¶ Well I don’t but Flatpack Brighton does (if you’re local that is). I think there is universal agreement that going to Ikea is both a tortuous and torturous experience, and testiment to that is the very existence of a successful business created to circumvent that pain.
And where does that pain stem from? An hour’s painful journey along the M25 to Lakeside or up the A23 to Croydon. A store packed with family outings (shall we go to the zoo, kids? No let’s go to Ikea). Riots. Traipsing around the labyrinthine displays. Hours lost hunting for furniture not in stock. Further hours spent queuing. Being charged to use a credit card. The ridiculous delivery fees (when you find you’ve bought too much for the boot). The hour’s journey back home. That’s before you have to build the things. And above all, you just get the impression that Ikea doesn’t care.
I haven’t been for years, and have little intention of going again, but the pain is still fresh.
Comments
1
Man, don’t get me started on Ikea
It’s a breeding ground for hate.
Every so often The Wife says to me: “Shall we go to Ikea this weekend?”. “Why?” I ask. “What do you need?”
“Tealights”. Fucking tealights. I’m not driving for an hour just to get angry and buy fucking dwarf candles.
Oh, no. See what happens when you get me started on Ikea?
2
Oh, and I’m sorry for swearing.
3
Yup, but why should they? They don’t seem to be suffering financially for it.
4
Torturous?? How can it be, when you can get the best hot dog 50p can buy at the end of it?
5
I’m also aware of a number of people who’ve built up a good business doing nothing but going round people’s houses assembling their flatpacks for them. There’s a surprising number of people who can’t read those diagrams (or use an Allen key) and will happily pay somebody else to do it.
6
I actually don’t mind taking a trip to Ikea to get the furniture I need. The problem here is that the closest Ikea to us in Columbia, SC is 215 miles (~346 km) away in Atlanta, GA. While the prices make the trip worth the drive, finding out they don’t have the item “on the floor” in their warehouse even though they have it in stock is frustrating to say the least. Unfortunately, their catalog delivery fees eat away any money we may have saved by buying from Ikea in the first place, so that isn’t really an option.
7
Here in the states, I haven’t experienced any of your problems. The stock system is excellent, there have been no riots, the stores are quite spacious, the delivery fees are reasonable, and you don’t pay extra for using a credit card. In fact, you get 1% off your next purchase for paying with debit.
Sorry!
8
Ahhh… How was that person who mentioned tea lights????
Someone just saying the name makes me cringe.
My wifey is the same. Tea Lights….Tea Lights….and then some moreTea Lights.
I tell her I can get them from Bunnings for have the price. She says they are not the same…...Bloody how different can they be.
They are small, and you light em.
sssshhh…
9
http://kryogenix.org/writings/ikea :)
10
I’ve only came in touch with Ikea in Germany and I cannot really complain. Normally stocks are full and queus are not verly long except on Saturday. And the breakfast and lunch at Ikea is quite well.
So it is of course not really a pleasure to go shopping there, but in my opinion it is not so bad, as how you described it.
11
I used to be a big fan of IKEA-in fact our apartment looks like a showroom straight out of IKEA. However, last year I was in an accident in the IKEA parking lot (which I still say was just as much her fault as it was mine), and the other party is now suing me as well as IKEA-and now IKEA is countersuing me! I am still in shock over how litiginous they’re being! Now neither I nor my family members will go anywhere near the place.
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