'I am still within the trial, aren't I?'
A customer rings to say the mattress she bought is too firm and she wants to use the comfort trial. The person on the phone looks up the order. It was bought ten weeks ago, but was it delivered ten weeks ago or eight? Your trial starts on delivery, and there is a minimum period before exchanges are allowed, because bodies take time to adjust. The delivery date is in a different system. Was a mattress protector bought, which your terms require? Nobody is sure.
In the end, the exchange is agreed, and a collection and a new delivery are booked on separate days, because the collection is on a different list from deliveries. The customer is without a mattress for two nights.
Why comfort trials are hard to run
- The trial start date is the delivery date, which is not held with the order.
- Trial conditions, such as minimum nights, protector use and number of exchanges, are checked from memory.
- Exchanges are booked by phone, with collection and delivery arranged separately.
- Returned mattresses have to be handled under hygiene rules and cannot usually be resold as new.
- Nobody knows what trials cost or which mattresses are exchanged most.
What loose trials cost
| Problem | Cost |
|---|---|
| Unclear eligibility | Disputes and inconsistent decisions |
| Separate collection and delivery | Two crew visits and a customer without a bed |
| No record of exchanges | Repeated exchanges beyond your terms |
| No data | Mattresses with high exchange rates stay in the range |
How we run comfort trials properly
- When a mattress is delivered, the delivery date is recorded, and the trial window and conditions from your terms are attached to the order.
- Customers can request an exchange through a form linked to their order. The form checks the dates and conditions automatically and shows the customer whether they are eligible.
- Requests that meet the terms are approved, and the customer chooses a replacement from the mattresses the terms allow.
- The exchange is booked as a single visit: the crew deliver the new mattress and collect the old one at the same time.
- Collected mattresses are logged and routed under your handling rules, such as to recycling, and never back to new stock.
- A report shows trials used, exchanges by mattress model and the cost of the trial scheme, so you can see which models suit customers.
Hygiene and resale rules for returned bedding, and what your trial terms can say, are for you and your advisers. The system applies your terms and records what happened to each mattress.
The phone call, afterwards
The customer fills in the trial form on your website. It shows her delivery date, the trial window and that she has passed the minimum nights. She confirms she used a protector. The request is approved, she picks a softer mattress and books a day when a crew is in her area. On the day, the crew bring the new mattress and take the old one. She is never without a bed, and nobody had to search three systems to check her eligibility.
Suppliers and the trial cost
Some mattress makers support comfort trials with their own schemes or credits. Where they do, the returned mattress is recorded against the maker's scheme, and the claim is prepared in their format. The data helps in conversations with makers about models that are exchanged often, and in deciding whether to keep them in the range.
Showroom staff benefit from the same data. When a customer is choosing between two mattresses, the sales person can see which one is exchanged less often for being too firm or too soft, and guide the customer towards a better first choice.
Signs your trials need this
- Staff cannot quickly check trial eligibility.
- Trial start dates are not recorded with the order.
- Exchanges need two crew visits.
- You do not know which mattresses are exchanged most.
- Returned mattresses are handled inconsistently.