A gentleman walks into a mattress store and is immediately greeted by the salesperson. This particular retailer has a number of ways to make the buying process simple, but the man is not interested. He has no brand or comfort preference and is unwilling to share any information on his sleeping habits or any problems with his existing mattress. After several minutes, the salesperson leaves him alone to “shop.”

As I am watching this play out, another customer comes in and the salesperson finds them the correct sleep solution. But the original man wanders around the store “punching” mattresses and staring at the prices. He never leaves the front of the store that features queen mattress sets in the $2800+ range. The prices go down the further back you go into this particular mattress retailer.

The salesperson finishes the transaction with the second mattress customer and turns their attention back to the original customer. Again, he provides no useful information and refuses any assistance.

Thirty minutes pass, and the gentleman leaves saying that he will “come back with his wife.”

While that might be the case, more than likely his wife has been begging for a new mattress and he was looking for confimation that they were too expensive. He learned nothing about the mattresses and in fact never once tried one. Based on the price range he reviewed, he has a very distorted idea of what mattresses might cost. If he was serious about mattress shopping, he wasted 30+ minutes and accomplished nothing.

I will say this over and over, don’t be afraid of a mattress salesperson. A good one is there to match you with the best mattress solution, that will provide the best possible sleep surface for your body, within your budget. But if you ignore them, or even worse, neglect to even try the mattresses, you have learned nothing.

Sleep is the most important activity you do each day. And getting good sleep is predicated on having the correct mattress for your body and particular sleep needs. Take advantage of the knowledge and experience a mattress salesperson can offer. If they are a good mattress salesperson, it will be well worth it.

How to recognize a good mattress salesperson.