Warning....really long rant.
I just have to vent over really poor customer service that I received recently from Ikea. I was "tasked" with ordering ten guest chairs from Ikea for work. These particular chairs cost about $129 a piece, and unfortunately, were not available online. So, under the assumption that Ikea is so "well-known" (and don't they have a catalog from which you can place phone orders?) and by extension, should have a relatively good customer service system in place, I thought it would have been an easy order. But I was very wrong.
I called the 800 number on the website, and got bounced around so much that I hung up. Then, I decided to call one of the three local stores in the DC area. I finally got someone, explained the situation, only to be told that I could not place a phone order for delivery and had to do it in store. At that point, I had wasted about 45 minutes of my time, so my patience was starting to wear a little thin. I asked her, short of me wasting time in traffic (DC traffic is impossible) and going from one store to another, if she could check the inventory of the three stores to make sure that one had at least ten chairs. She replied that it was no problem at all to check.
Another few minutes passed...she finally came back on and told me that only one store in my area had the chairs - College Park, MD - and that they had thirteen. Great, I thought...I'll go place the order during the weekend. Before I could complete that thought, she told me that I could only order five from that store since they need to keep eight as an overhead. So, although they have the chairs, they can't sell them to me. She then said that she could check another store for me outside the three in my area (2 in MD, 1 in VA).
At that point, I lost it. I reconfirmed with her that in order to get those specific chairs, I would have to go to the store to place the order, to which she replied yes. So, based on that, I guess she expected me to drive (if there is even a store that is driveable beyond the three) to another store to place an in-store order. Does that not make sense to anyone??? I got really snarky with her at the end of the conversation....I just couldn't help myself. I deal with vendors everyday, and it generally takes A LOT to rile me up. I just couldn't believe what I was hearing. I wasn't trying to order a singular $10 chair...I was trying to place an order that was close to $1500 when all was said and done - a significant expenditure for my non-profit organization.
Has anyone else had a frustrating time with Ikea?
I just have to vent over really poor customer service that I received recently from Ikea. I was "tasked" with ordering ten guest chairs from Ikea for work. These particular chairs cost about $129 a piece, and unfortunately, were not available online. So, under the assumption that Ikea is so "well-known" (and don't they have a catalog from which you can place phone orders?) and by extension, should have a relatively good customer service system in place, I thought it would have been an easy order. But I was very wrong.
I called the 800 number on the website, and got bounced around so much that I hung up. Then, I decided to call one of the three local stores in the DC area. I finally got someone, explained the situation, only to be told that I could not place a phone order for delivery and had to do it in store. At that point, I had wasted about 45 minutes of my time, so my patience was starting to wear a little thin. I asked her, short of me wasting time in traffic (DC traffic is impossible) and going from one store to another, if she could check the inventory of the three stores to make sure that one had at least ten chairs. She replied that it was no problem at all to check.
Another few minutes passed...she finally came back on and told me that only one store in my area had the chairs - College Park, MD - and that they had thirteen. Great, I thought...I'll go place the order during the weekend. Before I could complete that thought, she told me that I could only order five from that store since they need to keep eight as an overhead. So, although they have the chairs, they can't sell them to me. She then said that she could check another store for me outside the three in my area (2 in MD, 1 in VA).
At that point, I lost it. I reconfirmed with her that in order to get those specific chairs, I would have to go to the store to place the order, to which she replied yes. So, based on that, I guess she expected me to drive (if there is even a store that is driveable beyond the three) to another store to place an in-store order. Does that not make sense to anyone??? I got really snarky with her at the end of the conversation....I just couldn't help myself. I deal with vendors everyday, and it generally takes A LOT to rile me up. I just couldn't believe what I was hearing. I wasn't trying to order a singular $10 chair...I was trying to place an order that was close to $1500 when all was said and done - a significant expenditure for my non-profit organization.
Has anyone else had a frustrating time with Ikea?