Foleydog's blog

Used Car vs. Mattress

I'd put it off as long as possible.  My back couldn't take it any more.  It was time to get a new mattress.

Now, I don't know which is worse, buying a mattress or buying a new car.  Right about now, I'd say the mattress.  They all have names like pretentious KB Homes subdivisions.  Chadfield Grove.  Casselton Luxury.  Millridge.  I expected a Grosse Pointe model to appear.  And of course, each retailer has their own model line from the manufacturer.  And finding an equivalence table, is like searching for the Holy Grail.

Can you imagine you go to one Honda dealership and they show you an Accord?  You go to the second dealership and they show you a Honda 'Harmony,' and even though it looks different inside and out, they swear to you, it's like the Accord you saw down the street.  They both drive okay, but who can tell after fifteen minutes? 

It was with these thoughts in mind, that I set out alone early Saturday morning to do the deed.  I diligently read my Consumer Reports buying guide, got into my car, and I was off.  My first stop Leeds Mattress.  I was all alone with the sales guy -- carefully checking the coil counts which were in incredibly tiny type.  Then I looked again around the store, and started asking questions.  "Why are there no prices listed on the mattress?" I asked.

Well, he hemmed and hawed, "The price depends," he finally said.

"Depends?  I'm not buying a car.  The price, should be the price, no?" I countered.

Boy was I wrong.  It's at times like these that I get really nervous.  When there are no set prices, I'm always convinced the specter of discrimination is sure to hover over the dealings -- and I'll have to get sneaky.

At Leeds, it turns out, the price depends on their day/month profitability, I'm told.  If their making their numbers, they see no reason to discount, if not, then deals can be made.  So into this ass-backwards economic ring, I drop my hat.

Since I'm only planning to buy a mattress (Consumer Reports says if your box spring -- now called a foundation -- is okay, you shouldn't replace it), I have to lie and say I'm buying a whole set. 

Conversationally, I ask, what percentage of the price is box spring anyway?  Forty to sixty percent, he lies.  (According to CR, it's about ten percent, if that).  Okay, then, let's get a price on a mattress I picked.

As mysterious as a used-car dealer, the salesman cryptically typed into a computer -- then gets out an honest-to-goodness adding machine to do the algebraic-like calculation.  Then he gives me, what I think is an outrageous price.  Maybe I was wrong.  It must have been calculus.

"You know," I say," I think I've changed my mind.  I only want a mattress.  So the price should go down about sixty percent, right?"

Cornered, he quotes me a more reasonable price.  I get that in writing, and go to the next store.

At the Mattress Gallery, we meet Leon, who exemplifies the hard sell.  Phrases like NASA Research and Bio Hazard flit around my ears.  But when Leon comes back after his computer, adding machine (with a phone call to Steve in the central office thrown in) routine, the price is still to high.

So I'm back to the first place, ordering my mattress.  It is more comfortable to sleep on?  Hell yes!  But with a car, I'd at least have something flashy to tool around in -- and a mechanic to fix any problems.  Let's just hope the mattress lasts as long as my BMW.

X-Mas Already

I know everyone complains that Christmas advertising gets earlier every year . . . but the day after Halloween? I think Thanksgiving is being squeezed out! On Saturday morning, I went about my regular errands, only to be confronted with dancing Santas and Christmas music in the mall . . . on November 1st? I thought maybe it's just Macy's here at the Beverly Center. There wasn't much else going on there. But then that evening, I was flipping channels and all I saw were Toys R Us and Target commercials -- extolling the virtues of early holiday shopping. Even the local "news" has gotten in on the act. "Reporters" were actually suggesting that if we have 'must have' items on our list -- get them early. They've suggested that I'm likely to spend at least $1700 dollars this season because the economy's so good -- not bloody likely. Over the last few years I've found that the holiday season ends up being one of broken hopes. The gifts you give to people are never personalized enough, expensive enough, or good enough to fulfill their ideal of the 'right' holiday gift. Shopping on November 1st as opposed to December 24th isn't going to make that any better.

Delta as Song

So after paying over seven hundred dollars to fly to Orlando on Delta -- I was at least expecting some kind of decent service. In retrospect I did think it was a bit odd that the reservation from the travel agent indicated that food was served on the flight, but there were dollar signs next to that phrase. So, we get to the airport and agents kept telling us we're flying Song airlines -- operated by Delta. Song? Yeah, I wondered too. As I get to the terminal, I saw that some of the signs had been changed from Delta's red, white, and blue to Song's electric green. I've never flown Southwest, but I imagine this is what's it's like. We were boarded in "zones" rather than by seat number. It was the first plane I've ever seen with no first class. Just rows, and rows, of narrow flourescent colored seats. As we were seated, the flight attendants handed out menus -- that's right menus. Fruit and Cheese, $4.00. Sandwiches, $8.00. They accept credit cards. I found this extraordinary. In all my years of flying, everyone I've ever known has disparaged airline food. Now, all of a sudden -- we're expected to pay for it? Well, at least soda and juice are free -- although I hated my rancid orange juice. Movies, entertainment on our five hour flight -- not likely -- fortunately a friend had lent us his portable DVD player. They didn't even have music channels. For hours of turbulent flight -- entertainment is always appreciated. I've always been against skinny planes for cross country travel. A wide bodied jet is always good, twelve seats across, plenty of bathrooms. Song seems to be copying the Continental model, badly. Small planes -- really long trips -- all in all not too pleasant. The skinny from the stewardesses -- Song was created in April by Delta to compete with Southwest, JetBlue -- the latest craze in airlines -- the Wal-Mart theory -- discounting makes money. So far there's been no advertising of this new line of flights. Would I do it again -- maybe. If the websites advertised fares are true. They say $80-90 each way, I played $180. If they give you more room. They jammed over two hundred twenty seats into a Boeing 757. If they get some entertainment. For five hours -- you need something. If Song is competing with Jet Blue -- in my eyes, they're already losing . . .

The Death of the Yellow Pages

I used to believe the telephone book, both white and yellow pages, were part of the very important resources I used to do any research. Recently, new telephone books arrived on my front doorstep. I picked them up feeling puzzled. I couldn't remember the last time I had used phone books. The white pages used to be good for looking up people's phone numbers. In this era where everyone, including myself, appears to be unlisted, and many people use their cell phones exclusively, this book seems virtually obsolete. Now, the yellow pages. When I was young, we always turned to the yellow pages when deciding which businesses to patronize. I haven't used the yellow pages in three or four years -- and will likely recycle it rather than have it take up space in my dining room. Why no yellow pages? Conventional wisdom would not have people using the yellow pages to select doctors, lawyers, or home contractors. Second, with the explosion and proliferation of area codes, yellow pages cover smaller and smaller areas. I live in one such area. In L.A., we're now in the 323 area code, covering Hollywood, Hancock Park, and Mid Los Angeles. We're not in a particularly good business corridor. Many of the businesses I patronize are east near downtown, or west in Culver City, Beverly Hills, or West Los Angeles. None of these are in my phone book, making getting phone numbers or addresses virtually useless. Lastly, in my zeal to eliminate clutter -- all organizing experts suggest getting rid of anything that has information that can be easily accessed another way. In the era of the Web with pretty thorough search engines, store websites, and on-line directions, information otherwise accessible in the phone book can now be gotten on-line in the blink of an eye with little effort and no bulky paper. Having been solicited by yellow pages salesman, I can tell you those little ads you see in the phone book are expensive. If I owned a business I wouldn't waste my cash -- perhaps they'll look to spend money on Overture or AdWords instead.

Delta Air Lines

I just found out I have been booked to fly on Delta in less than two weeks. I’ve been boycotting Delta Air Lines since August 8, 1988. Since they are still in business, this probably has not been an effective boycott. After spending my first summer away from home when I was sixteen years old (other than months at Camp Jewell in northwestern Connecticut), I flew from Los Angeles to New York. It was the first time I flew first class. It was one of the worst experiences of my life. I think the stewardesses (excuse me, flight attendants) harassed me for at least three of the five hours of the flight. I had a ticket. I had the right to be there. But, that didn’t stop them from asking if I had the right seat about a thousand times. In his 1988 book, Theo and Me, Malcolm Jamal-Warner expressed frustration at this same experience, flying first class. This time I’m flying coach so I don’t expect any problems since I’ll be sitting in ‘my place.’