Customer Service

When Kris, Martin, Jolene, and I were in Catlett, VA a couple of weeks ago, one thing I wanted to do while there was go to the IKEA store. I’d never been there, but I’d looked through their online catalog. They have some really nifty stuff.

Martin had driven out so he could pick up some fuel tanks in Maryland that he purchased off ebay, so I knew that if I wanted anything from IKEA this would be my chance to have it hauled back. Kris and I found some small cheap computer carts that we could use in our sewing room instead of the big tables that have been annoying us recently. We purchased them along with some drawers to go with them. We put them in the back of Martin’s truck for transport on Monday, and Kris & I flew home.

We had wrapped the boxes in black garbage bags to try to keep them dry, but to our dismay, when the boxes were unloaded in Kentucky one of the boxes had soaked up a lot of water and two of the pieces on one desk had soaked up the water like a sponge. I knew that if they got wet the particleboard that the items were made of would swell and they sure did. The lamination on the outside came loose as well.

I considered trying to assemble the cart using the swelled pieces, but it was cheap enough that I figured if we couldn’t purchase replacement parts, it wouldn’t be that expensive to just have them ship a new one. I placed a call to the store we had been to and explained my situation. At first the customer service rep was rather snotty. She wanted to clarify in vivid detail that I had purchased it from them as it should have been and that it was because of our transportation that the item was defective. I calmly acknowledged that it was indeed how it happened and that I was merely looking into seeing what replacement parts would cost versus getting an entirely new item. She took my information and said that someone would call me within 48 hours. By the time the conversation was over, she had changed her attitude considerably.

Two days later, I received a call from IKEA and the lady confirmed the information that I had given in the original call. She confirmed which pieces I needed and said that they would ship them out. I inquired about the cost, and she informed me that as long as they were shippable parts there would be no cost. I was almost speechless. I couldn’t manage much more than a thank-you before she hung up.

Five days later, I arrived at home to find a large package propped against the door; inside the package were my free parts. I am still amazed. Now that, my friends, is Customer Service.