Ikea - Cool concept, but bad phone strategy

I had a good time exploring Ikea. The concept is interesting. A new angle is something that appeals to me. I bought some stuff, had it shipped and put it together. What money I saved, I contributed in labor and in the end, I think the value wasn't all that much better than what I could do using more conventional channels.



The labor side was complicated by a missing hardware satchel and a couple of missing parts. I was quite surprised to find that there were actually problems in this area. I mean you would think this is a sensitive subject and a well understood "moment of truth". The idea of taking stuff home (sometimes far away) and putting it together is considerably less appealing if you're not confident all the pieces will be there. I still like the approach. The process was pretty cool. If it hadn't been for the missing stuff, I would have been jazzed.



When I discovered my missing bits, I called. It was a useless effort. The automated phone system was horrible. The menus were multi-layered, repetitive and clumsy. It took me several minutes to find a place where I was on hold for almost 15 minutes. When I finally got someone, she was not helpful. I could open up a "case number" and a manager would contact me within 48 hours, or I could come to the store (70 miles) and they would get me my parts. I asked to speak to a manager and was put on hold. 10 minutes later I gave up and planned to drive back to the store the next day. After all, I had this stuff spread out all over the place in mid-assembly. I wasn't going to wait 48 hours for a "case number" and a manager to contact me. I guess I was hoping for "We're terribly sorry. We realize this sort of thing is frustrating and disappointing. Let's go over what you are missing, find out what we need and get these parts overnight express delivered to you." Okay - maybe that was expecting too much. Still, I was bugged by the fact that I had to drive back to the store and find the missing pieces.

When I arrived at the store, I received prompt (I think I caught them at a good time) attention and I had my bits in under 30 minutes.

The Ikea store, the products and the concept are pretty sweet. I guess in the future I'd give them the benefit of the doubt on the frequency of missing components, but I discount the total notion because of the potential for assembly aggravation (read: missing bits). Also - putting the stuff together loses its charm after an hour or so. Next time I consider Ikea I'll properly account for my labor (allowing more time than you might think).

I would strongly suggest a different strategy on the phone. This was a complete failure. Come on Ikea - fix the thing. You can do it.