Hi JohnQ,
Welcome to the Mattress Forum! 
I’m not familiar with any potential changes year to year of the ILDs and the sourcing of the latex in the SleepTek line. They are still using GOLS certified Dunlop latex (as listed on their web site), and I think what you may be referring to as “softer materials” could be a change in the ILD (plushness) that they are using for what they might term “plush”, “medium” or “firm” latex. Again, I don’t know this to be fact, or if incorrect layers were accidentally sent to your home.
As far as a change in “manufacturing process”, do you mean that you looked at a mattress that had a particular zoning structure and that the model you received did not have that same zoning?
To me there seems to be two different points in your post. The first, and the most important for you, would be that you would want to know the specifications of what you tried on the showroom floor of your local retailer. As that was the item that you approved of when you tested mattresses, you’d expect that what your local retailer delivered to you would be consistent with that. If that’s not the case, I’d expect your retailer to take the item back if it wasn’t representative of what you had tested on their showroom floor. That’s the primary point – you want to get something close to what you tested.
The second point would be about model consistency. Mattress brands do frequently make changes in their line, and they don’t produce the same models in perpetuity nor have the goal of always producing the same comforts, so if there was a change in either ILDs or configurations, it would be the responsibility of the manufacturer to update their retailers, and then the responsibility of the retailer to update their showroom floor models to reflect any potential changes. Sleeptek still lists having latex in soft (20-22 ILD), Medium (32-35) and Firm (38-42) ILDs.
As I’m not a party to your purchase nor do I know all of the specifics, but putting myself in your shoes, my first course of action would be to see if the retailer could produce for me the exact item I tested. If not, I would go in and retest for something else or ask for a refund. It isn’t your fault if they can’t deliver what was represented on their showroom floor, whether there indeed was a change in the model or ILDs of foams being used and they hadn’t updated their showroom models, or if Sleeptek made an error in sending out the incorrect ILDs of latex layers, or if they made a running change without informing their retailers.
The second thing I would do would be to phone Sleeptek customer service directly and inform them of what you tested and ordered (with your exact specifications) and explain to them what you received and the difficulty you’re having in achieving a feel similar to the floor model you had tested. I’d explain what you’ve been told by your local retailer and see if they have indeed made running changes in their ILDs. They would be in the best situation, knowing what they have available, to attempt to approximate what you tested if something was altered in design.
As far as other brands using “softer material”, that would simply be the choice of any manufacturer of the plushness (ILD) of the latex they choose to use for their respective comfort designations, and knowing these exact ILDs wouldn’t be important when testing an item in a showroom, as your own personal testing will be able to tell you if a particular “comfort designation” is agreeable to your sleeping style and needs.
With the limited information I have, that’s the best advice I can offer. I really think it comes down to first “getting what you ordered” and tested in the showroom , and if that isn’t possible, then looking at your options to start over choosing a new model or getting a refund and looking elsewhere.
I’ll be interested in learning if you’re able to determine exactly what differences there were between the floor model you tested and what was delivered to your home, and any comments you received from Sleeptek.
Phoenix
