Ikea You Not!

New house or old, rental or owned - at some stage in your life, you may decide to go to Ikea to furnish your own nest. When I first moved out, Ikea was a cost-effect way to furnish the place and not break the bank. Throughout the years, I have seen the Ikea presence grow in Australia despite much controversy about some of their services and offerings. But when an organisation gets so big that they no longer hear customer feedback, this signifies the decline and eventual death of an international brand.

I certainly saw it today through my own recent purchasing experience.

My husband and I decided to buy a new mattress yesterday (22 October 2016) and after much deliberation, decided on an Ikea mattress. Our deciding factor in making this purchase with Ikea: they would be able to have the mattress delivered the next day (23 October 2016) - today. Excited and pleased that they seemed so much more efficient, we did not hesitate to fork over the money and made the order - despite there being better deals out there.

Keep in mind 2 things before we move forward:

1. We bought the bed because we could receive it the next day and use it
2. We were advised at order time that the mattress would be delivered between 3pm to 7pm on 23 October 2016
3. Ikea delivery policy dictates that customer must sign for the order, and it must not be left if unattended.

Fast forward to today (23 October 2016) - both of us were not home in the morning - returning home around 1.30pm to find our next door neighbour with the news that Ikea delivery guys have been and gone, leaving the mattress we had ordered in the backyard where it could be rained on.

It is forecasted to rain today in sunny Queensland Australia, and they left it outside. Unattended. Unsigned for. Against company policy.

Why was the genius that decided this was a good idea?

When we called Ikea Customer Service, and explained that we cannot move the bed inside without help, it is going to rain and the bed will get destroyed (because the packaging is not waterproof), we were advised of the following:

1. There is nothing they can do for us under 24 to 48 hours. They can't get in touch with the delivery drivers and ask them to return.
2. They don't care if the bed is destroyed. They will replace it free of charge.

So Ikea executives around the world, think about this. You are willing to replace a nearly $700 (AUD) mattress because your customer service people can't resolve issues and do their jobs properly. How does that effect your yearly bonuses and bottom line?

Have a read of Ikea's reputation taking a hit on peer review websites like productreview.com.au, and you will find that this is NOT and isolated incident. There is problem with your logistics and your customer service. You are regularly failing your loyal customers who are now turning on you. Your reputation is now shot with me. I will be doing all I can to market Ikea as a brand to avoid. I willing be doing this with my network who no doubt also have other horrific stories of their own to tell. Not to mention, I am looking into lodging a formal complaint with the ACCC about this abuse of customer rights and inaccurate marketing.

The negative momentum is increasing for your brand. What are you going to do about it? Are you going to do something about this or watch it die? The signs are there: a company that don't look after its customers will die in this day and age. It is only a matter of time.