How Could IKEA Drive You Crazy? You Will See…
I packed my stuff and closed the door, started my journey to IKEA, the one in Brooklyn. This time, I am not really buying furniture. Instead, it will be an experiment.
Wait, an experiment?
Several years ago, I saw a piece of news on Forbes that talked about an awful experience with IKEA’s customer service. I couldn’t remember the details of the complaints, but I remembered the author mentioned he was waiting and waiting for IKEA’s shipping and phone calls from customer service. He was rightfully angry. However, it was not the direct reason that I wanted to do the experiment. It was because when I shopped at IKEA online several days ago, I saw complaints about IKEA’s customer service. Then I opened Google, searched for complaints about IKEA’s customer service. Guess what? Tons of complaints appeared.
One of the complaints said:” It’s so messed up and complicated (just like their stores), that that alone will make you crazy. But their so-called “customer service” is even WORSE.”
Then I became curious about the large international based furniture company. How can a large and famous company fail to deal with its customer complaints for so many years? This curiosity is what pulls me to do this experiment. I would like to see what the IKEA customer service looks like now.
My primary thoughts were simple, buy→ship→return. So I went to IKEA’s online store, chose a chair (which I actually really need), and clicked the shipping button. I stopped. The chair itself was $109 while the shipping cost me $139. No way! So I gave up and prepared my journey to IKEA another day.
The next day, I went to IKEA, the one located in Brooklyn. It took one and half-hours to get there by subway. Then I picked two products there, a rug (which I randomly picked up) and a chair. After checkout, I returned the rug. I went to the customer service for returning, and they told me to get a ticket first. Then I got a ticket; the number on it was 574. There were 20 people ahead of me. I thought it was easy, not seems like what the news and the complaints said. However, I waited for another one and half hour for returning…
Then, for the sofa chair I bought, I had to choose the shipping method since it was a large piece and I couldn’t transport it back home by myself. The shipping cost me $99, which was awful. The servicer arranged my appointment for shipping on Friday, and he said it would be the closest day. I accepted. However, in order to continue testing Ikeas customer service, I called IKEA when I got home and told them I would like to change the day of shipping. The person on the phone asked my case number and said, “Sure, I will call you back soon.” I was disappointed since the process was going well. However, the reality was IKEA didn’t disappoint me at all because I waited for the phone call until night, and they hadn’t called me back.
I called them the next day and tried to confirm what’s going on. I picked up the phone and said I had a case number, and I want to rearrange my delivery date. The person on the other side of the phone replied, “hold on, I will transfer you to our customer service.” After he transferred me to another line, no one answered, and the phone suddenly hung up.
Then I called back. The same situation happened again. After I had said I have a case number, the person transferred me to another department, and no one answered the phone then hung up. I called and called, and then I gave up.
I called IKEA again this time and told them that I want to return the chair. However, the servicer said you have to return it in store or bring it back to the store. Seriously? I haven’t even gotten it yet.
The end of the story was that I kept waiting for my chair, it as already four days had passed, and no one replied to me. Hopefully, I will receive the chair on Friday, the originally scheduled day.
What was my conclusion about IKEA customer service? Well, it sucks. I will write another complaint about customer service, and hopefully, IKEA will notice their serious problem in the future.
