is there a worse shopping experience than IKEA?

[bossykate]

went to ikea today. well, it was marginally better than the absolute hell it is at weekends. there was a woman going up and down the queues asking if anyone would like to participate in a customer service survey - in two weeks time! clever - when the irritation has faded. we bought two full service (ha!) items - no idea why they are called "full service" as they still come flat packed and you have to assemble them yourself. only difference appeared to be the 40min wait while they got them out from stock. this is after you have paid.

so why keep going back? well i'm not aware of a competitor who offers the same choice and quality for such reasonable prices. sigh.

IMO - the answer is NO! what do others think?

feel much better now...

I went to Glasgow IKEA today (on our hols - sad, still chipping in here, was online to check work email honest!) and it was FAB! Got several Christmas presents, had good cakes and there were no queues! Hoooooray!

Susanmt, doesn't sound like Ikea to me - are you sure you just didn't sit down with the catalogue in a cake shop and flick through whilst having elevensies?

doesn't your Ikea have trolley cages...for £1 you lock your trolley with goodies then go getthe car spend 30 min queuing to get near your cage, load car and forget to pick out the £1.

susanmt agree about the Glasgow store - I have been three times in the last month including 2 weekends and it is never very busy. You can get fish fingers and chips for the kids for 50p and they have a breastfeeding corner in the cafe.I LOVE it.It is possibly the only thing dh and I enjoy doing together. How sad is that?
Off to join the bad marriage discussion

Another vote for the Glasgow IKEA!

Janz next time you are in look out for me - I'll be scribbling designs on a piece of squared paper in the kitchen section while my two toddlers dismantle the kiddie bedroom displays handilly positioned adjacent

.... or going up and down the slide (and beware the tantrums when you want to move on)! May be meet you some time in the restaurant, tucking in to meat balls, lingonberry sauce and chips!

I let DS2 out of his trolley to play in Ikea once. Never ever again. Get them secured in a trolley/pushchair and don't let them out again - that's my advice!

Janz, that is exactly what I will be eating. I even buy some in the shop to take home. It's foreign so the calories don't count , right?
This conversation reminds me of something I have been thinking about for a while...how about Justine et al selling small discrete mumsnet lapel badges/car stickers so we can identify each other when we are out in the real world?
We could devise a special wink of recognition, sort of like the masons but more girly.....

What exactly ARE lingon berries?

We've spent the last two weeks decorating - house in total chaos, DS has a cold, teething etc etc ie general nightmare. DP set off for IKEA this morning (about an hour and a half each way) with a hired van so we could get everything in one trip - just had a call from DP to say that he filled the van up with petrol..... it takes diesel. DP now waiting for the AA to tow him back to the van hire place, drain the petrol, refill with diesel and then set off again - an IKEA nightmare and we haven't even got there yet!!

Last time DP went there he got back to find that one of the boxes didn't contain what it said it should, so he had to do the 3 hour round-trip again. I think it's going to be one of those days...