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Sleep Doctor Mattress

Sleep Doctor Mattress review: Buyer beware! 28

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Author of the review
10:17 am EDT
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This review was chosen algorithmically as the most valued customer feedback.

My husband and I purchased a King sized mattress (manufacturer: International Bedding Co., Model #: HER 2000 F) from the Muskegon (MI) Sleep Doctor on 8/11/07. We did not purchase a box spring since we have a platform bed. We paid $599.00 plus tax. Eric ****** was the person who sold us the mattress.

After having the mattress for a few days, I noticed that something was sticking out on the sides. I felt around that edges of the mattress and found that it was doing this is several spots. I didn’t know if the mattress was supposed to be that way or not.

The mattress was uncomfortable so we went back to the store due to their "60 day comfort guarantee". Eric ***** told us that he would not be able to give us another mattress for any thing less than $300.00 over the price of the original mattress. After seeing that we were hesitant to pay $300.00 more, he promptly quit helping us and went to play solitaire on his computer.

We decided to just keep the mattress and buy a mattress pad. We purchased a memory foam mattress topper as well as a mattress pad from another store. This still did not help the comfort level of the mattress. The comfort level was so bad that we decided that we had to purchase a new mattress. We went to several different stores to try mattresses out and to get prices. I also looked on-line.

In doing this research, I found that we paid way too much for the mattress that we purchased from Sleep Doctor. I acknowledge that this is our fault as we had not educated ourselves before purchasing from Sleep Doctor.

In speaking with another sales person at another store, I also found out that Eric **** was the Muskegon Sleep Doctor Store manager, which I hadn’t previously known, and that this sales person has heard a lot of bad things about Eric from customers that have come into their store.

Also, when visiting another mattress store and speaking with the sales person, I described the spots on the mattress where something was sticking out. The sales person told me that the spring guards had probably come off the springs on the edges and this is considered to be a defect in the mattress.

After hearing this, I reviewed the warranty on the mattress. I contacted International Bedding Co. and was told that I would have to go through Sleep Doctor to process the warranty.

I was hesitant to call the Muskegon Sleep Doctor, as I had not been happy with the customer service that Eric ***** had provided. By that point, I also didn’t trust him as I believe that this mattress was defective from the beginning.

Because of this, I called the phone number listed on Sleep Doctor’s website. I spoke with someone who arranged for Sleep Doctor’s “technicians” to come look at the mattress. This person also told me that if the mattress met the warranty conditions, the mattress could either be replaced or we would be able to upgrade our mattress and pay the difference.

The “technicians” came to my home on 3/5/08. After just a moment of looking at the mattress, the “technicians” stated that the condition of our mattress was a “known defect” and that they would let the manager (Eric ******) know that this qualified for replacement under the warranty. Eric contacted us and said that we could come into the store to discuss our options.

My husband and I decided that we did not want the same mattress, because of the “known defect”. We decided to go try out the other mattresses in the store. From looking around before we had known that there was a defect in the mattress, we had a good idea of what we were looking for and the prices that were reasonable. Because of Sleep Doctor’s guarantee that they will “beat any price or it’s free” I went on-line and printed out adds from Big Lots, Sam’s Club and Sleep Doctor.

Big Lots was advertising the Serta Danford Eurotop Perfect Sleeper for $655.00. Sam’s Club was advertising the Serta Buckingham Eurotop Perfect Sleeper for $798.00 which included shipping. Sleep Doctor was advertising an on-line special for a Serta Madison Eurotop Mattress Set for the Side Sleeper for $599.00.

Aside from this, Serta’s website stated that Sleep Doctor was currently participating in the Serta price rollback which could result in large discounts on Serta mattresses. We went into the Muskegon Sleep Doctor store on a day that Eric wasn’t there, because I was not comfortable dealing with him. We tried out mattresses and really liked the Serta Perfect Sleeper Eurotop Rainbow Mist. The sales person that helped us told us that he could not sell us the mattress for less than $1199.00. When we presented the advertisements, he told us that he couldn’t help us anymore and told us that we would have to speak with Eric *****.

My husband contacted Eric ******. Through my husband’s conversations with Eric, it became apparent that Eric was not willing to help us at all. My husband contacted Sleep Doctor’s Serta representative, Greg, and asked him what the difference was between the Rainbow Mist (Sleep Doctor), the Buckingham (Sam’s Club) and the Danford (Big Lots). Greg explained that the Danford was not foam encased around the edges, hence the price difference. Greg stated, however, that the Buckingham and the Rainbow Mist were very similar and there wasn’t much difference between these two mattresses.

We realized that the Rainbow Mist and the Danford were too different and did not expect that Sleep Doctor would price match the Big Lots’ price. When my husband contacted Eric ***** again, Eric told my husband that the difference between the Rainbow Mist and the Buckingham was in the continuous support innerspring. When my husband confronted Eric on this lie and told Eric that he had spoken with the Serta representative, Eric said that he would call my husband back.

Eric called back and still was offering the Rainbow Mist for $1199.00 and he would not price match the Buckingham. Eric then told my husband that he had a Eurotop that was between the Rainbow Mist and the Buckingham models. Eric said that he would sell it to us for $900.00 but we wouldn’t be able to try it out ahead of time and we wouldn’t be able to return it if we didn’t like it. Before we could decide if we wanted to do this, Eric called back and told my husband that he was wrong and he doesn’t have this mattress.

My husband and I finally tired of dealing with Eric and decided to just have him replace our mattress with another one. We decided that we would keep this in plastic and try to sell it on our own. We decided that we would purchase another mattress from another store that we trusted. My husband called Eric and told him to go ahead and order the mattress. Eric contacted my husband later that day and asked my husband if we wanted a plush mattress instead of the firm one. Eric stated that there would be no charge for this. My husband said that this was fine.

I found this offer incredulous because when we had gone into the Sleep Doctor within the 60 day comfort guarantee, Eric would not help us find a different mattress for the same price that we paid for the one we originally purchased.

Because of this, I decided that the best avenue would be to contact the regional manager and to also file a complaint with the Attorney General and the Better Business Bureau. I called Eric and told him to put a hold on the mattress order as we had decided to pursue other avenues. Eric said that this was fine.

I then called the toll free number again to find out who to contact. I was told to call Scott ****** at the Kentwood Sleep Doctor. I was told that Scott **** is the regional manager. Imagine my dismay when I found out that Scott is related to Eric. I called the Kentwood store on 3/10/08 and spoke with George. George told me that Scott was out of the store and wouldn’t be back until 3/12/08. I requested that George contact Scott and let him know that I wanted to be contacted that day. I said that if no one contacted me, I would be filing a complaint with the Attorney General and the Better Business Bureau by 4:00 p.m.

In the meantime, my husband called the Sleep Doctor on Alpine St. in Grand Rapids. My husband spoke with Jared. Jared first told my husband that he would sell us the Rainbow Mist for $1049.00 ($150.00 less than what Eric offered). My husband said that he had an advertisement from Sam’s Club advertising the Buckingham for $798.00 and that this was very similar to the Rainbow Mist. Jared said that he would speak with the regional manager and get approval to match this price. Jared called my husband back and said that he would sell us a King sized Serta Perfect Sleeper Rainbow Mist Eurotop for $798.00 because of their guarantee that they will “beat any advertised price or it’s free”. Jared told my husband that there really wasn’t any difference between the Rainbow Mist and the Buckingham.

My husband contacted Eric with this information and Eric still insisted that he wouldn’t sell us the Rainbow Mist for less than $1199.00. Eric told my husband that he has the proof of how different the Buckingham and Rainbow Mist are. To me, this is irrelevant, as we already have two people, the Serta representative and another Sleep Doctor employee, telling us that there is not enough difference between the mattresses to warrant such a gap in price.

My husband agreed to go to see the specifics. When he did, Eric **** tried to say that the fabric covering the mattress was better than the one at Sam's Club. Eric didn't seem to understand that the Organic Cotton cover that the Sam's Club mattress has is a "specialty fabric".

Eric also tried to say that the foam contains something that is made with oil and their bed has a higher percentage of oil, hence the price difference. My husband compared their percentage with an even cheaper Serta Perfect Sleeper mattress ($585) at Menards and that one has a higher percentage than Sleep Doctor's mattress! Eric ****** has continuously lied to us and has refused to compromise with us.

Needless to say, when Scott *******, the regional manager, returned my call, he was less than accommodating. He left me a message, basically saying that my husband and I had no choice and we have to exchange the mattress for a similar one and we can't upgrade. He was rude on the message and he was extremely rude when my husband called him back. He doesn't know his own product and said that my letter (exactly what I have written above) doesn't make sense. He said that the 60-day comfort guarantee only applies to mattresses that cost more that $999, which is not stated in any of their advertising or on their website.

I sent a letter, with the above information, to the company's owner, Roger *****, and haven't heard a word from him. Surprise, surprise.

We are currently waiting to hear back from the Attorney General and the Better Business Bureau, but we'll probably ultimately have no choice but to exchange the mattress for another horrible one and then try to sell it and buy a mattress from somewhere that we trust. I would recommend that you don't go anywhere near Sleep Doctor Mattress if you want a good night's sleep.

Update by s. osborne
Apr 07, 2008 12:49 pm EDT

An update for everyone--
Phil *****, the co-owner of Sleep Doctor Mattress, contacted me personally by phone. Phil apologized several times for everything that my husband and I have gone through with the purchase of our mattress. Phil and his brother, Roger, ended up refunding the delivery fee that Eric charged us. Phil and Roger also ended up sending us a $75 gift card to Red Lobster. I told Phil that the refund and the gift card were nice, but what meant the most to me was having him personally contact me and apologize. My viewpoint on Sleep Doctor has drastically changed. I still wouldn't deal with Eric, but I now feel that the company itself stands up to its advertising.

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28 comments
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Russell Cornell
, US
Jul 10, 2019 1:12 pm EDT

I thought they went bankrupt some time ago.

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Sandra Vought
Jackson, US
Apr 03, 2011 11:40 pm EDT

We purchased a king mattress set on Feburary 21, 2011. I was delivered Thursday March 3, 2011. On Friday March 4, 2011 I phoned the salesman Lyle and told him this could not be the same bed I tried in the store it is way too hard. He told me it had to be broke in.
A week later I went into the store and told him I did not want it as it was too hard. He told me again it has to be broken in.
He told me all he could do is sell me another and charge me $200.00 to send it back to the factory. He won't even take it back and charge me the $200.00 return fee I have to buy another one from them.
When does the satisfaction guarantee apply?
My next letter is to Attorney General and Better Business Bureau. I hope everyone that is not satisfied will do the same.

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dgrty2005
Grand Rapids, US
Jul 04, 2013 10:15 pm EDT

All this over a $599 king mattress set you are a total idiot! What did you expect a Tempurpedic or a IComfort? You are our mattress store owners worst nightmares! I know Eric and this is not the way he runs his store! And I work for his competition. So I can only conclude you are a liar! Dumb ###!

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sleep_doctor_sucks
Grand Rapids, US
May 18, 2011 2:37 am EDT

WARNING: DO NOT BUY ANYTHING FOR THE SLEEP DOCTOR MATTRESS COMPANY. THEY SELL JUNK AND DO NOT STAND BEHIND THEIR MERCHANDISE. THEY SALES STAFF ARE A BUNCH OF JOKERS. GO ANYWHERE ELSE, EVEN GOODWILL HAS A BETTER MATTRESS. I WILL BE FILING A COMPLAINT WITH THE B.B.B TODAY. ONCE AGAIN AVOID THIS COMPANY LIKE THE PLAGUE.

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Muskegon_Customer
Muskegon, US
May 15, 2011 3:49 am EDT

We also have purchased a mattress from Eric and are extremely dissatisfied with his service and salesmanship. Why Sleep Doctor keeps him around is beyond me. His incredible ability to lie to customers to generate sales for the company must be what's important.. RESIDENTS OF MUSKEGON AREA, AVOID THIS COMPANY AND THIS SALES PERSON.

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Henrietta57
Muskegon, US
Feb 22, 2011 2:36 pm EST

I bought a mattress last February from the Muskegon Sleep Doctor. It was around $800 and I put 1/2 down. I later found that I could get a better mattress somewhere else and asked if I could back out of the deal. Eric told me no and wouldn't give me what I had put down on the mattress back so I was stuck purchasing it through them. Now it sounds like the springs are loose on one side of the bed. I'm wondering if it wasn't a floor model to begin with. Every time I see a mattress sale at Macy's or a soft pillow top in the stores, I kick myself for not researching the company first!

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formersleepsalesperson
Jackson, US
Jan 05, 2010 10:25 pm EST

Sleep Doctor is a rip off. They do try to sell their mattreses at an over inflated price. Overage is real and is split 50-50 between the salesperson and Roger.

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eco crime watch
San Luis Obispo, US
Dec 27, 2009 12:28 pm EST

You should immediately file a consumer complaint with your District Attorneys Consumer Fraud Division. Or look up Consumer Fraud in your county. Mattress Stores are our worst complaint. Bait and Switch is illegal. Business and Professions Code violations are serious when reported. I guarantee he only gave you the exchange because you made people aware of his business practices. I guarantee you the Attorney General may have written him a little letter and he righted a wrong. He is probably still wronging others. Beware of Mattress orders. Don't pay everything up front. I cringe because I am looking for a mattress today!

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Depends
Spring Lake, US
Nov 19, 2009 3:07 pm EST

We recently purchased a new full size mattress (firm) set from a local Sleep Doctor Mattress Store and it was only about one week later when we realized that the sales representative directly lied to us regarding the sales price and the availability of this certain style mattress. He said that it was time for updated or newer mattress models to be coming available and that this was our last opportunity to purchase this model at such a great price.
Because next week Sleep Doctor offered this exact same mattress at a much lower price and with shipping included, and you tell me that the sales person did not know this was coming.
We wanted delivery included but this representative refused to offer or discuss, gee who would have guess that just the following week, like I said that a lower price including delivery would be available from Sleep Doctor. It was the same mattress but a hundred dollars less, with delivery!
We went back to the same store and ask if we could at least get some kind of an adjustment in our purchase price, no way! So I agree that anyone looking for a mattress avoid Sleep Doctor, if you cannot trust the sales person, what good is any deal or any price.
I would also strongly encourage anyone that purchase a mattress from Sleep Doctor to check out the store warranty, we were never informed that all warranty issues must be with Sleep Doctor and that any replacement must be with Sleep Doctor and that any added financial costs or charges would be that of the customer. Buyer beware!
We have written the corporation regarding the sales persons work ethics and the misleading representation, all I can say again is beware.
Oh and before I close, we did find the same mattress set and even a better quality mattress set at a better price at a local competitor that included delivery so please customer beware shop around and compare prices, quality and the warranty. Please consider customer service, because if the representative can not be trusted, how can you expect that any request on behalf of the warranty be good or valuable.
Maybe I too will be back with a further update regarding our experience with Sleep Doctor, but even so, it seems an issue does exist with customers being mislead.
Thank you.

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BarryJaye
Birmingham, US
Aug 11, 2009 7:11 am EDT

In regard to the broad brush negative comments about Christians on this board...I have to make just one statement. A liar can claim to be honest. Does that make all honest people liars?

As for the mattress complaint...I have been shopping for a mattress for several weeks. It is confusing. I think it is purposely so. Mattress retailers do not want you to compare apples to apples. What does that tell you? They also talk glowingly about their "comfort exchange" policies. Ask for it in writing when you first walk into the store. If they claim to have a price match guarantee, ask for it in writing before leaving the store. If they make any guarantees...ask for it in writing. Be wary of anyone who can't proivide this. In my shopping I've discovered how deceptive they can be on this issue to make a sale.

Also, make the salesperson provide you a breakdown of the mattress giving you precise information about foam, coils, fabrics, etc. You want to know exactly specificiations. If they claim it has latex, how thick is it? What is the ILD of the latex? If memory foam is present, what is its density? How thick is it? How are the layers constructed? If coils, how many and what gage? There are a million other questions to ask and as you see, this can become complicated. This is the only way to compare sets accurately. It is nearly impossible.

I think the bottom line here is that buying a mattress is a crap shoot. The best we can do is educate ourselves before walking into the store and to check with friends, neighbors, and message boards like these to try and discern which brands are reliable and which retailers are honest.

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forget sleepdr
, US
Aug 10, 2009 1:02 pm EDT

Ive just gone into our local Sleepdoctor store...(44th in wyoming) My wife and I purchased a king set 4 years ago..that had been replaced within the forst 6 months...We however liked it and chauked it up to a bad one in the bunch...3 1/2 years later...here we are again..This Mattress had a 20 year warranty at the time of purchase...Well, I stop into the store...Let them know of the issue...And Im now told that the company...United sleep..Is bankrupt. Sleepdoctor is paying 50% of the original price as credit towards a new set. Im ok with that. Not happy but I understand. So I let Dan know that I need someone to come look at my bed. He then explains to me that there is a $70 charge for this service non refundable. Siteing the tough economic climate.. I explain that when I purchased my bed for all the $$ it was a free service, Part of the price. To make a short story longer, after arguing for 45min. I asked Dan if he was willing to sacrifice a potential $1500/$2000 sale over a $70 service call? Dan's answer: Im sorry There is nothing I can do per Roger.. Needless to say. I need a new mattress. With or without the help of them..and over $70 I'll be taking my bussiness elsewhere

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SatisfiedCustomer
, US
Jul 29, 2009 1:06 pm EDT

After having several dealings with the Sleep Doctor store in my town, I feel compelled to tell everyone that this is an amazing company with honest, hard-working people, and the products they sell are the best priced mattresses around. I did my research when I was buying a mattress, and I will admit, I found cheaper mattresses out there. But then I realized they were cheaper for a reason... They were not as good. I was in the market for a queen set that I wanted to spend around $900-1100 on. I though that was a fair amount of money to spend for a mattress for me and my wife to use every night. We looked at the Serta they sell at Sleep Doctor and compared it to the Serta sold at the big box stores, and realized what the salesperson at the store told us was correct. The coil systems in the big box mattresses was not as good, and this made a lot of sense to us. Places like Sam's Club are such a rip-off. People who shop there are only concerned about price and Sam's knows this. So they sell products cheaper. What we found out was that they don't sell the same products cheaper however, they sell cheaper products cheaper. Our aunt bought a mattress from Menard's that was also a Serta, and it was a piece of crap compared to the quality ones that Sleep Doctor sells. I guess that if you want the best, you should go to the places that know what they are talking about. We will recommend the Jackson Sleep Doctor store to all of our friends and family members. They really took care of us, and we are sleeping the best we have ever slept.

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MattressAnswer Man
Collegeville, US
May 22, 2009 11:46 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I am not from the Sleep Doctor market area and after reading these comments and having 20 years in the mattress business these are my thoughts. The person who thought democrat was a curse word must be a true republican politician thinking that the market isn't littered with bad business people and relishes greed above humanity. To the folks that raked these people for what they spent on one hand they are correct that 599 is low for even a Queen mattress but possibly that was all they could afford. Even people who purchase lower end merchandise deserve good service and when they don't get it have the right to complain. I am sure the store didn't have a sign saying on sale but not good they may have even advertised this mattress to draw in customers. Notice also they only bought the mattress making this a 900 to 1200 dollar set depending on the store therefore not rock bottom merchandise. IBC is a low end and usually private label manufacturer but is also very large meaning many people have purchased their products with good results.
As far as being Christian and truthfulness wasn't it the Catholic Church that ordered Galileo to say the sun revolved around the earth after he proved the opposite? Don't Christians push right to life while backing the death penalty. What makes being Christian special in this case?

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ExPotentialCustomer
,
Oct 15, 2008 12:56 pm EDT

10/15/08

When you read anonymous postings such as these, in which anyone is free to write anything, regardless of the truth, you have to take it all with a grain of salt. The more outlandish the claims, probably the less true they are.

That being said, this is our true experience with the Sleep Doctor of Jackson, MI. We went in to compare prices on a couple of mattresses we priced elsewhere, one of them being a Tempur-Pedic model. We were steered to another foam mattress brand, Essentia, which we had never heard of. The salesman claimed it was better and less expensive than the Tempur-Pedic. He stated Sleep Doctor has an exclusive contract with that mattress company as the only retailer selling it. We laid down on the bed and it felt pretty good. But when he touted some pretty fantastic health properties of the silver and copper threads woven into the cover which are supposed to kill bacteria and help arthritis, we started getting wary. We told him since we had never heard of that brand of mattress, we would do some research on it and get back to him.

At home, while googling the Essentia brand, the only information we could find on an Essentia mattress is a foam mattress manufactured and sold only in Canada and being marketing only through Costco. You can read about it here:
http://www.essentiadirect.com/blog/2008/02/07/essentia-at-sleep-doctor/

I called the Jackson Sleep Doctor store to ask the salesman about this. He said, oh, the name was changed on that mattress line to Origins after we realized that name was already being used by a Canadian company. I asked if the mattress design was the same as the Canadian Essentia mattress and he said no. It seems pretty coincidental that two mattress companies would unknowingly name their mattress the same name, especially such an uncommon name. Then the salesman told us the Canadian company was no longer in business. Well, as you can see by this webpage, they are continuing to stock their mattress in more and more Costco as of October 2008. Sure doesn't appear they closed their business.
http://www.essentiadirect.com/blog/2008/10/09/more-costco-dates-for-eveyone/

Now, this mattress may very well be a great mattress at a good price, but after being given inaccurate facts a couple times, a person just becomes wary of spending over $2000 on a non-mainstream mattress and doing business with a retailer that can't get their facts straight. We won't be taking a chance with Essentia (aka Origins) or with Sleep Doctor.

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Mattress Moron
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Sep 27, 2008 3:38 pm EDT

I can only say, you get what you pay for! When I hear that you are comparing beds from Big Lots, Menards and a mattress discounter my only rational comment can be: "What did you expect?" Shop at a real store and buy a real bed, not the disposable low-end crap your talking about!

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ken
,
Aug 17, 2008 5:44 am EDT

i do not know this great christian that the ex employee
speaks of but i have had dealings with the jackson mi.
store they are very adept at lying.i would never deal with this outfit again .and by the way iam not a ex employee.
save your money go to a reputable store.

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Common Sense
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Jul 26, 2008 12:44 pm EDT

If you look at the mean spirited responses, its common sense that people can trist the truth by any stretch of the imagination.

As far as the first paragraph of the origional complaint, it stated $599 was their purchase price for a King mattress, and then she goes on later to say they paid HUNDREDS more than other stores offerring a similar product. This does NOT make any sense at all**NOT AT ALL**

Either this has been completely fabricated, or ... if there is any truth to this complaint at all...I have this response to it...

People who try to get something for nothing or cost ...simply baffle most legitamit shoppers and the business community. When I looked at the origonal price you paid for a KING mattress ($599.00), my own shopping experience tells me that King sets are usually $400 to $500 more than Queen sets, whereas the Box is only $199 of the set. Most QUALITY King 'Sets' will cost well over $1, 199.00 anywhere you go! Everybody knows that you get what you pay for, and as an example, if you buy a cheap pair of shoes, your feet will suffer. I really hope you've learned to do some research first, and not just at all your "budget centers" like Manards who's specialty in not in Mattress's where most are shown covered with oil and dirt from the lumber sales nearby.

***You should STOP complaining to companies over your own minds restrictions to what you can pay, in relation to getting something comfortable. You wanted the extra King size, paid only $599, and you whinned all the way to the top when you found out that you had champaine taste ...on a beer budget.

If you want to buy something at cost, start a business. Otherwise, realalize that other people have ...and are simply trying to earn a living here in Michigan.

The other disgruntled complainers are probably people with an axe to grind that would rather complain within themselves, and stay frustrated because they refused to go through the proper channels to get their complaints resolved. If they even are complaints. It all sounds like a bunch of garbage or very poor taste in back stabbing. Grow up !

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Manny S
,
Jul 20, 2008 4:51 am EDT

Sleep Doctor is a horrible store, I went in to the one the complainant describes and saw Eric ripping those tags off of the mattress which everyone knows is a federal crime. The owner of the chain is definitely a slimy sleaze bag who is pounding his boy Eric in the ###.

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Steve
,
Jul 08, 2008 5:52 pm EDT

I was let go from Sleep Doctor a few months back. The other night I was surfing the internet and came across this Complaints Board. I had an initial chuckle when I started reading these postings, then I realized that this stuff is mean and vindictive. These are not the postings of a legitimate customer this is the rant of a disgruntled ex-employee. Roger Wardell is a very kind person that takes very good care of his people and his customers. He is a good Christian and even tried to get me closer to God, if you only knew of my past you would realize how pointless this endeavor was. He is charitable and listens to his employees. These postings looked like fun, but I can't ### slap a man when he is being stabbed in the back for Pete's sake. Whoever is putting up this stuff please stop. I still have friends that work there.

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John
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Jul 08, 2008 3:00 pm EDT

I wish I would have found this site before we purchased the mattress set from Sleep Doctor. We thought that nineteen hundred dollars would have got us a great mattress set, but were we ever wrong. after problem after problem, we shopped around and found out how bad we were taken advantage of. All I can say is that this is still not resolved and we could have gotten alot more mattress for the money from about a dozen different retailers. I did have to laugh when I read the owner's comment above when he said how "he enjoyed reading all the complaints over the years on other competitors", but now that his company has complaints he is crying lawsuite. what
a hypocrite.

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John
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Jul 06, 2008 5:23 pm EDT

Hey Godkows, its funny you would bring up the part of being a Christian. My wife and I purchased a queen
mattress from Sleep Doctor about 2 years ago because
we go to church with Roger and his wife Pam. We spent after all was said and done about $1800.00 for everything. Now, I weigh about 185 and my wife weighs about 115, after about 3 weeks we noticed we
were rolling together in the middle of the mattress, and there was about a three inch sag in the middle, so
we called the store and told the salesman our problem,
he told us there is a break in period for about 90 days
and we should flip and rotate the mattress every couple of weeks. The problem with this answer was we
purchased a one sided mattress that could not flip. He
then told us that the three inch sag was what they in the business call a "body signature" and this was normal. To make a long story short they finally replaced the mattress only. The replacement mattress
started to sag after about 3 weeks so we called the store again, and again we were told about the 90 day break in period, and we should flip and rotate the mattress every couple of weeks, we can't flip the mattress only rotate it, now the salesman was getting
very upset with me and told me to "call the factory"
the problem with doing this was that the company was the "in home brand" and the salesman did not have the direct number to the company, so he told us to go on line and find it. Great service right? No, after getting the run around from the manufacture and they finally told us to call Sleep Doctor, I was so fed up with the service of both companies, I donated the set to a local cahrity and went to one of Sleep Doctor's competitors and bought a set for about $900.00 and have been sleeping great for almost 2 years.
Imagine that $900.00 less and no problems. When I said something to Roger at church he did not know what to say and you could tell he was very put off by the whole conversation. I guess I should have noticed how he acts so much better than all of us little people,
I should not have wasted his time. I also wonder if all the money he made off my sale paid for his wife's breast enlargement surgery. Yeah, he sure is one heck of a Christian.

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Godknows
,
Jul 05, 2008 6:46 am EDT

You are right Godknows, I did compare the manufacture specs on a king size Serta set, and Big Lots, Menards, Williams all had the excact same
set that I saw at the Sleep Doctor. The salesman at
Sleep Doctor danced around the price issue and tried
to switch us into a different manufacture that we never heard of, which was poorly built by the way and was even priced higher. When I asked about the
"we'll beat any advertised price or it's freeeeeeeee" he
told us that it was not the same name and they had
more coils and more layers of foam than the other guys, we could tell he was lying. We went back to Williams and purchased the set and saved $900.00
and got free delivery. Even the compare at price at Sleep Doctor was $2000.00 higher, what a joke. They
are not very honest at the Sleep Doctor.

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Godknows
,
Jul 04, 2008 10:39 pm EDT

If you are going to buy a mattress set, Sleep Doctor is the last place on earth you should go, unless you want
to get lied to, and get sold a very over priced, mattress set.
Let's start with the owner Roger Wardell, he protrays
himself as a Christian man, even though his way of doing buisness is not very Christian like. He does not care how his salesmen get the sale as long as they get it. For example, go into a few different Sleep Doctor stores and ask the same question about certain mattress and you will get a different answer from each person, THIS IS A FACT. Then ask about price on the same set and you will get a different price from each person, THIS IS A FACT. This is ok with Roger because he does not care what is said, just get the sale.
Let's talk about pricing at the Sleep Doctor. Most mattress retailers across the country have profit margins around fourty percent but at the Sleep Doctor, Roger is not happy unless its over seventy percent, THIS IS A FACT. (Are all Christians this greedy?) Lets take Serta for instance, they are a world
wide company and they manufacture many different
grades of quality, and many different priced mattress sets, but each mattress set has its own recipe, which the specs are easy to find with a little research, the names may be different by retailer but the specs are the same, THIS IS A FACT, call the factory. Then why at the Sleep Doctor do the salesmen tell you they have better fabrics or more oil in the foam? So they can price that same mattress set, five hundred to fifteen hundred dollars higher than the competitor. this is that seventy percent profit margin that inside the company they call" overage". The more overage left in the set, the higher the commision is to the salesman, and if they get all the overage, which about sixty percent goes to Roger and the other fourty percent goes to the salesman, you will hear Roger with that girlish voice when he says "or its freeee", laugh a little teehee, and say "great job, see I told you smoke and mirror selling works".
How do I know all this you ask, I know Roger, Phill
his brother and several of the salesmen personally, and over the years I've heard all the bragging about all the money they are all making off hard working people who just want a good nights sleep.
So again if you want an over priced mattress set and you want to get lied to go to the Sleep Doctor, if not
there are plenty of other places that will help you sleep great with out taking advantage of you.
Call the Better Business Bureau first and I hope you sleep good Roger.

C
C
Clever
,
Jun 21, 2008 9:13 pm EDT

Wow, I have been following this thread for a bit as I also had a distasteful experience while visiting a Sleep Doctor store. What strikes me as interesting is how a person who was treated so poorly as stated in the original email, who was ready to contact the Attorney General and the BBB and who took the time to post this complaint on numerous complaint boards, could suddenly be placated with a phone call, a delivery fee refund and a gift certificate to (!) Red Lobster. To me, this does not compute. If something like this were to happen to me, I can't think of a reason to want to retract all of this so suddenly when I was so angry and treated so poorly. Maybe if I were given a full refund. Or a free bed. Or threatened with legal action. The President of Sleep Doctor does not seem to be above threatening legal action, as stated in his post above (in my opinion, a post not commensurate with the status of a President of such a large business). But that is just my humble opinion - everyone else reading this will have to draw their own conclusions. In my situation, I visited a Sleep Doctor store looking for a foam mattress. I was met by a nice gentleman who said he, "ran the place." I assumed he was a manager. We talked about the different mattresses in a certain foam mattress line that they carried. I could find no pricing or specifications about the beds, so I asked the manager. The conversation was nice as I tried out the beds, but after awhile some of the information that I was provided did not equate with a small specification sheet that the salesman produced. I asked about pricing, but was not given definite prices. Only something in a range, "of about $XXXX." I told the salesperson that I had to come back with my significant other to try out the product in person. Then the pricing changed and I was given a comeback certificate for a discount if I returned (so I was going to have to pay more if I bought it during my first visit?). I was also given a web site to visit for complete specifications about the mattress. And we were done. He went back to his desk area, returned a phone call on his cell phone and vacuumed the store. I guess once he knew there was not going to be a sale that day, he had better things to do. I had more questions, but after a few minutes of being ignored, I left. I went home and started doing my reasearch, as I was interested in the mattress I looked at. The website I was given did not exist. I did an internet search and could find no information about the mattresses I looked at. I did find a website from a company in Canada that said they owned the name of that brand (and the product was very unique and different to what I looked at) and that they were going to contact Sleep Doctor to cease selling that product under that name. I also did some BBB reasearch and found some complaints about the Sleep Doctor stores that I did not like. In the end, I went to another store and got a lower price by quite a bit on a nice name-brand foam mattress. I find the infomation on sites like this useful as they help me to take my time and do reasearch before making a large purchase. And I think they give an insight into how different companies conduct their business. I believe the first post of this customer. I personally don't give the "retraction" much weight (for reasons I listed above), the post by Lottawad is ridiculous to me, and the post of the President of the company I find to be unprofessional. Combined with my own experience, I guess that would put me in agreement with the initial complaint and I also would choose not to shop again at this particular store. Be sure to do your own research!

R
R
Roger Wardell
,
Jun 05, 2008 4:18 pm EDT

Dear readers,

The first complaint at the top of this posting has been resolved much to the customer's satisfaction. The customer requested that the original complaint posting be withdrawn but the website administrator said that all the customer could do is post another statement expressing her change of heart, which she did.

As far as the subsequent postings, I am not aware of either the customer's or their situations and feel that it must be an attempt by a competitor or it's employee(s) to capitalize on Sleep Doctor's temporary lapse with one customer.

I have petitioned the website administrator to remove the eroneous postings or Sleep Doctor will pursue all legal mean available to protect our reputation.

The reason that I am defensive is that for the past few years I have enjoyed reading the complaints about our competitors (such as the big furniture store mentioned in one of the above posts) on websites such as these and the lack of negative comments about our company.

Sleep Doctor is committed to resolve any complaints and the results of the initial posting is evidence of that.

Websites such as these are great for customers, however, gone unchecked, allow competitors or others without a legitimate stake in the outcome can assert unfounded harm on an organization with genuine concern for it's customers.

Roger Wardell, President
Sleep Doctor Mattress Stores

T
T
Tanya
,
May 17, 2008 10:00 am EDT

We're talking about an awful lot of money here. I have chronic pain problems and fibromyalgia. My husband and I were planning on visiting one of the Sleep Doctor's stores but will defintely will not be visiting the Sleep Doctor chain at all. It's their loss, as we will be spending mucho deniro!

Word of mouth is everything in a business and it looks to me that it won't be long with the economy we have here in Michigan loss of business will be trickling down Sleep Doctor's back...listen up people, do your homework before buying a mattress.

J
J
Julie
,
May 01, 2008 10:48 am EDT

Lottawad---

You must be affiliated with Sleep Doctor, otherwise you wouldn't be so upset about the original reviewers comments. Sounds like you're one of those slimy salespeople who doesn't care about the customer. If you owned a business, it wouldn't last for very long. That's for sure.

L
L
LOTTAWAD
,
Apr 27, 2008 2:38 pm EDT

You are a retail stores worst nightmare. This entire insane episode is your fault, not the mattress stores.

I would hate to deal with a customer like you and your husband because it is obvious that you people are idiots.

Enjoy your Red Lobster, I hope they give you presidential service or you will call in the authorities. If all customers were like you two numbskulls there would be no mattresses, because everyone would go out of business.

You democrats purchased the cheapist ### that you could buy
and then when you didn't like your new mattress, you made everyons life miserable. I guess misery loves company

I'm sure you walking nightmares will be back to the store to exchange the mattress again soon.. that is what people like you do.. make a bad decision and then blame everyone else.

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