I purchased a Simmons queen size mattress and box springs* in April, 2010 and had it delivered to my condo nearby, a second home in Isle of Palms, SC. Within a few months it developed a large swale in the mattress making it most uncomfortable to sleep. I do not use this as a permanent home but visit several times a year. I began noticing problems with the mattress in September of 2010 but dismissed them as my imagination that a substantial product from a reputable national manufacturer could fail in such a short time. By January, the problem, or my realization of the problem, increased and by early May, 2011 when I returned it was unbearable. It would have been impossible to identify the problem in the "return window" timeframe since I am not at the condo on a daily or regular basis.
I returned to the "local merchant" store in Mt. Pleasant where the manager gave me a form to complete to begin the process. The process requires a lot of documentation, a credit card authorization or check for $25, an inspection by an "independent" investigator that The Mattress Firm hires, and perhaps more than a month and a half wait, we would see about the outcome. And if the claim were to be honored, I would have to pay for another delivery. The Mattress Firm does not stand behind its product. I am forced to go through a lengthy, discouraging, costly and questionable replacement policy process and poor customer service. The General Manager, whom I have never spoken to, repeatedly does not return phone calls.
A mattress is an expensive purchase and one that most people do not want to make often. Certainly they do not expect to purchase a faulty product as I did and then to be stiffed with poor customer service after the sale, an unresponsive management, an unreasonable replacement process, and if the claim is honored, to pay for the delivery of what may be another faulty product.
I am not a frequent complainer, but I am also not a casual consumer. I am prepared to pursue this issue until it is resolved to my satisfaction. I want a full replacement of the mattress at no cost, delivered to my condo without charge, and an apology for the time and trouble I have gone to in securing what I have paid for.
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