Molly and David ‘Slash’ Murray with Darcey at Mattress Exxpress in Aransas Pass. Darcey really runs the shop, claim the Murrays, who are just as devoted to their customers as they are to their canine. Staff photo
Celebrating five years of successfully selling mattresses in Aransas Pass, Molly and David “Slash” Murray shared some hard facts about their soft products. As the owners of Mattress Exxpress, the Murrays’ sound sleep expertise comes from more than 50 years’ experience in the furniture business — the business where Slash earned his nickname.
“I got the name ‘The Slasher’ from my TV commercials for Murray’s Fine Furniture,” David Murray told Corpus Christi Business News.
He dressed in a leather hat, put on a fake mustache and sideburns and rode a stick horse around an extensive showroom floor in Refugio.
“I was slashing prices lower than all my competitors,” he said.
Molly writes the scripts for their company commercials, which continue for Mattress Exxpress, although now David dresses as a train engineer. His energetic and creative commercials feature the couple’s wire-haired fox terrier, Darcey, and grandson Tobias. The next commercial might feature their newest grandchild, who is about to turn 1. The couple each have two children and a total of nine grandchildren ages 1 to 20.
Darcey is the queen of the whole operation, Molly said.
“People stop by here all the time just to see Darcey,” she said, throwing a rubber squeaky toy across a line of beds for Darcey to chase. A streak of white energy, Darcy bounces from mattress to mattress in a mad dash to snatch the toy and bring it back for more.
Truly testing a mattress takes more than a couple of bounces, Molly said, whether dog or human.
“Most people just push on it with their hands,” she said. “You could hold a gun to their heads and they wouldn’t lay down on it.”
It takes 10-15 minutes of lying flat on a mattress to get a true feel for how it will be all night long.
“If you sleep on your back, lie on your back,” David said. “Pick out the one that feels the best. Don’t buy the most expensive. Buy the one that feels best to you.”
In fact, the two suggest, you shouldn’t even look at the prices when testing for a mattress. The first question they ask customers is how much they have budgeted to spend. They then help narrow down their lineup of 14 different mattress types to three or four in that price range. That’s when the testing begins.
“We have them try a mattress several times,” Molly said. “It takes a lot of going back and forth to figure out which one is just right. People always ask us what we think, but I can’t tell you which mattress to buy. Your back is not my back.”
While the Murrays caution that “if you buy a cheap mattress, you’re going to get a cheap night’s sleep,” they also point out that mattress shopping can be so confusing it’s easy to overpay and still not get what you’re looking for. Which is why they stick with one high-quality, Texas-based company that doesn’t spend money on advertising.
“The majors all spend between $25 (million) and $100 million a year in national advertising,” David said. “The company we sell doesn’t spend a nickel, but they are the seventh-largest company in the nation. They do it by word of mouth because they have a great product.”
Which is why no mattress in Mattress Exxpress sells for more than $1,400 in a market where king-size cushions of coils and cotton can cost $5,000 and higher.
Aside from competitive prices, the Murrays offer product knowledge that’s hard to find elsewhere.
“With mattresses, you need to know what you are talking about when you’re telling a person what’s in it and what it’s going to do for them,” Molly said. “You need to know a person’s height, weight and age to know what you should sell them.”
The Murrays take pride in how they run their business and their connection to the community.
“This is a mom-and-pop operation,” David said. “It’s not a big company with seven or eight stores. We have to face our customers every day.”
“Yes,” agreed Molly with a confident nod. “They know where we live.”
Where they do business is at 416 S. Commercial St. in Aransas Pass, just across the street from H-E-B and next door to the popular Bakery Cafe.
“Both places are extremely busy,” David said. “It’s the perfect location.”
And for the Murrays, it’s the perfect product line, to which they have added futons and lounge chairs — a business in which anyone can find comfort.
