This post is the seventh in a series of candid, in-depth reviews about my
experience as a first-time
Saatva customer. In the six previous posts I have discussed what happened when
I was researching Saatva mattress options, choosing the best mattress
for my husband’s and my needs, placing an online order for a Saatva Solaire mattress, bedding and
adjustable base and taking delivery of our mattress pad and sheets, as well as the
white glove delivery
of our upper-flex Solaire and removal of our old mattress and my detailed,
candid
product reviews of our new Saatva Solaire mattress and adjustable base.
Today I will review our experience with exchanging our split-top Solaire
for the (solid) standard version.
Disclosure: I have joined the company’s affiliate program, which means that
if you choose to make a purchase through one of the links in this post I may
be eligible to receive a commission, at no cost to you. I highly recommend the
Saatva company and its products for their excellent quality, performance,
price and customer service. The opinions, product reviews and recommendations
in this post are my own and are based on my personal experiences. The decision
to click on those links to learn more about the company’s products or make a
purchase is greatly appreciated, but entirely up to you.
As I explained in my last post, my husband and I loved nearly everything about
our new
Saatva Solaire mattress except the center split down the top portion. We had decided to give
the “upper-flex” configuration of the mattress and adjustable base a try
because the top split allowed one of us to elevate and lower the head of our
side of the bed without disturbing our partner. For example, since my husband
wakes up earlier than I do, he could raise his side to sit up and read next to
me while I continued to sleep.
However, since we usually fall asleep snuggled together on our sides in the
“spoon” position in the middle of the mattress, one of us would end up with
our arm stuck in the center split.
After trying for more than a month to find a way around that problem, we
finally decided we’d be happier with a solid mattress and exchanged our
upper-flex king for a standard king Solaire.
Note: Even if you and your partner also like to "spoon" together, if you
eventually return to your respective sides of the bed for sleeping you may
love the upper-flex option. Exchanging ours for a standard Solaire wasn't an
easy decision!
Initiating Our Saatva Solaire Mattress Exchange
The
Saatva Mattress Home Trial, Warranty & Return Policies
page provided simple instructions for exchanging a mattress: Call a toll-free
number to initiate the exchange, pay a $99 processing fee (to cover Saatva’s
fee to the delivery company for the white glove delivery and pickup service)
“and we’ll take care of the rest!”
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Saatva's website made the exchange process sound hassle-free...and
they definitely "delivered" in real life
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It was the end of a busy, stressful week and I decided to send an email
instead of calling the 888 number.
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Instead of calling the toll-free number to initiate the exchange, I
replied to the order confirmation email
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An automated reply from Saatva appeared in my inbox almost immediately
containing a ticket number to track my inquiry and explaining that, due to
heavy customer demand, it might take “up to 24 hours” for someone to
respond.
Since I had sent my email late on a Friday afternoon, and given the widespread
pandemic-related staffing shortages at the time (August 2021), I wasn’t
expecting a response until Monday. However, To my surprise, Ina, one of
Saatva’s “sleep guides,” phoned on Sunday to help me initiate the mattress
exchange I had requested.
She initiated a refund for the upper-flex king Solaire mattress, sheet set and
mattress pad and placed our order for the standard king Solaire and bedding
replacements. She let me know that the white king size sheets I wanted were
backordered and expected to be in stock in two weeks, but the ivory color was
in stock if I didn’t want to wait. I said I preferred to wait for white sheets
and asked her to add a king size
waterproof mattress protector
to our order. She also asked us to donate the upper-flex sheet set and
mattress pad to a nonprofit charitable organization of our choosing.
Ina explained that the delivery of our standard Solaire mattress would work
the same way as our previous delivery. As soon as our new mattress was
manufactured, the delivery company would contact us directly to schedule the
white glove delivery and setup of our new standard king Solaire and the
removal of our upper-flex Solaire.
I told Ina that since we had purchased an upper-flex king Lineal adjustable
base (now called the
Saatva Adjustable Base Plus), which could not be exchanged for a standard king version, we wanted the
delivery service to reconfigure and sync the two joined twin XL adjustable
bases to work with the new, solid king mattress. She said she would instruct
the delivery company to take care of that for us when they delivered our
standard king Solaire.
A few minutes later, I received an email from her confirming what we had
discussed and updating the support ticket.
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Saatva's Sleep Guides (customer service representatives) help
customers 7 days a week
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Saatva Customer Service Follow-up
As promised, two weeks later the delivery company emailed me directly and
asked me to call them to schedule the delivery of our new solid king Solaire.
The email arrived on the Friday before Labor Day, just as my husband and I
were headed out of town for the long holiday weekend, so we decided to wait
until we got back to put our calendars together and find a date when we could
both be home to supervise the mattress delivery.
On Tuesday, the day my back-ordered white
organic cotton sateen sheets were due to be restocked, Ina called to let me know that they were
still not back in stock. She said that if I didn’t want to wait longer, she
would be happy to either cancel the order for me or send me the same sheet set
in ivory, which they did have in stock.
I thanked her for calling to update me about the backorder delay and offering
me the choice of several options, and said I would prefer to wait for the
white sheets to be restocked. Ina promised to continue to monitor and keep me
updated about the status of my backordered white sheet set. She proved to be
true to her word and kept in touch with me until the sheets were delivered.
I also mentioned that I had gotten an email from the delivery company a few
days earlier but that I hadn’t called them yet, since my husband and I had
been away for the holiday weekend and we hadn’t yet had a chance to work out
when we could both be available to supervise the mattress delivery. If she was
able to stay on the call for another minute or two (and if I could catch my
husband in between Zoom meetings), I could try to get her some options for
delivery dates.
Ina explained that mattress deliveries are scheduled directly between the
customer and the delivery company, but that once my husband and I determined
our availability, she would be happy to pass on those possible dates to the
delivery company on our behalf, if we would like. Even though I declined and
said I would talk to my husband that evening and then contact the delivery
company directly, I considered her kind offer another example of how Saatva
employees take initiative and are empowered and encouraged to go above and
beyond.
Our Second Experience With Saatva’s White Glove Mattress Delivery and
Setup
Our second experience with Saatva’s white glove delivery was very similar to
our first
Saatva mattress delivery
experience. After receiving the email from the delivery company, I called them
to schedule our Solaire mattress exchange and setup.
Once again, the company contacted us the day before, this time by email,
giving us a three-hour delivery window, confirming our address and phone
number, and saying the delivery team would call us when they were 40 minutes
from our house.
Once again, we did not receive a call from the team before they arrived, nor
did their instructions mention reconfiguring our two twin XL adjustable bases
to work with the new solid king Solaire mattress.
Apart from that, however, the team was extremely fast and efficient (perhaps
even more so than the team that had delivered our upper-flex Solaire and
adjustable base!) and very respectful of our property.
Not only did they reconfigure the adjustable bases so that the head and foot
would operate in sync, at our request they also showed my husband how it was
done in case he needed to fix any issues that might arise in the future.
They were extremely professional, friendly and accommodating throughout their
visit.
Follow-Up Customer Service Interactions
At one point, the remote control for my husband’s side of our Adjustable Base
Plus stopped responding. I called customer service and explained that he had
tried putting in fresh batteries and re-syncing his remote, which did not fix
the problem. The customer service representative, Paul, explained that
accidentally pressing and holding down the Lock button was one of the most
common reasons for the remote to stop working. Unfortunately, the non-working
remote was not in its usual spot on my husband’s nightstand, so Paul talked me
through how to lock and unlock the remote using mine. When my husband came
home, we tried unlocking his remote, which still didn’t solve the problem, and
Saatva immediately sent us a replacement.
The next day, we discovered that the problem was, in fact, user error (I can’t
remember what) and I called back to let Saatva know that we wouldn’t need a
replacement remote after all. They were extremely gracious and said they had
already shipped it to us and we should keep it, “just in case.”
Another example of how Saatva’s customer service goes above and beyond!
Final Verdict on Our Overall Experience Buying a Saatva Mattress,
Adjustable Base and Bedding
My husband and I spent six months shopping for, researching, selecting,
ordering, taking delivery of and exchanging our first Saatva mattress, bedding
and adjustable base. Throughout that time, Saatva’s commitment to excellence
was obvious in every interaction we had with the company and its
representatives.
We were able to find answers or get help using whichever method we preferred
(email, phone, website or live chat), even on nights, weekends and holidays.
Everyone with whom we spoke was knowledgeable, professional and proactive in
helping us. They also appeared to be empowered to “go the extra mile” to
ensure that we had a positive experience without having to get permission from
a supervisor.
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Based on my personal experience, Saatva consistently delivers on its
promise to provide superb customer service 24/7/365
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In a recent article,
Saatva founder and CEO Ron Rudzin shared the story and significance of the
company’s unusual name, which is well worth the read. For him and everyone else at Saatva, the name
is “a reminder every day that we are committed to honesty, transparency, and
putting our customers first. We try to live up to the principles embodied in
our name, whether it’s through the helpful content we put on our website or
the premium materials we put in our products.”
As a former marketing professional who has advised major corporations on
improving their customer experience, I am a savvy and demanding consumer with
high expectations. Saatva has thoroughly impressed me with not only its
products and customer service but also its overall standard of excellence and
ethics in doing business.
If you are thinking about a new
mattress,
bedroom furniture, bedding or
gifts for better sleep, I encourage you to explore the Saatva website and talk to a knowledgeable
Saatva Sleep Guide to help you make the best choice for your needs, regardless
of what brand or model of mattress or bed you ultimately decide to buy.
What's Next: Which Queen or King Size Saatva Solaire Mattress and Adjustable
Base Is Right for You?
Next week, I'll publish my final post in this series,
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Exchanging a Saatva Mattress: My Personal Experience by Margaret Schindel
Posts in This Series
Confessions of a Saatva Mattress Shopper, Part 1: The Journey Begins
Confessions of a Saatva Mattress Shopper, Part 2: How to Choose the Best Saatva Mattress for Your Needs
Confessions of a Saatva Mattress Shopper, Part 3: Ordering a Saatva Mattress and Adjustable Bed Online — A Candid Review
Confessions of a Saatva Mattress Shopper, Part 4: Saatva Organic Cotton Mattress Pad and Sheet Set Product Reviews
Confessions of a Saatva Mattress Shopper, Part 5: Saatva Mattress and Adjustable Base White Glove Delivery and Setup
Confessions of a Saatva Mattress Shopper, Part 6: Saatva Solaire Mattress and Adjustable Base Plus Product Reviews
Confessions of a Saatva Mattress Shopper, Part 7: Exchanging a Saatva Mattress: My Personal Experience
Confessions of a Saatva Mattress Shopper, Part 8: Which Queen or King Saatva Solaire Mattress and Adjustable Base to Buy