This is my first post on this forum and I apologize in advance if I’ve missed answers to my questions. I read the intro article on choosing a mattress and have tried to assimilate the overwhelming amount of information. Thanks so much–really helpful intro!
I am impressed by the very positive reviews that Brooklyn Bedding receives and while I’d prefer to order via the sister site (dreamfoam bedding), I’m just not brave enough to take a chance on a mattress that can’t be returned.
The problem I’m having is that I seem to have run into the one inept customer service rep on the brooklyn bedding website, ugh. I’m trying to get him to comment on relative firmness/softness of the various mattresses as well as the differences between the 3 basic memory foam mattresses and the cool series mattresses. So I’ve given up on getting customer service from the site and am turning here.
I am looking for a firm mattress where you don’t tend to sink deeply into the mattress. I have tended to like the basic tempurpedic models that I’ve tested in the stores rather than the more plush models. I’ve read a couple of reviews on the dreamfoam site that suggest that some of the basic mattresses are so firm that they are like sleeping on the floor. I don’t want something THAT firm!
My husband chose our last mattress and it is an awful, overly soft traditional pillowtop. Neither one of us has liked this mattress and I’m thrilled to give it up at last. One thing I have learned: you can almost always modify an overly firm mattress with a softer topper but modifying a soft or sagging mattress is nearly impossible.
Thanks in advance for any help or insight any of you can provide.
I’m certainly happy to speak to the quality of the materials in any mattress but the only way to make comfort or design choices is your own personal testing and experience or more detailed conversations with a manufacturer (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).
I haven’t come across any “inept” customer service people there but I’m not sure what you are looking to find out. It’s possible that you are asking questions that have more subjective than objective answers where it isn’t possible for anyone to answer your questions with the degree of specificity you may be looking for which may be part of your frustration.
Some of their memory foam mattresses have a rough “equivalent” in the Tempurpedic line (such as the Cool Series) so you could use the equivalent Tempurpedics as an approximation for what it feels like. Any of their customer service people will tell you which of the Tempurpedic mattresses are roughly equivalent (for the models that have a rough equivalent in the Tempurpedic lineup).
Most of the rest of their lineup have exchangeable layers so that you can exchange a layer (or in some cases one of two layers) if your choice is less than ideal. Only the Cool Series mattresses have free returns though. The others would be more costly to return because they would require truck freight that isn’t covered in the return policy but a layer or layers can be exchanged in many of them which is how they can be fine tuned to your preferences without having to return the entire mattress and a layer exchange is a low cost option for find tuning your mattress.
Terms like “soft” and “firm” are very subjective and relative to each person’s perceptions so in most cases they can tell you which of their mattresses would be firmer or softer than another one they have (or describe firmer or softer comfort choices with their mattresses that have comfort options) but each person’s body type, sleeping positions, and individual perceptions and preferences can mean their sense of what is soft or firm can be very different (see post #15 here). A manufacturer can only go by the “averages” of other people and provide you with information about what most or their customers will feel but this may not be accurate for any individual that is outside these averages. I think in a lot of cases consumers may believe that a retailer or manufacturer can predict what one of their customers will feel on a mattress and the customer may get frustrated when they can’t because only your own experience can know this with certainty.
I doubt that any of their mattresses including the firmest versions are anything like “sleeping on the floor” and I wouldn’t pay much attention to reviews of other people who may have very different perceptions or definitions of soft and firm than you do (see post #13 here about reviews)
This is very true with a finished mattress and it’s always wiser to choose a little firmer rather than a little softer if you are in doubt because you have many more options (either with a layer exchange or a topper). With mattresses that offer a layer exchange though it’s also possible to choose a firmer layer if the one you have is too soft and this is one of the advantages of exchangeable layers.
I’m not quite clear on what you are asking specifically so hopefully this is somewhat helpful.
Unfortunately, I did not keep the exchange with the customer service rep but I asked specifically about return policies and if possible to tell me what tempurpedic model might correspond with the various models on their site. The individual told me he didn’t know, to look at the site and that he couldn’t tell me which models corresponded with particular tempurpedic models because those changed all the time. So while it’s great that you have never encountered an inept customer service person there, and any of their customer service people should be able to tell me roughly which tempurpedic mattress corresponded to their mattresses, I did indeed encounter an unhelpful and yes, I’m sorry, but inept customer service rep who could NOT give me rough equivalents. Oh yeah, and I asked what it meant specifically to have an exchangeable layer and why this was an advantage and his response was “you can exchange a layer!”
Obviously “soft” and “firm” mean different things to different people and I would not be able to ask questions as to whether I would find a particular mattress to my liking. Even so, it’s not helpful for a person to say in response to “which mattress is firmest and what tempurpedic model would it roughly correspond to?”, “try the cotton camilla!” (exclamation point not my addition). The single piece of useful advice I received was that thicker memory foam mattresses would correspond with a softer feel and thinner ones would be firmer. I did not know this before and it helps me to understand.
What I was seeking was a sense of comparison between their offerings, which ones would be considered firm, which ones were more popular and middle of the road, and which ones were more deeply contouring vs. lightly contouring. I was using the tempurpedic models as a guideline because I’ve tested them and those comparisons give a better sense of what they offer.
Your experience is certainly unusual and unfortunate and is not typical of most of their customer service people that I’ve talked with but of course that says nothing about your own experience.
The Brooklyn Bedding site has several mattresses that are comparable to some of the Tempurpedic mattresses. The Cool Luxe is comparable to the Tempurpedic Cloud Luxe, the Cool Supreme is comparable to the Tempurpedic Cloud Supreme, and the Cool Symphony is comparable to the Tempurpedic Rhapsody.
The PureCool line is comparable to the same Tempurpedic mattresses in the Breeze line.
All of these have a free return policy.
Their other memory foam mattresses have an exchangeable layer and a quilted top which would have a different “feel” from a memory foam mattress where you were sleeping directly on the memory foam with a stretch knit cover and wouldn’t have any direct comparisons with the Tempurpedic mattresses. All of them come with the same 3" 4 lb memory foam layer so they would be similar in that respect and the difference is in the cover fabric, the type of quilting used, and in the type and thickness of the base polyfoam. They are the ones that have layer exchange options similar to their latex mattresses where you can exchange the memory foam for other types of memory foam or for latex.
First of all I would like to apologize that you felt you received below average customer service, We take pride in offering great customer service, this is not acceptable by our standards. I will be sure to speak with our sales representative that was assisting you and I assure you this will be corrected.
Phoenix is correct that we do offer a 100% money back guarantee with our cool series models like the Cool Luxe, Cool Supreme, and Cool Symphony which compare to the (Tempur-Cloud Luxe, Supreme, and Rhapsody). We also do offer a few very nice models with the new Phase changing technology. I would be happy to assist you in finding the product that would best suit you. Feel free to contact me at your convenience.
Best regards,
Mario Sevilla
Brooklyn Bedding - Sales Manager
480-323-8831
I want to thank Mario for spending the morning with me going over the various mattresses offered by Brooklyn Bedding and being so helpful in conveying their differences. There’s a lot of information to digest! I am mulling over the options but am planning to order from this company as soon as I sort out our priorities.
I would like to expand on this a bit more. Today is Sunday, and Mario responded to my email this morning. Also I was able to use their live chat feature on their website to discuss my future purchase with Brooklyn Bedding. Jacob was very helpful in answering all my questions and leading me in the right direction.
Again, on a Sunday morning. Excellent customer service so far.
Also this site is a very useful tool for someone that likes to review everything.
Susan and Hank,
Mario was the one who helped me…and I did not buy after the first conversation. I told him the truth, “I want to discuss it with my wife first.” I did that and she didn’t seem to object so I called back and ordered it. He was not pushy in any way and I liked the whole process including the product I chose (Aloe Alexis).
I now sleep well - Thank you Phoenix, Mario and Brooklyn Bedding!
going over the various mattresses offered by Brooklyn Bedding and being so helpful in conveying their differences. There’s a lot of information to digest! I am mulling over the options but am planning to order from this company as soon as I sort out our priorities.