Phil's Electric Vacuum Center
Category: Appliances & Repair [Edit]
Neighborhood: Marina/Cow Hollow2701 Lombard St
(between Baker St & Lyon St)
San Francisco, CA 94123 (415) 921-3776
18 reviews
Neighborhood: Castro
"What a classy joint! I was referred to Klotz's for watch battery replacement and ended up returning and buying a fine watch. The son…" read more »
10 Reviews for Phil's Electric Vacuum Center
Great place for vacuum cleaner repair. I am not as impressed with their small appliance repair services - some people seem to think they work magic but every time I bring something in they simply hand it back to me and say "No repair" - just like that, not exactly a great customer service experience even if it were true every time which I find a little hard to believe. But they have great supplies for the vaccuums and once when ours broke again within a day after bringing it home, they promptly repaired it again for free and refunded the first fee - so they are capable of excellent service when they want too. Anyway, best place in the city I have found for this, and the temp. parking spaces out front during business hours make it easy and convenient to stop by and bring stuff in to their shop.
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I bought a Miele vaccum here a few weeks ago and it worked wonders on my hardwood floors, rugs and upholstered furniture (we have 3 cats)! Phil's is a family owned and operated business of the old school. Awesome! When I bought the vacuum, the very friendly and attentive woman who helped me didn't rush me at all, and I ended up feeling really confident that I had chosen the correct mode for my needs. Then her son carried the vacuum out to my car. Try to get that level of service at a big box store! Or anywhere, for that matter.
However, the second time my house cleaner went to use the vacuum (I haven't gotten around to it yet, lazy me), she told me it didn't have suction. Yikes, I just paid a small fortune for this vacuum! So I called Phil's and the woman who originally sold me the vacuum didn't hesitate when she said to bring it in.
She disconnected the hose, and said, "I think we have something here" and showed me the inside of the hose. And there it was -- the tail end of a small bright green mouse toy! She extracted it and showed me a trick to determine whether the hose is clear: drop a penny through it! Duh!
You might be able to purchase a Miele slightly less expensively on the internet, but Phil's customer service is worth way more than that small
savings. I realize that mouse-toy-extraction isn't major surgery, but it sure meant a lot to me to have this resolved to quickly and painlessly!
I much prefer to shop at and support locally-owned, independent businesses. I think it is really important for our local economy and quality of life, and I am grateful that Phil's has been going strong since 1949!
The place has an excellent attitude as far as being concerned with younger folks that 'break stuff and just get something new at Target' and for that I appreciate it. They knew the exact repairs needed for an antique lamp we had, and told us exactly what we needed to know before repairing it. Which we would actually pay for an antique repair than buy some cheap disposable fix at Ikea. Our antique is back in its full bloom.
Great service for a place that is as old school and nice as the ItalianAmericans in the Marina.
Fantastic. Repaired our Miele for $40! And in two days. I highly recommend Phil's to anyone needing vac repair or maintenance.
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This is my 100th review. Oh, the pressure of deciding which business to review. Should it be regarding a business that says something about me (Bob's Discount Skydiving, for instance)? Or, possibly, should I review "Yelp" as so many people seem to like to do with their 100th?
Nope. Not me. I'm opting for good old Phil's Electric. Why? Three reasons:
1.) They Fix Vacuums - quickly, inexpensively and professionally
2.) The woman there gave me the MAD hookup of getting me little Christmas lights to string on my stroller, so, they're INCREDIBLY NICE and CONSIDERATE!
3.) They play the Chipmunks at Christmas time
Shortly before Christmas this year, my vacuum cleaner went kaput. We live in a small apartment with two large, hairy, extremely shedding dogs. A week without a good vacuuming is too long, plus, at the time, we had a 6 week old baby. You kind of want to Purell the world when they're that young, so, not having a functioning vacuum cleaner really sucked.
Mr. B thought we should just get a new vacuum cleaner, but I thought it might be more thrifty, and better for the environment, to attempt to fix it. Thus, we dropped it off at Phil's.
When I deposited the vacuum, I was randomly inspired by all the electrical stuff on display (hair trimmers, lamps, etc) and asked if they had any idea how I might get a set of Christmas lights that could run on a battery so I could string it around our new baby's stroller. This would be both festive and safe, since it was getting dark very early and I wanted to be sure people could see us as we crossed the street.
The woman working there (who, I'm guessing might be an owner) said I could buy that sort of thing at Walgreens. She gave a really detailed description of the lights and sent me on my way. I immediately headed to Walgreens, but, bummer, they'd already sold out of them at the two locations I went to! I gave up on my quest, figuring that maybe next year I'd get some, or that possibly I'd find them on the Internet.
Four days later, Mr. B and I stopped by Phil's to pick up our vacuum. I waited in the car with Tiny (the baby), while Mr. B went in. We were both a little grumpy that day, what with lack of sleep and pre-holiday blues. So, a few minutes later, out comes Mr. B, all smiles, with the vacuum.
He got in the car singing:
"Christmas, Christmas time is near,
Time for toys and time for cheer."
And then handed me a small brown bag. I opened the bag and inside, lo and behold, was this set of portable, battery operated Christmas lights.
CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT!?!???!?? This SUPER NICE lady had actually stopped by some magic Walgreens that still had the lights in stock and bought it for me. She insisted to Mr B that it was a gift and wouldn't take money for it. HOW COOL IS THAT?!????!???!???
So, that's why, Phil's, you're my 100th, most specialist, most important and happiest review.
Thanks for helping us to keep a clean house AND for bringing us some holiday cheer with it!
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I love this place - easy going, knowledgable staff. My Miele is happy and sucks succulently now.
I really wish it was open past 5.30pm, though!
Does your vacuum cleaner suck? Mine didn't, so I took it to Phil's and now it sucks like a horny crack ho.
[According to Polk's 1953 San Francisco Directory, Mrs. Mary Lowell's Handicraft was located here.]
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Phil's is the best place to purchase a Miele Vacuum. The sales people actually ask you about your house and how you will use it and don't resort to pushing the most expensive model. Their prices are standard for Miele but they threw in a few extras to make it a deal and the service makes it worth any premium you might find over the web.
The dust/fur bunnies have vanished and are being held captive inside my new Miele.
This place is (unfortunately) from a bygone era. Sales people who are knowledgable and friendly? Huh? You're supposed to FIX your vacuum, not just throw it out??? This place is a definite gem. I just come in for filters, but they treat me the same as if I was buying a fancy vacuum. LOVE LOVE LOVE. Support these people, ok? Excuse me, I need to go darn my socks.
They can fix most anything that has a cord!
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