My Experience with Brooklyn Bedding

Posting this in the hopes it helps others.

In September I bought the 12" bamboo bliss with exchangeable comfort layers mattress from Brooklyn Bedding after doing research on this site. I had a great buying experience and we initially chose a level 3 firmness. My husband is a back sleeper 180 lbs and likes a firm mattress. Iā€™m 125, side and back sleeper and like a medium firmness. Upon receiving it, my husband knew immediately that it was too soft, but we slept on it a week to give it a chance. After waking up everyday with backaches, we exchanged it for the firmest level- level 1.

The exchange itself was relatively easy, though everything was done via email and you need to call (or email-which I chose not to do) in your credit card number so that you can be charged the $75 shipping fee (you credit card is initially charged $300, then $225 is refunded when BB receives the old layers.)

Everything was ok until we received our new comfort layers. The firmness was ok, though definitely not as firm as other latex mattresses we had tried locally. However, the ā€œnewā€ layers (we ordered a king so we were given 2 layers to lay side by side) we received were damaged and dirty. There were rips and large chunks missing. Of course we contacted BB, but were ignored.

Needless to say, Iā€™m disappointed in the company after reading such good reviews here. I had read somewhere that most people come here when doing research but revisit after buying a mattress. I wanted to be sure to share my experience.

Hi mattressnewbie77,

Thanks for the feedback. You sure do like latex that is much firmer than the norm. The level 1 uses 44 ILD which is the firmest latex that Latex international makes so you wouldnā€™t be able to find any firmer Talalay in any mattress made by any manufacturer because they donā€™t make it any firmer than that. Of course if the support layers were firmer then a mattress would feel firmer as well so perhaps that was why some of the mattresses you tested felt firmer to you. Itā€™s also possible that you tested ultra firm Dunlop which could also feel firmer. In any case each person is different and there are many people (including me) that wouldnā€™t be able to sleep on a latex layer that was that firm.

This is the part that is somewhat confusing to me. Brooklyn Bedding (or any good manufacturer) have no reason to ignore their customers so if you didnā€™t receive a reply then it would either mean that they somehow didnā€™t receive your communication or that somehow you didnā€™t receive their reply. I can certainly understand that you were disappointed if your replacement layers were damaged but this is the type of issue that can happen sometimes and itā€™s easy to deal with once you contact them.

How did you try to contact them ā€¦ and how long did you wait before trying again?

Have you tried calling them on the phone or using the chat service on their website?

They are normally very responsive and easy to reach so I hope you have the chance to let us know what happens once you have talked with them because they canā€™t ā€œfixā€ a customer service issue if they donā€™t know about it or if they have already replied to you and are waiting for your reply.

Phoenix

Hello mattressnewbie777,

I do apologize if your communication did not make it through. We do not intend to ignore any of our customers by any means. I would be happy to assist you if you would like to contact me directly. If the comfort layers did not arrive in satisfactory condition we can have them replaced for you. I will leave my direct contact information below if you would like to contact me. I will be available today Saturday November 8th 2014 till approximately 2pm Mountain time, and also all week next week.

Thank you
Mario
Brooklyn Bedding
480.323.8831

Hi Mario,

Thanks for following up. I sent an email to you on October 9th that included 4 pictures of the damaged layers we received. Please let me know if you did not receive it and I can resend it.

I found it strange that you responded relatively quickly to my emails prior to that one. You also responded to emails sent after that one regarding the refund of deposit, but seemed to ignore that one.

Iā€™m happy to give you another chance, as we are in the market for mattresses for our kids. Hopefully, we can come to a resolution that is satisfactory to all parties involved.

[quote] You sure do like latex that is much firmer than the norm. The level 1 uses 44 ILD which is the firmest latex that Latex international makes so you wouldnā€™t be able to find any firmer Talalay in any mattress made by any manufacturer because they donā€™t make it any firmer than that. Of course if the support layers were firmer then a mattress would feel firmer as well so perhaps that was why some of the mattresses you tested felt firmer to you. Itā€™s also possible that you tested ultra firm Dunlop which could also feel firmer. In any case each person is different and there are many people (including me) that wouldnā€™t be able to sleep on a latex layer that was that firm.
[/quote]

We tried the Pure Latex Bliss mattress at a local store and liked the 2nd most firm option. The firmest option seemed too firm for us. We also tried a latex mattress with coil support layer (canā€™t remember the name) and also liked the 2nd firmest option there. But youā€™re absolutely right, each person is different and Iā€™m glad we went with the latex mattress (though Iā€™m still getting used to the lack of edge support.) Thanks for responding!

Hi mattressnewbie777,

It may be a better idea to give them a call directly rather than communicating through the forum since this is not their own site and if they donā€™t specifically come here and happen to see your post they wonā€™t be able to respond.

The usernames here are also anonymous so they wouldnā€™t know who you are.

I think itā€™s safe to assume that if you sent an email on October 9th and you havenā€™t received a reply that either your original email or their reply has gone astray.

You can see the specs of the PLB mattresses here. Their firmest mattress (the Pamper) uses 2" of 21 ILD latex over a 40 ILD support core and their second firmest (the Nature) also uses 2" of 21 ILD over a 2" layer of 28 ILD over a 36 ILD support core. While firmness is very subjective and relative to each personā€™s perceptions ā€¦ most people would find both of these mattresses (even the Pamper) to be softer than the firmest Bamboo Bliss which has about an inch of softer quilting foam and wool and then a 3" 44 ILD comfort layer on top of the support core.

Phoenix

Hi mattressnewbie777,

Phoenix is correct that it would be better to communicate via telephone or our chat service on our site since we do not check the forum on a daily basis. I am available at the number below at your convenience. I am not sure what happened with the email on October 9th I do apologize if you still have a copy of it you are welcome to forward it to my personal email address. If you would like to contact me I can provide that email address for you.

I am looking forward to having this resolved for you, and also helping you decide on mattresses for your children.

Best Regards,

Mario
Brooklyn Bedding
480.323.8831

Thanks for the suggestion. It was easier to send the email because of the photo attachments. Iā€™ve gone ahead and resent it.

Thanks again for responding. Iā€™ve gone ahead and resent the email but I will also call or use the chat feature.

I appreciate all the suggestions.

Hi mattressnewbie777,

I would also make sure that you call to confirm that they have received it because some email providers limit the size of attachments that can be included in an email.

Phoenix

Just a quick update to my experience.

Mario from BB got in contact with me and proactively sent me replacement comfort layers. The newly delivered layers looked new (they were free from any damages or stains) and were actually a lighter color than the previously delivered layers. The new layers also came with a manufacturerā€™s specifications tag on them. The old layers had no such tag. They only had ā€˜44ā€™ written in sharpie on them. (Iā€™m not sure if this is common?)

While Iā€™m annoyed that we were sent substandard layers, I appreciated the proactive customer service from Brooklyn Beddingā€¦

Hi mattressnewbie777,

Thanks for the update ā€¦ I appreciate it :slight_smile:

Yes this is very common. Whether a 3" layer has some or all of the original tag depends on which part of the original 6" core it was cut from. Some layers have all the tag, some have part of it (when the slitter goes through the tag) and some donā€™t have any part of the tag at all.

Itā€™s also common that the color of the latex varies or that some parts of the latex are discolored or darker and this isnā€™t an indication of a ā€œstainedā€ layer. Itā€™s also possible that your layers were damaged in shipping but regardless of the cause ā€¦ Iā€™m glad that you were able to have them replaced once you were able to connect with them.

Phoenix