I used to love shopping at Ikea. Everything from curtains to beds and waste baskets in my home were all bought from Ikea. What do you know, I just spent close to RM4k on Ikea items last month and this month alone. But you know, visiting Ikea during weekends and public holidays doesn't seem like an easy task or a good shopping trip anymore these days, unless I wanted to be shoved around or be around smelly armpits. My recent three trips to Ikea have been such a horrendous experience that I vowed again and again never to shop in Ikea until Ikea has their own online store for me to shop conveniently from home! But yet, I had to go trip after trip again, wasting so much petrol (caused by the horrendous jam around Ikea) and precious time (you know you have to walk the whole Ikea from the door to the check out counter even if all you wanted to get was a piece of screw) because of Ikea's marketing concept. Here's why:
1. The head of the Ikea bed I bought two years ago broke when I dismantled it to shift house. It's now proven true that most Ikea stuff are made of cheap chipboards that cannot be dismantled once you set them up. I had to go to Ikea to get the new screws hoping that the bed can be fixed even though its chipped in 4 areas (where the screws were placed). I was asked to go get the model number of the bed to get the replacement screws which your staff at the bed department had no idea of and in turn asked me to go down to the service counter again. It took your service counter one whole hour to determine what screws were needed for the bed. Oh...and you know, the wooden planks on the bed fell off more than 5 times while I was sleeping on it - I had to buy heavy duty double sided tapes to tape the planks on to the bedside so it would not move.
2. I bought railings to be placed in the kitchen to hang up pots and pans just like the kitchen design shown on your Ikea magazine only to find out that I needed to buy the screws to fix the railings on. And what do you know, any other screws form the hardware shop will not fit. The screws are specially made and has to be purchased from Ikea.
3. I bought this pink glass lamp which really has nice design only to find that it's bulb which has to be purchased only from Ikea won't last more than 4 days of continuous usage. I have to throw the lamp away because I can't afford to go to Ikea every weekend just to get bulbs.
4. Another square glass lamp I bought from Ikea a few months ago which was placed on the floor, turned over and it broke. Mind you, it turned over on the floor itself, not even from the table or from any higher point. I then went to Ikea but found that I had to buy the whole set of lamp again. That's not the whole story. I know I should have checked before I bought the lamp but all I wanted to do then was to get away from the horrendous crowd that day. It's not easy shopping with a baby around. I also placed my trust on Ikea's products and didn't think that there would be anything wrong with a new lamp. And guess what, the lamp had a chip at the top - I've bought a broken lamp from Ikea.
I really don't wish to go to Ikea yet again just because of that chipped new lamp that I bought. The petrol for the trip that I have to pay will be even more expensive than the lamp itself. This seems like a good marketing concept from Ikea - you know, getting people to go back again and again to Ikea once they've made even one small purchase, just to get things like screws and other accessories that are proprietary to Ikea and once you're in there you're trapped and have to go around the whole store, picking up some other stuff on your way to the counter. But after the last 3 visits which I vowed not to go there again, it seems this broken lamp is making me go back yet again just to get a replacement or a refund. I know this is a very long story for you to read and I do hope to get a reply (most companies in Malaysia, even multi national companies don't seem to read their emails). I just wish to solve my lamp problem by NOT having to go to Ikea again. I hope Ikea can understand my situation - it is not easy to shop with my baby around in that horrendous crowd and the horrendous jam after, and I've spent so much at Ikea that I do not wish to hold a grudge on Ikea and be reminded of it every single day when my house is full of Ikea stuff that it can be a model house for Ikea. And all because of this broken lamp that I've bought to replace the other broken one. Please give me a reasonable solution.
Best regards,
Wendy Heah
Someone who used to be a big fan of Ikea.
P/S: I thought Ikea had really good ideas and designs. But then the curtain I just bought proves me wrong. Who on earth would want to take off the curtain railing every time the curtain needs to be washed? I thought Ikea would have a better idea, maybe use velcro for the curtain top or buttons like the rest of the other curtains rather than sew on the whole top. I now have to remove my curtain railings each time I need to wash the curtains unless you tell me that Ikea curtains need not be washed. :(
1 comment:
I had a similar bad experience. They force you to drive hours to get a small necessary item like some screw that you cannot find anywhere. The dumb IKEA Barometer lamp does not come with a bulb and you find that out when you get home. They could have put a visible sign on the package that it comes without a blub or they could have atleast put bulbs next to the damn lamps!!
So I went to Target and bought a bulb. Turns out the lamp does not take a regular Type A bulb and needs a type B. I go back to Target and get a Type B bulb. Only to find out that it does not fit either. I paid 50 bucks for the lamp and by the time I get the actual bulb or return the lamp, I will have paid over $100 for the dumb thing. No Thank you IKEA. Use some brains and sell the bulb at point of purchase of the lamp!!!!!!!!
I think I will return the lamp just to retaliate.
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