The Widder Curry wonders whether a good night’s sleep in the offing?
By Judi Curry
Every now and then you go to a merchant in your neighborhood and you are treated like royalty. That doesn’t happen too often but when it does you almost would like to shout about it from the roof top of the closest building. I had one of those experiences today and want to share it with you.
For the past ten plus years I have been sleeping on a mattress that sags in the middle. As a single person sleeping on only one side of the bed accounts for some of the sag; being overweight does not help either, and when I bought the mattress I weighed well over 200 pounds (down considerably now I am happy to say). That extra weight also was a factor in the middle sag. So…I decided it was time to purchase a new one.
I had been looking at the ads; calling and talking to different people, and, in fact, purchased a mattress from J.C. Penny during their Christmas Sale. There was just one strange problem – they lost it. They didn’t lose the order – they lost the mattress. It was supposed to be delivered on December 28th, and on the morning of that day I received a call from the shipping department telling me that they couldn’t find it. (How in the world can you lose a California King mattress?) I told them if they couldn’t find it within 24 hours to cancel the order. And that is exactly what happened.
I had never purchased a mattress from Mattress Firm before, but I had purchased mattresses from another company in the same location. I did some investigation and found that Mattress Firm had purchased the old company, and they still had my old purchases on file. I grabbed Steve and told him we were going mattress shopping. He wasn’t too happy with the idea, but went along with the plan.
The Mattress Firm we went to is at 3109 Sports Arena Blvd – across the street from “In and Out” . I promised Steve that if he would help me I’d buy him a hamburger and French fries. And it was, indeed, the same location of the past three mattress purchases.
We were met at the door by a delightful lady, Maria, who asked us what we were looking for. She asked questions that would help us make a decision; she asked us what kind of pillows we liked, and then found two that would meet our likes.
And then we began testing the beds. With each of the beds we tried Maria explained the difference between the one we were on and the one we had just left. She did not rush us; she answered all of our questions, even asking ones we had never thought of before. She suggested a mattress that she thought we might like, but it aggravated my torn rotator cuff and I didn’t care for it. We talked further about it and she agreed that the materials would not be satisfactory. We never discussed price; only what would fill the criteria of what we were looking for in a comfortable mattress.
We narrowed it down to two beds and then asked Maria, again, about the differences. She knew her mattresses. She could answer every one of our questions, and finally when we discussed the cost, she was not unhappy that we chose the less expensive one. In fact, she agreed that for what we were looking for our choice was the best one.
But she wasn’t finished yet. When we went to sign the contract she spent a considerable amount of time explaining the different aspects of the contract – from an exchange to a restocking fee, to delivery fee, to recycling fee, etc. Sure, she must go through this every time she sells a bed, but her attitude was so sincere, so thoughtful, it was as if she was saying these things for the first time and only for us.
So why am I writing this? Because in today’s society, one does not always get the treatment that we received. The time spent with us; the true concern about getting just what we wanted was greatly appreciated by both of us. Because it is nice to know that we can make purchases in our own neighborhood and be treated well and want to share that experience.
Even before we left the store I had an email and a text confirming the delivery of the bed for the next day. When we arrived home I had another message on my answering machine confirming the delivery tomorrow! Our encounter with Maria even has me looking at the other beds in the house and wondering if I should make some changes. But….I’m just wondering. Haven’t done it yet – and may not.
Sweet dreams! (Oh yes – Steve was so helpful we went out to eat – but still a hamburger and French fries!)
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I have to say something about the delivery drivers of this mattress. I think that they must be relatives of Houdini! I got a message they would be here in 10 minutes – they were here in 5. They knocked on the door; asked if they were removing a mattress. When I said “yes” they asked where it was and followed me to the bedroom. One buy lifted the CAL KING mattress by himself and began moving it off the box spring. The other guy began bringing in the new mattress wrapped in plastic; they met half-way, and tore away the plastic, placed the new mattress on the box spring; put the old mattress in the same plastic covering and were gone in 6 minutes. I have never seen anyone work that fast. I had no time to give them a tip – which I usually do – they were in/out/and gone.
And as far as the mattress – last night we were bombarded by raccoons – came in the back yard; made a mess with the dirt; climbed fences; went into the side yard; turned on the sensor lights and I NEVER HEARD THEM! nor did the lights wake me up! I waited too long to buy that new mattress! Damn!
I like a good story and a happy ending!