Hi Scrapping Grammy,
I’m sorry to hear about your experience with Christeli and that the mattress you purchased didn’t work out for you as well as you hoped for.
As you probably know … “comfort”, firmness, and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences) and the quality of the materials are completely different issues so while you certainly purchased a high quality/value mattress … it doesn’t seem to be the right “fit” for you (although it may be a “perfect” fit for someone else).
I’m somewhat confused though about the price of the mattress you purchased since Christeli doesn’t sell any mattresses that retail for $5000 that I’m aware of.
I can assure you that your mattress doesn’t feel anything like a “slab of concrete” (although I know you were exaggerating) but of course different people can also have very different perceptions of firmness and softness compared to others as well and a mattress that feels firm for one person can feel like “medium” for someone else or even “soft” for someone else (or vice versa) depending on their body type, sleeping style, physiology, their frame of reference based on what they are used to, and their individual sensitivity and perceptions. There are also different types of firmness and softness that different people may be sensitive to that can affect how they “rate” a mattress as well (see post #15 here) so different people can also have very different opinions on how two mattresses compare in terms of firmness and and some people may rate one mattress as being firmer than another and someone else may rate them the other way around. This is all relative and very subjective and is as much an art as a science.
I’m not sure when you purchased your mattress or what their policy was when you purchased it (Christeli has changed their exchange/return policy on a number of occasions) and they currently offer an exchange (not a return) but I don’t know why you would be having any difficulty exchanging your mattress if you need to. Are you past your trial period? Could you let us know what they are telling you or what you mean when you say they are “not helpful”. I suspect that there may be more to your story than you have posted here.
I would also keep in mind that here will be a break in and adjustment period for any new mattress or sleeping system as the mattress loses any of it’s “false firmness” and the cover stretches and loosens a little and the materials settle and your body gets used to a sleeping surface that is different from what it is used to (see post #3 here). This would typically be a few weeks but it can be shorter or longer depending on the specifics of the person and the mattress (higher density materials can take longer) and it can be surprising to many people how much their sleeping experience can change over the course of the first month or so.
Your mattress also has several options that allow you to customize the firmness of the mattress so it may be possible to arrange the layers and components in a way that would feel softer for you and they would be able to help you with this if you call them on the phone.
If your mattress is too firm then some of the suggestions in post #2 here and in post #2 here may also be helpful.
While it’s not possible to “diagnose” mattress comfort issues on a forum with any certainty because there are too many unique unknowns, variables, and complexities involved that can affect how each person sleeps on a mattress in terms of “comfort” and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your Personal preferences) or any “symptoms” they experience … there is more about the most common symptoms that people may experience when they sleep on a mattress and the most likely (although not the only) reasons for them in post #2 here that may be helpful as well.
Phoenix