David Woolf

EDIT: After a few days I feel that my dyspepsia and reflux are improving. Unfortunately, it tastes like floor cleaner smells and loaded with artificial sweetener (which I am know is not the case). You can see the response below but the pungent strawberry flavour makes me gag. I can only get it down with a lot of water, having a chaser like kefir to hand to cleanse my mouth!

Edit: email received asking which shoes were wanted, having failed to gather this information from the initial order, the return slip and two further emails! I think that this is a good old firm which has contracted distribution to a bunch of total incompetents.

Original Post: My wife ordered two items a month ago. Two items were sent but one was totally incorrect and didn't match the despatch note. They will not issue a free return label for 'incorrect item' so my wife paid to return the item with an explanatory note. She eventually received an email refusing a replacement or refund as what she returned was not what she ordered! She replied stating clearly that this was precisely the problem and that the fault was theirs, not hers. Three weeks and one chase email later, no response.

Paid full asking price within minutes of going on sale. I couldn't ask for a better buyer.

The answer is the delivery process and, when it goes wrong (as it seems to for 20% or so of orders to Hypnia and its on-line competitors) the lack of customer service. And, no, I do not consider 24-48 hours response time to a "where have my pillows gone" email to be 'customer service'.

The process of mattress buying is fraught with difficulties. A ten minute bounce on a mattress in a showroom tells you almost nothing so you have to rely on reviews, especially of 'sell direct' makers. I looked at all the major competitors, including some selling at much higher prices, and concluded that a top-of-the-range Hypnia mattress was for us. In common with the competition, however, there is no help on your website about the best bed for heavy people, light people, long or short, bony or well-padded people. The best we can do is select a 'firmness rating' which we think will work for us, although everything on the market is on the firm side of medium, as far as I can see.

We received notification that our order (a mattress and two pillows) had been dispatched, together with a tracking number. The information on our Hypnia account has not changed since then and the tracking number failed to find any information. Then, last Tuesday, as we were leaving our driveway, a DX Freight van pulled up with our mattress. We asked about the pillows but the very polite driver had no knowledge of them. It is worth noting that the box was a bit crushed at one end and had a couple of small tears but the contents were fine. A week later we have heard nothing about the pillows, so I sent an email, more in hope than expectation.

What is the point of designing and making great products when you (and your competitors, if you read the reviews) cannot sort your delivery systems and customer service out?

I have used Duracell additional batteries for cameras before and this is an ideal way to buy them.

Looking for a source of hemp-based face wash, preferably UK-based, Hempshop seemed the best bet. They ship their own products, so not a speedy as some multinationals I won't name but it arrived, well packed and the product is good, if not mindblowing (for me). I would have been happier with a larger quantity or refill pouches to reduce waste.