Sorelle Bait and Switch - Beware!

[sarahsthreads]

The same thing happened when we received our Pali April crib. The thing I'm most disappointed about is that there are only two mattress positions instead of the four that the store model had. (So when the baby can pull up you have to put it down to it's absolute lowest position??) I'm also wondering if it's more or less sturdy this way. I would guess more, but you never know!

I'm kind of in the same position as you are, due in three weeks, but we got the crib a few weeks ago and just pulled the pieces out of the box to make sure they were all there and in good shape. It didn't occur to us until we went to set it up that the mattress support/mechanism was different. Now I imagine it's much too late to do anything about it.

According to the store we bought it from, this is Pali's newer model, so it's probably Sorelle's newer one as well.

Sarah

[Sillygirl]

Update:

Just got off the phone with Sorelle. The customer service rep is only able to tell me that the cribs are now made with the rigid, slatted bottoms. She says she knows the company website says and shows otherwise, but they haven't gotten around to updating it yet.

Grrrr. How was anyone supposed to know they had changed their construction? I am really concerned the crib bottom will be too rigid, especially with the firm foam mattress I have already bought. Any ideas on what (if anything) I should ask from Sorelle? Any experiences with this type of rigid crib bottom - do children complain as they get a little older? Thanks in advance.

[JenzooBen]

Oh Bugger! That would tick me off. I have the Sorelle Lana(basically the same as the Rita) and it has a spring support system. I would have been angry if it had come with the slats. Overall, I am not happy with Sorelle's customer service - I called to complain about their Cherry stain and they blew me off stating that their Cherry stain looks like that(mottled in sections like Zebra) and I should be satisfied with the quality for the price. Babyage was wonderful in getting me two pieces replaced after I called them and complained.

BTW, the Sorelle Rita and Lana are not Beechwood but Birchwood. Big difference. This is something else I didn't know before receiving the crib.

Sorry, that you're dealing with this. I'm not sure of the difference between the slats and the spring other than height adjustment. Wish I could help you. I'm just commisserating.

Jenny

[Sillygirl]

I contacted BabyAge customer service yesterday and got through with a minimum of hold time. I explained to the rep about the rigid crib bottom. He put me on hold and called Sorelle for an explanation. He got back within seven minutes and said, basically, that Sorelle didn't have anything to offer except that I should return the crib. However, BabyAge was going to give me 10% back on my credit card to apologize! I also noted that they fixed their website description right away. Great customer service - BabyAge hadn't even been notified by Sorelle of the change in the crib, and they were irritated to have to hear about it from an unsatisfied customer. Yet their immediate response was to offer me something to make me satisfied.

I called Sorelle directly several more times over the next few days. I had decided that I would ask them for $40 towards the cost of a coil mattress, because the rigid foam mattress I have is going to be too hard on top of the rigid platform. The responses I got from Sorelle (a long distance phonecall) were less than helpful. Often, someone not able to make any decisions would try to argue with me, then transfer me into a voicemail box that was too full to take messages. When I insisted on speaking to a manager, they would reluctantly take a message for "George", who never called me back despite promises from his staff.

Today, after waiting to hear from George, I reached the office manager. She insisted on hearing the whole story instead of putting me through to him. She also insisted that the only thing I could do would be to return the crib (at who's cost? at what hassle to a nine-months pregnant woman?) and that this was all BabyAge's fault, or perhaps the fault of the manufacturer in Russia. Finally, after interrupting me numerous times, I explained to her why I thought Sorelle should send me $40. She said "Only George can authorize that - I'm just the office manager. He's very hard to get hold of." Really? Maybe that's why I asked to speak to him in the first place!

So, you can buy a crib based on the descriptions that both the retailer and the manufacturer provide. The manufacturer can change the design in significant ways after you place your order without notifying you. And your only recourse when the item shows up different from what you wanted is to return it, at your own cost and inconvenience, leaving you without a crib two weeks before the baby arrives. I know Sorelle's grade went up in the most recent edition of Baby Bargains - my vote would be for it to go back down. You can do better! Don't buy Sorelle. On the other hand, I'm a BabyAge.com fan for life.

[Momof3Labs]

Four mattress positions are a waste - you only need two. We have three, and moved the mattress down to the second position, only to have to lower it all the way a week or so later. And yes, when baby can pull up, you should have the mattress on its lowest position.

[urooj]

I am sooo mad i only ordered this crib because of the spring support. I got it from JDee.net hopefully they will be as helpful as babyage as i want a refund. There is no way i am keeping this crib.
I am 33 weeks pregnant and now i really hate to start crib shopping again :(

[HannaAddict]

I too would be upset to receive a product different than what I ordered, especially if I thought that the spring support would be better than the slats. Glad babyage.com had good customer service, wish they were still on eBates.

From my experience looking at cribs though, I doubt that the lack of spring support will impact the softness or firmness of the mattress. I would stick with the foam mattress, I can attest that the foam mattress is sooo much easier to change sheets on than a coil spring mattress. I love our Colgate Classica.

[Sillygirl]

Thanks, HannaAddict. I have decided to try using the crib with my Classica III mattress for now. I may need to get a coil mattress further down the road, but at this point I'll wait and see.

[justlearning]

I just read your story--so sorry you have had to endure such terrible customer service from Sorelle.

Because no one else has really commented on the issue of spring platforms vs. slats, I thought I'd give my input on that... Our Simmons crib does have the spring platform, and we use it with our Colgate Classica foam mattress.

I actually don't think that the spring platform affects the comfort much at all. The mattress is so firm that when a baby's lying down on the mattress, I don't think the springs "give" when the baby's sleeping to make the mattress more comfortable or anything like that. (BTW, DS has always slept very well on the firm mattress and has gladly slept in his crib since birth.) I may be wrong here, but that's just my guess.

There is a different advantage, though, of the springs platform. Whenever DS wakes up from his nap now or in the morning, he likes to walk/run around his crib, hitting his music box on, throwing his blankie out, etc. He seems to enjoy the "give" that the mattress has when he walks on it (due to the springs support underneath) that allows him to bounce a little. Now, I'm guessing that he would be able to walk around on the mattress just fine if there were wood slats underneath, but it may not be as much fun. :) Once your baby becomes a toddler and does start walking around the crib, you may want to make extra sure that the wood slats platform is nicely secured.

Just my two cents...

[Sillygirl]

Hi everyone! I have been lurking for a while but this is the first time I've posted. I ordered a Sorelle Rita Bella crib from BabyAge.com and it arrived today. On BabyAge and on all the other websites I've seen selling this crib, they list the "adjustable mattress spring" as one of the features. It actually seems as though all the websites just use the same advertising copy verbatim. We opened the box tonight and instead of a spring platform for the mattress, there is a panel of beechwood slats. It looks a lot like the sides of the crib, actually. At first I thought they had included three sides and no bottom, but the enclosed instructions also show that this slatted piece is the bottom. When I went to sorellefurniture.com, though, their downloadable instructions for the Rita Bella picture a spring platform, just like all the websites described. My crib is labelled as a "Rita Bella" all over - did I get an older (or newer) model?

The platform I have looks solid enough, so I'm not worried about safety. I was wondering if the crib would be as comfortable without the springs, though. I will call customer service tomorrow to see what's going on. But does anyone have experience that cribs with spring platforms are more comfortable than solid ones? Does it matter enough that I should push to get what I originally expected? I'm due in two weeks and I'd rather have the crib than go without while I wait for a replacement, unless there's a substantial difference.

Thanks!