MATTRESS GIANT

Experience at the store was what we expected. Lots to choose from, and very salesy salespeople. Before going there we'd learned that there's huge margin on mattresses, so haggle all you can, which we did. We didn't save as much as I'd have liked, but it wasn't worth taking my 2 little kids to other mattress stores just to save a few more bucks. First delivery we discovered a stain on the new mattress as it was being brought in the door, so we refused delivery. Second delivery was okay, but as we were making the bed we noticed the sheets didn't fit and suddenly realized they'd sent us a queen instead of the full. But by that time they'd left, so I had to schedule them to return to take the queen and deliver a full. We then discovered they'd charged us for the queen, not the full. We might have just kept the queen except we'd already bought and washed full sheets, and the room is too small for a queen, and she's only 7 so even the full is really big for her. Anyway, we were told the difference between the price of queen and full was only $20, which I found hard to believe - so much for what little haggling we were able to do. Third delivery was fine... took the queen, dropped off the full. Btw, in each case, I'd have expected them to attach the headboard to the frame, but they never did. I had to do it myself, which was difficult, as the frame didn't exactly match the headboard and I had to drill new holes in the headboard. As of yesterday, some 5-6 weeks later, I never did get my paltry $20 refund - I called the store, spoke to the mgr, who said he'd process it for me. Bottom line: given how salesy and competitive the mattress business is, don't expect a pleasant experience no matter what. That said, it certainly shouldn't have been this unpleasant, this much of a hassle.

Hava, the sales rep I met with at Mattress Giant, was great. She was professional and efficient, and quickly called her boss for me when I asked whether they could match a price quote from Sears. After speaking with her boss, she informed me that they could beat the price quote by extending their 4th of July sale (which was technically over) for me. I liked Hava very much. Hava set up a date with me for bed delivery, and told me to expect a two-hour delivery window. I checked to make sure that the delivery company could also take my futon away, and was told that futon removal was not a problem. Due to supply problems, Mattress Giant was not able to have the bed delivered on the original date, so they called to reschedule. The day before the new delivery date, I got an electronic phone call indicating that the guys would bring the bed the next day some time between 1:30 to 4:30. That's a three-hour window, not the original two-hour window indicated, but okay. I waited at home during that window. At 4:25, I got a call from the delivery guys saying that they would deliver the bed some time between 5:00 and 5:15. They did not apologize for missing the window, so I mentioned that 5:15 would be 45 minutes past the window. "That's why I'm giving you a courtesy call," the man replied. OK, so on some planet, failing to deliver services during the time frame agreed to, then failing to apologize or acknowledge the problem, passes for courtesy. Good to know. The delivery guys showed up at 5:30, thus failing to meet the three different deadlines set by (a) Hava, (b) the electronic phone call, and (c) themselves. They also gave me a lot of attitude, saying, "I took the futon outside, even though we don't do that. You knew we don't do that, right?" When I said that I had specifically asked Mattress Giant whether they would take the futon, one of the delivery guys interrupted me, saying sarcastically, "You knew you were 45 minutes late [actually, it turned out to be an hour], but you didn't know we don't take futons?" He also banged on my bedroom door like he was trying to save his mother like a five-alarm fire, despite knowing I was right there, keeping the dog out of the way. Just an anger display. Needless to say, there was no tip. In short, the company's approach to customer service is a bit bipolar. The actual sales rep I met with was great. The people who delivered the bed were rude, ignorant, and late. I paid less than expected for the bed, but more for the delivery than it was worth ($60 and four hours of waiting at home on a weekday), so I would say the two things balance each other out.

Good experience, overall. Straight talking, good advice, quick delivery, and removal of old mattress. First good experience with mattress salesmen.