Complain about a product or service

Select Comfort - The Trench Effect

Lisa of Cambridge WI (3/16/05):
We purchased the 5000 Queen Select Comfort bed with standard foundation to the tune of $1,800.00, in May of 2004. It was the first new bed we ever purchased. WHAT A MISTAKE! From the very first we rolled to the middle of the bed. I've made numerous calls to the company to complain. I've been told I needed more foam inserts. I placed the foam as directed by customer service. We stilt roll to the middle of the bed.

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We even went back to the store to see how their beds were set up. I mentioned to the company that maybe we had a defective bed. I was told in a heated voice, "We don't have defective beds"! I asked for someone to come out to see if the delivery men put it up wrong. It was like I was asking for their first born.

After going back to the store again, the manager came to our house to help us out, the bed was set up fine. We even changed the chambers around to see if that would help. No such luck. The manager said the company should pay for an upgrade for us. I called customer service again today, the person was nice, she did sympathize with me but said there is nothing they will do. I'm to sell the bed and cut my losses.

I asked to speak to someone higher up. No luck there either. The customer service rep thanked me for being polite and not swearing at her, apparently that is a problem. She also said that this was a large problem and eventually corporate will have to do something to correct the problem of people rolling to the center. Her supervisor wanted to know who the manager was I spoke to, because of his recommending an upgrade. I told her I was not going to throw this guy to the wolves because he has been trying to help us fix a problem. We should of been made aware of potential problems in the beginning.

So, we are STUCK with a bed we HATE! Stuck with the loss of money and continued back problems. Hey at least our chiropractor is getting rich off of us having a horrible bed.

The money took us forever to save. That has been the hardest to swallow. We can't afford to go buy a new bed to replace this one. The continued back pain is horrible. I've had 6 surgeries in 18 months and have to sleep on the couch due to the fact it's more comfortable.

Robert of Wharton, NJ (9/5/05):
We purchased a Select Comfort Bed. The first thing we noticed was that we rolled to the middle of the bed. Then we noticed the plastic supporting beams were breaking. Select said they would replace the mattress, which they did three times, but we still can't get a good night's sleep. Next we noticed mold growing on the air mattress.

We spent over $1,000 on a glamorized air mattress. They won't refund or upgrade us to a better mattress. I am ready to pack it up and take it back to the store. My Chiropractor advises us to put it in the garbage.

Shannon of Phoenix (10/3-/04):
I purchased a Select Comfort sleep number bed over a year ago. It only took 2 weeks for my wife and I to realize what a poor investment it was. First I contacted customer services and explained that between my wife and I the bed not only was extremely uncomfortable, it was poorly supported and over hyped on TV.

We can't get close at night due to the difference in pressure level of our two sides. The foam center piece repeatedly collapses leaving a divet in the center and if either of us moves or attempts to get out of the bed the other rolls to the opposite side. The manager instructed me that there is an adjustment period -- well it's long overdue.

This overpriced inflatable mattress is just not comfortable. We are constantly taking it apart and readjusting it.

Michelle of North Attleboro MA (8/20/04):
My fiance and I purchased a queen-sized Select Comfort bed for $1500 (without frame). After three months of use the mattress cover began to tear on one side causing the foam to hang out and chambers to become shifty during movement. The foam piece between the chambers is quite uncomfortable as well. The bed is uneven and hard to adjust for two people to sleep well. The mattress constantly shifts to the foot of the bed causing more tears under the mattress cover.

Lastly, and most important: After losing friends to a tragic fire in a Rhode Island night club (foam materials on the walls of the club caused this fire to spread in 50 secs killing 100 people and injuring at least 300 more), I decided to question Select Comfort about the foam in my bed. I emailed them 10 times to be exact, they will not respond to one question "Is the foam material in this bed highly flammable material?"

Frankly, my sex life is so much worse because of this bed. It has caused a mental strain on the both of us because we can't even enjoy ourselves intimately on this damned thing. My fiance complains of constant upper back/neck pain. I now have to consider purchasing another bed. I've only had this one for one and a half years. They guarantee it to last for 20 years. The pump is loud -- we can't adjust our beds at night or we'd wake the baby and the neighbors!

Elizabeth of Zumbrota MN (8/3/04):
My husband bought a Select Comfort bed before we were married for about $3000. It was fine until the 30-day money-back return was expired. Since then we have had problems with our bed sloping in the middle. We called Select Comfort and they sent us a piece of foam that was 1 1/2 inches thick. We didn't think that would do much, but we gave it a try.

It didn't do anything, so we called them back. They then sent us a much thicker piece of foam, but it ended up just making a big bump in the middle of our bed. We still feel like we are sloping on either side of the bed.

Betty of Woonsocket RI (7/15/04):
For my lower back pain, my chiropractor suggested that I buy a Select Comfort bed. I ordered the bed in the beginning of January, and it took about a month and a half for them to finally come and set it up. I was immediately unhappy with it. I paid over $1,000 for a cheap air mattress on top of a plastic foundation. Came complete with a cover that at least made it "look" like a decent bed.

My chiropractor told me that it takes a few months to get used to it, but that I would love it once I did. Well, it's been 5 months since they set this monstrosity up. There is no return policy at this point, and I have more back pain in my upper back than I can stand. I have no doubt that this horrible bed is to blame.

We have two separate air chambers. If you are not smack dab in the center of your chamber, you can actually feel "off-center", and while you sleep, your body tries to compensate for the sense of sleeping on a hill (so to speak). If I have the mattress the way that they recommend in their booklet, I wake up with my lower back killing me. When I sleep with it on a firmer setting, I toss and turn all night and wake up with my upper back killing me.

Linda of Midway City CA (7/15/04):
In the fall of 2003 we bought the extended queen Select DIScomfort mattress and bed frame. I haven't had a decent night's sleep since! Unfortunately, my husband loves it. He sleeps with a softer setting than I do, so for much of the night I am trying not to roll onto the softer side of the bed.

If I try a softer setting, my back hurts so much it is a challenge to crawl over the rigid edge. I do admit that the mattress is fairly comfortable IF one sleeps on their back. The body in a moderate V shape is much like a hospital bed with elevated head and feet. However, if one sleeps on their side, and the head and feet are higher than the hips, a V shape is not comfortable. The body is not meant to be bent into that uncomfortable position.

The air does not disperse evenly. Forget about the claims that it reduces pressure points on the hips and shoulders and that the mattress supports the lower back. There is no conformation to the individual body at the softer settings. I am extremely frustrated with this purchase and the fact that I can sleep better on my old soft sofa than I can on this $2500 piece of junk.

Shannon of Oak Harbor WA (8/6/03):
My husband and I purchased a Select Comfort bed. I suffer from arthritis and fibromyalgia and it has been about 10 years since I have slept thru the entire night. We were looking forward to me being able to get some sleep. We purchased the bed in October of 2002. This being after three attempts to get the right bed to us.

The long and short of the story is that the bed, after six months developed a "trench" in the middle. My husband and I were not able to get any sleep because we were rolling into each other all during the night. We called the company, they told us nothing could be done as our 30-night guarantee was over. (This had nothing to do with the 30 night guarantee, this was a malfunction of the bed).

They sent a piece of foam to "remedy" the problem. This did nothing except to make it like a speed bump in the middle of the bed. We called again, they sent another piece of foam. This, as expected, did nothing to give us any rest. Another phone call, another "sorry your 30 night guarantee is over," another piece of foam.

We spent $1500 for a bed that we thought would last us at least as long as our old mattress had. I am now in so much pain that my productivity level is very low, I am depressed because I hurt all the time and can't get the things done that I used to. Yes, existing health issues were already there, but they have only gotten worse with continued use of the bed.

To top that off, my husband of 33 years works 72 hours a week. I only see him just before he crawls into bed. 11:00 at night, and then he is gone at 6:30 AM. This is the only time I can be physically close to him. Now that is gone, as neither one of us can sleep on that bed. I am furious and have talked to people about it, only to find out that two of JUST OUR friends have had the SAME experience. They could very easily just take my complaint and filled in their names, basically.

Joyce of Vancouver WA writes (5/22/02):
I purchased a dual air chamber full size mattress through the Select Comfort Mattress Co., via the internet. It was delivered and I set it up according to the directions. The bed is designed for the comfort of two people. One person could have firmer mattress on their side and the other person could have a softer side.

However, when one side is inflated softer than the other side the person on the firmer side feels like they are rolling into the softer side. So after several nights of discomfort for my boyfriend and I, I contacted the company and they informed me that my 30-night trial had expired so they could not give me a refund, but they would indeed try to fix the problem.

So they sent me a chamber lift for the softer side of the bed, to lift it up. This chamber lift was nothing other than a piece of foam, approximately 1/2 inch thick. They sent me directions on how to install this, which has diagrams of the problem and how this would fix the problem. Clearly I believe they were aware from other complaints that this was a problem, or they wouldn't have these diagrams.

So that didn't solve the problem, so I again contacted them and they sent me another chamber lift, and that also didn't solve the problem, but caused another problem. It made the soft side higher than the firm side, so again the rolling into the other side problem.

I again contacted them asking for a refund and they absolutely refused sticking to their 30 night guarantee, so they sent me again another piece of foam to place in the center of the bed, this caused a hill in the middle of the bed, then it felt like rolling out of bed on each side of the bed.

By this time I was very unsatisfied with their product and again asked for a refund, not asking for the money I had already paid, just asking them to take back their product, and credit my account for the remaining balance. They again refused with the same reason, the 30 days had expired. So again they sent me yet another piece of foam.

So I again contacted them and brought this to their attention, and they again just referred to their 30-night guarantee. I feel their product does not work as they say it will and neither will their attempts to fix it. They have told me that it is just a matter of my opinion, and they can do nothing about my being uncomfortable or unsatisfied with their product.

There must be a way to get a refund on this product, even though the 30-night trial had expired, and I would like to know how I could get credited to my account. I think that because of their attempt to fix the problems with something that they don't warranty, that they should give me a full refund and take back their product. I have put their mattress back in its shipping boxes and have bought another conventional mattress, because I could not sleep another night on this Select Comfort mattress.

The consequences of this are that I now owe over $1,200 to a finance company that is now harassing me for the money, and going to take it to collections if I don't pay. I don't want to pay for something I can't sleep on. This will damage my credit rating, which will make it hard for me to make purchases that need to be financed in the future. I was already turned down by the company I had to buy my new mattress from, due to this being on my credit record, so had to pay cash for the new mattress.

It has also caused me to lose sleep at night, do to the uncomfort of their mattress. Also caused a problem in my relationship with my boyfriend as he could not sleep on this mattress, and both of us would wake up with back pain in the morning. He would have to sleep on the couch, which was emotionally damaging to our relationship. I have also been emotionally damaged, by losing sleep at night and by this company not caring about my comfort.

First of all, Joyce should not ruin her credit by refusing to pay the finance company. She is legally obligated to pay them whether she likes the mattress or not. However, she should aggressively seek a refund from the company. We'd suggest a firm demand letter sent via registered mail, giving the company 30 days to refund a reasonable portion of the purchase price.

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