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Guess what? Englander is no better than the S brands (imho)... As you may know, I bought the Englander (Malibu Firm) only for the springs. I PLANNED to give it a "foam-ectomy", getting rid of the junky cheap foam. But I wanted to see how long it might be comfortable before I did surgery on it. Well, after about 4 nights I determined that it was not good at all for my back. So I did surgery on it tonight.  I'm going to adda link to or post pictures of the surgery in the near future, right here in this thread. I did expect more from Englander... I opened it up and was shocked to see that they had NO - ZERO - ZILCH!!! - good firm foam inside!  What it had was 3 layers of 7/16" very soft, white pu foam on top of the springs. That's ALL! NO firm foam, no support, NO WONDER it was hurting my back, and no wonder if you look around the web you can find dozens of posts about how people's Englander mattresses started hurting their back within a week to a month... just like the "S" brands... On top of the 1 and 5/16 inches of soft junky pu foam, there was the whatchacallit, the top sewn into tufts, whatever they call that thing. (What kind of a mattress expert am I??! I can never remember the name of that top piece!  ) I removed that too because it's just the same cheap junky foam sewn together with a cloth and tufted...(By the way, if you buy the Malibu PLUSH instead of the Malibu FIRM, know what you get? Instead of 1 and 5/16" of junky pu foam, you get about 5" of junky pu foam! That must REALLY hurt people's backs!) This kind of mattress construction - which all the major companies are using, now, STINKS! PU foam = Peee Eww!  So, I took off ALL the foam, and then replaced it with this, from bottom up: 1" of zoned HR foam: top = medium, middle = firm, and bottom = very firm (feet area doesn't really matter, imho) 3/4" of medium-soft latex (Talalay - not certain of the ILD - maybe 24 or 28?) 1" of Venus foam So it's about the same amount of foam as it had - now 2 and 3/4 instead of just 2" - but the main difference is that now I have QUALITY foam on top of the springs, foam that gives SUPPORT as well as softness. Will post more as the experiment progresses... I'll be playing around with this combination, see how it feels. My wife has something very similar to this on top of her Sealy springs, and she likes it pretty well.- P.S. the springs seem to feel pretty good. I can't say for sure though until I've slept on them with good foam for a while This message was modified Sep 5, 2009 by jimsocal
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eagle2 wrote: I have to agree with Jim. I first started out looking at Stearns and Fosters three top of the line "All foam" mattress and box springs. The least expensive was $2800, the middle was $3500, and the top was $4000. These were all three California Kings. They all three had a latex core of 8.75 inches of luxury latex. I later found out that this is synthetic foam, petroleum-based, not genuine organic latex. The principal difference between the three mattresses was in what they call their “comfort level” the least expensive mattress had 1 inch of supersoft flawless foam, whatever that is. The $3500 mattress had three quarter-inch genuine latex, 1” flawless foam, Versare inner panel, whatever that is, then one and ½ inch convoluted genuine latex foam, and finally one and ½ inch supersoft flawless foam. The top-of-the-line $4000 mattress added an additional three-quarter inch genuine latex foam and ½ inch supersoft flawless foam to the $3500 comfort layers The quilted panel on top was pretty much the same consisting of 1.3 ounces flame guard silk/wool blend, 1.5” supersoft convoluted supersoft foam and 1” supersoft flawless foam. All three mattresses had a box spring called ultra steel. The problem with all three of these mattresses is trying to find out what you’re actually buying. The illustration that went along with these three mattresses was basically all the same. Until someone was willing to spend from $2800-$4000 and take a surgical knife to them, you would never know for sure what you were actually purchasing. A person I know, who used to sell for this mattress chain, told me that there regional supervisor made the comment that “They could hide a bicycle in one of their mattresses, and the average customer would never know the difference.” I can see how this could be true. If you took the handlebars, wheels, and the pedals off of a bicycle it could very easily be stuffed in the middle of all this super soft foam, it might just add some additional stiffening to their mattress. But the point I want to make here is this. Think what kind of arrogance this shows toward their customers! Forever and a day the mattress companies have realized that the average consumer has very little knowledge about the mattress they sleep on. They go into the showroom lay down on the mattress and if it feels comfortable, the cover is attractive, the price seems reasonable, and the salesperson is pleasant and seems knowledgeable and informed, more than likely they will buy it. End of story. Good Evening Eagle, First, regarding the Stearns you mentioned, you don't want all organic latex. You wouldn't enjoy it, it'd be hot and wouldn't last long. What you're looking for is a blend. The Stearns is neither 100% synthetic nor 100% organic. Like most reputable companies, it's a blend. The exact blend and process is somewhat of a corporate secret. It's held that way to avoid imitations. As Stearns is a division of Sealy they are the only major manufacturer you can buy whose latex is made by themselves. This is neither an upside nor a downside just a fact. Regarding what the mattress has in it and disclosure, I agree with you. You should know if you want to. 98% of people out there don't want to. The second you start spouting terms like ILD and even something as simple as spring gauge your average consumer tunes out. For those that do want to know you have to find the right salesperson. And by "right salesperson" I am not implying that any salesperson that can't answer your question is an idiot. You have to understand that not all companies provide expensive training and in depth details on their beds. Especially if you're shopping at a small local distrubuter. Pretend you're Sealy. You're in the midst of a recession (depression?) your sales are plummeting and you have to cut somewhere. Cutting the quality of the beds is cutting your hand off so you try to avoid that. You can't COMPLETELY cut off training because that would negatively impact your sales...but are you going to spend a thousand dollars to pay for your rep to visit Joe's Bed Shack out on 52nd? No. You're going to concentrate on the Big Boys. Shop there. You'll probably find someone who knows what they're talking about. Oh and try to be polite about asking. Especially if you're looking at something cheap. Chances are the salesguy doesn't get paid much, if anything, to sell you that $400 queen set and you just sucked up one of his ups for the day. He's got a wife, kids, and a mortgage too. If he's good at his job he'll still help you to the best of his ability but it pays to be reasonablely nice about it. A lack of minute details is not unique to the mattress industry. How many people out there do you think could even tell you the basic principle regarding how their plasma TV works much less name one single tiny component of it? All they know is they hit the POWER button and on comes the final season of LOST. If you want to know more than that you have to dig...sometimes a lot. The same is true for mattresses. The info is out there. |
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Alex said: "If you want to know more than that you have to dig...sometimes a lot. The same is true for mattresses. The info is out there." I am sure it is, just not on the corp. web sites. In fact I have learned more from you about Sealy and S&F than anywhere else. And I have been in the hunt for several weeks now, night and day! I feel you must work for them or else you are in the mattress business some way. I seem to hear "vestested interest" speaking. Nothing wrong with this. But at the same time it does tend to shape your point of view.....yes? You also said: "First, regarding the Stearns you mentioned, you don't want all organic latex. You wouldn't enjoy it, it'd be hot and wouldn't last long." Alex this fly's in the face of everything I have read in my several week, night and day quest. Organic latex is quite expensive (compared to most synthetics) and i feel this is one of the main reasons the big manufactures do not use it. Secondly 100% natural organic latex is known to last 20 to 30 years. As far as it being hot, I have not heard this. I've heard that memory foam sleeps hot, but then it is a petroleum based products. It is quite obvious that you know a lot about the mattress business. But what do you know about the independence such as Flowbeds, Savvy Rest, and Sleep EZ. They are selling organic hundred percent natural latex. And almost all of their prices are less than the Stearns and Foster synthetic latex mattresses that I priced. This message was modified Sep 7, 2009 by eagle2
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Alexander wrote: Pretend you're Sealy. You're in the midst of a recession (depression?) your sales are plummeting and you have to cut somewhere. Cutting the quality of the beds is cutting your hand off so you try to avoid that.
Alexander, there are a lot of knowledgeable people on this Forum, but I smell an industry apologist. You keep dodging the question every time someone asks. If you have an industry affiliation you need to disclose it now. |
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Cloud and Eagle, No, I do not currently work for the mattress industry. I'm recently retired after thirty-five years of running my own shop. After doing it for so long I can't help but still follow the industry and still have the vendor contacts I made over that time. Retirement is considerably more boring than I'd anticipated. Cloud, I can only talk from my personal experience and sales over thirty-five years. It's true some people are dissatisfied with their mattress. Picking one is difficult. Often people do it incorrectly and this is a large contribution to their dissatisfaction. The vast majority of consumers, however, enjoy their sleep product for the amount of time they're supposed to. In a good quality spring mattress this is between 8-10 years. 6-8 is you and your partner are considered very heavy. It's all about buying the right mattress for who you are and what you need. For example, a couple of young side sleepers with a combined weight under 300lbs who enjoy a soft, featherbed feel that envelops you would probably enjoy a good World Class Simmons pillowtop. By contrast a hefty stomach sleeper who sleeps exceptionally hot would not only rip through the bed in a short amount of time but would be miserable in the process. Buying a mattress is more like buying a pair of shoes than, say, a television. Just because the shoes don't fit you means the shoes are inferior or junk. There's somene out there they fit. The trick is finding out what DOES fit you. I'm under the impression that's what this site is for. -Alex |
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Welcome to retirement land Alex. Believe me, you will get use to it. It isn't so bad after you reach your 70+ years. it even becomes rather nice. Your response to cloud9 and myself was courteous and friendly, even informative. However you must realize that we folks here, on this forum, are in many cases the victims of greed from the manufacturing sector, and ignorance from "under trained sales people", and many other negative human emotions from those who care a lot more about making money than they do about taking care of there customers. You sound like one of those small business people who did care about their customers, and I am going to assume, took good care of them. You then would be, the kind of individual that the poor misguided folks on this website have been looking for. And your presence here, if that is the case, is most welcome indeed. But, board members like Jimsocial, who are willing to cut their mattress to pieces (and take pictures) in order to find out what they purchased and do their best to repair same, are a godsend because we get to actually see what is inside these mattresses. If you have pictures of the better quality mattresses showing their innards and can explain them to us, I believe there are many on this board who would be most thankful. If on the other hand, said pictures were to show rather expensive mattresses with not very expensive synthetic foam, and some of your vendor friends were to read this website (doubtful) you might lose some vendor friends. In any event, thank you for your informed replies. They are most welcome. . |
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Alexander wrote: Cloud and Eagle, No, I do not currently work for the mattress industry. I'm recently retired after thirty-five years of running my own shop. After doing it for so long I can't help but still follow the industry and still have the vendor contacts I made over that time. Retirement is considerably more boring than I'd anticipated. Cloud, I can only talk from my personal experience and sales over thirty-five years. It's true some people are dissatisfied with their mattress. Picking one is difficult. Often people do it incorrectly and this is a large contribution to their dissatisfaction. The vast majority of consumers, however, enjoy their sleep product for the amount of time they're supposed to. In a good quality spring mattress this is between 8-10 years. 6-8 is you and your partner are considered very heavy. It's all about buying the right mattress for who you are and what you need. For example, a couple of young side sleepers with a combined weight under 300lbs who enjoy a soft, featherbed feel that envelops you would probably enjoy a good World Class Simmons pillowtop. By contrast a hefty stomach sleeper who sleeps exceptionally hot would not only rip through the bed in a short amount of time but would be miserable in the process. Buying a mattress is more like buying a pair of shoes than, say, a television. Just because the shoes don't fit you means the shoes are inferior or junk. There's somene out there they fit. The trick is finding out what DOES fit you. I'm under the impression that's what this site is for. -Alex Alex, as a fellow forum member, welcome to the board, and thank you for disclosing your industry background. We have had industry people here on the board before and as long as they aren't hawking their own products all the time it is nice to have someone here who is knowledgeable about mattresses. You've already taught us a lot about Sealy and Stearns and Foster and SImmons and for that I praise you. I hope all of us will treat each other with respect even when we disagree and we are bound to disagree. Many of us here have been screwed in one way or another by the mattress industry or at least found it lacking in one way or another. So no doubt there will be those who will disagree with your more pro-mattress industry point of view. But I for one welcome you and applaud you for your willingness to "walk into the lion's den" so to speak! That said, maybe you can learn something from us too, and maybe you can pass on our opinions as consumers to some of your industry friends. I think there are some of us here who are pretty knowledgeable about what makes a good mattress and what doesn't, what works and what doesn't. I think that perhaps you have a much different perspective on the subject of mattresses, NOT ONLY because you sold them, but because you sold them WELL. In other words, you know what works for different people, you yourself say you have no problem with disclosing what is inside the mattress - and you either KNOW or would find out for the customer. But, you see, many of your fellow mattress sales people are completely the opposite of how it appears you were as a mattress salesman. I would say the vast majority of mattress salesmen I have encountered in the past 8 years or so have been: a) uninformed b) poor salesmen/women c) no interest in learning So when someone walks into a store and cannot get answers about what it is really made of, cannot compare one mattress to another (because the one at the store across town has the same mattress but it has a different name), or encounters idiot or uncaring sales persons, then, well, it tends to turn us off the mattress industry and off of mattress salespeople. When the web sites and ads and website info at stores on the web all give NO info about the kinds of foams used or the gauge or number of the springs, it DOES tend to seem that there is a lot of obfuscation going on in the industry. Combine that with the above issue of mattresses with different names, and with being stonewalled and sent on wild goose chases about what is inside the mattress by the Corporate Customer Relations 800# answerers... well, it all tends to give one a very negative opinion of the mattress industry. Then, when someone you know or you, yourself, spend, say $1000 for a mattress and have it hurt their/your back within a week, okay, you see what I am saying, right? You can see why "mattress salesperson" has a bad connotation, much like "used car salesman". And I do not mean to insult you by saying that, only to tell it like it is. Your description of your bed, and what is inside it made me want to try it! Your description of what is inside the S&F's and Sealys made me realize that the higher end models have at least some advantages over the lower end ones. I am still skeptical about some of the non-latex foams that are in those, but hey, at least it sounds like they're trying to make good spring systems! I wish I had run into someone like you when I was looking at mattresses when I first bought my Sealys back in 2004 or so. I'd have spent a little more and bought something better had I known. I understand what you are saying about how "most" customers do not want to hear about what is inside their mattress. I am sure that is true. They just want to know that it's made with quality and that it will provide them with comfortable sleep. But still, the salesman SHOULD be ready to field questions about what is inside and the companies should be ready to provide that info - in fact the salesmen should not have to ask for it, it should be in their desk or in a file they can readily access. Back to your computer analogy: Can you imagine walking into CompUSA and asking, "What kind of RAM does it have and who makes the sound card?" and being told, "No, I can't tell you that!" Or, "Gee, I don't know... Maybe I can call the 800# and find out. But the guy who would know is on vacation and won't be back til next week..." Well, that is exactly what I encountered when I went to buy my Englander and that is not one saleperson but 4, at 3 different stores, oh, and 2 phone calls to web stores and 2 calls to Englander manufacturers and the England corporate web site. I would be willing to bet that I'd have had about the same experience with Sealy, Spring Air, Serta, and Simmons. So, there are many areas in which I think many of us have legitimate complaints about the mattress industry and mattress sales people. That said, I can tell that you know how to direct a person to the right bed for them and are very knowledgeable so I am not indicting you, personally, here. Anyway, I hope all will welcome your input here and I hope we can all be civil in our debates or disagreements. |
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Jim I agree with your post completely. Alex however does seem like the kind of knowledgeable and involved salesperson we would all like to run into when we went to one of the major manufacturers stores. Unfortunately, as you have indicated, far too often this is not the case. My assumption is that Alex either had a mattress store of his own, and quite possibly several of them, and therefore had an entirely different perspective on the industry than the kind of salespeople we run into. Our type of sales person are there to make a living by a commission. He did say that he had 35 years experience. Most of the salespeople we run into are lucky to have 35 months experience, and that, as I have already mentioned, simply coming to work and trying to make sales so they can make enough commission to pay their bills. A very different perspective indeed. |
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eagle2 wrote: Jim I agree with your post completely. Alex however does seem like the kind of knowledgeable and involved salesperson we would all like to run into when we went to one of the major manufacturers stores. Unfortunately, as you have indicated, far too often this is not the case. My assumption is that Alex either had a mattress store of his own, and quite possibly several of them, and therefore had an entirely different perspective on the industry than the kind of salespeople we run into. Our type of sales person are there to make a living by a commission. He did say that he had 35 years experience. Most of the salespeople we run into are lucky to have 35 months experience, and that, as I have already mentioned, simply coming to work and trying to make sales so they can make enough commission to pay their bills. A very different perspective indeed. Eagle2, go back and read Alexander's post: he clearly stated he ran his own retail store for 35 years. One of the salespeople I ran into was apparently paid by the hour, not on commission because he was not interested in answering any questions, was on the phone when my wife and I walked in - obviously a social call - and went right back to it when we walked out 1 min. later after he blew us off. Another guy was nice enough but knew next to nothing about the Englander beds I was asking about. Then another guy who said Englander was his "specialty" also knew very little and could only tell me that he'd call his contact at Englander to try and find out. Imagine! And Englander was their "specialty"! 6 or 7 years ago when I was shopping for mattresses, before and right after I discovered this forum, I talked to sales people at small stores and big stores, about Sealys, Simmons, Spring Air, Englander, latex, etc etc. and out of all those stores I went to, I only found one guy who seemed like an "Alexander-type" sales guy, who knew anything about what was inside the beds or what was best for a certain body type or anything like that. The one thing I found - after I learned enough to start asking questions about types of coils, gauges, turns, foam layers, latex, etc. - was that almost none of them knew anything and that they mostly could not or would not GET the information I was asking for! The one thing I can't stand is when a salesman says "Just lay on them and pick the one that feels best!" I would be interested in Alexander's opinion on this, but to me, this is the worst thing a salesman can say! I think ONLY a really sensitive individual who has truly slept on many different mattresses or was really well informed and sensitive to their own body, could tell by laying on a mattress for less than an hour, how that mattress is going to feel after sleeping on it for several nights or a week or a month! Having back problems for many years, and having tried many different types of beds, I can never tell anything by laying on the bed in a store! I wonder if Alex* has encountered this - perhaps it is only because of my back problems - but I can fall asleep on almost anything and it feels good, but it's not until after sleeping for 4-6 hours that I know if it gave me proper support because at that point my back starts to hurt. With pure foam and no springs, sometimes the mattress can feel good to me for a few days or a week, only to THEN start hurting my back. I have always chalked this up to the foam breaking in but whatever it is, for me it is a real phenomenon and problem. So I hate it when the mattress salesman says "It's easy - just lay on them and pick the one that feels the best!" If that were the case I think everyone would walk out buying the pillow-top with the most cheap foam on top because that DOES feel the best when you only lay on it for 15 minutes in the store! In fact, I think that is exactly what the mattress companies are trying to do, at least in their lower priced mattresses. I apologize for all my too-long posts. I start writing and then keep going like the Eveready Bunny. *Alexander, is it okay if I call you Alex or do you prefer Alexander? This message was modified Sep 7, 2009 by jimsocal
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Alex is fine, Jim. Thanks for your welcome and vote of confidence. I'll do my best to shed some light on the workings of major brand names as therein lies the bulk of my experience. Perhaps I'm too quick to defend people who work in my former field but I tend to see people named Ben with daughters named Jenny who are starting college in the fall. Blue collered Joes just trying to make a living. I absolutely believe the consumer should have as much information as is practical to give them if they want it but I don't think Mattress Salespeople are unique in their lack of fine detail or where to find it. To take your CompUSA example I challenge you to go to your local BestBuy (To my knowledge there are no more CompUSAs) and ask the RSA there what the default RAM timings are on the entry level emachine. From an industry standpoint this isn't too much more complicated than asking the ILD of the "A" layer of a Sealy bed you're trying to purchase. I'd bet a dollar to a penny that only 1 out of 10 of BestBuy's best could tell you what RAM timings even are and maybe 1 out of 15 tell you the true figures for any given model. If you try to call emachine's support system and manage to get a person on the other line they are even less likely to know. Part of the reason is no one ever asks. In 35 years I had exactly 3 people ask what the ILD of a specific foam was. All three were former vendors. Perhaps I'm being too defensive but some of these guys are my friends, and former coworkers. Heck, a few of them are due over for laborday beer tonight. -Alex This message was modified Sep 7, 2009 by Alexander
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Alex, I do see your point, but I don't think it is QUITE the same. Computers are much more complex than mattresses. I think knowing what ILD the foams in the mattress are, is more like knowing what type of RAM it is or what type of audio board is in it, and those things they print right on the little paper next to the price at BestBuy, usually. My theory is that the reason mattress store customers do not ask what kinds of foam etc is in it is because the mattress industry has purposely tried to keep us from knowing. Part of their whole way of doing things seems designed to keep us from knowing and from comparing mattresses from one store to another. Is there a good reason, for example, why a mattress at one store made by Sealy is virtually the same as the one at a store across town, but has a different name? In my opinion there should be legislation against this. What if cars were sold this way? Where every dealer had a car wtih a different name? At one Toyota dealer it would be the Corolla and at another the exact same car or maybe all the same except for one minor difference, would be called the Cardoba? IF Sealy P, Spring Air, S&F etc. started naming their mattresses the same thing for the same model across the board, and if they printed a card out and posted it next to the mattress that stated what it was made of, what types of springs and foams and ILD's were in it, wouldn't at least the smarter consumers soon learn to tell the difference in quality, and learn the differences in prices? In other words, "Well, I see here that THIS one is $200 more but it has a layer of latex instead of a layer of PU foam... So what is this latex stuff? Why is it better?" Then the salesperson - who of course WOULD have to learn these things instead of just saying "Go lay on the beds and choose the one that feels best!", would say, "Yes, latex is a much higher quality foam that is rated to last 20 years, whereas the pu foam in the other model will break down within a year or two". I think IF the mattress industry stopped trying to obfuscate the innards of their mattresses and allowed comparison shopping by calling the mattresses by the same names, then consumers WOULD start asking questions, and that is exactly what the mattress co's do not want, because then they'd stop buying junk, or would only buy junk if they absolutely could not afford a higher quality. My whole theory is that people WOULD pay $1500 $2000 for a mattress IF they thought it was WORTH it and if they were assured that the materials inside warranted that kind of money. I am still skeptical as to whether many of the $2000 mattresses Do have insides that make them worth that much money... I would love to see a day when you'd walk into the mattress store and right next to the name of the model of the mattress- which would be the same name as the same mattress across town! - it would show the ingredients from the ground up: 12.5 gauge Bonnell springs with 5 turns, double tempered steel dacron layer over springs 1/2" HR foam, ILD 45 1.5" Talalay Latex, ILD 32 1" 5lb. density memory foam Quilted linen cover tufted to 1/2" soft polyurethane foam By the way, what IS the name of that top cover piece? is it the "quilted top", or what? I hate that thing! Why do they have to make it that way, just to keep it tight so it doesn't look loose on top of the mattress or is it just a custom? To me, it's uncomfortable. I like my mattress top to be as smooth as a piece of foam, or at least - as in the cuddlebed topper I use in the photos above, to feel soft, not feel the tufts. |