These are the best thing that happened yesterday. These large, chunky turquoise earrings were a gift many years ago from a friend and I used to wear them all the time in the days when I wore long, dangly earrings every day. I still love that look but, for the life of me, I couldn’t find this pair. I looked everywhere for them over the course of the last several months.
When it came time yesterday morning to truck the old split box frame downstairs, what did I see under the bed? A jewelry box that I made from an old wooden silverware box many years ago. I’d completely forgotten about it and I had a sneaking suspicion that I’d found my earrings. And there they were, along with a lot of other treasures that I can’t wait to wear again.
Aside from that, we know we can put a bed frame together. We can figure out how to attach a headboard. All of which we did yesterday morning as we took apart the old bed, the old bed frame and the headboard that I made from plywood, foam and fabric. We were models of efficiency. I was up at 5 am, having slept a total of two hours the night before. Don got up at 6 and, after some coffee, we got to work. We lugged the old mattress and box springs downstairs. We took apart the frame. We moved things from one room to another.
When the delivery guys showed up at 9:30, we were excited and ready for them. They quickly took the split box springs upstairs. The first one went in the frame easily. The second was unwrapped and….it didn’t fit. The guys asked us if we had the right size frame. Yes. What about the headboard? Yes. Then they looked at the label on the wrapping: Claudia Hill/King. But we didn’t order a King. We ordered a California King. Nevertheless, there it was: King. Everything went back downstairs and out the door. We had to refuse the delivery.
We were stunned. I woke up that morning a bit worried about the snow that was falling. Worried that the bed might be hard to get up the stairs. (The delivery guy shrugged that off and assured me that it wouldn’t be a problem, so I was greatly relieved.) Never occurred to me that the wrong size bed might arrive on our doorstep.
I was on the phone with QVC immediately and let me tell you, I was furious. So was Don. Customer Service was apologetic and all of that, but eventually we asked to have a Supervisor call us back. Which eventually led to call from the Corporate office. Long story short: the Serta mattresses are made to order. So when I ordered my California King, someone screwed up (whether at QVC or Serta, I don’t know) and put the order through as a King and that is what was made for us. Serta makes the mattress at one of their factories, then it is shipped to a (relatively) local shipping facility, then it is shipped to us. So it’s not sitting in a warehouse somewhere, ready to ship immediately. Since the order hadn’t been billed yet as they don’t bill you until it’s been delivered, QVC cancelled it yesterday and a new order was put through. The woman I spoke to at Corporate was extremely sympathetic and will do her best to expedite the whole process so that we get it as soon as possible. She also gave us some savings coupons which I will apply to the cost, so we will save some money. I have her direct phone number and she has encouraged me to call anytime I want to check on the process.
On two hours sleep, my emotions were very raw yesterday. The house is a mess. Well, it’s not a mess but it is topsy-turvy and that makes me crazy. And it will stay that way until the new bed arrives. I stayed in a state of furiousity (I made that word up) for a good portion of the day. Then I lost it and cried. By the time the lady from Corporate called me, I had mellowed a bit and was moving toward acceptance. Because what choice did I have?
I worked Customer Service for years, so I am very careful – always – to temper my displeasure with “Please understand, I’m not blaming you,” to whomever I am speaking to. I’ve been there and it isn’t very pleasant at all to have someone scream at you as if you personally were responsible for the whole debacle.
Last night we slept on the guest room bed – a full size bed that is even smaller than the one we were getting rid of. Oh, the irony. I was so exhausted that I slept through the night, but I see some nights spent on the den sofa in the next several days. Both of us crammed into the full sized bed is not conducive to a good night’s rest.
Because the new bed frame was set up and the headboard attached, we had no room for the old bed. So I’m sitting here in the den looking at the old mattress which is propped against the closet wall. Lovely. And no, there isn’t any room on the floor in the living room or den for the mattress. Besides, we couldn’t get around down here.
I know it might seem strange to order a mattress from someplace like QVC. But in my experience as a mattress buyer, I’ve never learned much from laying (or is it lying?) on a mattress for five minutes in a showroom that is loaded with all sorts of mattresses. I’ve also never learned much about what goes into each mattress. The sheer amount of possibilities can be overwhelming. In contrast, I’ve spent a lot of time watching videos on QVC’s website, usually at least an hour long, that go into the kind of detail I want and need to know: what goes into each layer and why, how the coils are designed, what kind of support I can expect, is there a layer of memory foam, what goes into making the pillow top, and much more. I’ve done a lot of research. Then there are all the customer reviews, which can provide a pretty good indication of the mattress quality. Quite frankly, I know a lot more about this mattress than I do about any other mattress I have ordered in the past. And the cost savings is substantial. The equivalent mattress in a showroom is much more expensive. (No, I get no compensation from QVC. But they do have excellent customer service.)
Anyway. There you go. I’m depressed but in the end, all will be well. The woman at Corporate will be watching the order like a hawk. We will eventually get our new mattress. And hey, everything is in place. When we get the call saying the mattress will be delivered the next day, except for having to move a few things here and there, we’ll be ready.
A word about Don’s little part on Elementary. He has 3 lines. If you blink, you might miss it. But he’s filming later today in the city and that will be fun. Me? I’m cleaning the bathroom.
Happy Friday.
