% Variances: Full at Home vs Queen in Showroom

[phoenix]

Hi suzan,

Last week, I made the mistake of buying a mattress at Sl**pys in NYC. (I really wanted to buy from the one well-respected small retailer in the city but I had a horrible experience when I went to his showroom.)

That’s unfortunate that you ended up at Sleepy’s. As you may know from your reading here I would generally suggest avoiding them along with all the major brands (see the guidelines here).

I bought the Simmons Beautyrest World Class Recharge Shakespeare Collection Luxury Plush mattress in Full Size. It was meant to replace my Sealy’s Connelly mattress that I had bought 10 years ago and was sagging in the middle. The mattress delivered was horribly uncomfortable and more firm than in the store. I woke up the first morning with pain in my back and hips. Customer Service both on the phone and in the store gave me several excuses for why this would happen, including that a Queen would naturally have different materials from a Full. (Side note: when I called King Koil later in the week and they directed me to someone at the plant, the plant rep said that their %'s would never vary - amount of material would naturally change but the RATIO would always be the same.)

While it’s normal that a new mattress will feel a little firmer than a floor model for the first few weeks while the mattress is breaking in and you are adjusting to a new sleeping surface (see post #3 here) … and it’s also not that uncommon that a consumer chooses a mattress that isn’t a suitable match for them in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) and they experience pain or discomfort and don’t sleep well on it in their bedroom in spite of the testing they did in the showroom … their comment that a queen would have different materials from a full size mattress is nonsense and the percentages on the law tag would be the same if it was the same mattress.

I’m attaching copies of the store tag vs my tag. Am I crazy that this is NOT the same bed?

If the law tag is different then it’s not the same mattress … end of story.

[quote] I just replied to another woman who posted about a similar issue and is considering going to the BBB and Atty General. I also just got off the phone with Sl***pys again, and the Atty General fraud threat doesn’t phase them. I have to play the game and accepted a free replacement of the same model, and if that is still too firm supposedly they will do another exchange at no fee and if I want a full return I’ll have to speak to the District Manager and Marketing & Sales Director.

Thoughts?[/quote]

My suggestions would be the same as the suggestions I made to Andie in post #3 here who is in a similar situation.

In Andie’s case the Therapedic they tested in the showroom uses good quality materials but the Sealy you tested doesn’t so quite frankly you would be better off with a refund so you could start over again and choose a different mattress that uses better quality and more durable materials although they would be “within their rights” to correct their mistake and replace your mattress with the one that you intended to purchase in the first place.

If you are able to get a refund and start over again then the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in the New York City area (subject to the quality/value guidelines here) are listed in post #2 here.

While I was in the store last Sunday the salesperson supposedly called the Simmons rep who said this is normal. I don’t believe any of these people top to bottom - the Sleepy’s people, the Simmons people, even what I find online. How is this industry not regulated?

Like all industries in the US … there are a number of regulations that apply to the mattress industry both on a federal and state level that are monitored or enforced by the CSPC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) in the case of the fire regulations that apply to the industry, the FTC in the case of various claims that are made by manufacturers, by the state Attorneys General departments that enforces state consumer protection laws, and by other federal and state agencies as well but in many cases they are not well enforced and usually require a specific complaint to initiate an investigation rather than being monitored on an ongoing basis.

Phoenix