For years, Consumer Reports – which recommends everything from what type of coffee you should drink to the safest cars – had made a conscious decision not to rate mattresses.
The non-profit firm said its just impossible to compare mattresses because retailers each have their own brand names so the ones at Sleepy’s can’t be compared to the ones sold at Bedding Barn.
However, Consumer Reports did the next best thing, asking its readers to rate their mattresses.
And loyal readers came to the rescue, with 17,000 responding in October’s issue.
Based on the responses Consumer Reports rated 10 mattress and 14 stores.
The $2,400 Tempur-pedic came on top with a reader score of 83 while Spring Air, selling for $1,100 came in 10th place with a 66 rating.
Original Mattress, selling for $890, came in second with a 52 rating.
The Original Mattress Factory came in as the best retailer with a score of 88, (my favorite company, Costco came in 2nd) and at the end of the line was Sleepy’s, the nation’s largest mattress retailer.
Of course you won’t find this in The Courant because Sleepy’s is one of the largest advertisers at the oldest newspaper of continuous circulation in the nation, and we know how the new Courant management likes to protect its prime advertisers from unfavorable publicity.
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A couple of years ago I learned a lot about mattress shopping when I needed to purchase a mattress for my son. I went to a Sleepy’s near my house and was really “just looking” and the salesman showed me the various options. I went to leave and the salesman said “what will it take for you to buy a mattress today?” I had to look around to see if I was at a car dealer or in a mattress store. I then realized that I had to employ car-shopping techniques in order to get a reasonable price. I put on my car-buying hat and the negotiations began. Up until this point I had no idea that the price of a mattress was negotiable. I threw out a price and of course the salesman had to call his “manager” to get his approval. This confirmed that I was buying a car/mattress. The only problem that I had when I left the store was that I didn’t know if I drove a hard enough bargain.
Add mattresses to the list of consumer goods that are routinely marketed and sold in ways designed to confuse, and ultimately, take advantage of unwary consumers. Kudos to Connecticut Watchdog for shedding light on these unsavory practices.
After comparing mattresses, I actually found the ‘National Leading Brand’ to be very uncomfortable and also overpriced compared to some of the smaller companies out there. I ended up with a mattress much more affordable. check out http://www.ecomfortmattress.com
I purchased a queen-size Kingsdown mattress and box spring approximately six months ago at Sleepy’s in Waterford, CT. Within a week, I noticed considerable sagging in the middle of the mattress. After several “inspections” by an independent contractor hired by Sleepys, I agreed to an exchange for a new box spring and mattress. [The inspection procedure to determine if the mattress is within warranty is, in itself, a sham. It is a static, no-load test, performed with a string and yardstick. To obtain an accurate and true measurement, mattress sag can only be determined with a load (i.e. body) resting on the surface of the bed.]
The exchange process took almost two months, and included lengthy telephone conversations and extensive hold times with so-called professionals. After receiving the new box spring and mattress, the same sagging problem was evident, and in fact, worse than the first bed set. I have asked Sleepys to pick up the defective merchandise and for a full refund.
They continue to stonewall my request by proposing more inspections and offering nothing more than excuses they deem as policy. This is a rip-off, pure and simple. What is presented in the showroom doesnt even closely resemble the product that is delivered. From my elementary investigation into Sleepys and Kingsdown, it is clear that this is normal practice for these companies.
I intend to follow through by contacting the State of Connecticuts Attorney General, Richard Blumenthal. He has an impressive history of consumer advocacy, aggressive law enforcement for consumer protection, and a record of recovering hundreds of millions of dollars for Connecticut taxpayers and consumers each year.
For those in the mattress market, be wary. Sleepys and Kingsdown are companies that operate in the deceitful zone.
Keith
Old Lyme, Connecticut
U.S.A.
Originally posted October 2007 on:
http://www.ripoffreport.com/Bed-Bath/Sleepy-s-And-Kingsdo/sleepy-s-the-mattress-professi-957zc.htm
Update September 2009: No resolution from Sleepy’s . They basically told me, “Too bad, so sad for you.”
Many of the smaller companies do have much higher quality mattresses and also truly care about their customers satisfaction. I would rather buy from a smaller company!
I bought a $2000. mattress from 1-800 mattress a few years ago; after just one month the mattress felt like it was sinking, and left body images, that filled in when you got up but when you laid down you had to be in the same spot because of the impressions of the body. When the store came to check the mattress they put a string across the mattress and said it was fine….I said lay down and the response was “this is how its done” “I had them 3 times within 1 1/2 years. even though they claim to exchange…they did nothing. I called BBB and opps sorry they said it was fine..meanwhile I must get another now being I finally saved some money to buy another and my back is aching. I will never recommend 1 800 mattress EVER
I have learned over the years from buying mattresses for myself and my family to stay away from the national brand name stores. I always brought from the little guy and was never unhappy.
My recent purchase came from Costco, I had this mattress for a few years and so far so good. My son purchase one from there as well (a plush euro pillowtop).
He love’s it and he got it for a good price after looking at what the national chain was charging for it.
The ONLY mattress to buy is a Select Comfort Sleep Number. I’ve had mine for 9 years now and wouldn’t consider anything else if I ever had to replace it. I tried the “XXX-pedic” and it is horrible! Stiff as a board and too hot! I’m 60 years old and I should know!
We bought a pillow top king size mattress from better bedding – which after a couple years started sagging. Their warranty stated that if it sagged 1″ or more within 10 years they would replace it. The “technician” came out with a yard stick and layed it on the bed…of course it didn’t sag over 1″ (even though you could visibly SEE it sagging). He was ready to leave when I went and got an 8′ piece of pvc pipe, and showed him the sag from one side of the bed to the other. We did end up getting a new mattress, but even it started sagging after a few years. I’m convinced kings are just too big to provide the support in the center – and a queen is the way to go.
Funny, we bought our Simmons from Sleepy’s a few years ago and have been perfectly happy. They happened to be the last store we visited, in Saugus, MA, the rep. was friendly, not pushy, the price was right, in comparison, I got no interest financing, so paid no interest and broke up the payments over several years. I think they get a bad rap
“Of course you won’t find this in The Courant because Sleepy’s is one of the largest advertisers at the oldest newspaper of continuous circulation in the nation, and we know how the new Courant management likes to protect its prime advertisers from unfavorable publicity.”
Mr. Gombossy, did the other Connecticut newspapers that you write for also report the above Consumer Reports information about Sleepy’s? If not, are you going to also going to “call them out” as well? That to me would represent fair and balanced reporting by you. If they did please report that, if not then it seems the real point of this column is just you taking a cheap swipe at Sleepy’s and your ex-employer, the Hartford Courant.
Can you please respond?
After 16 years of sleeping on mattresses I sold to others and servicing many, you must know that 50% of mattress sagging problems are coming from poorly set up frames that are missing center supports, or the legs have been knocked loose by people putting stuff under the bed, or the floor is just not level. A consumer should start at the bottom and work their way up when trying to solve their sleep problem. floor level? frame set up correctly? box springs good and sturdy with know defects? Did you put a waterproof mattress protector on the bed OR have you been sweating into the top of the mattress? (average person sweats 1/2 cup per night 2 adults = 1 gallon per month, so what do you think the top of the mattress will look like after a few months?)
Sleepy’s Sucks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My third exchange is already working on A “Fox-hole, !!!!! I may try a Number Bed next!!!!!
George, Thank you so much with all your help in the past!!!!!!!!!!. I love ya, Dwight(CRaneman)
People need to know that Better Bedding, once owned by the honorable Wholley brothers was forced to liquidate by their creditors about two years ago. Their creditors ordered them sold to Sleepy’s! In other words, Better Bedding is now owned by the same people who own Sleepys! They give the appearance of being competitors, but they are really just the same bad company now. If you want to get the same quality and honest advice, go to Connecticut Mattress, which Tom Wholley recently opened.
When we began shopping for a new mattress, we quickly decided that we wanted a Select Comfort/sleep number-type mattress (although that was a queen size) similar to one we had a few years ago. I was convinced that as with so many other things where the brand name is so huge that there must be some competitive products that, absent the big “Sleep Number” name and expensive mall stores and with a lower price. Boy, was I right! Turns out that once you get past the “Sleep Number” advertising hype, there are many companies that sell what are known as airbeds. Same warranty, same construction materials, same multi-day trial, same “dial-your-sleep-number” style controllers, etc. We looked at mattresses from Airbedpros.com in St. Louis which looked to be a great product but ultimately, we settled on a bed from Dream Number Bed in Houston Texas. (www.sleepnumbercomparison.com).
For $2,100 we got a king-sized bed pretty much identical to Select Comfort’s i8 bed costing $3550 and with some things that Select Comfort couldn’t give us: One thing my wife objected to with the Select Comfort was that there is a foam strip running the length of the bed between the two air chambers. This created a divot down the center of the bed. With our Dream Number bed, the two air chambers butt against one another with no foam divot strip. We got a memory foam top, the dual, set your firmness setting controls, but we also got a cover made of CoolMax, that anti-wicking material used in sportswear these days. We also got 12 months / no interest. I love using other peoples’ money. The bed came to us in two HUMONGOUS boxes and went together perfectly. We’ve had it for about five months and it feels as good as the Select Comfort was.