IKEA sucks - Stupid is as stupid does.

And on it goes. Today I finaly get a call from IKEA! Woo woo! Not so woo woo. This guy tells me his name is Jeff and that he's calling because I requested a manager call back. This brings my hopes up that perhaps I may finally get some satisfaction from these turkeys. Again not so. He proceeds to tell me about the 45 day warranty. This sort of gets my ire and he can tell there is an edge to my voice. I asked him if he thought a table should last longer than three months? All he could do was tell me about a 45 day warranty. I was getting pretty mad but wasn't rude. I did tell him that the whole experience thus far had been unbelievable and despicable, and was shocked if they thought that was good customer service.

Then he said something about the table that I didn't hear so I asked him if he even knew what table I was talking about. He could not answer me. I asked him if he had seen the pictures I sent. He had not, telling me that all he had was an E-mail saying that I have a broken table. I was livid and asked why he hadn't read my complaint or seen the pictures and why he was calling me without having done that. He got very upset and told me that he was trying to be as nice as possible here. Who cares? Oh sorry for getting angry at your ineptitude. Do your job you fucking idiot! Or at least give me to someone who has the brains to do that before calling me. Dumb fuck! Or am I the dumb fuck for even thinking that I might get some propper customer service here? Despite being angry at me he knew I was right and said that he was going to get off the phone and go and look at the pictures that were suppoosed to be included in the message and then call me back with his "decision". I said that I would appreciate that and that is where it was left. Needless to say I have yet to hear back from him. Hmmm, I wonder if I ever will?

Have any suggestions about this? Want to share your own horror story? Feel free to leave a comment and I will post it here for the whole world to see.

TAGS: ikea sucks! | ikea | IKEA | furniture

IKEA sucks - Grrrrrrrrrrrrr... there just is no justice with these #%^@@#*&^$_

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! That's about all I can say about this experience. I'll say this much, IKEA seems resolved to trample the notion of good customer service as far down into the ground as they possibly can. Not even a daily E-mail has produced any kind of contact from them at all. I think that the address they gave me is a dead end address for losers like me.

Well fuck that! I've still got a few tricks up my sleeve. Stay tuned.

Have any suggestions about this? Want to share your own horror story? Feel free to leave a comment and I will post it here for the whole world to see.

TAGS: ikea sucks! | ikea | IKEA | furniture

IKEA sucks - Still banging my head against the wall that is IKEA!

I have resorted to sending IKEA a daily E-mail. It usually has a reference to the latest E-mail from the Web site Customer Service - different from the real "Customer Service" - telling me that they are forwarding my message to "Customer Service" and I should hear back from them soon. At least this time they put a time of within 48 - 72 hours. I am not holding my breath. You'll notice that I have begun to c.c. the President of IKEA Canada. I don't really have an E-mail address for her but figured it couldn't hurt to c.c. her. Having said that if anyone has an E-mail address for her I would truly love to get my hands on it. ;-)

Here is today's version of my daily E-mail to them:

As I have not heard from anyone yet I am sending this again, and will continue to do so on a daily basis until someone from IKEA who can make a decision decides to actually speak to me. I did receive this today, the second such message from your Web site Customer Service:

Hello Mr. Dudley,

Thank you for taking the time to contact us. To help you further in this matter, we have forwarded your message to the Customer Service department of IKEA Home Shopping on your behalf. You will be contacted via telephone regarding case file S1180087 within 48 to 72 hours.

Should you require further assistance with your case, please do not hesitate to contact IKEA Home Shopping by telephone with your file number.

Store phone numbers are available online at:
http://www.ikea.ca/ms/en_CA/ikny_splash.html

Best Regards,
IKEA Website Customer Service

I've heard that one before! You know, the one where I am promised that someone will be in touch within 48-72 hours. It's been a month and I'm still waiting for someone to call me! In any event, in case you missed it below is my situation.

On October 21, I spoke with a customer service rep. named Adriane who instructed me to send this info to you in the hopes that I will be given the opportunity to speak to someone who will actually stand behind an IKEA product for more than 45 days. I will not be punished for being an at home shopper. If there was a store here this would not have been an issue as I am sure that when presented with the physical evidence someone there would have agreed with me that this is not acceptable after only three months of use.

I'm not usually driven to demand anything. Yet after the way I have been yelled at, accused of misuse, and generally disrespected not to mention that after only three months I have a broken table, I demand that I am either given my money back or have this faulty piece replaced, at no cost to me.

The way I have been treated thus far has been truly astonishing to say the least. I would have expected more from a company that seems to be so highly regarded and is so successful.

I look forward to seeing where things go from here.

c.c. Ms. Kerri Molinaro
President, IKEA Canada

Have any suggestions about this? Want to share your own horror story? Feel free to leave a comment and I will post it here for the whole world to see.

TAGS: ikea sucks! | ikea | IKEA | furniture

IKEA sucks - Web support vs customer support?

I finally got a reply to ... well, anything! This time though it was from the E-mail address that I found when I looked at the code of their E-mail Contact form page. Not from the one that I was given over the phone. Here is what it said:

Hello Mr. Dudley,

Thank you for your email. We have forwarded your message and the
pictures to the customer service department, requesting that someone
contact you by phone.

Sincerely,
IKEA Website Customer Service

Funny how they didn't respond when I filled out their E-mail form and sent that. In any event apparently that address is just for Web support anyway. We'll see if I get anywhere with this latest contact.

Have any suggestions about this? Want to share your own horror story? Feel free to leave a comment and I will post it here for the whole world to see.

TAGS: ikea sucks! | ikea | IKEA | furniture

IKEA sucks - Banging my head against the wall that is IKEA

After not having heard one word from these idiots, I phoned them again today. I got into another shouting match with the asshole on the other end when he informed me that I was not on any of the call back lists. Those F*%#(@ers never put me on one in the first place. Did they really think I would just go away? Wrong!

After being yelled at again that there is only a 45 day warranty on their stuff I told him that I did not care about their 45 day crap and that I would not stop, would not go away until they either replaced the broken pieces or gave me my money back. I tried to get him to look at a tamer version of my original post but he claimed that his computer was being blocked from viewing this page. Yeah right. So he gave me an E-mail address to send the pictures to and assured me that I would hear back from them. I tried to get him to commit to a day for call back, which of course he could not or would not do.

So I sent the E-mail to the address that he gave me as well as the one I found when looking at the source code of their E-mail Form page. I am resolved to do so every day from now on until I get somewhere.

Have any suggestions about this? Want to share your own horror story? Feel free to leave a comment and I will post it here for the whole world to see.

TAGS: ikea sucks! | ikea | IKEA | furniture

IKEA sucks - Of course you know this means war!

Well, the last time that I spoke to anyone from IKEA sucks was October 8. So much for a five day call-back list. Time for the gloves to come off.

TAGS: ikea sucks! | ikea | IKEA | furniture

IKEA sucks - Still waiting

Yes I'm still waiting and not getting any happier I might add. I have not heard back from either the "Call-back Supervisor" nor my letter sent to them off of their Web site. It never ceases to amaze me how the bigger and more successful a retail company is the worse their service is. It's really despicable when you think about it. After all, who made them successful in the first place?

TAGS: ikea sucks! | ikea | IKEA | furniture

IKEA sucks - In case you missed it this is why IKEA sucks.

The world's largest furniture company, IKEA, owned by the wealthiest man in the world (yes even wealthier than Bill Gates and all of the sheikhs) DOES NOT stand behind their products.

Here's our story:

After years of hearing people rave about their furniture we decided to spend some money and buy a new coffee table. We thought we had found the greatest table when we decided on the Lamborn Coffee Table from IKEA. It is a multifunction table where half of the table top can be lifted out, turned around, re-inserted into it's leg holes and thus turned into a work/eating table. See below:






After three months the table top that is removable broke! The arm that pulls out and then gets reinserted when the table top is reversed, as is in the second picture, pulled out of the wood top; anchors and all. (See below.) One would think that this would be built in such a way that this stress point could and should withstand more than three months of use.










Now I am being told that because it is past the 45 day warranty period they have no responsibility to me or their merchandise. Imagine that; the biggest furniture company in the world will not stand behind their furniture for more than 45 days. How absurd is that!

Worse is the service I have received over the phone with regards to this. First I was told that there was a one year warranty on the materials. Then I was cut off while being transferred to the claims department. Then upon phoning back I was transferred to a person whose accent was so heavy I couldn't understand a word they were saying. After they slowed down and started annunciating in English I was able to convey my message to him upon which I was transferred again, but this time not before being told that I was out of luck. When protesting that decision to the next person I was told that it was my fault and had the customer service 'manager' (more on that later) yell at me about how he didn't know how I was using the table. All the while admitting that this should not have happened.

Sensing that I would get nowhere with this person I asked to talk to his superior. At this point I was told that I could not and a case number would be given to me and I would be added to a Supervisor Call Back list. I would hear from someone within 24 to 48 hours. I was not happy about this but what else could I do? So I waited, and waited and waited some more until 5 days later I called them back! When I got the customer service rep on the phone I immediately asked for his manager. He replied that he was the manager. After speaking with him for a moment and explaining the situation I quickly came to the realization that they all consider themselves "Customer Service Managers" and I will get nowhere with this fellow. In any event he puts me on hold for over 10 minutes while he retrieves the case file, only to have him tell me that I am out of luck and will not receive any assistance what-so-ever from IKEA, all the while insisting that they do indeed stand behind their products. I find this a very bizarre way of standing behind ones products. So yet again I insist on talking to his 'superior,' a term that I figure he may actually understand. He insists that I will get the same answer from whomever I talk to and again tells me that I can't talk to anyone right now and I can if I want go back on the call back list and wait at least 5 more days for a call.

So here I am, waiting for a call from someone who is supposedly a supervisor or manager or whatever the hell they call the next person up the chain. Still not at all satisfied with what's going on here and still sitting with a 3 month old broken table. Grrrrrrr.

Have any similar experiences with IKEA? Want to share that experience? Something tells me I'm not the only one going through this. If you want to share your experience please send me a comment and I will either post your story here for you or get you to do it. Don't let the biggest furniture company in the world get away with this!

TAGS: ikea sucks! | ikea | IKEA | furniture

IKEA sucks - Tired of waiting.

In my continued efforts to resolve this situation I find myself growing more and more frustrated with the lack of contact and satisfaction that I am getting from IKEA. Today I decided to try contacting them through their Web site, using their online form. This is what I sent them:

After dealing with your so-called customer service reps I want to speak with a supervisor or manager of customer support.

It is becoming clear to me that you do not stand behind your product; a shocking realization when talking about one of the biggest furniture companies in the world.

I have had the Lamborn Coffee table for just over three months and it is broken. One of the arms that support the table top that can be removed and reversed has pulled out of the particle board table top. An unacceptable result of using the table as it was intended.

I have been told by a couple of rude customer service reps - whom I could barley understand due to such thick accents - that the 45 day warranty period is over and therefore I am stuck with a broken table and no recourse. This while insisting that IKEA stands behind their products and it must be my fault that it broke. This response would be laughable if it weren't so utterly ridiculous and wrong.

I get the distinct feeling that if I had an actual store in my city where I could take the broken piece I would have no problem being taken care of satisfactorily. That has been the experience of others that I know. So why am I being punished for being a home shopper? Do you think that if I get treated poorly enough that I'll just give up and go away? Think again! I will not stop until I get treated properly and fairly. This problem is not because of anything other than faulty material/design and/or poor workmanship.

This was our first purchase from IKEA and you can be rest assured that if this does not get resolved to my satisfaction it will be our last. And I will do everything in my power to dissuade as many others as I possibly can from shopping with you as well.

I look forward to hearing from someone as I have already been waiting for over a week for a "Supervisor Call Back." Good day!

Think this will get me anywhere? I am sceptical to say the least. If this does not work I will continue moving up the chain until I do get some satisfaction.

TAGS: ikea sucks! | ikea | IKEA | furniture

IKEA sucks - This just in.

Here is an engineer's assessment of the Lamborn Table and IKEA in general (Wish I'd known this before purchasing! D'oah!!):

"... I have bought several items from IKEA, and have come to realize that at least 50% of their furniture is crap, for one or both of the following reasons: (1) poor quality materials, or (2) poor design. In the case of your table, any first year engineering student could see this is totally crappy implementation of an otherwise innovative design. The strength of that screw in particle board is way too low for the application, which involves repetitive loading. If they had used solid pine instead of particle board, with the correct screw, it would be a great product. I think the general rule with IKEA is that some of their products have innovative design (they have many different designers, some are really good), but many more suffer from poor material selection and implementation of the design (especially items that use that bloody particle board)."

TAGS: ikea sucks! | ikea | IKEA | furniture

IKEA SUCKS and is NOT TO BE TRUSTED!

The world's largest furniture company, IKEA, owned by the wealthiest man in the world (yes even wealthier than Bill Gates and all of the sheikhs) DOES NOT stand behind their products.

Here's our story:

After years of hearing people rave about their furniture we decided to spend some money and buy a new coffee table. We thought we had found the greatest table when we decided on the Lamborn Coffee Table from IKEA. It is a multifunction table where half of the table top can be lifted out, turned around, re-inserted into it's leg holes and thus turned into a work/eating table. See below:






After three months the table top that is removable broke! The arm that pulls out and then gets reinserted when the table top is reversed, as is in the second picture, pulled out of the wood top; anchors and all. (See below.) One would think that this would be built in such a way that this stress point could and should withstand more than three months of use.










Now I am being told that because it is past the 45 day warranty period they have no responsibility to me or their merchandise. Imagine that; the biggest furniture company in the world will not stand behind their furniture for more than 45 days. How absurd is that!

Worse is the service I have received over the phone with regards to this. First I was told that there was a one year warranty on the materials. Then I was cut off while being transferred to the claims department. Then upon phoning back I was transferred to a person whose accent was so heavy I couldn't understand a word they were saying. After they slowed down and started annunciating in English I was able to convey my message to him upon which I was transferred again, but this time not before being told that I was out of luck. When protesting that decision to the next person I was told that it was my fault and had the customer service 'manager' (more on that later) yell at me about how he didn't know how I was using the table. All the while admitting that this should not have happened.

Sensing that I would get nowhere with this person I asked to talk to his superior. At this point I was told that I could not and a case number would be given to me and I would be added to a Supervisor Call Back list. I would hear from someone within 24 to 48 hours. I was not happy about this but what else could I do? So I waited, and waited and waited some more until 5 days later I called them back! When I got the customer service rep on the phone I immediately asked for his manager. He replied that he was the manager. After speaking with him for a moment and explaining the situation I quickly came to the realization that they all consider themselves "Customer Service Managers" and I will get nowhere with this fellow. In any event he puts me on hold for over 10 minutes while he retrieves the case file, only to have him tell me that I am out of luck and will not receive any assistance what-so-ever from IKEA, all the while insisting that they do indeed stand behind their products. I find this a very bizarre way of standing behind ones products. So yet again I insist on talking to his 'superior,' a term that I figure he may actually understand. He insists that I will get the same answer from whomever I talk to and again tells me that I can't talk to anyone right now and I can if I want go back on the call back list and wait at least 5 more days for a call.

So here I am, waiting for a call from someone who is supposedly a supervisor or manager or whatever the hell they call the next person up the chain. Still not at all satisfied with what's going on here and still sitting with a 3 month old broken table. Grrrrrrr.

Have any similar experiences with IKEA? Want to share that experience? Something tells me I'm not the only one going through this. If you want to share your experience please send me a comment and I will either post your story here for you or get you to do it. Don't let the biggest furniture company in the world get away with this!

TAGS: ikea sucks! | ikea | IKEA | furniture