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.
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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
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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.
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Solaire size selections - default view
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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.)
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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
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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.
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The order was broken into multiple shipments and there was no way to
view all the products in all the shipments at one time
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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.
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This email helped set my expectations appropriately regarding supply
chain and manufacturing delays caused by COVID-19 related supply chain
issues in spring 2021
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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.
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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
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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.
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Confessions of a Saatva Mattress Shopper, Part 3: Ordering a Mattress and
Adjustable Bed Online 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: Choosing the Best
Mattress for Your Needs
Confessions of a Saatva Mattress Shopper, Part 3: Ordering a Mattress and
Adjustable Bed Online
Confessions of a Saatva Mattress Shopper, Part 4: Organic Cotton Bedding
Product Review
Confessions of a Saatva Mattress Shopper, Part 5: White Glove Delivery
and Setup
Confessions of a Saatva Mattress Shopper, Part 6: Solaire Mattress and
Adjustable Base Plus Product Reviews
Confessions of a Saatva Mattress Shopper, Part 7: Exchanging a
Mattress
Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”
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