[LaurenN]

I'm sad to say I am a very frustrated IKEA Direct customer. We don't have an IKEA near us, so we took a risk and ordered our kitchen through IKEA Direct.

The way IKEA markets their low prices is how they streamline and package their products, and that the customer does the assembly. They do not market their low prices based on the customer putting up with poor service, yet that seems to be the case.

We do have a beautiful kitchen, minus a pantry door that we are still waiting for. We had put in a claim for damaged pieces: 1 cabinet and 3 doors. I tried to get some sort of confirmation that listed all 4 pieces and could not get a response from our rep. Sure enough, the shipment came and we are minus 1 door. I have been trying for the last week to report this to them, both via email and phone, and have yet to get a reply. This has been our usual experience through this whole process. It is very difficult to get someone on the phone or through email to answer questions or get specific information. Even if their prices are low, when buying a kitchen it is a heck of a lot of money to trust to a process where you have no idea what is going on and can't find anyone there to help.

(Thank you, by the way, to IKEA Fans, who ended up being the place we got some answers)

I can honestly say that if anyone I know considers ordering from IKEA after seeing how nice our kitchen is, I'll warn them against doing so if it would require their going through IKEA Direct. If there were a store here, though, where it would simply be a matter of waiting until pieces were in stock and they could go pick them up themselves, I would probably recommend them.

[musitechnica]

IKEA is broken. Unless they address some core issues (some of which are seemingly new), they will not continue to succeed.

My blog says it all. You can read it here.

[Dave of the Coonties]

Inability to handle backorders seems pretty alarming, especially when outfitting kitchen remodels for customers distant from stores appears to be a very significant part of their business.

[notetojenn]

Rude.

I can't answer your poll, though, because I don't know what you want the service level to be compared to.

[ia_modern]

I only have experience with their direct ordering. I'd give IKEA a C-. They operate their website and call center like it's the 1990's. Just an example - their website hasn't allowed credit card ordering the last two days. I think the owners need to invest in better technology and getting better staff on the phones.

I love my kitchen, but IKEA made several mistakes with my order. It set me back weeks on the project. The system that turns the planner design into a real order is broken. IKEA generally made things right, but not always. Their staff in the call center didn't always care and acted like it was too much trouble to fix everything. Don't expect timely replies to email or fax.

Would I order my kitchen from direct again? Yes, it's a great kitchen - very nice product design. But their CS needs improvement.

[parrishnut]

The worst.. in the last 3 experiences -
1. kitchen shipped without hanging brackets - installer waited at $450 for a day to get them
2. Most zippers on slipcovers broken, refused to mail, had to drive 75 miles for replacement.
3. The worst happened today, Accused of stealin a 7 dollar shelf, and police called because I returned a shef that was wrong to beging with from a NY store to a MN store, and they swore, both th receipt which ix 8.5 x 11 slip in NY was not a receipt and pick ticket was false.. Big goo from sequrity called to escort me from store, at no time did I cure. I just told them they were all incompetent, and even had the NY store online, to say the slip was a receipt, and the 17 yr old store manager, refused to honor it.. I am going to contact the president Ikea Us and Sweden tomorrow...
P.S. I am a senior v.p on wall street for 20 years.. this is the worst!!!

[DulcineaK]

I love that the ikea Emeryville has been redone. it feels more like the West Sac mixed with Az... and the folks are getting happier there. and happy workers make for a better experience!

[defunnell]

Poor, I've vowed never ever to use their online services again.

Ordered a tylosand sofa in may, half of it turned up without covers or instuctions start of july, still waiting for the other half.

Onto ordering my third set of covers as everytime i order them Ikea happliy take my money and tell me I'm going to get them in a weeks time, then phone up the night before to cancel delivery and reschedule for October and then take 5 working days to refund me for the 'mythical' covers.

So I've got half a sofa no covers and chance of covers until winter, oh and the instructions for putting the sofa together are in with the covers.

and talking to the customer service people is like stabbing myself in the eye with a spoon. and trying to complain to anyone in authority is well....words fail me, i'd stand more chance of locating bin laden than a helpful IKEA employee.

All in all, shoddy.