For Mattress by Appointment owner Kenny Amado, laying down on the job is part of his business. Photo by Jane Kathleen Gregorio
Rather than have a large storefront open seven days a week, Mattress by Appointment Corpus Christi follows a business model that results in customer savings on mattresses of 50-80 percent over other stores.
“Doing business by appointment, my customers receive undivided attention to help focus on their sleep issues,” owner Kenny Amado said. “In all honesty, you don’t need your store open all times of the day, paying for electricity and other utilities.”
High overhead for storefronts means high markups on products, Amado said when explaining his unique business model.
“Mattress by Appointment has about 275 independently owned and operated locations all over the United States,” he said. “The company provides an amazing support and mentoring system to show us the steps on how to keep our business growing and successful, which is very impressive in comparison to other business models. The company helps dealers get factory-direct prices, which lets us help the customers save a ridiculous amount of money on their beds.”
ENTREPRENEURIAL BEGINNINGS
Amado was 3 years old when his family first immigrated to Corpus Christi from Mexico, but he considers himself a Coastal Bend native. He credits his grandfather as the role model who inspired him to open his own business. After 13 years in the furniture and mattress industry, Amado made that dream come true in December 2016 by opening Mattress by Appointment.
“I started quite young in furniture sales,” Amado told Corpus Christi Business News. “Mattresses were just a by-product of the furniture sales then. Later, I worked for a mattress company for six years, and that’s where I learned that sleep is more than just something we ‘have’ to do.”
While he enjoyed his work at a local mattress retailer, he observed that the company was more focused on the bottom line and less on the human aspect — the quality of sleep and the price people sometimes pay for it.
"That’s the part that I wanted to change,” he said. “I wanted to cultivate the business to the individual customer, where meeting his or her needs would be the sole focus of the company.”
When it comes to finding the right type of mattress, Amado knows his stuff-ing.
For those with chronic back pain or fibromyalgia and other ailments that disrupt sleep, he recommends memory foam and hybrids of memory foam.
"One of the most common complaints from my customers is they are waking up with a ton of back pain and shoulder pain,” he said. “If they have a sway in their back, then they are lying on a hard, flat, firm mattress that won't offer support. They need something softer, like a memory foam bed, that provides support to the nooks and crannies of the body and gets the pressure off you and aligns you so you can get that deeper, restorative sleep.”
People who suffer from snoring, sleep apnea or acid reflux could benefit from adjustable foundation beds, which are not just for hospitals or the infirm. Sleeping on a flat mattress with the head supported by pillows often causes the airway to close. Elevating the head of the bed helps more air come into the body, providing a more restful sleep.
“It’s impressive to see the research on adjustable foundations in terms of worldwide use and health benefits,” Amado said. “In Europe, 75 percent of households have adjustable foundation beds in their homes, and this has led to many health benefits.”
According to Amado, while most people are educated in subjects such as math, science, history and even health, none are ever formally taught about the science of proper sleep.
"I help people find mattresses that fit their current situation and their needs,” Amado said. “If someone is experiencing debilitating back pain all the time, believe it or not, most of the time, it’s the bed they are sleeping on that’s causing that to happen."
Amado believes finding the right type of bed that offers quality sleep can completely improve someone’s life.
"When you're able to sleep better, you have more energy in the morning, you eat better, you absorb information more easily,” Amado said. “Overall, good sleep just helps improve everything.”
Mattress by Appointment carries all major brands as well as exclusive private labels. It also offers no-credit financing.
“I have a 95 percent rate for financing approval,” Amado said. “Even for customers who have new-to-no established credit can take advantage of 90-day financing, same as cash.”
Beds are available to take home the same day as purchase. Customers can also order specialty items such as back massagers, sleep monitors and under-bed lighting that can be shipped within a few weeks.
Mattress by Appointment is located at 1308 Ayers St., but, like the name says, it is open by appointment only. Call (361) 442-7537 or visit mattressbyappointment.com.
