strange business model

[d2xpeter]

Recently went to IKEA tampines to purchase quite a big number of items to refurnish my house.

As the list was long and most of the items are of substantial size, i first made a call to enquire whether we could order online and then hv them deliver to us.

The answer : no order online and we hv to go personally to the store to do the purchase and then bring to their delivery contractor counter after checkout to arrange for delivery.

We [wife and myself] ended up pushing 4 trolleys full of things. One of them has got 2 single size mattresses on it and another 2 of them to ferry 10 SKARPON chair. The last trolley was also packed full of heavy flat and long packages.

Totally exhausted by the time we checkout and reached the delivery counter, after enduring the super long queue at the checkout counter.

Long queue at the delivery arrangement counter. Finally all done and all body muscle aching upon reaching home.

Not end of the story yet.....
on delivery day, their delivery man attitude damn bloody bad. Grumbling as he shuffle all things complaining the things are so heavy, dragging the plastic white SKARPON on the floor..:angry: scratching and staining it:angry: no protecting wrapping on it.:angry:

:angry:
why create so much hassle for their customer??? why can't they allow us to order online and deliver to us??? i am sure that would hv increased their sale tremendously. It is really a turn-off after this experience to purchase large quantity of items from them in future!:angry:

 

[UncleFai]

Recently went to IKEA tampines to purchase quite a big number of items to refurnish my house.

As the list was long and most of the items are of substantial size, i first made a call to enquire whether we could order online and then hv them deliver to us.

The answer : no order online and we hv to go personally to the store to do the purchase and then bring to their delivery contractor counter after checkout to arrange for delivery.

We [wife and myself] ended up pushing 4 trolleys full of things. One of them has got 2 single size mattresses on it and another 2 of them to ferry 10 SKARPON chair. The last trolley was also packed full of heavy flat and long packages.

Totally exhausted by the time we checkout and reached the delivery counter, after enduring the super long queue at the checkout counter.

Long queue at the delivery arrangement counter. Finally all done and all body muscle aching upon reaching home.

Not end of the story yet.....
on delivery day, their delivery man attitude damn bloody bad. Grumbling as he shuffle all things complaining the things are so heavy, dragging the plastic white SKARPON on the floor..:angry: scratching and staining it:angry: no protecting wrapping on it.:angry:

:angry:
why create so much hassle for their customer??? why can't they allow us to order online and deliver to us??? i am sure that would hv increased their sale tremendously. It is really a turn-off after this experience to purchase large quantity of items from them in future!:angry:

They put up posters everywhere saying that's why their things so cheap.

 

[huatman]

Think better if feedback to them directly or post on their Facebook wall?
If rmb correctly had saw feedback in fb b4 about someone floor being damage during delivery.

 

[edutilos-]

On - why IKEA can't order online and deliver: Maybe you can keep in mind IKEA's tagline of "providing a range of home furnishing products that are affordable to the many people, not just the few". While overseas there are delivery options you'll find out from the text in the link below that it's horribly expensive (IKEA Singapore's delivery isn't by any means cheap either). There's also the philosophy of course, which is also applicable to a large extent (I think) to Singapore's context. As to whether cutting out all these frills keep their cost cheap, it's up to you to accept...

http://www.ikeafans.com/home/ikea-home-delivery-why-it-will-never-pay/

To be blunt, if you really want an online shopping experience, IKEA is not the place to go. I can name a number of stores that also do not have any online shopping options.. If your idea is to sit at home and click away, then you can look at sites like Forty Two. There's loads of reasons NOT to do so, e.g. seeing the piece in person is quite different from just looking at pictures. My question to you is: if you detest the concept so much, why be rigid and insist that a company must change itself to suit every customer's needs - when you can easily take your business elsewhere? Do keep in mind that there are a lot of photography shops like Cathay, TK Foto, MS Colour, Orient Photo who also don't have online shops. They definitely have their reasons for doing so.. Loads of people lug stuff from IKEA home - it's not easy but they still do it without complaint (I didn't even take their delivery service btw, which was a PITA). Why should they change to suit your whims, if that is the case?

As for the poor service given by the delivery person, if I'm not wrong these are outsourced and not handled by IKEA staff, you can definitely give your feedback here: http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_SG/customer_service/contact_us/contact.html

If the goods are damaged you can also mention it, though I'm also wondering why you accepted the item (if you did anyways) if it has been damaged during delivery process. It's a bit hard to argue later on whether the deliveryman did it or you did it yourself after he left.

 

[edutilos-]

By the way, I also recall that the larger items are picked up at a separate counter - you make payment for the invoice and show the receipt afterward. The large items counter is situated next to the delivery counter, as I recall. Do they put the single mattresses along their aisles? Doesn't seem intuitive given the size of the trolleys..

If you have made plans to get such a huge pile of items, in future perhaps you can try to get someone along (your kids? your friends?) to help? Or do it in 2 seatings on the same day...

 

[d2xpeter]

well, i actually dont mind lugging things into my car and bring back myself. Always do that in fact at IKEA.
But that is for a few items.
I am saying that they should hv the flexibility of allowing people to order online when the purchase quantity is big.

We actually hv a queen size mattress and another [surprising small] item a single bed-mattress-support keyed into the invoice by one of the staff. We also wished to hv as many items keyed into the invoice as possible, BUT sadly, was told that the rest of the items hv to be self-served. Including the 2 single-sized mattresses "Doesnt seem intuitive given the size of the trolley" you are so right! we had a hard time manoeuvring it. LOL

 

[d2xpeter]

"If you have made plans to get such a huge pile of items, in future perhaps you can try to get someone along (your kids? your friends?) to help? Or do it in 2 seatings on the same day..."

not all people hv the same luxuries as you, bro. LOL

 

[junction88]

Should have engage an outside delivery contractor to pickup the bulky items and head straight to home.

 

[d2xpeter]

Should have engage an outside delivery contractor to pickup the bulky items and head straight to home.

That is not a bad idea.

 

[AnsQ]

Sounds like the same delivery model they are using in Australia.
When i was buying some stuff here, I remembered taking a nap while waiting for my turn at the delivery counter.

i think the IKEA delivery model in Singapore was done differently a few years ago, maybe they decide to follow other IKEA stores in other countries to reduce overheads.

 

[AnsQ]

Oh, missed out the second part of your post.

Here the delivery contractor just took over the entire trolley without removing anything from it, so no chance of them dragging anything from the trolley and damaging them.

Anyway it makes business sense to outsource work that is not really part of the company's core competencies, so the company can concentrate on doing what they are good at doing best; in this case, making furniture affordable. Supposed to be a win-win situation for IKEA and the delivery contractor.

 

[kandinsky]

Perhaps the local IKEA franchisee is already doing roaring business with walk-in customers (does seem to be true anecdotally, always crowded and busy), so they do not even need to consider expanding their reach via online fulfilment.

Here the delivery contractor just took over the entire trolley without removing anything from it, so no chance of them dragging anything from the trolley and damaging them.

It's the same here. If you read TS's post, the damage was during the actual delivery, not when they received the items.

 

[edutilos-]

"If you have made plans to get such a huge pile of items, in future perhaps you can try to get someone along (your kids? your friends?) to help? Or do it in 2 seatings on the same day..."

not all people hv the same luxuries as you, bro. LOL

Yes, of course, I have so much luxury to move all my stuff myself by hand instead of having some grumpy delivery guy do it for me. :bsmilie: I am so blessed. (By the way, even if you don't have kids, I'm sure you would have at least some helpful friends, I would be more than happy to help out my friends if they asked....)

 

[edutilos-]

well, i actually dont mind lugging things into my car and bring back myself. Always do that in fact at IKEA.
But that is for a few items.
I am saying that they should hv the flexibility of allowing people to order online when the purchase quantity is big.

We actually hv a queen size mattress and another [surprising small] item a single bed-mattress-support keyed into the invoice by one of the staff. We also wished to hv as many items keyed into the invoice as possible, BUT sadly, was told that the rest of the items hv to be self-served. Including the 2 single-sized mattresses "Doesnt seem intuitive given the size of the trolley" you are so right! we had a hard time manoeuvring it. LOL

I think it's a bit hard to cater for a small minority who would venture to do what you did!

Perhaps they can put the single mattresses at the checkout section.. I haven't bought any mattresses from IKEA so haven't had the chance to try out that experience. :bsmilie:

 

[d2xpeter]

Oh, missed out the second part of your post.

Here the delivery contractor just took over the entire trolley without removing anything from it, so no chance of them dragging anything from the trolley and damaging them.

Anyway it makes business sense to outsource work that is not really part of the company's core competencies, so the company can concentrate on doing what they are good at doing best; in this case, making furniture affordable. Supposed to be a win-win situation for IKEA and the delivery contractor.

Ya, they did take over the entire trolley. It was when they reached then take the chair down from the trolley and dragged the chair from outside into my house, complaining that was too heavy to carry!
I presume when they took over the entire trolley at tampines side, they did not even bother to hv some protective wrapping over it. It is white and will be stained easily if left exposed during the whole process. The scratches could be from rough handling of the trolley during loading /unloading from lorry. Damnit!

 

[d2xpeter]

...and some bro suggest reject the chair on the spot?
Means that i hv to repeat the whole process of going all the way to their store, load the 10 chairs myself again onto the trolley, endure the super queue, delivered with scratches again, cycle repeats?....
NO THANKS!!

 

[edutilos-]

...and some bro suggest reject the chair on the spot?
Means that i hv to repeat the whole process of going all the way to their store, load the 10 chairs myself again onto the trolley, endure the super queue, delivered with scratches again, cycle repeats?....
NO THANKS!!

You can reject the spoilt one la........... Aiyo. Why reject means reject all 10...

Actually you can try calling IKEA on the spot and see if their customer service officer will arrange for the guy to deliver a new copy FOC. It's customer service you know (especially if their delivery contractor messed up)?

 

[daredevil123]

IKEA's business model has always been "Cash and Carry".

Delivery Contractors mean exactly that, they are contractors and they do not work for IKEA. But you certain can lodge a complaint to IKEA about the contractors since they are IKEA's business partners. And since they are a separate entity from IKEA, if they damage the goods, you have to look for them, not IKEA, for compensation.

As for online purchases, it will wiser to use a site like fourty two. Their deliver and setup crews are top notch. You can even opt to pay cash on delivery, after everything is put properly, set up and inspected.

 

[Octarine]

Get your own deliver contractor taking over after cashier. In other countries people just rent a small van and drive to IKEA, picking up the stuff straight from the trolley. It works well and nobody complains - because nobody expects anything else from IKEA.
Also, if you check the name of the 'delivery partner' you will notice that they are not related to IKEA, they just snapped the hot spot of being the appointed partner for local delivery. You are free to do whatever you want after passing cashier. If this contractor is not delivering (yes, pun intended) then just get them by the balls. Stop whining about IKEA.

 

[Sion]

..... I'm sure you would have at least some helpful friends, I would be more than happy to help out my friends if they asked....

Obviously you are not one d2xpeter's friends. :bsmilie:

Neither am I as I hate carrying heavy stuffs. :bsmilie: