The duplicity of IKEA
On Wednesday, I decided to order a desk and some bookcases from IKEA.
Finding the items I liked, I went through the checkout process uneventfully.
I expected that the word "shortly" meant that a confirmation email would arrive faster than I could check my inbox. Given my experience with dozens of other online stores, my expectation was not out of line. However, nothing showed up even an hour later.
I looked at IKEA's How To E-Shop page. (Side note: I anxiously await the day when we all start referring to buying from a web site as just "shopping".) In reference to the confirmation email, the last step on the page says not "shortly", but "within 12 hours".
Twelve hours passed without word. At 19 hours, I phoned IKEA's customer service line and was told that orders don't even show up in their system for 24 hours.
It has now been 39.5 hours. No one from IKEA has phoned or emailed about my order.
IKEA may be competent in other areas, but their online ordering system needs a lot of work. If you have to buy from them, consider visiting one of their physical stores instead.
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9 Comments:
Chie and I are waiting on a couch from them. I don't actually think they're that competent in any area - skimping on customer service and what not is how they keep their prices low.
Like for this delivery they just told us "Well, I we don't call you about it call us in 12 days." I mean what the fuck is that?
And today is the twelth day...
11:49 AM
Just phoned them again. The customer service person said that it takes 48 hours for an internet order to hit their system!
She also claimed that someone would phone me today for sure. It sounded like the online store is run by different company.
1:15 PM
Speaking of IKEA, I'm meaning to get there this weekend. Although there is the hassle of actually visiting the physical location, I'll have the satisfaction of returning with my purchase in hand.
I wonder if their poster frames are on sale. I want to put up my Dick Bruna posters I purchased in Japan. That's right, I said it, I bought Dick Bruna poster in Japan. I mean DICK BRUNA, and JAPAN!!! Sigh... oh nobody cares but me. See Derek, when you say I should have a blog, this is what I mean when nobody would read it.
10:56 PM
I forgot, you didn't hear about my Ikea ordering experience. I'll try to summarize.
There isn't an Ikea in the city that my apartment is in, BUT they do deliver to there. I went to an Ikea store to see what the stuff looked like in person. Decided what I wanted. Gave a list to the people at the delivery desk to see if they could deliver it. They said I had to order it online. I asked if they could do it for me, or if there was internet at the store so that I could do it. They said I had to do it from home. Went back to order it. Turns out only half of the stuff on my list could be ordered -- the other half I had to go to a store to get. I was just AT a store, but they didn't mention that. (Getting to a store is a problem, considering that I didn't live where there was one at the time.)
Got the confirmation e-mail after a week. E-mail says to call a number to confirm. Called the number, was told they would call me within 10 days to set a delivery date. No call. Called back. Given a different number. Number doesn't work. They call me when I'm at work telling me to call them. By now it is a month later and I am no longer in the city where my apartment is. My housemate says she'll set up a time. They say they'll call her. I call her, she says they haven't called. She calls them. Two weeks later, I have furniture. I still had to go to a store in person to pick up the rest of the stuff that I wanted.
Conclusion: their online ordering system SUCKS... but they deliver, eventually, and moving heavy boxes by bus is worse.
11:18 PM
I phoned them again today. The customer rep apologized and offered to recreate the order by phone.
It was all well and good until I was informed that shipping would be $126.85.
I said "What?".
It turns out that the online and phone ordering systems don't charge the same $50 shipping that the stores do - rather they use a separate freight company that charges by weight.
Could this be the worst electronic ordering system ever operated by a large company?
4:10 PM
why don't you just call us and we can drive you to ikea to pick up what you want?
12:17 PM
Bubbles:
Thanks for the offer, but I don't know that a desk and two bookcases would fit in your car.
I think I'll just go to the North York store and place a delivery order in person for CAD$50.
That way I can relax and watch people struggle while I laugh at them for working for such an awful employer.
12:38 PM
Well we are talking about the company who were one of the very last to establish a presence on the web at all. I remember when ikea.se was only a lame little text more or less like "It turns out its a bit more complicated to put together a site, than it is to put together one of our kits"
8:50 AM
It's a miracle! Twenty days later, IKEA has called and emailed me about my original online order!
I need to make some "IKEA Sucks!" stickers or something. :/
11:44 AM
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