Hi Jratliff,
That’s unfortunate that you were dealing with such poorly informed salespeople.
I would probably have asked to deal with someone else more knowledgeable. If nobody in the store (up to the owner) had any knowledge of their mattresses and the materials inside them then I probably wouldn’t deal with them at all unless you were prepared to do the legwork involved in finding out what was in any of the mattresses you were considering.
You can also ask for a “spec sheet” which lists the type of materials and components in a mattress although most of them don’t list all the quality specs you would need to make an informed buying decision. It’s at least a starting point. Jamison even lists many of the specs and materials in their mattresses on their site (which is one of the reasons I like them more than many of the larger brands).
I would also keep in mind that “foam” is only a generic term and there are different types of foam used in mattresses (latex, memory foam, polyfoam) which can range from very low quality to very high quality.
The iComfort line is not particularly good value and there are many mattresses that are both higher and lower priced which are much better value. Price is certainly not a good indicator of value which depends on the materials that are used in the mattress and how they compare to other mattresses that use similar materials in a similar design.
A list of better options and possibilities in the Louisville, KY / Clarksville, IN area are in post #3 here (there is some good value available in the area).
I personally wouldn’t spend much if any time testing the iComfort mattresses because none of them are particularly good value and the “feel” of a mattress has nothing to do with its quality. The only way to make a meaningful assessment of the quality or value of any mattress is by knowing all the layers and components that are inside it. Even the lowest quality or worst value mattresses can feel great in a showroom. The problem with lower quality materials is that the materials will soften and degrade much more quickly and the loss of comfort and support that goes with this and is the main reason a mattress needs to be replaced isn’t covered by a warranty. I would only consider major brand mattresses if quality and value or knowing what was in your mattress wasn’t an important part of your “personal value equation”.
Phoenix