Comments on: Select Comfort – customer service failure

By: Alan Rutter

Alan Rutter — Sun, 20 May 2012 10:32:25 +0000

Can anyone tell me where to get controllers that can do the same job but are reliable and are a direct replacement at a reassonable cost?
I am certianly NOT going back to the manufacturer to get ripped off every 3 years.

By: Charles E Salzmann

Charles E Salzmann — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 01:38:37 +0000

I purchased a Select Comfort Mattress set in 1998. One year later we moved from Ct to FL. We reassembled the bed as soon as we arrived and for whatever reason, the pump would not work. A neighbor lent us an air compressor so we were able to inflate the mattresses and use the white seals to keep the air in. We called CSM and they sent us a new pump and remote free and we returned to defective one.

This past month (14 years later) my side started losing air. We reversed the pump hoses and eliminated the pump as the problem. I weigh 250 and my wife 130. I called SC Customer Service. Was treated very courteously. We decided to replace the foam siding around the mattresses, the center foam strip, and the top foam over the mattresses since they were showing signs of stress and the top foam had a partial tear down the center, and replace the mattress on my side (leaking) . Total cost just under $250. Since we paid $1500 back in 1998, I consider this to be a bargain. Knock on wood, we have not had a pump problem since 1999 when it was replaced, nor have we had any problems with the remote. Am I lucky? I don’t know but I have only good words for Select Comfort.

By: Craig C

Craig C — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 15:07:20 +0000

I’m in the same boat. My wired remotes went out about 2 years ago. They still operate, but I can’t tell what my # is. I stumbled upon this site while looking for replacement info…. Looks like I’m screwed

By: donna.finneran@verizon.net

donna.finneran@verizon.net — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 20:55:20 +0000

James described our problems exactly! Same year same problems!!

James says:
December 17, 2011 at 3:12 pm
Purchased a king size Sleep Number 5000 in 2005. Two years later, half the mattress (one bladder) started losing most of its air over a two or three day period, despite pumping it up frequently. Called customer service (and I use that term loosely), got the standard “we’ll be happy to replace that for you for the pro-rated price of $$$.” Politely told them to go to Hell, then proceeded to open the cover on the pump unit. I discovered the tubing connector for the left side bladder had cracked, allowing air to escape. Since it’s an integrated part of the pump housing, I couldn’t simply replace the connector; instead, I purchased a high quality 2-part epoxy (designed for plastic), and patched the cracked connector. Haven’t had a problem since. The problem lies with lifting the head of the mattress while changing sheets. The tubing the manufacturer supplies is too short, so it fatigues and then breaks the connectors inside the pump housing. Instead of laying the pump flat on the floor, I stood it up on end, resting it against the wall. Another solution would be to purchase longer tubing at the local hardware store.

If your mattress is losing air, AND you decide not to fall for their pro-rated warranty money grubbing tactics, then you have nothing to lose by opening up the pump and checking the tubing connectors. Because these beds are glorified air mattresses, they WILL lose air gradually due to temperature changes (the same reason your car tires lose air in a cold climate).

The other problem we have experienced is the LCD display for the wireless remote. the display gradually started going blank within first 2 years of purchasing the mattress. The backlight still works, and the buttons still perform their designated functions, just no LCD display. So, same old story – called customer service: “we’ll be glad to siphon more of your hard-earned money, blah blah blah.” I am working on a fix for the remote. I’m hoping a simple resoldering of the LCD joints will do the trick. Will post a solution, if I find one.

By: Ron

Ron — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 20:36:13 +0000

Anyone interested in starting a class action lawsuit against Select Comfort? I’ll be one of the first to sign up. My bed is actually 12 years old, and my second pump has died. Actually, it died years ago. First one lasted about 6 years, and the “refurbished” crap they sent me had the remote die after 1 year, and the pump died a year after that. I’ve just left it connected and not had the bed actually adjustable for a few years. Every year or so I just wheel my actual air compressor into the garage and pump up each side until firm, then replace the hoses from the Select Comfort pump (even though it isn’t working, it does not lose air, at least not very quickly). Would love to have it adjustable again, but not willing to pay anything else to them to have it. Using my main air compressor works fine, and we hardly adjusted the bed that much even when we had working pumps.

By: James

James — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 19:12:08 +0000

Purchased a king size Sleep Number 5000 in 2005. Two years later, half the mattress (one bladder) started losing most of its air over a two or three day period, despite pumping it up frequently. Called customer service (and I use that term loosely), got the standard “we’ll be happy to replace that for you for the pro-rated price of $$$.” Politely told them to go to Hell, then proceeded to open the cover on the pump unit. I discovered the tubing connector for the left side bladder had cracked, allowing air to escape. Since it’s an integrated part of the pump housing, I couldn’t simply replace the connector; instead, I purchased a high quality 2-part epoxy (designed for plastic), and patched the cracked connector. Haven’t had a problem since. The problem lies with lifting the head of the mattress while changing sheets. The tubing the manufacturer supplies is too short, so it fatigues and then breaks the connectors inside the pump housing. Instead of laying the pump flat on the floor, I stood it up on end, resting it against the wall. Another solution would be to purchase longer tubing at the local hardware store.

By: Royboy

Royboy — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 20:45:56 +0000

I’m glad to hear from other people that have the same problems as I do with the Select Comfort (hard wired) compressor. I guess I was a little more unfortunate than some of you because ours started to do the same actions as discribed, then the control board for the entire pump went and when I contacted the Select Comfort people I got the same generic responce as you folks. What really frosted me though was that my wife and I had one of the original beds over 30yrs ago and it lasted 27yrs without any problems and the only reason we replaced it was because we noticed it started to loose air and since we had, had such good luck with the product we bought everything new, BIG mistake, we got ripped off and now we need to spend another $277 just to sleep on the matress we love. I will never recommend this company to another person, nor will I pay TWICE for the samething. I am looking into other alternitives. Anything I can do to help the cause let me know.

By: Mike Markham

Mike Markham — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 17:35:45 +0000

Same problem I’m having. This is the second pump replacement for me….the last one was just two years ago. Now they’ll only pay 40% replacement cost, plus shipping!!!

By: Bill

Bill — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 01:49:52 +0000

Hi,
I also have the lines missing on my wired remote after 4.5 years. After back and forth emails I sent the one below. I will wait to hear back from select comfort but I don’t have high hopes that they will stand behind their products.

Select Comfort,

I have done some research online and to my surprise the defective wired and wireless remotes are well documented! Looks like select comfort knew about this problem for years but continues to sell them to the unsuspecting customer. Select comfort has had an ongoing habitual problem with these remotes but yet refuses to stand behind their products. Instead, you are an equal opportunity figurative customer rapist! Any weak link in your product, in this case the remote control, tears down the overall quality experience of your bed. Yet, you continue to play dumb and act astonished when a customer has a legitimate complaint about your remote control.

It never fails to amaze me when huge companies think they can get away with near criminal practices! Your corporate personal make these stupid decisions to save a ton of money; not very intelligent and really bad business! With the internet, cell phones and other digital devices it is very easy for us to tell our story and in an instant it is seen worldwide! How do you anticipate regaining trust with the consumer? The money you are saving by not standing behind your products is pennies compared to what you will lose by diminishing sales! Unfortunately it is the backbone of the company, not the supposed intelligent leaders, but the workers who answer your phones, manufacture your beds and those supplying the raw materials that will be hurt in the end by losing their jobs!

You said that select comfort, at its option, will repair or replace the warranted product or component at a cost to the original purchaser based up on the information below. The “price” is the price of the warranted product or component at the time the warranty claim is made, or the price of a comparable product or component if the original product or component is no longer in production. Excellent, repair or replace my wired remote, which is defective, not the air pump. Again, you have decided to stop using the wired remote, not my choice your choice. If your wireless remote is not compatible with my air pump that is your fault. I will pay for the wireless remote not the air pump! You have a pretty good gig going on. Give the customer an inferior remote control. Change the technology part way through the warranty and force the customer to purchase the new technology. After a few years will you again change your technology to force customers to buy the newest latest and greatest!? By your way of thinking you will have a never ending source of income from present and future customers. That is until potential customers are made aware of your tactics.

I will wait a couple of days to hear back from you. If I am not satisfied with your response I will then contact the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), maybe they can show you the error of your ways. I will also use the internet as well as word of mouth to let others know how you stand behind your products. You decide if what I tell them is good or bad.

Thanks,
Bill

By: Dave Ladely

Dave Ladely — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 23:08:19 +0000

Sleep Number has upgraded their dual mattresses with zippers to connect the mattresses while still isolating the air chambers. The zippers pretty much cure the “trench effect” of having the chambers separate with a piece of foam in the middle. The company will charge a low fee for sending new, upgraded chambers. An owner can then just add zippers to their old chambers and then use them for guests.
Also, a person can add zippers, such as YKK, themselves, either sewing them on or using very high quality contact cement, such as Barge brand. Works great.

By: greg sexton

greg sexton — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 16:20:02 +0000

I have a Select Comfort bed that we purchased about ten years ago. First thing we did after using for a couple of months was to discard the plastic platform ,which was a $400 option, it is a piece of sh*t .it squeaked with every movement. Replaced with homemade platform made of 2×6 and plywood, works great, no squeaks..The remote still works ok , sorta, kinda erratic , but still readable.
Second issue. Yes , we had the wired remote problem no our second Select Comfort bed as described by so many others, can not read at all ,plus the so called (trench effect) hammock in the middle … I feel your pain….BUYER BEWARE
maybe posts like ours will help educate and inform of the shoddy business practices of the Select Comfort company…
I would not advise anyone to deal with this company.

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 19:41:12 +0000

Have had bed 6 yrs, 1 remote shot, and the left side of the bed has a trough in it.

I was going to contact Sleep number today, but i guess i will not bother.

Also are bed has been stuck in the half way up on my wife’s side, (got a panic phone call on that one)!

I will tell her about the LACK OF CUSTOMER SUPPORT and let her do the yelling .

By: Lori

Lori — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 20:17:09 +0000

Bed is only TWO years old and neither hubby or myself can read the numbers on our remotes. We definitely wish we hadn’t shelled out the big bucks for this p.o.s. bed.

By: stacey

stacey — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 11:20:13 +0000

My wireless remote has been doing the same thing for the past two yeas. I had another problem arise with my bed within about four years as I unzipped the top so I could fix the tubes to the chambers, and the zipper was coming unseen from the top. Not a big deal as I can sew myself but when it had only been unzipped twice I didn’t think something like this should happen or that I should have to take the time away from my kids to fix, so I called customer service. Well lets just say it was going to cost me over $400 to get the top fixed or replaced, so I did it myself. But I would not recommend this bed to anybody. The only reason we keep it right now is that my husband likes the length of the grand king since he is 6′ 5″. Otherwise I would go back to my regular queen bed.

By: Derek

Derek — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 18:27:39 +0000

Question for those of you posting about your remote display failures – wired or wireless. Do they have the green backlit display, or a “white” backlight?

By: Mark

Mark — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 17:45:08 +0000

Important to be clear the issue isn’t just with wired remotes. My wireless remote experiences the same problem after 5 years. I contacted customer service and it will cost $40 plus shipping. Why do these displays go out? It isn’t the nature of the remote – it would seem to actually be the LCD component they are using across all product lines. I am probably 5-6 years in on this bed – I would hope for it to go at least 10 – this issue alone has me already planning to buy another bed when the time comes – and I am telling other friends/family who inquire about getting a bed like this as well. No repeat business from me – we will find an alternative. It would seem to be pretty cheap insurance for the company as far as repeat business to take care of these issues. I had initially highly recommended this bed to my in-laws – they haven’t purchased yet, and I am informing them of concerns I now have based on my experience and research – I will be able to prevent them from making a mistake and have it reflect on me later on. Too bad Select Comfort – customer service makes all the difference – problems will inevitably occure with any product – customer service has the power to turn a negative experience into a positive one – or it can exaggerate the negative. I may pony up the $40 for a new remote – but can guarantee that I won’t be buying another Select Comfort bed in the future. Had a replacement remote been shipped to me at no cost – it would reinforce that the company stands behind its products and replaces them when they fail prematurely – and I would most certainly have purchased a new one in the future. Oh well…….

By: Hobel F

Hobel F — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 01:42:46 +0000

Wireless remote that, within months of owning the bed, the display started to fail by partially displaying the numbers. Eventually, the LCD doesnt display numbers anymore but the backlight does work (yippee). Luckily I set my side at 100, my wife isn’t as lucky as she sets her side at 80 or so – or at least she tries to.

By: Derek

Derek — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 16:35:46 +0000

I wish I could say the wireless remotes are better – but it’s only been 2 years and both of those are dead too. Stay tuned…

By: Steve

Steve — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 15:10:38 +0000

Select Comfort remotes died, faded away after four years. I have to buy the “updated” pump and wireless remotes with a “discount” pro-rated to $89, with shipping over $100. Seems like planned obsolescence and a poor way to do business. Nothing wrong with pump, just the remotes. Now I can add the old Sleep Number pump to the landfill when they send new piece of equipment, also not a very green/sustainable way of doing business.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 00:01:59 +0000

My mother has had her Select Comfort for just over 2 years and had the same problem with the remote. She has serious back issues and noticed a week ago that the bed was not as firm and the remote was only partially displaying the number. She got the same answer from Customer Service and has to pay 75% of the replacement pump and remote ($95). She will also have to have someone come in specially to install it as she cannot do this herself. It’s appalling to pay $2000 for a mattress whose primary feature (air) fails after only 2 years, and every year therafter. This part should be included under the full warranty, or why bother?