My wife and I decided to check out the local offerings prior to placing an online order for a new mattress. Being huge fans of Latex and not huge fans of innerspring or memory foam we knew our quest would be interesting, we had no idea…
The first couple of outlets were what we expected, no real latex offers, mostly the memory / poly / gel hybrids from the major manufacturers. We did stop by one store where the owner was well informed, understands latex (actually sleeps on one) and will be bringing a line in later in the year, it was refreshing to talk with someone knowledgeable.
What really took the cake, and why I’m even posting this, is the response I got from a local chain called Mattress One. Here’s the exchange:
Me: “Do you carry any latex or latex hybrid mattresses?”
Sales woman: “No, we don’t carry any latex because it doesn’t hold up. They all deteriorate within a year or two and basically dry up and turn to dust.”
Me: “Are you serious? It’s my understanding latex is one of the most durable materials available”
Sales woman: “That may have been the case years ago when latex was made from natural materials but ALL latex produced today is synthetic and is horrible. If you could find anyone using natural latex it would cost you $10,000 for a twin mattress.”
My wife and I looked at each other dumbfounded. We thanked her for her time and immediately walked out. It’s no wonder people view mattress shopping in the same vein as car shopping or going to the dentist… WOW!
I’m not sure whether this is more sad, pathetic, or just plain funny. I guess the millions of people that have been sleeping on latex for more than a year or two have really been sleeping on a bag of dust and just don’t realize it.
Unfortunately these types of uninformed salespeople are much too common in the mainstream industry.
What’s even funnier is we had just left the store where the owner commented they were getting Latex in later this year and she shared a story about a couple who was in a few weeks ago looking for a bed. They had just come back from visiting family and stayed at their grandmother’s house in the guest room and slept better than they had in years. When they asked their grandmother what type of mattress is was she said “rubber, we bought it 30 years ago and moved it into the guest room a few years ago”. So, a 30 year old Latex mattress that still sleeps so well it’s converting memory foam sleepers
Unfortunately, pablum like this passes for educated advice more often than not in the mattress industry. These parrots regurgitate whatever they’ve been told to say to steer clients toward their products, never letting the truth get in the way of a good story. You read much of the same nonsense on many of these newer mattress “review” sites as well.
Fortunately you were educated enough to know that this lady was spinning fiction that would make Mark Twain jealous, and you did the correct thing by leaving and not giving that store your business.
Kudos to you!
And the industry wonders why people hate shopping for a mattress…
I was in a local mattress store a mouth ago and when I inquired about latex the owner told me that latex slept really hot. Of course they didn’t carry latex. :lol:
