Find out what MNers have to say about IKEA’s SMÅLAND

[AbbiCMumsnet]

This is the feedback thread for the Mumsnet users with children aged between 3 - 10 who have tested IKEA’s SMÅLAND crèches in their stores around the UK.

Here’s what IKEA has to say:
“For many a trip to IKEA is a fun day out for the whole family. We take pride in ensuring there are features and facilities available that families need and with something for everyone to enjoy. Play facilities make shopping more fun and easy for families with children. Parents can relax and enjoy shopping, whilst children can learn and have fun.
Our supervised play facilities aim to provide a space where every child can be an individual having new and memorable experiences, whilst opening their imagination and creating curiosity.
Please read here for more details about SMÅLAND, including information about children with additional needs. You can check here to locate your local store.”

Testers, please give your feedback by answering the questions below:

• Overall, how would you summarise your experience of the Småland (crèche)?
• Does the free creche service supports your overall experience of IKEA?
• Were you aware IKEA offered a free crèche service the review?
• How do you feel we could improve this service going forward and would you recommend this service to a friend?

All testers who give their feedback will be entered into a prize draw where 3 x MNers will win a £100 IKEA voucher.

Thanks and good luck!
MNHQ

Insight Terms and Conditions apply

I found Ikea Smaland to be a great facility. They’ve really thought about their customers and how to provide them with a pleasant experience I.e offering a crèche type facility leaving adults free to browse and make the most of their visit whilst entertaining the kids. The kids really enjoyed themselves too!

Definitely made it easier for me to shop and appreciate the store better

I was aware of the service but not used it previously. The staff there were very professional and friendly and the kids are asking when can they go back again so they had a good time. Would absolutely recommend to friends. The shortcuts and maps around the store were helpful in being able to retrieve the kids when their time was up.

• Overall, how would you summarise your experience of the Småland (crèche)?

We had a very positive experience. When we arrived, my son was a bit wary as he hadn't been there before but the staff were very friendly and welcoming and put him at his ease. He then went off happily and afterwards said he wanted to go again. We felt comfortable leaving him there because the staff were knowledgeable and efficient so I felt he would be safe. I liked the various activities he could have fun with, there was a great range of things he could do. I will definitely use this again! The fact that this service is free makes it even better.

• Does the free creche service supports your overall experience of IKEA?

I have always enjoyed going to Ikea as its a real experience but its difficult to keep my children interested all the way round. I was never too confident about the creche facilities because I didn't know enough about them and I didn't think a retail company would offer the highest quality of childcare. But I was very pleased with the service and found no issues with it at all. So yes, I always thought a trip to Ikea was a fun experience and knowing that my son has something he can enjoy adds to that.

• Were you aware IKEA offered a free crèche service the review?

I was aware of it but we hadn't used it before as he was too young when we last visited.

• How do you feel we could improve this service going forward and would you recommend this service to a friend?

I would definitely recommend the creche service as I now know it is a good quality and safe facility. It is nice to be able to spend time there without worrying about whether your child is enjoying it too or arranging alternative childcare for them. However, I would like it to be longer than half an hour as I would always spend longer than this going around Ikea so I have to cut my browsing short and come back to collect him. However, as this is a free service, I can't really complain about that!

Thanks for letting us try this out, it has been very interesting and has eased my mind when it comes to using the creche facilities at Ikea!

• Overall, how would you summarise your experience of the Småland (crèche)? Very good, kids loved it & I throughly enjoyed the 45min of peaceful shopping time.

• Does the free creche service supports your overall experience of IKEA? Absolutely! The kids enjoy Ikea much more with the option of Smaland, and it leaves us adults much more able to get the things we actually wanted.

• Were you aware IKEA offered a free crèche service the review? Yes, it's something we've used previously.

• How do you feel we could improve this service going forward and would you recommend this service to a friend? The ability to prebook would be good. We normally go early in the day so it's not so much of an issue but we'd probably go more often/evenings if we could prebook a smaland slot too.

I visited ikea recently and for the very first time booked my son into the Småland crèche. The staff were incredibly friendly and polite. My son, who’s 7, couldn’t wait to get inside. My contact details were taken and I was given pager which would alert me if the staff needed me in case of an emergency. I was able to have 45 minutes to browse the store at my leisure (and in peace). When I collected my son he didn’t want to leave. I cheekily asked if I could have a quick look at the facilities and was allowed just behind the reception desk to see: fun mirrors, a slide into a ball pit, movie area with comfy cushions, art corner and book corner. It was fab. I questioned myself why I’d never used the facility before.

It’s a fantastic facility and I had known that it was free to customers but had never used it before.
The facilities were great and the only thing possibly to improve is extending the session to 1 hour.
Overall yes Småland does support my experience of Ikea, it’s a family store and allows all members of the family to enjoy their time their.
I will be booking a session in Småland for my son very soon when we visit the store again.
Great store, great facility, fantastic staff, you can’t ask for more

• Overall, how would you summarise your experience of the Småland (crèche)?

Long wait (over 40 minutes on a Saturday afternoon) with no clear reason as to why or any communication from staff about the lack of spaces but once we got in my kid liked it.

• Does the free creche service supports your overall experience of IKEA?

Yes it does

• Were you aware IKEA offered a free crèche service the review?

I was aware and had used it once before/

• How do you feel we could improve this service going forward and would you recommend this service to a friend?

It would be good to have a digitaal sign that gives an estimate of wait times as although there was not much of a queue here was a long wait. However my kid loved the experience.

-Overall, how would you summarise your experience of the Småland (crèche)?

At the time we tested there wasn't a queue for Smaland, so my son went in after checking in (actually, my husband had to check him in as he had been before and the husband filled out all the forms previously, and so it was easiest for him to sign him in). My 5 year old enjoyed himself and the area looked clean from what I could see. The ladies working in the reception area were very pleasant and I felt comfortable leaving him.

• Does the free creche service supports your overall experience of IKEA?

Yes, Ikea is quite a fun place, with child friendly restaurant too and we quite like to go as a family, so I would say it supports the overall experience. Being able to have some child-free time to actually make decisions on big items (eg. wardrobes) without worrying what the child is doing was great.

• Were you aware IKEA offered a free crèche service the review?

Yes, we have used the creche once before when looking for wardrobes (rather than a previous attempt where we spent most time trying to find which wardrobe my son had hid himself in).

• How do you feel we could improve this service going forward and would you recommend this service to a friend?

On this occasion the creche worked well, however 45 minutes is just not enough time to get round the whole shop, make decisions and checkout. Its such a long way to get back when the buzzer starts going off, (my husband felt a bit panicky that we couldnt get back quickly enough). Another improvement would be temperature control in winter - we have experienced several occasions where Smaland was closed as the temperature was not above 18C. I would recommend to a friend for sure.

Overall, how would you summarise your experience of the Småland (crèche)?

I had a two part experience as I thought that I would pop in after work to avoid the crowd as it was advertised as closing at 7pm however I reached there at 6pm and was told no admissions after 6pm which was not advertised online or advertised at the front of the creche.

We made another visit which was on Saturday and it was busy so had to wait. But once she got in she loved it especially the ball pit.

• Does the free creche service supports your overall experience of IKEA?

It can be helpful if your are going for particular items as I did however if you want to have a general browse it would be worried about getting back to my daughter on time especially as the crèche is located at the front of the store.

• Were you aware IKEA offered a free crèche service the review?

I have seen it before but never thought of letting my daughter try it out.

• How do you feel we could improve this service going forward and would you recommend this service to a friend?

Better access to the crèche if in the middle of the store and have to back to my daughter.

Online booking would help to better plan my Ikea trip.

• Overall, how would you summarise your experience of the Småland (crèche)?

We had a positive experience. The children enjoyed the crèche and we found it easier to get around the shop child free.

• Does the free creche service supports your overall experience of IKEA?

Yes. I was very impressed that it was free and for a whole hour. I think alongside other family friendly services ie cheap cafe with kids cutlery/ crockery and free refills etc, it makes IKEA a really family friendly place to go. It's a long trip from our house (about 45 mins each way) so to have the crèche, cafe and the little playground by the car park made it a positive experience for the kids.

• Were you aware IKEA offered a free crèche service the review?

I'd seen smaland before, but didn't realise it was free. None of my friends realised it was free either. The information could be a lot more obvious on the website. You need a section on the menu for 'family friendly' listing all your services for kids.

• How do you feel we could improve this service going forward and would you recommend this service to a friend?

I think that you need some idea before you leave about how busy the crèche is. It's a long trip from our house and I would rely on the crèche once we got there. If we were traveling at the weekend or over a school holiday, I would be really worried that the crèche would be full when we got there. Some kind of traffic light system on the website or an app to indicate how in demand it is would be really helpful. There was only one member of staff and one computer to log everyone into the crèche. This meant that there was a really long queue and some families were waiting around 10 mins in the queue, with young children. As the entrance to smaland is in a really busy part of the store (next to esculators/ doors/ toilets/ trolley bay) these families were getting quite stressed trying to keep their children queuing nicely and not getting in the way of all the shoppers. The booking in system took a long time. I'm aware that you need vital information to ensure our kids are safe, but it could have been a lot more efficient if I could have filled in the information online. The children really liked being in there. Their only criticism was that there was a games console that a lot of children were fighting over, as only one person could play at a time. It would ask be great if there was an option to extend their crèche time, as an hour wasn't enough for us. One of us had to go to the end to collect the kids and then come back through the store to carry on shopping. I would recommend smaland to a friend, but with a warning that it's better to go to on a 'quiet' day, so queuing to get in is shorter, there's more chance that your child can definitely get in and so that the crèche itself isn't as busy inside.

My daughter had a lovely, enjoyable time playing in Småland. In the meanwhile we were able to look around IKEA properly without having to keep an eye on her at all times and getting distracted.

The free creche just adds to my already positive opinion of IKEA. Visiting IKEA is a fab day out with the family anyway if you just want to browse. But having the creche allows parents to look around in peace, especially when 'serious' shopping has to be done!

We had used Småland several years ago when my now tween and teen sons were younger but my daughter had never been. If we lived closer to IKEA, I'm sure we'd have taken her there before now.

I'd definitely recommend Småland to friends as it's a fantastic place for kids to play in and in the meanwhile parents can go shopping or visiting the cafe knowing their kids are in a safe, controlled environment having a good time playing and exploring all the different things Småland offers. As Småland can get busy, being able to pre-book some of the slots or printing and filling the form at home would be a great timesaver. Also the website could offer more detailed information about Småland with more pictures and details of registration. Nevertheless my daughter's already asking when our next trip to IKEA is going to be!

• Overall, how would you summarise your experience of the Småland (crèche)?

Easy process. Takes some of the stress out of shopping with having the childcare facilities there.

• Does the free creche service supports your overall experience of IKEA?

Yes, it improves the experience.

• Were you aware IKEA offered a free crèche service the review?

Yes, I was previously aware of the service.

• How do you feel we could improve this service going forward and would you recommend this service to a friend?

Improvements that could be made - have a separate queue for those registering for the first time vs people already registered. Or facilitate online registration pre visit. This would help reduce queue times hopefully.

I would recommend this service to friends, my lo has always enjoyed their time spent in the creche - the range of toys and activities are great.

• Overall, how would you summarise your experience of the Småland (crèche)?

Great! We were lucky enough not to have to wait for a slot, despite it being a rainy day during Half Term! My son really enjoyed his time there.

• Does the free creche service supports your overall experience of IKEA?

Definitely.My son loves going and I get to have some time to myself in the cafe!

• Were you aware IKEA offered a free crèche service the review?

Yes- we have used it before.

• How do you feel we could improve this service going forward and would you recommend this service to a friend?

I have recommended it to many friends. I think an hour slot would be better as 45minutes isn’t quite long enough to get around the store and pay for any items. It does give me long enough to have a free family coffee and enjoy the WiFi though!

Overall, how would you summarise your experience of the Småland (crèche)?

Our Ikea Smaland was fully booked so my kids couldn't go in.

• Does the free creche service supports your overall experience of IKEA?

It’s a fab idea and my kids really wanted to go in so will definitely try again

• Were you aware IKEA offered a free crèche service the review?

No, I had no idea!

• How do you feel we could improve this service going forward and would you recommend this service to a friend?

An online booking system would work well. We didn’t come back to try later as the impetus was gone, with my daughter in particular it’s ‘now or never’! Will tell friends it’s there tho.

Very positive experience. My little boy enjoyed it there. The staff were friendly and attentive. I'm not used to leaving him alone but he didn't bat an eyelid and thoroughly enjoyed himself as it was he could talk about on the way home. It made it a lot easier to get my shopping done as I usually avoid IKEA and most shops as I have 3 boys under 5. I will definitely be going back. Thank you for the voucher and the experience

• Overall, how would you summarise your experience of the Småland (crèche)?

Great, my son loved it in there and it gave me time to browse without rushing in case he got bored.

• Does the free creche service supports your overall experience of IKEA?

It definitely makes shopping a lot easier and less stressful.

• Were you aware IKEA offered a free crèche service the review?

Yes I was aware.

• How do you feel we could improve this service going forward and would you recommend this service to a friend?

The service is great, I think at busier times like school holidays it would be useful to have more staff, I had no problems but when I went to collect my son, some people were told that there was no availability. I would definitely recommend it to friends.

Overall, how would you summarise your experience of the Småland (crèche)?
We visited the Croydon, Purley branch. On our first visit, we arrived at 6.15 and they were full, short staffed and were not accepting any other children that day - so I had three very disappointed kiddies in tow. My second visit was in the morning with my 4 year old and there were three children in total in the play area. The staff on duty were helpful and approachable. I filled in a short online form and we were shown the play facilities. There were lots for my daughter to play with for an hour; arts and crafts, ball pit, toys and a tv screen. I was handed a pager to be contacted on if needed so that was very reassuring.

• Does the free creche service supports your overall experience of IKEA?

Yes, I think it is a very good service which I would expect from IKEA as a family-friendly store.

• Were you aware IKEA offered a free crèche service the review?

I was not aware that IKEA offered a free creche service.

• How do you feel we could improve this service going forward and would you recommend this service to a friend?

i think the service is great. I would say an hour would still mean being rushed, particularly during busy times. An hour and a half would be ideal. More staff are needed during peak times: evenings, weekends etc.

Would recommend had a great time - would never think of using anything like this before but was surprised

We visited the Glasgow store. Unfortunately the day we went the crèche was absolutely full for the rest of the afternoon and we couldn't get in. I think it would be good to be able to check online before a visit to the store to see if the crèche is full before going, although appreciate this may be hard to do.... my daughter enjoys a trip round ikea anyway so she wasn't overly fussed about going in.

The facilities looked really good though, she definitely liked the look of the ball pool and it all looked very clean and the staff were friendly and informative. Will definitely give it another try in the future, probably be best if the store was fairly quiet so would have enough time to get what you needed and through the tills before having to go back to collect the children.

• Overall, how would you summarise your experience of the Småland (crèche)?

Brilliant! My DD 4 had a fantastic time, shes still talking about it a week later 😂

• Does the free creche service supports your overall experience of IKEA?

A little, the 45 minute limit was a bit off putting. It made me constantly clock watch and rush.

• Were you aware IKEA offered a free crèche service the review?

Yes, we used it for our eldest many years ago.

• How do you feel we could improve this service going forward and would you recommend this service to a friend?

Online advance booking!

Thanks for all your feedback and congratulations to @DBhatt14, @Alo2019 & @FlipFlopCottonTail for winning the vouchers!