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March 17, 2008
Buyer beware!
My husband and I purchased a King sized mattress (manufacturer: International Bedding Co., Model #: HER 2000 F) from the Muskegon (MI) Sleep Doctor on 8/11/07. We did not purchase a box spring since we have a platform bed. We paid $599.00 plus tax. Eric ****** was the person who sold us the mattress.
After having the mattress for a few days, I noticed that something was sticking out on the sides. I felt around that edges of the mattress and found that it was doing this is several spots. I didn’t know if the mattress was supposed to be that way or not.
The mattress was uncomfortable so we went back to the store due to their "60 day comfort guarantee". Eric ***** told us that he would not be able to give us another mattress for any thing less than $300.00 over the price of the original mattress. After seeing that we were hesitant to pay $300.00 more, he promptly quit helping us and went to play solitaire on his computer.
We decided to just keep the mattress and buy a mattress pad. We purchased a memory foam mattress topper as well as a mattress pad from another store. This still did not help the comfort level of the mattress. The comfort level was so bad that we decided that we had to purchase a new mattress. We went to several different stores to try mattresses out and to get prices. I also looked on-line.
In doing this research, I found that we paid way too much for the mattress that we purchased from Sleep Doctor. I acknowledge that this is our fault as we had not educated ourselves before purchasing from Sleep Doctor.
In speaking with another sales person at another store, I also found out that Eric **** was the Muskegon Sleep Doctor Store manager, which I hadn’t previously known, and that this sales person has heard a lot of bad things about Eric from customers that have come into their store.
Also, when visiting another mattress store and speaking with the sales person, I described the spots on the mattress where something was sticking out. The sales person told me that the spring guards had probably come off the springs on the edges and this is considered to be a defect in the mattress.
After hearing this, I reviewed the warranty on the mattress. I contacted International Bedding Co. and was told that I would have to go through Sleep Doctor to process the warranty.
I was hesitant to call the Muskegon Sleep Doctor, as I had not been happy with the customer service that Eric ***** had provided. By that point, I also didn’t trust him as I believe that this mattress was defective from the beginning.
Because of this, I called the phone number listed on Sleep Doctor’s website. I spoke with someone who arranged for Sleep Doctor’s “technicians” to come look at the mattress. This person also told me that if the mattress met the warranty conditions, the mattress could either be replaced or we would be able to upgrade our mattress and pay the difference.
The “technicians” came to my home on 3/5/08. After just a moment of looking at the mattress, the “technicians” stated that the condition of our mattress was a “known defect” and that they would let the manager (Eric ******) know that this qualified for replacement under the warranty. Eric contacted us and said that we could come into the store to discuss our options.
My husband and I decided that we did not want the same mattress, because of the “known defect”. We decided to go try out the other mattresses in the store. From looking around before we had known that there was a defect in the mattress, we had a good idea of what we were looking for and the prices that were reasonable. Because of Sleep Doctor’s guarantee that they will “beat any price or it’s free” I went on-line and printed out adds from Big Lots, Sam’s Club and Sleep Doctor.
Big Lots was advertising the Serta Danford Eurotop Perfect Sleeper for $655.00. Sam’s Club was advertising the Serta Buckingham Eurotop Perfect Sleeper for $798.00 which included shipping. Sleep Doctor was advertising an on-line special for a Serta Madison Eurotop Mattress Set for the Side Sleeper for $599.00.
Aside from this, Serta’s website stated that Sleep Doctor was currently participating in the Serta price rollback which could result in large discounts on Serta mattresses. We went into the Muskegon Sleep Doctor store on a day that Eric wasn’t there, because I was not comfortable dealing with him. We tried out mattresses and really liked the Serta Perfect Sleeper Eurotop Rainbow Mist. The sales person that helped us told us that he could not sell us the mattress for less than $1199.00. When we presented the advertisements, he told us that he couldn’t help us anymore and told us that we would have to speak with Eric *****.
My husband contacted Eric ******. Through my husband’s conversations with Eric, it became apparent that Eric was not willing to help us at all. My husband contacted Sleep Doctor’s Serta representative, Greg, and asked him what the difference was between the Rainbow Mist (Sleep Doctor), the Buckingham (Sam’s Club) and the Danford (Big Lots). Greg explained that the Danford was not foam encased around the edges, hence the price difference. Greg stated, however, that the Buckingham and the Rainbow Mist were very similar and there wasn’t much difference between these two mattresses.
We realized that the Rainbow Mist and the Danford were too different and did not expect that Sleep Doctor would price match the Big Lots’ price. When my husband contacted Eric ***** again, Eric told my husband that the difference between the Rainbow Mist and the Buckingham was in the continuous support innerspring. When my husband confronted Eric on this lie and told Eric that he had spoken with the Serta representative, Eric said that he would call my husband back.
Eric called back and still was offering the Rainbow Mist for $1199.00 and he would not price match the Buckingham. Eric then told my husband that he had a Eurotop that was between the Rainbow Mist and the Buckingham models. Eric said that he would sell it to us for $900.00 but we wouldn’t be able to try it out ahead of time and we wouldn’t be able to return it if we didn’t like it. Before we could decide if we wanted to do this, Eric called back and told my husband that he was wrong and he doesn’t have this mattress.
My husband and I finally tired of dealing with Eric and decided to just have him replace our mattress with another one. We decided that we would keep this in plastic and try to sell it on our own. We decided that we would purchase another mattress from another store that we trusted. My husband called Eric and told him to go ahead and order the mattress. Eric contacted my husband later that day and asked my husband if we wanted a plush mattress instead of the firm one. Eric stated that there would be no charge for this. My husband said that this was fine.
I found this offer incredulous because when we had gone into the Sleep Doctor within the 60 day comfort guarantee, Eric would not help us find a different mattress for the same price that we paid for the one we originally purchased.
Because of this, I decided that the best avenue would be to contact the regional manager and to also file a complaint with the Attorney General and the Better Business Bureau. I called Eric and told him to put a hold on the mattress order as we had decided to pursue other avenues. Eric said that this was fine.
I then called the toll free number again to find out who to contact. I was told to call Scott ****** at the Kentwood Sleep Doctor. I was told that Scott **** is the regional manager. Imagine my dismay when I found out that Scott is related to Eric. I called the Kentwood store on 3/10/08 and spoke with George. George told me that Scott was out of the store and wouldn’t be back until 3/12/08. I requested that George contact Scott and let him know that I wanted to be contacted that day. I said that if no one contacted me, I would be filing a complaint with the Attorney General and the Better Business Bureau by 4:00 p.m.
In the meantime, my husband called the Sleep Doctor on Alpine St. in Grand Rapids. My husband spoke with Jared. Jared first told my husband that he would sell us the Rainbow Mist for $1049.00 ($150.00 less than what Eric offered). My husband said that he had an advertisement from Sam’s Club advertising the Buckingham for $798.00 and that this was very similar to the Rainbow Mist. Jared said that he would speak with the regional manager and get approval to match this price. Jared called my husband back and said that he would sell us a King sized Serta Perfect Sleeper Rainbow Mist Eurotop for $798.00 because of their guarantee that they will “beat any advertised price or it’s free”. Jared told my husband that there really wasn’t any difference between the Rainbow Mist and the Buckingham.
My husband contacted Eric with this information and Eric still insisted that he wouldn’t sell us the Rainbow Mist for less than $1199.00. Eric told my husband that he has the proof of how different the Buckingham and Rainbow Mist are. To me, this is irrelevant, as we already have two people, the Serta representative and another Sleep Doctor employee, telling us that there is not enough difference between the mattresses to warrant such a gap in price.
My husband agreed to go to see the specifics. When he did, Eric **** tried to say that the fabric covering the mattress was better than the one at Sam's Club. Eric didn't seem to understand that the Organic Cotton cover that the Sam's Club mattress has is a "specialty fabric".
Eric also tried to say that the foam contains something that is made with oil and their bed has a higher percentage of oil, hence the price difference. My husband compared their percentage with an even cheaper Serta Perfect Sleeper mattress ($585) at Menards and that one has a higher percentage than Sleep Doctor's mattress!! Eric ****** has continuously lied to us and has refused to compromise with us.
Needless to say, when Scott *******, the regional manager, returned my call, he was less than accommodating. He left me a message, basically saying that my husband and I had no choice and we have to exchange the mattress for a similar one and we can't upgrade. He was rude on the message and he was extremely rude when my husband called him back. He doesn't know his own product and said that my letter (exactly what I have written above) doesn't make sense. He said that the 60-day comfort guarantee only applies to mattresses that cost more that $999, which is not stated in any of their advertising or on their website.
I sent a letter, with the above information, to the company's owner, Roger *****, and haven't heard a word from him. Surprise, surprise.
We are currently waiting to hear back from the Attorney General and the Better Business Bureau, but we'll probably ultimately have no choice but to exchange the mattress for another horrible one and then try to sell it and buy a mattress from somewhere that we trust. I would recommend that you don't go anywhere near Sleep Doctor Mattress if you want a good night's sleep.
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