Customer Reviews

GelPro Basketweave Mat, 20 by 36 Inches, Truffle

5 star:		(48)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

Like many others, I bought three of the mats to place in strategic places in my kitchen. They are very comfortable to stand on, but the curling edges have grown increasingly worse. I emailed a query to gelpro, and they told me to shake them out and turn them. I'm assuming that advice is a form of acknowledgement of the problem. I tried it--no help. It's interesting that the mats began to fail shortly after being out of warranty. I even turned mine upside down and used them that way for a week to see if the surface tension issue would correct itself. No dice. I wouldn't accept replacements from them if they offered them, because I believe it would just be a matter of time before the situation recurred. Very disappointing product and expensive mistake.

UPDATE: After further discussions with the gel pro folks, I decided to reconsider and try replacements. As the representative explained it, they are a young company and they've redesigned the mats to address the issue of curling edges. We received the replacements yesterday and the fabric on the back appears tighter. I always enjoyed standing on them while I cooked and cleaned, so we'll see if they have indeed fixed the design flaw that caused the edges to ripple. My almost two-year-old mats are in the trash and we're keeping our fingers crossed these will work.

UPDATE 2: It appears they have indeed corrected the design flaw that causes the mats to curl. We've used them now for a few months and they look like they did right out of the box. As ever, standing on them is great and now that they aren't a trip hazard, we're extremely pleased with our mats.

My wife and I purchased a mat for in front of our sink directly from the company after seeing their products advertised in a number of home-related magazines. After a short while, the edges began to curl in the front, and we would be able to correct that by turning the mat 180 degrees. Eventually all four edges kept curling and we both constantly trip over the mat; it's a hazard. When I finally contacted the company, their response was that the item was out of warranty - BUT they offered me a 25% discount on getting another mat. Of course, that will end up like a bowl, too, so that would be more money down the drain.
[Following the posting of this initial review, I was contacted the following week by a representative of GelPro. He was extremely friendly and inquisitive about the exact problem I was experiencing and was able to reference the previous contact I had made. The result of this contact was that I was permitted to choose another mat to replace what he was calling a "defective" sample, and they sent me a prepaid UPS label to return the old mat to study it. "John" pointed out that they occasionally have had some problems with certain fabrics, and that was presumed to be the case with ours. My best description was to say that the top fabric seemed to have less surface area than the bottom -which caused the edges to rise up. The bottom line is that we now have a new mat, and the old one is on the way back to the company. I probably should have been more forceful with my original complaint and rather than accepting the response of the original customer service rep. We are pleased to see that an All-American company like this is standing by its product. Please note that Amazon allows one to edit a posting, but not the original star rating.]

Disregard my previous review. Due to an e-mail mixup, I did not respond promptly to the company's answer to my query. I was subsequently contacted by phone by the company and submitted a digital picture of the faulty mat. They immediately replaced the mat, free of charge. We have been very satisfied with the mats we purchased and with the warranty. They are indeed a class act, and the product rates 5 stars.

I was surprised to see such a variety of reviews for this product. We purchased a mat about 12 months ago and have had absolutely no problems. the edges to our mat sit perfectly flat on the floor and the mat doesn't slide around on our tile floor. We heard about them from a friend who has had hers for at least 2 years with no problems.

I can't speak to every issue, but I know that we love standing on our mat. There's nothing that compares...it's way more comfortable than wearing shoes while cooking. I would recommend these without hesitation.

You do NOT want to purchase this mat if you have any traffic at all on it. You can stand comfortably on them, but do not walk around a kitchen with them on the floor!! Mine are two years old and after one year, they turned up at the edges, making them unsafe. The time I most need these are when we have family, and I'm in the kitchen a lot. Unfortunately, that's when I have to take them up because I cannot risk people tripping on them. For the expense, these are not worth the risk. Buy padded shoe inserts instead. They'll last longer and be safer!!
(The above comment was THEN. This is NOW: See the comment I added below.)

Like another here I've owned this product for over a year. It is quite comfortable and eases strain on feet when standing/walking on the mat versus the hard kitchen floor surface. In that respect it very much lives up to its billing.

However also like the other reviewer the edges on my mat started curling up. I at first was spinning the mat each week or so but now all the edges curl up and all the corners now stick up an inch or more which I consider a genuine tripping hazard. This is a shame since otherwise the mat is wonderful.

If this is characteristic of these mats then, unless you're willing to buy a new one every year or so, I'd recommend you find another product for your needs.

I have a 3' and a 6' mat, both the basket weave pattern which was the only one available when we purchased them at a local store.

Yes these mats are very comfortable and I love how they feel, but the weave pattern started to separate after a year.

And the edges all curled up.

Because of the splits in the mat, by year 2, water must have seeped in when hand washing them and now there is mold all over the bottom of the mats, transferring itself to the tile floor.

But I like these mats and will look for a different pattern, maybe one that does not have openings that will split open like the basket weave.

The warranty is very short and the problems will appear after the warranty is expired. Even within the warranty period, you have to pay shipping both ways. Terrible policy.

Addendum: I was contacted by a representative of the company who expressed concern for my problem with the mats. I told her that I never contacted the company because the short, imo, one year warranty period was over. And I was not about to pay shipping costs to return these heavy mats to you. I also told her that we have replaced them with Imprint by Sublime Anti Fatigue Comfort Mat, Nantucket Series which are as soft, much lighter to lift, cost less and have a 7 year warranty.

She did explain that they have found the cause of the edges curling up but had not experienced the splitting along the lines of the basket weave pattern. She wanted me to return the mats so they could be inspected.

I was sent prepaid shipping boxes to return the mats and my money was refunded (less sales tax). Since these mats were well out of their warranty period, I consider this to be excellent customer service.

We bought two, they were fabulous to stand on - really fabulous. But after about a year, the edges on all sides are curled up so much that guests trip and fall on them. Interesting that other reviewers note that Gelpro says this is unusual - we bought our two at different times from different places, and both are curling up severely at the edges. I would not recommend this product.

I am reiterating what many have already said here. The mat looks great, and works for a few months. Then it starts to slowly curl up at the edges. I have my mat for about one year, and now all the edges curl up. It is a trip HAZARD!! especially when you're busy working in the kitchen with hot pots and pans etc. I emailed the company today attaching an image of my curled up mat. They have not responded to me yet. STAY AWAY from this product. Looks is not enough!

Not a good experience here folks. As others have mentioned, this mat curls up and you end up tripping over it and cursing a lot. It also tends to slide on our tile floor so we're constantly having to slide it back in position. Too bad, it has a nice finish and color so it looks good but is poorly made. We had a Uline mat that looked more industrial but was far better constructed and user friendly.