It seems I'm not the only one who has a strained relationship with IKEA.
Kate over here and April here have also had their issues with the large Swedish store.
Me? I love visiting IKEA from time to time to browse and see what they have in-store and see what ideas they can give me, but there are times when I find the place extremely frustrating!
IKEA encourages us to check their website for stock availability, to make sure we don't wander in for a specific item and get disappointed when it's not there. Well that would be marvelous if their website was accurate and if, knowing that it wasn't operating correctly, they actually fixed it!
I'm not the only one who has studiously checked stock availability and turned up to find the item well and truly sold out. I was in there a couple of weeks ago and heard two other women stating the same thing to one of the stores' workers.
The stock prognosis function of the website wasn't accurate for weeks...and, as was said to me in store, they've known about it for ages....also, the website doesn't list all products available in store either.
So, the advice I give to you....don't rely on their website or that cartoon Anna thingy live help desk. Frankly, it's useless.
If you're after something specific, always ring the store and stay on the phone until you speak to someone...otherwise you could be given the runaround too.
Very frustrerande
Translation thanks to Google...(apologies if you're Swedish and the translation has made you laugh out loud and snort coffee through your nose)
Ah...there is nothing like a wasted trip...thanks for the heads up about their stock system. I'll make sure to ring if there is anything I need particularly. xx
ReplyDeleteWhat a shame you had a bad experience. I have been very lucky so far. I hope it isn't long before they have restocked what you are after and that you don't have to travel too far to get there. ;-)
ReplyDeleteAhhh, don't you hate that :( Have to say, I have no idea about the translation...but your little addendum nearly made me snort my tea out of my nose ;P Have a fabulous Wednesday Lesley ~ Txx
ReplyDeleteThere is no such thing as a wasted trip to Ikea, unless they have either sold out of meatballs, or you a a dillpickle (like me) and forget your purse!
ReplyDeleteI hate their stock availablity thing, it drives me batty. I seriously think it goes like this: a random ikea worker is assigned a product. They get on a tram each morning to go to work. However many people are on that tram is the number of items in stock for their assigned product. That is how random their stock allocations are.
I went to Ikea recently, as I do, to look at an Expedit bookshelf in 4x4. It is one of their most popular products, and it was out of stock until March! The next week I went back and it was out of stock until the 31st December. Within the space of a week it's availablity went from 3 months to less than a week? And it wasn't just the Expedit, there was heaps and heaps of things out of stock!
I do love to look but have never shopped there.
ReplyDeleteMmmmm... I think we all have a love/hate relationship with Ikea. I hate the fact that I have to drive from Mount Martha to Richmond to get to Ikea. We need more Ikeas!!LOL
ReplyDeleteAlison
Alison, they are building another one...at Springvale. Not sure why they closed the Springvale one years ago in the first place or the one down the Nepean Highway.
ReplyDeleteApril, I hear you! I went there a couple of weeks ago for some elcheapo curtains for the bedroom...none until who knows when, then, a week later they say they'll be in January.
Jenny, IKEA's reasonably close to my work, so I can call in there on the way home, I just like browsing more than anything else. I like the way they have their little rooms set up.
Tina, hope your nose is feeling OK. Good way to clear the sinuses though huh?
The comment one of my daughters makes when she hears that someone she knows will be paying a visit to IKEA is....Well good luck with that! Now I know what she's on about!
ReplyDeleteWell Lesley....good luck with that!!
Alas it is not a problem we will face as the nearest IKEA is 500ks away and it is years since I've been there! But I do know that frustration as it is something we deal with everyday in nearly every shop!!!!
ReplyDeleteHope you have a wonderful 2011 ~ J