2 Things I Hate About IKEA

IKEA is usually mentioned in the same sentence as the phrase "one of the best brands in the world." Lord knows I have certainly spent my share of hard earned dollars inside the blue box. But, the time has come for me to question how the hell this brand is able to survive when they fall flat on their face on 2 glaring items and for good measure I will throw in a third.

First, their website. Ikea.com has to be the worst online retail shopping experience in the history of online retail shopping experiences. They have so few stores in the US, could you imagine the value they could create for their company if they had a better online experience? Not everyone enjoys the pilgrimage to the closest IKEA which is probably more than 100 miles away.

Second, their customer service 800#. For my Chicago-office of Wirestone, I have ordered a great deal of stuff from IKEA. Every time, and I mean every time, something goes wrong. My poor Office Manager spends at least 2-hours a day trying to resolve the issues. EVERY TIME!How can a world-class brand like IKEA have customer service that has to rank up there with Ed Debevics in Chicago. And for you Chicagoans, you know that ain't pretty. They are rude, clueless and anything but helpful.

And for good measure, I will throw in a 3rd - their stupid instruction manuals that make absolutely no sense. Now, if any of you masochists try and tell me that this is part of the IKEA charm, I will personally come to your house with that stupid allen wrench they give you and poke out your eye.

Now, I ask you good people of experience-land, how can a brand that falls way down on so many service-measures be as successful as they are? Are their products and store experience so good that we give them mulligans on the other stuff? If IKEA could round out their experience to include world-class customer service and a website experience that helps rather than hinders, imagine what they could do?