IKEA redefine customer service

[mydogmuppet]

I've got used to online shopping.
Comfort of own home. No traffic jams. No exorbitant parking charges or tickets. Most of the time you order and it appears via the mailman or smiling courier - job done.

The IKEA shopping experience is my idea of hell. Prams, sour faced mothers and nose-picking children after you've spent 20 minutes hunting the parking spot. Then you can queue with the world until the second coming but don't bet on getting the car anywhere near a loading bay.

So you'd think IKEA would up their game on Online Shopping ?

How wrong can I be.

They replicate their online customer service model from that of the stores. You wait. You wait even longer. IKEA don't given a rat's arse how long you wait to speak to one of their less than helpful staff. You can wait just as long as you'd spend in the IKEA check out queue. Its all part of the IKEA experience. (22 minutes).

You can of course email Online Customer Services. But hey, their mailbox is stuffed to overflowing. It will take us 5 days....120 hours to respond. Its all part of the IKEA experience.

And they save the best till last.

Eschewing the delights of driving to IKEA Southampton you order the goods delivered to your door. Parcelforce are the chosen instrument of torture. Yes, that Parcelforce who abandon their vans in narrow streets so you can't squeeze past. The driver always acknowledging his 'couldn't care less' with a cheery little snarl.

So they stiff me for £9 to deliver some plastic boxes. They (cheeky bastards) tell me its going to take 11 ..YES ELEVEN...days to deliver the same. Are they ordering from Sweden ? I get goods from Hong Kong quicker than 45 miles from IKEA Southampton. Its all part of the IKEA experience.

What is the matter with this company and why don't they give a shit ?

I've heard that there are these things called "other shops."

I have a theory, and it may be unpopular. But IKEA is a Swedish country with high taxes and high levels of social welfare provision. I find in countries like that that there is less help outwith that provision from society in general and the attitude is that you should solve your problems yourself, because society has already provided enough for you.

So to me, it is a Swedish/Scandinavian business approach. Your problem - you find the solution.

You're shopping at the wrong store.

I have been going to Ikea in Milton Keynes for the past 5 years (having previously been to one in London). The one at Milton Keynes is fab.

Loads of parking, very helpful staff and hardly any queues when we go (we go early or evening and always great).

Even when we ordered wardrobes, they put it all on the trolley for us and then I booked it in for home delivery and had in 2 days later. They even carried it up two flights of stairs for me! :)

I bought a wardrobe from there which needed to be returned (forget why - think it didn't fit).

"No problem." says IKEA. "We'll come and collect it."

IKEA men came. Take wardrobe and put it in the van.

"Don't forget the doors!" says I.

"We're not taking the doors, love. We're just here for the wardrobe. You'll have to phone customer service."

Saw the same blokes 4 days later. To pick up the doors.

WTF??

Can't you buy plastic boxes in Poundstretcher, Wilko's, the Range, supermarkets etc? Not that it excuses the shite customer service, but you could give up and get them elsewhere.

If you only want plastic storage boxes then go elsewhere?? Vote with your feet, plenty of places stock them

Or man up and go get them.... All shopping has it's awkward parts. You sound a bit princessey!

The reason they use this business model is because it works. People shop at IKEA despite the customer service experience. You are welcome to shop elsewhere but you still choose to shop at IKEA and so do many other people bassed on your description of the carpark.

I go to IKEA at least once a week to make use of tge free coffee refills and play area and we have never ever had a problem with any furniture we have bought there.

Customer service in Sweden is not a high priority, it is very normal to have to carry your tray of food to the kitchen when you eat out, there is no Swedish word for please. You get used to it.

Got to be honest and have never had a problem with IKEA.

Shopping is an experience that can't be replicated online

I once ordered a kitchen from ikea and had a refund it the next day. It took 6 weeks of calling them 3-4 times a week before I got my money back!!! It was a nightmare as I couldn't speak to the store myself and customer services couldn't do anything.

I have just had a large delivery from ikea, what a nightmare. They said it would be 4 weeks to delivery it was actually 6, they changed my delivery on 4 different occasions once not even bothering to tell me. I had to wait in on 4 different days before I actually got my stuff.

The first time my delivery didn't turn up it took 45 minutes on the phone to speak to someone who couldn't do anything.

The stuff now that it's here is lovely but I would recommend buying in store or paying yourself for someone to transport it for you rather than their delivery service.

Poundland have plastic storage boxes. For er, a pound

The only time I had to complain to Ikea, I got really good customer service. I bought a £600 sofa, and after it was delivered we noticed one of the castors was missing, meaning that although we had the sofa, we couldn't safely sit on it. We had around a week without anything decent to sit in on (ended up using some garden chairs which weren't that comfortable to use for any length of time).

After the castor arrived in the post, I called them to complain about not having a sofa to sit on for a week (forgot to say, we gave our old sofa to a charity the day before new sofa was bring delivered), fully expecting just an apology. To my surprise they gave us £200 as compensation!

I ordered a mattress from ikea online. They took my money, didn't bother to deliver it, said nothing about it, even though their database said it hadn't been delivered, and I wasted a day's leave for nothing. I spent the next 3 weeks trying to get in touch with them to say it hadn't been delivered, and that I wanted a refund, because I couldn't take more time off work. They were nothing but obstructive, even making out that it had been delivered, though the fucking mattress was sitting in their fucking warehouse. Only the threat of the small claims court got them moving. It was like they'd taken my money, provided nothing in return, and considered it a job well done. Utter wankers!

While I have a friend with a lovely ikea kitchen, I don't get the ikea love.

There's a campaign to get a store in my town and that confuses me more. If people need to campaign to get a store they obv. just don't want our money.

I was at one recently and though I did get some lovely photo frames and goldfish bowls wine glasses, it's not all that. The kids, DH and I were all completely over it by the time we were halfway round. If the customer service is poor, take your business elsewhere.

Life is way too short to reward bad service. Vote with your feet and purse. Go somewhere else.

I can't get over there being no Swedish word for please.

How do they manage?

My Ikea is great.

Swedish & Norwegian have constructions for different kinds of 'please'. They're like the English expressions 'could you possibly', 'be so good as', 'will you', etc. You can also tack 'thanks' on to the end of the sentence to be extra polite :)

Here you go: www.wikihow.com/Say-Please-in-Swedish

But I hate Ikea, too! Online's not so bad, ime, though very slow - and you can't buy the cute little things that are what you really went for but can't admit to yourself

Haha. I have given up on Ikea.

I placed a large order in December. It was scheduled for delivery at the end of January. About 4 items "weren't put on the van, love" , and were each delivered separately during February & March.

Not large items, oh no, one was the (essential) sliding rail for a wardrobe delivered in January. One was a small storage unit. One was a door handle . I can't even remember what the fourth item was! All items I could have gone to the shop to bring home myself, but having already paid for them to be delivered as part of a large order I did rather want them sent to me .

Although there was a little comedy in watching a large-ish lorry reverse into our little courtyard parking area just to deliver a door handle .

I just drive to my local one (Croydon) which I have to say isn't too bad. Plenty of parking.

The customer returns is the only bit that annoys me as it takes way too long.

I've got to stick up for IKEA deliverers. I ordered some bedroom furniture online. They told me what time it would be delivered via text. I called them back to warn them about the bad snow and the fact I live on a hill and my house is accessed via steps. I fully expected them to cancel the delivery.

The men CARRIED the heavy boxes up the hill, having abandoned their van at the bottom. It's at least a 5 minute walk without snow and heavy stuff.

I rang customer services to thank them. Top service.

Thanks Garlic, that was interesting. I suppose the Swedish garna is similar yo the German gern.

Fascinating how different languages have developed.

I love Ikea, but then I'm tactical when shopping with them. You either

• want specific item. Check online shop has it. Go directly to item, pick up/note location and isle, pay and leave.
• browse, understanding crowds, ques etc...

I like to go first thing in morning/last thing at night.

Agree up thread - Milton Keynes one is good for parking etc...

Term time weekdays, IKEA is fine. Easy to park, short queues, still can't get near a loading bay but plenty of those flat bed trollies. In school holidays and weekends it is the seventh circle of hell; if you have to go then, do it in the last couple of hours before closing when it's quietened down a bit.

Their model is producing reasonable quality stuff at low prices and keeping overheads down by making the customer do most of the work after that point. If you'd rather pay more for a higher level of service then there are other shops falling over themselves to take y our custom. If, however, you want full service at the same price as no service you are probably bang out of luck.

I love ikea. Go at 8.30 pm and you'll have the place to yourself