Members - OK we have some weird philosophies at GreatVacs :)    We stack vacuum cleaners in our nice office space and put our offices out in the warehouse floor.   There is no division between management and employees as we all have a equally important job to do.   We are a small company and so we act as a team as we are dependent on each other.   We treat our customers HOW WE WOULD LIKE TO BE TREATED.    We send a email to every single customer after the order saying "Have you received your order?   How did you like it?  Do you have any questions?"   In a day where our competition is outsourcing customer service to foreign countries we embrace and love interacting with out customers.   When we create jobs we want to make sure that these are jobs that can support families.    We are very loyal to our employees and as a result we have the BEST employees here at GreatVacs.   Unlike other companies we don't just hire people off the street to talk to our customers.    On average our GreatVacs team members have totally rebuilt or worked on over 10,000 vacuum cleaners before they talk to customers.    That way when you ask us a question you know you are talking to a EXPERT.

Great Product - Here at GreatVacs we are crazy about the type of Product we sell.   Our customers trust us and what products we suggest that will be just perfect for them.   Before we take on a product to sell we test it in tons of different ways to make sure it has the GreatVacs quality.    Sometimes we notice gaps in the marketplace where customers want a certain type of product but its not available.   This is why we came out with our GV Brand and we have started making many of these products our self.    For example we noticed most of our customers no longer have wall to wall carpet but also have hardwood and tile.   Most manufacturers don't make vacuums that do all those things so we started making some of our GV vacuums that are great at that.   There is one problem that we do have though.   Most of our vacuums we have sold last for decades.   Compare that to the Walmart model of selling disposable vacuums that need replaced every 2 years or so our business model is not near as profitable.   We get almost no repeat business because our products last so long :)   However our customers have made up for this problem for us be sending us so many referrals (Thank You!).

Great Customers -  OK I saved the best for last.   I don't know if its because we pray for good customers but we really do have GREAT customers.   No really I mean that.   I am always amazed at how wonderful our customers are.   If they have a small problem with their order they say "don't worry about it," they go out of their way to write us kind letters, they leave amazing reviews about our products and our company, and they refer their friends a lot.   As a result we actually lean on our customers a lot more than we should and ask them for help.   Let me give you an example.   We were creating a new product and the colors and logo work did not look right.   So our graphics designer made up 4 different designs we liked and I emailed them to 50 of our customers to ask what they thought.   Keep in mind the industry standard in companies like ours is your lucky if 10% of people will write you back.    We had 47 of 50 people write back and give us their feedback.   So we are amazed and grateful by our customers.   I always wonder why this happens.   I have had several people write us and say they were browsing websites and when they saw ours they had a good feeling.   Not sure why perhaps its because we like people and try to treat others how we want to be treated.   Last year our employees went from 6 to 10 and that is 100% because of you.   These are jobs that support families here in the US so thank you!

So that is WHY.   Here is how this award benefits you.   We realize our customers are KEY to our success.   So for the first time ever we are going to invite all our customers to our annual Friends and Family Sale we do for our employees.   Our business model at GreatVacs is to sell high end cleaning appliances at wholesale prices.   So our margins are thin.   We make up for this by selling high volume of product.   If you have bought from us before you know that we never have sales so this is a big deal.    So since we were awarded this award and we could not have done it without our great customers we are inviting everyone to participate in our Friends and Family sell which runs from November 25th to December 1st.   To participate in this you have to buy from Greatvacs.com, enter code "friendsofgreatvacs" and buy during those dates.    You can buy as much as you want and pricing will never be better.    Thanks for all your support and help :)

Thanks, Dustin:)

Below is some pictures of the Top 100 Event.    It was a fun event and a lot bigger deal than I thought it was.   I thought it was great that they took the time and energy to recognize these companies.    To see more on this event go to http://mwcn.org/blogs/news/mwcn-2013-utah100

Below you may recognize the main event speaker from the Olympics. He gave a great speech but there is a funny story along with this. My wife had broke her foot so she came later so she did not have to stand. She was not sure how to get to the event so she asked this guy if he would show her. He was really nice and walked her to the event and he turned out to be the speaker. We had a good laugh because my wife did not recognize him :)

SERVICE@GREATVACS.COM

Which is the best filter queen model?

Hi this is Dustin at Great Vacs and I just got this email from a customer. "Hi, I'm looking at a couple of the Filter Queen Vacuums that you have...... I am a serious buyer & would like your professional opinion on which one to get. I want the strongest motor, most durable, etc. I buy a new vacuum like every 1-2 years, I'm sick of it. I'm going to break down & spend more money, I just don't want to have any problems. My Husbands Mom swore by her Filter Queen, so I'm going to take her word for it, I just need help choosing because I don't know anything about Filter Queen. Also, how often do the filters need changed & how much do they cost? How much do the bags cost & how many come in a package? Is there any other maintenance issues I should know about? Thanks for any HONEST help you can offer before I make a choice."

This was my response to her and I am posting it here to help other people with the same questions.

"You bet no problem :) We are Filter Queen experts and would be glad to help. The nice thing about Filter Queens is they are dependable (we see 40 year old Filter Queens that run perfect), powerful, and are the best for filtration. For the most dependable and most powerful there are 2 models to check out.

1. Filter Queen Majestic Green (shown below). They put a larger motor in it than previous models so its more powerful. However it still has the old style hose, tools and wand connections. The connections where made of metal, this style was the most dependable. 

2. Filter Queen Blue 75th - They put an even bigger motor (most powerful unit). However, they changed the hose, wand and tool connections. These connections snap together and are made out of plastic. A lot of customers have complained that over the years those snaps break and have to be replaced. If you are very careful when you unhook your main wand and tools you probably wont have any issues. 

I would suggest you stay away from the blue filter queen 360 model (model after the 75th) as they had some issues with the main wand. The 360ss model (newest, most expensive model at the time of this writing) is fine with no issues that we have seen.

So if it was me and I was picking one to put in my house..............which one would I choose? I would get the green colored majestic one or the blue 75th. For the money they are a good buy, powerful and dependable. If I wanted the most dependable I would go with the green one if I wanted the most powerful I would go with the 75th blue model. Thanks, Dustin"

Here on the blog if you have any other questions just post them in the comments section and we would be glad to help where we can. - Dustin

SERVICE@GREATVACS.COM

What are the differences between the Hoover back pack vacuum and the GV 8 quart back pack vacuum? Both weigh about the same. Both are made in China. Both are good quality with a 2 year manufacturer warranty. Both have similar power. Both have 3 stage filtration with HEPA filtration.

So here are some of the differences.

1. The GV is rated with a 8 quart bag size and the Hoover is rated with a 6.4 quart vacuum bag size.

2. The GV usually sells for about 20 to 50 dollars less. The Hoover is the more well known name and with similar quality your paying for that name.

3. With the GV it can be used as a blower and inflator (comes with 3 different sized inflator tools to inflate different items or can be used to blow out keyboards). It can also be used to blow dust out of your garage. The Hoover does not have this feature.

4. Brushroll head. The GV comes with all the standard tools PLUS the air powered head with the brushroll. This is great for vacuuming lower pile carpet, throw rugs as well as the head works good on hard floor surfaces as well. The hoover does not have this feature or head and uses the tools that are straight suction only which is good for any non carpeted surfaces.

5.  Cord Length - One of the biggest things that add to the weight of a vacuum is cord length and cord thickness. Manufacturers try and get around this by putting the non commercial cords on them.   However if the vacuum is ever used in a commercial setting that thin cord can be quickly ruined and need to be replaced.    The Hoover back pack vacuum comes with a 50 foot cord (very nice) and the GV 8 quart vacuum does not come with a cord which is even better.   Why is that better?  Because the GV 8 quart is designed to be used with a extension cord of your choice.   If you are using the vacuum in a home then you probably only need a 30 foot non commercial cord.   There is nothing more annoying than having 20 extra feet of cord your dragging everywhere if you don't need it. If you need a 50 foot cord then buy a 50 foot extension cord (extension cords are inexpensive at your local hardware store).  If you need a commercial quality cord buy that cord.   So with the GV it allows you to buy the cord you need based on how or what you are going to use the vacuum for. 

Here at GreatVacs.com the GV 8 quart is our most popular selling Back Pack vacuum.   We also sell other brand like Proteam, and GV also makes a more powerful 10 quart version (usually used in more commercial applications) as well.  To see all of our back pack vacuums please go to  Back Pack Vacuums

SERVICE@GREATVACS.COM