Disappointing Customer Service Experience, Miscommunication and Poor Handling at Return Desk.
I recently had a very frustrating experience at IKEA that I feel compelled to share. About two months ago, I purchased a bed frame for around $300 that, unfortunately, does not fit the space as intended. I called IKEA’s customer service line to ask if I could return the item without a receipt, given that I no longer had it, and also asked if it was acceptable to disassemble the item for transport. I was reassured twice by the gentleman representative that returning it disassembled without a receipt would be perfectly fine. I was told I would receive a gift card instead of a refund and an in-store return appointment was booked for me.
When I arrived at the store, I explained the entire situation to the return desk representative. Despite relaying exactly what I had been told on the phone, she insisted I needed a receipt and refused to process the return without it. I made it clear that I had confirmed this scenario specifically with customer service to avoid exactly this issue. The representative continued to press for the exact date of purchase, which I understandably didn’t remember precisely after two months. I provided a rough estimate as well as the last four digits of the card used for the purchase, but she was still unable to locate the transaction.
What made the experience worse was the condescending and dismissive attitude I received. She repeatedly stated she would “reimburse us for our time if we had the receipt” which was not only unhelpful but completely unnecessary given we had already explained we didn’t have it about 7 times to her. It felt like a way to shift blame instead of finding a solution.
When I asked to speak with a manager, she claimed she “was” the manager and that there was no one above her, something that felt very hard to believe in a company the size of IKEA.
She introduced herself verbally as Bariah Rajah(something like that), and when I asked her to write down her name, she only wrote her first name and last initial, even though she had just said her full name. When I asked for her employee ID to follow up with a formal complaint, she said she "felt unsafe" giving it out and that it was weird to ask for her name. When I pointed out that companies often share employee names and ID numbers as a standard practice for accountability, she escalated by saying she would call security because I asked for an ID number. This deflection and use of the "I feel unsafe" card felt like a way to avoid responsibility and accountability. That was incredibly frustrating as I was simply asking for the most basic form of accountability.
As someone who works in customer service myself, I know how important it is to take ownership and treat customers with respect, even when a return is complicated. I have my full name listed publicly on my company’s website and still go the extra mile to help clients. Bariah’s refusal to take responsibility, her dismissive tone, and her avoidance tactics reflect very poorly on IKEA’s management and training practices.
Now, I’m stuck with a disassembled, unusable item and a $300 loss all because I trusted the information IKEA’s own customer service team gave me. This situation was entirely avoidable and speaks volumes about the breakdown in communication between departments and the lack of customer care at the store level.
I sincerely hope IKEA takes a hard look at how their policies are communicated and holds their store representatives accountable for how they treat customers, especially those claiming to be...
Read more
Learn more insights from Wanderboat AI.
