Older stairwells were apparently not designed to handle the massive boxsprings that come with today’s double beds. When Sarah ordered a mattress set from Hampton Inn, she didn’t realize this, and ran up against a no-return policy and an inexplicable $500 markup for a split boxspring.

I recently purchased a mattress and box spring set from Hampton Inn Home Collections, thinking “why not have as good night sleep in my own house as in hotels!” I read the website carefully, and understood the no return policy. What I didn’t understand was the inability of the box spring to fit up my home’s narrow 1920s stairwell.

The delivery men tried for about an hour, ripping into paint on the wall and doorframe, which I told them was acceptable because I was so bound and determined to get that box spring up the stairs. Finally, we all relented and I sent the box spring back with the delivery men, keeping only the mattress (and the old box spring we had which I guess was worn enough to have fit up the stairs).

I inquired about receiving a split or low profile queen box spring to the company through email. They called and said that, yes, they could offer a split box spring for $500. I already paid over $1000 for the set, so inquired whether the box spring I had just returned to them would count against that $500. No, was the response. So the cost of the mattress set just went up by 39%? I refused and said that I would like the split box spring at a lower cost. End of conversation. Oh, they did offer to send the original box spring back to me, but I would need to pay for shipping.

My husband is a diamond member of the Hilton chain, and has brought me along to his brand loyalty over the years. This has definitely set me back in terms of my views of their customer service though. Especially since the customer service person told me “well, you should have measured it before you bought it,” when there are no measurements available on their website.

This sounds like a ripe situation for an executive e-mail carpet bomb. Launch one, and remind the company of your husband’s loyalty. And, perhaps, that posting measurements on the site would be wise.

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