Brian says IKEA wouldn’t sell him one of the desks he wanted because it was “sold out,” despite the fact that he could look around and see a bunch of his desired desks stacked near the customer service area. The reason: A customer service dude told him they only restock at night and Brian would have to come back tomorrow.

He writes:

Hey Consumerist, thought I’d write in about one of the worst customer service experiences I’ve ever had. We have an IKEA here but it’s very far away so we don’t get out that way much. In fact today was the first time I’d ever purchased something there and I have absolutely no intention of EVER going back now.

What happened was we picked out a couple desks and things that we needed and proceeded to the pick up area. The first desk was no problem, loaded it up and away we go. The second desk, however, was “sold out”. I looked around and noticed a shrinkwrapped pallet of them above the usual pickup area. I went to the customer service counter and asked if they’d get them down so I could purchase one… no. They do not do that during the day, EVER. He said it would be restocked tonight and I could come back tomorrow. WHAT?

I went back and forth with him for a few minutes but it was pretty pointless to argue. I live over an hour away (one way), I refuse to waste the time and gas when I really should just be able to pick it up while I’m there.

I’m sure I know why they do it; forklifts are dangerous and with that many people in the store, it’s an accident waiting to happen. But why can’t they just rope off the section to get something down like Home Depot does? Honestly, I want to give them my money, but they won’t take it!

I’m sure this is one of those little nuances that the IKEA-loyal know all about, but I have to say as a new customer, I was very turned off by their so called customer service. I did pick up the first desk, but got a second one on the way home from a different retailer. I will NOT be returning to IKEA.

Have you ever had the same problem at IKEA? If any employees can confirm this is store policy, please comment.

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