# size of mattress.



## nate22 (Jul 12, 2010)

I recently just made a bed for a couple and they pick it up and took it home and put it together and the lady emailed me today and said the mattresses are to small. This is a bunk bed by the way. My question is what could they do to it to make it fit without bringing it back to me. I would tell them to bring it back to me and I would fix it but they live 45 minutes from me and I don't know if they want to drive back and forth just for that. Any suggestions on what to tell them to do to fix the problem.


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## sras (Oct 31, 2009)

Too small in which direction? Is the bed frame too wide or too long? By how much?


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## Puzzleman (May 4, 2010)

What size mattresses are they using? Are they using youth mattresses?
What size mattress did you build the bed frames for? Did you build it for twin size?

If you built it for twin size, tell them to buy the proper size mattresses.
If you built it for a different size mattress, they need to buy that size.

I would recommend on the next job for beds that you ask them what size mattress that they want to use.


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## Maggiepic (Aug 26, 2010)

I assume if it is a bunk bed, it is for twin mattress's. A regular single twin is approx. 39" x 75" and a long twin is approx. 36" x 80". You'll need to know which they are going to use before buildiing the bed. I learned this from the school of hard knocks, like you may just have.
It does go a little faster building it the second time..lol…


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## childress (Sep 14, 2008)

Nate, good customer service is the key to getting more referrals… If it were me, I would go to them and see what I could do to fix the problem. Do not make them come back to you. Just like Gary said, you should know all the details of what your customers want before doing the build. Hope you fix their problem for them and make them feel very special….


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## Maggiepic (Aug 26, 2010)

I'll double all that Childress said. 45 minutes away is not that far. I'll be driving that far to a job for the next month. Make the extra effort to meet them at their home and see what the situation is. Offer to buy the mattress that will fit. If you have a good relationship with the client, then more than likely they will refuse, but be prepared to buy them if that is what will make them happy. ( or my first suggestion ..ie. second build )
Just remember that bad news travels 10 times faster than good news.


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## huff (May 28, 2009)

Nate, Childress and GaryL gave you some good advice. Customer service will be a very important part of your business if you want it to grow. I was always told that a satisfied customer will tell 20 people….......but an unhappy customer will make sure they tell 200! I would probably offer to go out and take a look at it to see what the best solution would be to make it right. I have customers in 13 states and I've always treated all my customers like they where just down the street. It may cost you this time, but in the long run, It will pay you ten fold in the future. Good luck and let us know how you made out.


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## nate22 (Jul 12, 2010)

Thanks for all of the advice. Some of the advice you guys have givin me I have done. Like I tell all of my customers that I make my beds for standard size mattresses and if they have a different size they will have to tell me what size they want. And another thing that I do is have a good relationship with my customers. My saying is if my customers aren't happy then I'm not happy. Like a couple of you said bad news travels faster than good news. Thanks for all of the responses and advice.


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## childress (Sep 14, 2008)

That's good Nate, it just didn't come across that way in your original post…

Keep us updated as to what happens. It's stories like this that we learn from and it's always good to share the experiences.


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## nate22 (Jul 12, 2010)

Childress I didn't think about saying that in my original post. But I learned that a few months ago ask the customer exactly what they want. then some of them tell you but not all of them. And I figured out how to fix it I just need to do it for them now. And I will let all you guys know how it went. And we can all learn from each others mistakes and learn how to fix them to.


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## nate22 (Jul 12, 2010)

And the lady emailed me back and told me it was to small length wise. She said it was 5'' to small. Then she said her mattress is 38'' wide. Which if it was 39 like a standard mattress she would of been fine. Because she would of had 2'' on each side. I make them so there is a 1'' to 2'' on each side so you can tuck the sheets in. And just out of curiousity what size of bed do they make a 38×74 mattress for. I have had a couple people tell me thats what size there mattress is. Just curiouse.


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## MrsN (Sep 29, 2008)

A regular twin is 39×75, according to my quick googleing. A 38×74 almost sounds like mis-measuring the size of the bed. Maybe going to the edge of the top seam instead of the true sides of the bed?


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## nate22 (Jul 12, 2010)

Thats what I was thinking to MrsN. But I will find out when I fix it for them. I don't think people measure right sometimes.


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## MrsN (Sep 29, 2008)

I know people don't know how to measure, and I think a bed may be a little difficult because of the padding.
At the begining of my shop class every quarter I do a measuring unit and start with a pre-test. A ruler printed on a piece of paper with arrows pointing to different spots. In a lot of classes I get a kid who tells me the answer is 2/3 of an inch.


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## Wood_smith (Feb 12, 2010)

I always assume the customer doesn't know how to use a tape measure…


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## nate22 (Jul 12, 2010)

Well I'm back and I fixed the bed for them. She emailed me back and said that the mattress was still to short width wise. And she said some other things to me that I won't repeat on here. Long story short she said a few things to me and said she wants some of their money back because I wasted their time. And I have no idea now what size mattress they have because when I was done with it, a standard size twin mattresses should of fit. So my question is what should I do should I give a little of their money back or shouldn't I. I feel dumb for asking this because I should now the answer. Funny thing is the other bunk beds that I have made were the same deminsions and I haven't had anyone else call me back and say theirs was to small. Any ideas on what I should do.


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## Puzzleman (May 4, 2010)

My opinion is to return some of her money and just write her off as a future customer. I have found with my business that you cannot please all of the people, no matter how many raves you get from elsewhere. The best you can do is to limit the damage to whoever she talks to, so that your reputation doesn't get dinged too much.


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## nate22 (Jul 12, 2010)

Thanks for the replies. It helps to know this information that you guys have given me. All i'll do is take care of the situation and if she happens to ever get a hold of me to make her something else I will tell her that I don't make what she wants. Thanks for the comments though.


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## ND2ELK (Jan 25, 2008)

I would think you should be the one driving back and forth, not the customer. The size of the matteres would have been one of the first things I would want to know. IMO


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## woodchippile (Jan 12, 2011)

i made a bed last year for a friend they wanted me to make it by there size .i made them buy the matteres first than i built the bed


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