Once Upon A Mattress (Not the musical) – Part 2 of 2

If you haven’t read Part 1 or need a refresher, you can read the first part here.

​After several more days, the correct mattress was due for delivery. The delivery men showed up.  I talked with them before they brought up the mattress strongly suggesting they check not only the work order and the packaging, but open the wrapping and corroborate the number on the mattress itself.  After a few minutes, up came the men with the mattress.  As they opened the packaging I requested they locate the model number on the mattress.  You guessed it. It was  the wrong model.  The men were a little sheepish because they hadn’t bothered to look at it before hauling it up to my third floor walk up.  Then I asked if they noticed any odor.  They acknowledged the odor, adding  that all the mattresses smelled.  Validation!  
 
With the customer service number now on my speed dial, I phoned once more.  They were very surprised and said they would take care of the situation right away and call me back.  I was starting to wonder if I was dealing with hookah-smoking caterpillars.  The situation was getting more bizarre by the minute.  Customer Service phoned back.  It seemed that there was a problem with the Octa Spring company having a batch of mislabeled mattresses.   
 
You won’t believe what happened next.  I was told that Octa Spring mattresses are made in Europe and are shipped to North America for distribution.  Their branch in the U.S. would send a mattress special delivery.  As it was a Friday, they could have the mattress to me by Tuesday.  Okay, fine.  Tuesday arrived.  The mattress did not.  Why the heck not?  Well, the mattress was now having to be shipped from Denmark.  How long would that take?  Would the mattress be loaded into a container, boated across the Atlantic, then trucked from some unknown port on the North American eastern seaboard?  No, I was assured.  It will be flown over in a cargo plane and I could have the mattress by Friday.  I was on the verge of finding a hookah for myself. 
 
At this point, I decided it was time to talk to these people about compensation for all the hassle, distress, inconvenience, frustration and odor-induced anxiety.  They agreed there would be compensation.  They would not charge the delivery fee for all the wasted deliveries and returns.  Were they insane?  I told them that was not acceptable.  We agreed to discuss it again once I received the correct mattress.  Okay fine.  
 
Friday arrived so did the delivery men with the third Octa Spring.  As before, I suggested they check the mattress along with the work order for the model number.  As before they did not.   As before they went ahead and hauled the mattress up to my apartment.  As before, it was the wrong mattress.  Strike three!  The delivery men left and I hit the speed dial on my phone.   
 
The hookah smokers at Sleep Country were stunned (maybe stoned?)  They asked what I wanted to do.  I didn’t dare tell them what I really wanted to do.  One thing was irrefutable.  Octa Spring would never ever  be a option.  I inquired about the possibility of the memory foam I initially purchased being still in the warehouse.  They said returns sell out almost immediately, but they would look into it and call me back.  It was a good month since the Serta departed my apartment and the Octa Spring debacle began.  My thought was after all this time perhaps the smell might have gassed off.  However, if it hadn’t been sold it would still be wrapped and not be odor free.  Even if it wasn’t, it couldn’t be close to the evil-smelling Octa Spring, which we all know doesn’t really smell. 
 
Sleep Country phoned and the manager of the warehouse was the caterpillar I would now be dealing with.  Miracle of miracles, the Serta was still there.  I asked him to make absolutely sure it was the one I previously had.  He promised it was.  What about the box spring?  It had been sold.  It would be another week to ship a matching box spring.  Suppose I just keep the one from the Octa Spring if it was compatible with the Serta?  It was compatible but more expensive.  They actually wanted me to pay the difference.  My comment was, “Seriously, are you insane?”  They agreed not to charge me.  With my keeping the current box spring and being Friday, the mattress could be delivered on Monday.  Okay fine.  
 
Next we started talking compensation.  Wait for it...  They wanted to send me a $200 gift card for a Sleep Country product.  Again my comment was, “Seriously, are you insane?”  They finally agreed to pad my credit card account with a cash amount. 
 
The manager of the warehouse was actually quite a nice fellow.  We had a most interesting conversation.  After one person after the next and the next and the next (except for the delivery guys) insisting there was no odor to the mattresses, manager guy had quite the revelation.  He said how he had just bought a new mattress which was a different brand than the ones I had tried.  And, yes, it smelled.  In fact, he told me that all mattresses smell these days as they all have memory foam in varying amounts.  He shared a discovery he made trying to get his mattress to gas off.  He vacuumed the surface of his mattress every day and let it air the rest of the day.  Using this method it took about a week to become odor free.  I thanked him and would do this myself.  
 
Stay with me, this sorry saga is drawing to a close.  Monday came as did the memory foam.  All that led up to this day made me very skeptical.  I needed to be certain the memory foam was the one I originally bought.  When I first had that mattress one of the tags came loose.  I safety pinned it on one side.  Therefore, if that pinned tag was still there, I would know for sure the mattress was mine.  Miracle of miracles #2, it was the original!  It was still aromatic, not in a good way, but less offensive than the Octa Spring.  It was almost bearable.  I took manager guy’s suggestion and started vacuuming the surface.  I did this every day, sometimes twice a day for about 2 weeks as well as opening the window and using a fan again.  
 
This fiasco began the first of May.  It was close to the end of August before I was finally able to make the bed and leave the sheets on until their regular wash cycle. 
 
In conclusion, despite the drama, trauma, confounding conversations, comings and goings of mattresses most foul, the Serta turned out to be a Goldilocks mattress – just right.

Comments are welcomed. ​

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