I was forwarded several links that purportedly were from unbiased sites that discuss complaints about Tempur-Pedic® mattresses. They wanted me to take a look and provide some feedback.

Before I start the process of debunking the so-called complaints, the first thing you should look for on any site that purports to reveal “the facts” is to figure out their point of view. If the answer to every “problem” just happens to be another competitive product, that should pretty well locate the creator of the site. In fact, if the site was created primarily to push people towards a competitor, you must realize that the “reviews” and “advice” may be tainted. Let’s move on.

Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics

My degree is in marketing and I started out in the advertising world. Consumer research is critical to understanding consumer preferences and targeting the message to the right market. The dark side of statistics is they can be easily manipulated or even misunderstood.

One site I visited tossed out all sorts of claims and even placed percentages on these claims. Never once did I see reference to a study, or a methodology for these numbers. So let’s look at some numbers that Tempur-Pedic has published on their products:

From 2010 Blackstone Group Study

92% Tempur-Pedic owners recommend their mattress.

94% Tempur-Pedic owners were satisfied with their mattress and with the comfort.

Those are absurd numbers in any industry. From experience, those numbers are probably a little low because I rarely if ever had one returned or exchanged in 10 years of selling them. I sold all the top brands: latex, air, innerspring and every knock off memory foam you could imagine.

From Gallop:

10% of all mattress owners report sleeping hot.

4% of all Tempurpedic owners report sleeping hot.

One of the biggest complaints I hear – usually from people who have never slept on a Tempur-Pedic, is that the mattress sleeps hot. As you can see from the numbers above, roughly 10% of the population sleeps hot as a general rule. There are many reasons for this including life changes, metabolism, lifestyle, linens and room temperature. If you are hot natured, prone to night sweats etc, that may not change on any mattress. I fall into this category. In fact, there are few people on this planet that are hotter (body temperature that is) than me. I sleep on a Tempur-Pedic Cloud Supreme and have not experienced any warmer nights than on my old innerspring product.

But don’t just take my word for it. In ten years of selling Tempur-Pedic mattresses, and hundreds of all the various models in bedrooms, I never had one mattress returned for heat issues. That is a remarkable record considering I saw all major brands returned for those reasons at times.

There is nothing inside a Tempur-Pedic that generates heat. It is an open cell foam and air circulates through the mattress. But if you are a very hot natured person, like me, you will have to make adjustments to be comfortable. And that is true for ANY mattress. The benefits of proper alignment, no presuure, no motion transfer and the off-the-chart durability will far outweigh ANY heat issues.

The Price Complaint

If you go shopping for a BMW, Rolex, IPhone or any premium item, you probably know the price is going to be a little higher. You could go to your local warehouse or discounter or even used car lot and buy a cheaper phone, watch or car. But the reality is that it may not be as good, or last as long. That is reality. When it comes to mattresses, Tempur-Pedic will have a slightly higher average price than most major brands. But all the manufacturers have premium level products that are priced well above your entry level Tempur-Pedic ($1800 queen). Innerspring mattresses can go $5,000+ for national brands and even higher for specialty bedding.

If your budget is only $500, you are not a Tempur-Pedic customer. And quite honestly, any memory foam product in your price range will be worse than a similarly priced innerspring product. But we will save that for another discussion.

Durability Complaint

If you are willing to spend the money for a true Tempur-Pedic, you will likely get at the very least 10 years of quality sleep. The durability may take you to 20+ years (that is the warranty life). I hedge the numbers for one simple reason, there is no way to predict what your sleeping and lifestyle needs and desires might be 10 or even 20 years from now. Ten years of quality sleep is awesome, considering 4-6 was the average comfort life of the innerspring products I sold.

COMFORT LIFE – The amount of time a person can sleep on a mattress comfortably. With an average innerspring mattress, this would vary based on the type of comfort layers, rotation times, moisture/humidity, sleep patterns and position. An insanely soft mattress, without a mattress protector or any rotation, with a side sleeper in the same position and place, could drastically reduce that time.

The comfort life of Tempur material is off the charts. There is no comparison in durability to even your very best air or innerspring mattress, or even many memory foam knock offs to Tempur-Pedic. In the 10 years selling them, I had one warranty complaint. That is incredible! The customer came to my store a few weeks later and said that Tempur-Pedic replaced his mattress and everything was wonderful. He had been on it 6 years at the time of the issue. I have been told that Tempur-Pedic’s warranty return rate is 1/2%. I don’t doubt that based on my experience. No manufacturer came close to those numbers that I have ever sold.

The Comfort Complaint

When Tempur-Pedic first came out the options were very limited. You had one density and the feel was on the firmer side and the reaction time pretty slow. But times have changed. They have tinkered and tested with their formula and now have three different densities. Their HD (High Density) collection is their middle of the road feel. Not too hard, not too soft, with a slower reaction time, but much more pressure relief. It is a “richer” feel if you will.

Their Cloud series is the “softest” feel and lowest density. I sleep on the Cloud Supreme myself. If you prefer a more traditional or softer feel and a quicker reaction time,  you probably need to be looking at Clouds.

The Contour collection is their newest line and includes their original entry level beds with an improved reaction time and much nicer looking mattresses – the old matts had little showroom appeal. This is the firmest feel. If you are used to harder beds, these will be the best support, firmest feel, but with none of the pressure issues from a typical hard innerspring mattress.

As you can see from the above, they have mattresses for everyone. You might could make an argument about reaction time or firmness with the very first Tempur-Pedics, but those days are long gone.

I will end here. I may be back for a part 2 if I find more online shenanigans.

BTW – I do not work for Tempur-Pedic or own any stock in the company. However, you may see Tempur-Pedic ads on this site – along with many other manufacturers. These are served by Google and I have no control over which ads appear at any given time.

PLEASE NOTE: The Tempurpedic Cloud Supreme, or any Tempurpedic mattress, may not be the right mattress for you. I do believe that Tempurpedic makes some of the best products on the market today. But please do not buy a mattress based on someone else’s experience. You need to try each mattress and determine which one will be the best support and comfort for YOUR BODY.

Happy Mattress shopping!!