Ikea refused to ship Oz the parts he needed to complete his $2,200 order. The order was placed in early September; when it finally arrived in late October, so many parts were missing that several items could not be assembled.

I hired a guy off of craigslist to help me assemble all of the furniture, given the fact that we had 3 rooms to assemble. This turns into a 2 day ordeal, with a ton of missing parts and us having to document it to call Ikea later. We get to several items such as the desk, which is missing so many parts it’s un-assemblable.

We have 8 foot tall cabinets that are a bit rickety and missing hinges, 3 solid bookshelves and a number of missing parts for the desk, kitchen table and sofa.

We all know Ikea is from Sweden, where everyone has healthcare and hex-bolts grow on trees. Oz didn’t have hex-bolt trees in his backyard, so he asked Ikea to ship the missing parts. Small things, like the legs for his desk.

December brought several parts, but still no legs for the desk. Oz’s girlfriend also noticed that the curved desk, which sat unassembled, was not the right-handed desk they had ordered, but a left-handed desk.

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Oz again called Ikea, and was told the correct tabletop would be shipped, along with the legs. January rolled around and Oz still hadn’t received the tabletop or the legs. He called again, and was told that because more than 30 days had elapsed since the original order was placed, Ikea can’t help.

Oz’s email, below.

My girlfriend and I placed a sizable order for Ikea furniture in Early September 2005. I’m not sure if you’re aware of how this works, but typically you spend 30 – 50 minutes on the phone with a somewhat lingustically challenged sales representative to file your order. After selecting a desk, 3 large clothes cabinets, a sofa, kitchen tables, chairs, bookshelves, organizational stuff and some kitchen items we are given a total of ~$1800 with $400 in shipping. Satisfied, we are told that a delivery company will call us within 2 – 3 weeks to schedule. I ask for a fax of the order which doesn’t come through. Salesperson: Belinda

The next day I call again for a fax of the order – which I am assured will be sent in 15 – 30 minutes of my call. When I arrive home – it’s not there. I assume they’re a bit backwards and chalk it up to corporate ineptitude.

Two weeks later we call to check on the order, since we haven’t heard from the delivery company.. Ikea cannot find the order and we are passed through a series of beligerent CSRs who actually yell at me and tell me I’m lying (about the order).We finally get to a supervisor after 15 minutes on the phone, at which point my girlfriend is in tears (and still without furniture).

The supervisor “finds” the original order but says it cannot be reprocessed and has to be resubmitted. We spend another 25 minutes on the phone going through each piece, continually asking to confirm if we need hinge kits, assembly screws, etc. At several points we are reassured that their “system” adds the required assembly hardware and adds it to the cost. After completing the order and waiting on the phone for a total call time of 65 minutes we get a credit card confirmation and order number. “All of your pieces are in stock except for the kitchen chairs” we’re then told – which requires a seperate order number and additional wait. We figure all is well.

Mind you – delivery time is 2 – 3 weeks from the date of order. 3 weeks later we get a call and the furniture is delivered in late October.

I hired a guy off of craigslist to help me assemble all of the furniture, given the fact that we had 3 rooms to assemble. This turns into a 2 day ordeal, with a ton of missing parts and us having to document it to call Ikea later. We get to several items such as the desk, which is missing so many parts it’s un-assemblable.

We have 8 foot tall cabinets that are a bit rickety and missing hinges, 3 solid bookshelves and a number of missing parts for the desk, kitchen table and sofa.

I call Ikea and lodge a complaint. I’m transferred to aftersales and they ensure me all parts will be fedexed within a week. A shipment arrives in mid-november, however I’m still missing assembly parts for the desk and kitchen table.

I call again the third week in November and Ikea assures us that the legs and other parts will be shipped. A curt apology is given.

Early December: the parts arrive – but I am still missing the proper number of legs required to assemble the desk. My girlfriend also notices (she wasn’t party to assembly anytime prior) that the desk curves the wrong way – basically Ikea shipped us a left hand desk when we needed a right hand desk.

I call Ikea the following Monday ( I should mention that aftersales is only open Monday through Friday) and spoke with a man in aftersales who said that the proper tabletop would be shipped out in 2 – 3 weeks. He also re-entered the legs as missing and noted that the legs would be shipped UPS and the tabletop would come freight ( 2 – 3 weeks).

Jan 5, 2007: I called Ikea to inquire about the tabletop. I am transferred to 2 departments (35 minute hold) before being transferred to Adrian in aftersales. I explain my situation to her and she cannot find any record of the re-order. I am given a lecture on Ikeas 30 day response policy on damaged and missing parts. I inform her that the table wasn’t shipped and get a second lecture where I’m yelled at about their policies and procedures. Unable to get a word in edgewise, I ask if the legs were shipped. Adrian confirms a UPS shipment for which I ask for a signature confirmation. (we never recieved the legs) She starts to belittle me and again yells. I tell her to calm down and ask for a supervisor. She responds that she “is” a supervisor, so I ask for an escalation point. She responds that I have to write a letter to corporate and puts me on hold to get the address.

I am on hold for 10 minutes, during which I google Ikea; find the CEO’s information in Sweden; locate their customer relations address and sit and wait…

Adrian comes back apologizing for the wait and says that the offices have just “moved” and gives me the same addresss I found online.

I ask if there is an ombudsman in the US, to which Adrian responds “what’s his name”. I explain what an ombudsman is and she says no – not here….

I ask again about the legs and get a loud rhetoric on what ikeas policies are, she also informs me that since it’s past 30 days from the original order they will not exchange the tabletop. I tell her to calm down, which gets her into a tirade – unable to ask anything I say can you give me the UPS number.. she continues to evade, yells at me and hangs up.

I now have to write a letter and try and reverse charges with my credit card company,

HELP!

Oz should have noticed the incorrect tabletop much sooner, but that doesn’t excuse Ikea’s abysmal service. Ikea promised to ship the proper tabletop and legs. There’s no reason they shouldn’t do exactly that. What else should Oz do? Share your ideas in the comments. — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER
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