As I explained in the first post in this series, in 2021 my friend and former boss, the chief marketing officer at Saatva, invited me to choose, order, sleep on and keep a Saatva mattress of my choice in exchange for my detailed, honest feedback about my entire experience as a new customer, including any problems or issues I encountered and any recommendations for improving the shopping, buying and ownership experience for future Saatva customers. If my customer experience was mostly positive (which it was), I would also share a candid review of my first-time Saatva cutomer experience with others here on Review This Reviews—hence this Confessions of a Saatva Mattress Shopper series of reviews.
In my last post, I discussed the in-depth product research I did so my husband and I could choose the best Saatva mattress for our needs and sleeping preferences. Today, I’ll share my experience with placing our online order for that mattress, which came with a free sheet set (because we chose the split-top "upper-flex" mattress option), an adjustable base and a mattress pad.
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.
Recap: Deciding to Try the Upper-Flex vs. Standard King Solaire Mattress
To recap our experience to this point (which I described in detail in the first two posts in this series), my husband and I started by identifying our key needs and wants and then thoroughly researching five Saatva mattress models we thought might work for us.
Ultimately, we chose a king size Saatva Solaire adjustable firmness air mattress, which came with a free organic cotton sateen sheet set, a quilted organic cotton mattress pad and a Saatva Adjustable Base Plus (then called a Lineal adjustable base), all in the “upper-flex” split-top configuration that would let either of us raise or lower the head of just our side of the bed.
|
| An upper-flex Solaire mattress paired with an upper-flex Adjustable Base Plus (bed frame sold separately) allows sleeping partners to raise and lower the head of the bed on their respective sides |
Although we were concerned about the gap along the top portion, we felt comfortable giving the split-top “upper-flex” configuration a try, knowing that if we didn’t love it we could exchange our upper-flex king Solaire mattress and mattress pad for the standard (solid) king versions without a hassle, thanks to Saatva’s generous home trial, return and exchange policies. If we did decide to exchange our upper-flex for a standard Solaire, we would be charged a $99 processing fee to cover Saatva’s cost of having the old mattress picked up and the new one delivered and set up for us. The adjustable base, although it could not be returned or exchanged, could quickly and easily be reconfigured to synchronize the remote controls for my husband’s and my sides of the bed if we decided to exchange the upper-flex for a solid king mattress.
There were two minor potential drawbacks to trying the upper-flex king configuration. First, the waterproof mattress protector that I wanted to protect our new mattress was not available for the upper-flex queen or king configuration. Second, if we decided to exchange our upper-flex Solaire mattress for the standard king version without a split top, our joined twin XL adjustable bases would not have the wall-hugging design feature of the standard king adjustable base.
Those were trade-offs we could live with.
Placing Our Saatva Mattress, Adjustable Bed and Mattress Pad Order Online
If we had chosen any Solaire mattress other than an upper-flex king or queen, placing our online order would have been a piece of cake. However, for some reason, the upper-flex option under “Select Size” is hidden by default.
|
| Solaire size selections - default view |
Only if you first click on “King” or “Queen” does a new feature box appear under the “Select Size” buttons with two additional options: standard (selected by default) and upper-flex (which you need to actively choose if you want the split top configuration rather than a solid mattress).
If you choose the upper-flex option, which requires a Adjustable Base Plus (formerly Lineal adjustable base), that base is also selected by default, as is a set of split-top sheets that is included free with the purchase of an upper-flex Solaire mattress. (If you already have a compatible adjustable base, you can easily deselect the checkbox for the base.)
|
| Standard vs. upper-flex options appear only after selecting queen or king size;if you select the upper-flex Solaire mattress, the required adjustable base and free upper-flex sheet set are selected by default |
Clicking on the Queen or King size selection button (which I think most people would assume means a standard, solid queen or king mattress) to get to the upper-flex option isn’t intuitive and selecting it requires an unnecessary extra step. Both the upper-flex and split king have the same overall dimensions as the standard king mattress, just as the split Cal king has the same dimensions as the regular Cal king, so why provide separate buttons for the split configurations but not the upper-flex?
Although I shared my feedback and recommendations for fixing this issue with Saatva, they haven’t yet taken me up on it. So, if you decide to order a queen or king upper-flex Solaire mattress, I hope that having shared what I learned I will save you some time and effort. It's very simple...as long as you know how the size selection interface works.
Saatva’s Follow-up Communications
Saatva prides itself on its superior customer service and the company was, indeed, proactively helpful and communicative from the moment I clicked on the “Place Order” button on April 24, 2021.
In addition to giving me my order number, order summary and link to “Print this receipt” if I wished, the order confirmation screen also provided an estimated shipping date range (May 2–May 15) and a “What’s Next?” section letting me know that my new mattress would be handcrafted to order and that I would be contacted when it was ready to arrange for delivery and set-up so I could “Enjoy your best sleep ever.”
It also offered me a choice of how I preferred to get updates on my order status: a “Create an account to track your order” button and a “Text me shipping updates” checkbox. I chose both.
Creating an Account and Tracking My Order
After clicking on the “Create an account to track your order” button, I checked my e-mail messages, as directed. There were two from Saatva, a “Thank you for your order!” purchase receipt and a request to confirm my email address to complete my account registration.
After clicking on the second email, I logged into my new account and clicked on my order number. At first glance, I was surprised (and concerned) to see only the upper-flex king adjustable base and Solaire mattress. What happened to the organic mattress pad and free sheet set?
Eventually I realized that this order lookup page contained three shipments and only the products in “Shipment 1 of 3” were displayed by default. I would need to scroll down and click the light gray buttons for “Shipment 2 of 3” and “Shipment 3 of 3” to view the mattress pad and sheet set.
|
| The order was broken into multiple shipments and there was no way to view all the products in all the shipments at one time |
When I look up an order I have placed online, I expect to see all the products in my order, not to have some of them displayed and some up them hidden, forcing me to click on each shipment button to see what products are in those shipments and their status.
On the other hand, however, I really liked being able to see a timeline with all the order status update milestones and showing the status of the products in that shipment, especially since each Saatva mattress is made to order.
Follow-up Communications From Saatva
As I expected, I also got an email confirmation after placing my order.
A few hours later, I got another email with the subject line “Your new mattress deserves new bedding” and featuring sheets, pillows, mattress toppers, and other Saatva bedding products, followed by subsequent periodic emails suggesting specific bedding items to complement my new mattress.
I also received an email containing a personal refer-a-friend link. If I shared it with my friends and family and any of them used it to make a purchase, we would each receive a $100 Saatva gift card.
The Right Way to Notify a Customer of Delays
Four days after I had placed my order, I got an email confirming what I had already guessed, i.e., that the system-generated one- to three-week delivery estimate on the order confirmation screen for my made-to-order Solaire mattress and adjustable base had been overly optimistic, given the global supply chain and manufacturing issues at the time (April 2021).
This well written email update did a nice job of resetting my expectations, given the unpredictability of the potential pandemic-related delays.
|
| This email helped set my expectations appropriately regarding supply chain and manufacturing delays caused by COVID-19 related supply chain issues in spring 2021 |
A little more than three weeks later, I received another email update letting me know that my Solaire mattress order would probably be delayed another two to three weeks, thanks to additional pandemic-related disruptions to the global supply chain.
This one came directly from the general manager of the Saatva Solaire division. It assured me that the company would continue to provide updates on the progress of my order, offered both an email address and a phone number if I had any questions and thanked me for my continued patience.
|
| I was impressed and appreciative that this second email update about the continued delay in fulfilling my mattress order came directly from Saatva's general manager for the Solaire line |
There’s nothing worse than the deafening silence of a delay with no updates, and Saatva’s proactive communications were welcome and reassuring as I waited for my new mattress.
I also appreciated that the Saatva bedding, which was not made to order, was delivered very quickly while I was waiting for my Solaire mattress and Adjustable Bed Plus to arrive.
Next Up: My Saatva Bedding Review
I’ll share the unboxing and product review of my Saatva quilted organic cotton mattress pad and organic cotton sateen sheet set in my next post.
Be sure to subscribe* to Review This Reviews to be notified when new posts in this Confessions of a Saatva Mattress Shopper series (and my popular keto diet success series) are published!
*See the email subscription box in the sidebar; if you are viewing on a mobile device and don't see the sidebar in your browser, click on "View web version" at the bottom of the page.
Ordering a Saatva Mattress and Adjustable Bed Online — A Candid Review by Margaret Schindel
Posts in This Series
Confessions of a Saatva Mattress Shopper, Part 1: The Journey Begins
Read more product reviews from our Contributors at ReviewThisProductReviews.com.
Very interesting to read about your website ordering experience with Saatva Mattress. An intuitive online order form is essential for any company. If it is difficult, customers will give up and might not come back later. If a customer prefers ordering online, they are not likely to want to start making phone calls for help. I, myself, have been known to step away from a large order (and never return) over a simple thing like a coupon process that is not obvious, or my free shipping not showing as free. I think any company would be wise to seriously consider feedback from customers. Most often, they are expressing what many others have experienced but haven't chatted with them about.
ReplyDeleteI agree completely and so does Saatva, which is why they asked for my detailed customer experience feedback and have taken nearly all my suggestions. I have a feeling the upper-flex option selection interface design might have something to do with the automatic selection of the free upper-flex sheet set and/or adjustable base configured for the upper-flex option, but I don’t know. I am pleased that the company has been so responsive to my suggestions for optimizing an already excellent customer experience.
DeleteOrdering online is always worrisome that your order will not be processed and delivered as promised. Good to know that the Saatva Mattress Company does all it can to assure you receive what you ordered and advise you as to any delays.
ReplyDeleteThis was especially true during the “thick” of the pandemic supply chain delays, when any order (but especially for big ticket items) was a hit-or-miss proposition. I have high expectations for excellent products, customer service and support and, in my experience, Saatva’ does a superior job in most respects.
ReplyDeleteI think anytime you order a product online but especially if its a large or expensive purchase, the order system needs to be very clear with a complete summary of product and payment required including any shipping charges before you pay. Ideally you would have an estimated or exact date/time of delivery with good tracking. I have backed out of online ordering before due to concerns as I was completing the form. It is important companies listen to feedback given by the customers who take the time to do that. It is good to hear Saatva have proactive and good communications.
ReplyDeleteI agree! Saatva’s online shopping cart provided all the detail I needed prior to placing my order and the order confirmation went the extra mile with two options for getting order updates. Saatva’s excellent follow-up communications were extremely impressive!
DeleteExcellent review series on the Saatva mattress and shopping experience. You've provided them with some excellent "tech" related advice, which, considering that they carry such a quality product, is good advice. I'm ok ordering online for the most part - I think I'm a bit old school in that for a mattress I would want to go in the store - but I can safely say the younger generation are not like me - they order online no matter the item! Based on your reviews here, I would have no problem ordering this mattress online.
ReplyDeleteBarbara, I’n older than you and before discovering Saatva I, too, would have been reluctant to buy a mattress before lying down on it in a brick-and-mortar store. However, none of our previous mattresses could compare with the quality and comfort of our Saatva Solaire mattress, and with the company’s generous 365-night in-home trial and free white glove delivery service (which I will discuss in detail in a future post next week), I can HIGHLY recommend ordering a Saatva mattress online vs. shopping at a mattress or department store.
DeleteIt seems like they have the online ordering process figured out to make it as easy as possible for the customer. The follow up and communication they provide sounds is over the top. I'm highly impressed with their home trial and return policy. Thanks for your amazing research.
ReplyDeleteYou are most welcome, Sam! I’m glad this series is helpful. Saatva truly excels at not only product quality but also customer service and communications. They really impressed me, and I’m a “hard marker!”
Delete