Select Comfort – customer service failure

If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you surely saw my interactions with Select Comfort customer service today. Here’s the entire story.

In October 2005 we decided it was time for a new bed. Not wanting to skimp on quality and being interested in getting a bed that would accommodate our different sleeping preferences, we opted for a Select Comfort Sleep Number bed. The bed we chose had dual air chambers and two hard wired remote controls, one for each side. The bed was shipped, we put it together easily, and began using it.

This bed has one major flaw – there is a piece of foam which separates air chambers. What this means is that there is very little support in the middle of the bed causing what is known as the “trench effect“. If you actually enjoy cuddling with your spouse in bed, this will be a problem as you will sink in the middle.

Select Comfort Sleep Number Bed cause of the dip in the middle, known as the trench effect

Select Comfort has a 30 day return policy on their beds, but when the bed and the foam separator are new, this problem isn’t as apparent. While this has been a minor nuisance since owning the bed, that’s not the root of today’s issue.

No, today’s issue goes back to June of last year. Within a very short time period, both remotes on the bed stopped displaying the number, and showed only a portion of the display, as such:

Select Comfort Sleep Number Bed Wired Remote Display Problem

Naturally, I contacted Select Comfort. They replied back with the following:

Thank you for contacting Select Comfort. We’re very sorry for the issue you’re experiencing with your remote. The wired remotes are permanently attached at the factory and cannot be replaced. When a remote display fails we replace the entire unit.

Please reply with your preferred shipping address and we’ll get a replacement pump on the way to you.

Fantastic! Never mind that technically the two year full replacement warranty was up in October of 2007, eight months after that they were still willing to replace the faulty part. This makes sense though for a couple of reasons. First, Select Comfort used to claim that their beds will last twice as long as a traditional innerspring mattress. This claim has been scrubbed from their website these days, but many articles, such as this one from Forbes, repeat the company’s claim. Knowing this tidbit, wouldn’t you expect the electronic component to last more than two years without needing to be replaced? Secondly, this part of the bed doesn’t get abused at all, or even used on a daily basis. We might have touched the remotes once a week at most to make sure the bed was still at the appropriate setting. Obviously this was a failure of the component, and they were willing to replace it. The new pump and remotes arrived shortly after and all was again working.

Until a week ago.

Amanda’s remote started having the same problem again. The above photo is actually of her remote, today. This was only one year after Select Comfort replaced the unit, which I thought was awfully quick to fail. I dug up my original email to support and replied back to it with my problem. This was the response I got:

Thank you for contacting Select Comfort. We’re very sorry for the issue you’re experiencing with your remote. The wired remotes are permanently attached at the factory and cannot be replaced. When a remote display fails we replace the entire unit.

Upon reviewing your account I’ve found that you are currently in the pro-rated portion of your warranty. This means that Select Comfort will cover 68% of the replacement cost for the defective component. Your cost to replace the pump under warranty is $144.00 plus tax and shipping. All warranty sales are considered final with a 30 day 100% warranty; after which it reverts back to your existing warranty coverage.

They want me to pay $144 to replace this thing a second time? I didn’t find that to be an acceptable answer since it failed so much faster than the first one. Interestingly enough, earlier in the week I got an email from Select Comfort saying you could now contact them on Twitter @SleepNumberHelp. I figured this was a good opportunity to try out this new support channel. First, I thought it might be interesting to see if anyone else was contacting them via Twitter, so I ran a quick search. Lo and behold I’m not the only one with this problem!

“anybody else have problem with their sleep number bed controls, the lcd has basically died so you can’t read the numbers,
4:29 AM Jun 9th
wagardner

@wagardner Does the remote still operate the bed? That’s definitely something we can help you with. You can reply, or call 1-800-240-0028
6:51 AM Jun 9th from web in reply to wagardner

not satisfied with Select Comfort. After 3.5 years it costs me $169.03 to replace the pump that they have problems with it and know it!!
9:33 AM Jun 9th

@wagardner Sorry you are unhappy. Any manu. defects are covered under the lim. prorated warranty. http://twurl.nl/rtfcos is warranty info
9:58 AM Jun 9th from web in reply to wagardner

@SleepNumberHelp too late. I paid with my warranty. I just didn’t expect it since they are discontinuing the controls because of problem
10:04 AM Jun 9th from TweetDeck in reply to SleepNumberHelp

@wagardner The wired pump units are discontinued due to new interference free wireless technology. Remote display is same for each.
10:10 AM Jun 9th from web in reply to wagardner

@SleepNumberHelp huh oh so going to have a problem again in 3.5 years because phone help said the digits were a problem
10:11 AM Jun 9th from TweetDeck in reply to SleepNumberHelp

@wagardner No – shouldn’t expect any more issues. LCD going blank is not common. I apologize if you were told differently.
10:13 AM Jun 9th from web in reply to wagardner

Hmm… interesting that someone on the phone (likely a rep that’s less conditioned to the official line) tells this person that it’s a common issue, only to have the Twitter rep turn around and say it’s not. Also interesting that they’re no longer making the wired units and are replacing them all with new wireless units! Could it be because they, in fact, do have a lot of problems? No, Select Comfort just wants to give you the latest in “interference free wireless technology”. Mmmhmm.

But wait, there’s more.

@sleepnumbersara Will there ever be help for the wired remotes that you can’t read the numbers on anymore??? Can’t tell my #, frustrating
8:51 AM Jun 18th from web

@jenlatimer We can definitely get your pump replaced to a wireless unit under the warranty terms. Give us a call! 1-888-248-0028
9:08 AM Jun 18th from web in reply to jenlatimer

@sleepnumberhelp It is a known problem, fixed already once. Not willing to pay over $100 for a known problem…
9:51 AM Jun 18th from web

@jenlatimer LCD issues aren’t common. Replacing w/ wireless unit would allow just remote replacement if issue returned, although unlikely.
10:06 AM Jun 18th from web in reply to jenlatimer

@sleepnumberhelp LCD might not be common, but I scored 2 bum units… only see lines where should be numbers… shame cause I love my bed
10:24 AM Jun 18th from web

@jenlatimer I’m sorry. We’d be able to cover a % based on warr. terms (based on year bed was purchased). Call us if you wish to replace.
10:45 AM Jun 18th from web in reply to jenlatimer

Now, since Select Comfort started twittering at the beginning of June, they’ve only interacted with a dozen or so people. Interesting that two people already have had pointed out this “uncommon” issue.

Nevertheless, I was going to get my turn. Here’s my tweetscript, starting here:

Hey @SleepNumberHelp and @jenlatimer – I also have the repeat wired remote LCD issue. 1st replacement was under warranty, 1 yr later – $144
about 12 hours ago from TweetDeck

What good is a $2000 bed that supposedly lasts twice as long as an innerspring that requires $150 in parts every yr, @SleepNumberHelp ?
about 12 hours ago from TweetDeck

@DerekPunaro Defects in the bed are rare. Sorry about the problem. We’d repl w/ wireless unit – cool new tech. Don’t expect further issues.
about 11 hours ago from web in reply to DerekPunaro

Dear @SleepNumberHelp, you’d replace w/wireless at who’s cost? You didn’t replace it with wireless the first time when it was under warranty
about 10 hours ago from TweetDeck

@DerekPunaro Repl. under warranty terms. Repl w/ wireless is something rolled out just recently due to upgraded technology in those units.
about 10 hours ago from web in reply to DerekPunaro

If this is such a rare problem @SleepNumberHelp then surely you would replace for free since the last replacement you sent also failed.
about 10 hours ago from TweetDeck

@DerekPunaro We have the warranty in place for such issues. Replacement parts carry a full 30 day warr. b4 reverting back 2 orig. bed warr.
about 9 hours ago from web in reply to DerekPunaro

And the only reason to do public customer support via Twitter is to showcase that you stand behind your products, @SleepNumberHelp
about 10 hours ago from TweetDeck

@DerekPunaro We do stand behind our products. We also have fairness 2 maintain & cannot make exceptions 2 the warranty w/o doing same 4 all.

Well @SleepNumberHelp the only reason to not cover a replacement part as if it was new is because it’s more likely to fail than the original
about 10 hours ago from TweetDeck

@DerekPunaro I’m sorry you feel this way. Please give us a call at 1-888-248-0028 if you’d like to set up the replacement.
about 9 hours ago from web in reply to DerekPunaro

I’m sorry, @SleepNumberHelp, did you mean I should call for my FREE replacement? Your tweet didn’t say.
about 9 hours ago from TweetDeck

@DerekPunaro Again sir, we can replace the pump for you under the terms of the warranty. Warranty info can B found @ http://twurl.nl/ry0fi3
about 9 hours ago from web in reply to DerekPunaro

But @SleepNumberHelp – there is precedent for free replacement outside the warranty period according to your own site http://bit.ly/NmdeC
about 9 hours ago from TweetDeck

“7 years after purchase the wired remote on mine gave… but replacement was within 2 days and free of charge to me.” @SleepNumberHelp
about 9 hours ago from TweetDeck

@DerekPunaro Please give me a call when you are able. You can ask for me, my name is Leanne and we can discuss further. 1-888-248-0028
about 9 hours ago from web in reply to DerekPunaro

At this point, I decided to take Leanne up on her offer and give her a call. I first ended up in the wrong queue, but they then transferred me to customer service where I got a regular rep. I said I had spoken to their representative on Twitter who advised me to call and speak to Leanne.

“I didn’t even know we had a representative on Twitter!” the rep replied. I advised her that they did, she had some very kind words for Leanne, got in touch with her on their internal IM system, and transferred me over.

We then carried on a very cordial conversation where I reiterated many of the above points again. She flat out said that neither she, nor her supervisors nor managers were allowed to work around the conditions set in their warranty. She said that this policy changed about a year ago.

“So wait, you’re saying that you’ve actually decreased customer service in the past year?”

She replied back that it probably had something to do with the economy or other such bullshit. Regardless, nobody could do anything to fix my problem if I didn’t want to shell out the $150. The option I had was to write to the president of the company.

Yes, that’s right. My only option for better customer service was to snail mail Bill McLaughlin, President and CEO of Select Comfort. Oh, the irony that a customer who reached out to a company’s customer service department via a hip social media tool was ultimately being redirected to mail a physical letter to the company president! This is a clear sign that your company doesn’t get it.

What use is it to even bother engaging customers via a tool like Twitter if the employees using it aren’t empowered to actually do anything helpful? I pointed out to Leanne that may fly when you’re only doing phone support, but this was a very public channel that anyone looking for info about their business would see. We’re they really willing to potentially lose sales because of rigid, don’t stray from the script customer service?

They were.

I realized at that point that this was obviously not going to go any further, so I thanked Leanne for her time and apologized that I was about to make her job more difficult.

“Well, there’s not much I can do about that.”

Oh, but there was.

So, I now think it’s my duty to teach Select Comfort about the outs of using Twitter. In my estimation, Select Comfort must make considerably more than $150 per bed they sell. We’re talking beds that range in cost from $1000 to over $5000, and that’s before they upsell you on the expensive custom bedding and pillows. So essentially, all I have to do is prevent the sale of one bed to cost the company’s bottom line more than they would have by sending me a replacement to their obviously faulty not so rare now discontinued remote. So I set up two searches in TweetDeck – one that tracks their three online reps, and one that looks for “select comfort” and “sleep number”. Any time someone comments that they’re considering or have just bought a sleep number bed, I’ll jump in with something like this:

@mosb Consider returning your Select Comfort bed before your trial runs out! Parts break and once you’re out of warranty – big $$.
about 7 hours ago from TweetDeck in reply to mosb

Or this:

@radiochick57 Avoid the select comfort sleep number beds! They break and are expensive to fix!
about 6 hours ago from TweetDeck in reply to radiochick57

Maybe even a retweet, like:

RT @peg_adams: @MrsMcElrath We have a Sleep Number bed now and I wouldn’t recommend it. (@SleepNumberHelp)
about 6 hours ago from TweetDeck

Or my favorite, addressed to someone who was actually in the store looking at beds at the time:

@destinycherish Don’t buy a sleep number bed! The parts break and after the 2 year initial warranty, you’ll pay big bucks to fix it!
about 4 hours ago from TweetDeck in reply to destinycherish

Since my tweets are duplicated over at Facebook, I’ve already had a couple comments there:

Rich Mattingly at 3:46pm June 24
Well, I certainly won’t buy one now 🙂

Amanda Racette-Twentyfive at 5:00pm June 24
I won’t buy one either. Your work here is done. It amazes me how willing companies are to let bad press get out there. For instance, any WNY’er who is in the market for a fence, DO NOT use Classic Fence. I would sue them if I could – our fence looks way older than it should and it’s warped. They warranty their gates for 30 days. 30 days?!?

You see, Select Comfort, here’s the problem inherent in the system. I have as much access to your customers as you do on Twitter. Who do you think a potential customer is going to listen to more, an average guy that seeked them out to specifically warn them against purchasing a certain product, or the voice of the company telling them everything’s going to be alright, pay no attention to the man behind the curtain? In fact, interjecting my input directly to your potential customers is nearly effortless – I just sit back and wait for the search column to light up! I’m going to react to these people faster than you will, and I guarantee that I’ll cost you sales.

But hey, you know, that economy’s a bitch. So you should definitely continue to fortify your rigid customer service policies and crack down on all us people that, for shame, might expect your multi-thousand dollar product to last longer than a pair of jeans.

Good luck with that.

SCSS Stock Price

 

Don’t stop here…  be sure to read Part II: 

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124 Comments

  1. Same problem….remotes! Bed about 5 years old, but LCD display has never been
    perfect and just lived with it. Now, 1 controller has NO reading. The other only a few bits…can’t tell what the number is. My old LCD watch from 15 years ago still displays perfectly! Why can’t theirs?

  2. amazing how so many people are having a “not so common problem”. 5 r old bed, both remotes have nothing displayed.

  3. hats off to you! No sense in me telling my story. It’s the same as all the rest. At least you found a way to kick them in the shin. I was always told that one awe sh_t can ruin 9 ataboys. Here’s proof that’s true. The customers alawys right. That’s if you want your business to succeed.

  4. oh….I forgot to mention. For SC to say the remotes are hardwired is not a true statement. Since it’s screwed up and SC won’t cover for it to be repaired/replaced without a “small charge” I decided to pop the cover off. There’s a 4 pin detachable connector. The remote circuit board could now be repaired/replaced. my2cents.

  5. One side of the bed is not holding air.
    Checked the pump and it seems to be working fine as it pumps up the bed to the level I like.

    Within 30 minutes the bed is deflated.

    I checked the inlet to the bed and it seems to be attached properly. Checked the other end to the pump and it seems to be fine.

    Had this problem about six months ago and was able to re-work the inlet valve to the bed and it has held until now.

    Any suggestions?

  6. We also are having the same problem with one wired remote. LCD is not working, we have also replaced the motor on one side of the bed that only cost shipping but now to find out I will have to pay at least $150 makes me sick. We paid $5000 for this bed and my husband hates it. Now we can’t afford a different one.

  7. Bought the adjustable Sleep By Number bed five years ago. Like the air bed a lot, but the controls to keep it running average about $170.00 a year. The adjustable controls have failed every year, for 4 straight years in Jan each time. The 1st time the covered the replacement, but I had to install the new unit. the 2nd time, they again replaced the unit, I paid for shipping. The next time I paid for shipping, and they supplied a new wireless control unit. This last time, despite what appearers to be a well known problem the replacement cost is 176.00. I know I am not the only person having problems with the controls. I would hate to think that I have to spend this amount every year I keep the bed. I know things go wrong, but most electronics last more than a year.

  8. We have had the same problem. It started after one year and I was told I would have to replace at a cost of around 60 dollars. The readout was still readable so I didn’t replace. By the next year one side was completely not readable and the other is almost gone. It’s been 5 years now and I just gave up trying to deal with them. They don’t give a darn about the customer, eventually it will bite them in the butt!

  9. I LOVE the Select Comfort. I have had mine for 12 years – can’t say enough good things about the company and bed! In fact, I have an extra top – I have one cleaned and cycle the two. All my products are still in perfect condition.

  10. I have three select comfort beds. The one in my AZ getaway gets used less than 6 months a year. This year I wanted to change the setting and the remote would not show a number in the window. I changed batteries but it did still not have a display.
    The compressor seems to ract to the up/down comands but I don’t know where I’m at.
    Please help

  11. After reading all these comments I think there is no reason to think that I can get my remotes fixed. One remote does not function at all and no readout. The other still functions but no readout. Is there any hope?

  12. Your only hope is to be relentless with Customer Service. I also recommend contacting http://consumerist.com/ – they love to publish bad customer service stories and try to help. The more that bad companies like Select Comfort are pushed out in the open, the better off we all are.

  13. I have he same problem with one of my remotes. After calling Select Comfort, I got the same runaround as everyone else. Seems to me that after a while something could be done about this ever growing problem. People spending there hard earned money on a product that cost this much should be able to expect more from Customer Service.
    After all aren’t we the ones who are keeping them in business ?

  14. To all the consumers out there who purchased a Slect Comfort before 2005.
    If you have a select comfort sleep number bed and bought it before 2005. Open it up and look for black mold!!! Then google it and read all about it. Select Number is not notifying customers that this potential hazard exists in their product. Please pass on the news and let people know. I had mine tested and it shows 50%CLADOSPORIUM 3 C HEAVY GROWTH. They will replace the bed, but will not let consumers know

  15. My sleep number bed is only about 4 years old and the pump has stopped working all together. I am upset to find out that I will be paying for a new one on a product under warranty. I am very amused by your twitter strategy! Without your customer, you really don’t have a company. Think i will follow suit on facebook…

  16. Bought a bed in 2006 and both remotes stopped working last year, also bed sinks in the middle. Contacted customer service and got the same run around as others noted in this article. Told I had to pay to have them replaced. Told I had to purchase some sort of pad to prevent the trench effect in the middle.

  17. We got this bed in 08, the hard wired controls are not working the pump at all . one has no light at all and the other has two dashes on it . i am going to call sleep number tomorrow, we will see how they handle this. I will let you guys know how it worked out. I will let them know what i have read online about this issue.

  18. Two days ago I woke up with intense lower back pain. I reached for my Select Bed control to adjust it and found out it didn’t work. The pump was dead. Today, after a painful night to the point of being nauseous, I got out of bed as soon as I could and waited for the opening of business to call in for help.

    To add insult to injury, I found out that in my fifth year as the owner of the Select Bed, I only had 68% coverage on the replacement of the pump. That means I had to come up with over one hundred dollars to have a new pump shipped to me. When I asked if the company provided some kind of extended warranty the answer was negative.

    My disappointment stems from the fact that I believed that:
    1. I was buying a product that would provide me with at least ten years of service even though it promised twenty.
    2. I was buying a legitimate product from a legitimate company that looked after the interests of their customers by providing better warranty on a component that failed on its own, not because of misuse by the customer.

    I am quite distraught by what I found out today. I just found out I paid over two thousand dollars for “hot air”. What I have is a crumpled mess that I cannot use at all. With a conventional mattress I would at least be able to find a place on the mattress where I could sleep. Not in this case. And in order to regain its use, in its fifth year of use, I must pay. And if I were in the nineteenth year of your so-called twenty year warranty, I would have to pay almost the full price for the pump.

    This is so wrong and Select Comfort knows it!!!

    I wonder with so many people having the same issue if we shouldn’t start a class action lawsuit.

  19. I wound up using wide industrial Velcro to keep the two bladders stuck together.
    I notice another company offers single bladders, which should fix the center problem.
    Also, if a single bladder had an internal barrier, that would probably fix the center problem.
    If the pump kept being unusable, I would just use a pump for those “camping” inflatable beds after fashioning a plug. Could also buy two pumps, they are very inexpensive. Gotta think outside the box!!

  20. I just had a wirless remote (2.5 years old) have the same issues with the display not working. It was covered under warrenty but costs me $45 bucks! Not horrible, but should be $0 for a known issue.

  21. 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?

  22. 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.

  23. 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…

  24. 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.

  25. 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…….

  26. 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?

  27. 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.

  28. 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.

  29. 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 .

  30. 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.

  31. 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.

  32. 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

  33. 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!!!

  34. 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.

  35. 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.

  36. 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.

  37. 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.

  38. 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 🙁

  39. 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.

  40. 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.

  41. Same display problem with wireless remote. LCD segments started disappearing after a couple of years, but kept using it, since it seemed intermittent. There are still rare times when the display is complete, but usually enough segments are missing to be unusable. Since my wife likes firmness of 100, it’s pretty easy to go up in 5 pt. hops just until bits of the third digit appear, and she’s got it. I had the good luck to get an honest answer from someone at local mall store who told me the display was a known problem, but I had to contact CustSvc for replacement, for which I would have to pay about $48 by then.

    James, did you (or anyone) have any luck reseating or resoldering LCD connections? The only reason I can think of for a problem like this that occasionally briefly disappears is loose connections or cracked circuit boards. Since this thing uses an RF link to the pump, there’s no such thing as a 3rd party generic controller, but what about the LCD display itself? Anyone look into a DIY fix for the LCD part?

  42. My wired remote experience is the same, the numbers started to fade until after two years there was no display at all. It’s been like that for at least four years. The FACT (mentioned earlier) that everyone needs to completely understand is that the replaceable circuit board on the wired remote is easily accessible; just pry the channel between the bottom and top. You’ll find a circuit board connected to the pump wire via a pin plug and socket, same exact setup we’ve all used to connect a new battery to a wireless 900 MHz house phone. This obviously cheaply made circuit board is the problem, NOT the pump. And that’s why we all live with one or two Sleep Number-LESS remotes, instead of being screwed by Select Comfort’s dishonest claim that the pump and remote are inseparable. One other note, you can substitute a pillow top blow up mattress ($60-$100) from any outlet store in place of their mattress. If only Paul Harvey were alive to comment…..

  43. Here’s a follow up to my last post; the part number for the faulty display on the sleep number remote is “PART #E-002-0218”. Under the part # there’s a bar code with numbers under it. They are: 26350 000 2405 82553. I have a picture of the circuit board depicting all of the above and the plug in clip but don’t know how to post it here.

  44. Mike, when you opened the remote, did you see what I d0?

    I find that the LCD is not hardwired to the driver board, but is using conductive foam like you’d find on a calculator.

    Or, it is supposed to be! Both here had the foam dry-rotted to dust!

    Methinks that SCM should renegotiate with their Asian ‘electronic’ manufacturer. Hell, I’m surprised some Chinese company isn’t making higher-quality knock-offs and selling them here for a quarter of what SC charges.

  45. Mr. Horan, Can you read the specs on the orange colored fuse/capacitor right next to where the incoming power wires connect to the pump circuit board? A power surge burnt mine and I cannot find the specs or a schematic anywhere on the net. SC won’t even provide the information. If you happen to have the info, I would very much appreciate it if you would post it here.

    Thanks!

  46. Oh for the lack of what ?? at the original design phase say $10-20.00 in higher quality parts that make up the now famed controller and or LCD remote units … perhaps a more through testing of the controller pump assy. any of those points along the line and these woefull problems we each express would not be occuring… indeed we have the king size $4,500.00 something model … the controller assy went out well within the initial warranty period, friendly enuff i was sent a replacement, only it was for a single chamber style and one controller.. ours is dual and likewise two wired controllers.. we each got busy and never asked for the correct part to be sent … now 4 plus yrs later, i can see i am gonna be SOL … but i have several ideas on this pump and air valve switching scheme, and what gives with the too short hose .. wow that would have added a couple more bucks to the design cost, instead i have to put the pump/controller on the floor in the center like part of the bed.. i can resolve that one at Ace Hardware in the morning .. more details when i play with this pump gizmo and figure out a work around … regards: mac/mc

  47. We bought the Sleep Number bed a number of years ago thinking we were putting money into something that would last a long time. Not so. Problems with air leaking and can’t read the remotes. I’ve given up. WILL NEVER EVER PURCHASE ANOTHER SLEEP NUMBER BED OR RECOMMEND ONE TO ANYONE.

  48. We purchased our Select Comfort system back BEFORE it had numbers! Probably in the early 90’s. Have a lifetime warranty. We had a mold issue a few years ago & some deteriorated foam supports on the sides & the middle. Everything was replaced free of charge & we were very satisfied. I don’t see the issue with not knowing your number. If it seems too soft, add more air! Too hard, release some. Might be an advantage at this point due to all the problems with the LED display. Our issue now is that we have both been having some back issues & I thought I’d call Select Comfort to see if they have any suggestions. I’m sure that whatever they tell me will cost us money & will use much discretion before spending anything. Thanks for all your opinions.

  49. If you call Sleep Number they will tell you that only 2% of 8 Million beds sold have had a complaint against them and that is a very low number of problems. Well that means that 160,000 complaints have been filed, hardly a small number of issues. We are sorry is not an acceptable solution to the repeated failure of the beds.

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