Comfort Guarantees – Who’s Been Sleeping on Your Mattress?

Comfort guarantees – offered by some retailers, loathed by others, but what are they? They are a way through an agreement to help individuals who have selected the wrong mattress to reselect another. The consumer having already taken it home and slept on it for a period of time discovers their mattress is not so comfortable or hurts their back. A comfort exchange offer can sound very tempting at first, but could mean an extra day of organizing pick ups & re-delivery schedules, another day or so shopping for a new set and all kinds of logistical concerns. Consumers are advised to take steps the first time around to assure the mattress and foundation they choose is the right one. According to The Better Sleep Council everyone should take The “SLEEP” Test to reduce his or her likelihood of choosing the incorrect mattress.

Select a mattress
Lie down in your sleep position
Evaluate the level of comfort and support
Educate yourself about each selection
Partners should try each mattress together

Stores that use comfort guarantees usually require that you sleep on the new mattress for a minimum 30-90 days to in fact determine if the mattress is correct for you. You will find it takes a minimum of one month to establish whether you will like a mattress or not. Within the first 3 weeks it is not uncommon to dislike a new mattress, but after a month or so enthusiastically rave about its comfort and support. Research has shown that if customers take seriously their shopping experience and apply principals such as the “Sleep Test” that the success rate choosing the proper mattress is in excess of 90%. Consumers are typically very pleased with their new purchase, which should translate into a better night of quality sleep. If you end up in the dreaded 10% you can expect a retail establishment to do one of several things.

1. Offered a complete refund.
2. One mattress exchange, which is becoming more common.
3. Some manufactures may actually reupholster your mattress changing out certain layers to give the bed the feel you desire
4. No exchange or comfort policy. This is most common industry wide.

There are a large number of stores that feel these policies aren’t all they are cracked up to be. Unscrupulous stores actually have been known to rebag the returned mattress as new. Another interesting fact some stores insist on the use a waterproof or stain resistant mattress pad to assure the comfort guarantee. Is this a necessary request when the majority of states have laws that say used mattresses cannot be resold? Understandably blood, urine, and perspiration stained Mattresses should qualify for a mattress exchange due to sanitary reasons. It seems that some companies are weaseling their way out of these promises claiming small marks or scuffs are reason enough to deny a mattress comfort exchange?

So ask your self this, if a dealer takes back your old mattress, keeping in mind that most mattress manufactures do not, what is the dealer going to do with your old mattress set? Could you be getting someone else’s mattress from a previous comfort exchange? If a store has one of these policies its possible, why not ask them? Most states have laws that protect you the consumer from being sold a used unsanitary mattress. Is your dealer protecting you?

Lastly be cautious; a comfort exchange policy is not an endless way to keep trying a mattress till you find one you like. If a job is worth doing, it’s worth doing right, take your mattress shopping seriously. Test rest as many mattresses as possible using a process of elimination that includes quality, price, and most importantly comfort to complete the quest for the perfect mattress. Do not rely on comfort exchanges to help you find the best mattress or you may end up severely disappointed.