IKEA — Local services in Grand Prairie

I’m very disappointed. I was too tired last night to type after I got home from IKEA Grand Prairie, Texas. It was my first time in this store. I love the single floor concept rather than the two story location in Frisco. My nearly two hour visit was enjoyable with a lot of frustration along the way. The store is clean and the staff who were visible, friendly. I’ve been looking for brand new bedding and bathroom accessories for about three months. I’ve shopped IKEA before, but it’s been about ten years. The customer service is lacking. Every time I needed assistance, I had to spend about ten minutes walking around trying to find an employee who was knowledgeable about their products. I found my duvet after assistance from a nice gentleman. He led me to my sheets, which I also placed in my basket. Then came the question of mattress covers. He told me that they were in the bed display department which I had gone through a half hour before then. I had to walk through the maze to get there only to find a young g woman who seemed I knowledgeable about the products. She said they were where I had just come from—bedding. That seemed logical to me, but the guy in that department assured me that the mattress covers were in the bed display department. She and I argued. I was frustrated. I didn’t want to walk all the way back to find out she was wrong. She left with a bad attitude and was disgruntled that she had to go find something for me! I explained that I had already been all over the store and was directed to her department. While she was gone, the nicest and most professional employee in the store helped me. I didn’t get his name, but he was wearing a “Hearing Impaired” tag around his neck. He wasn’t deaf; perhaps he is proficient in sign language. In any event, he confirmed that the lady shouldn’t have had a bad attitude but said that she was correct as to where the covers are. He talked me into a mattress cover instead. The young woman came back with what I originally was looking for and when she found out that he talked me into a mattress pad, she asked me if I would return the items she brought to me from the other department. The professional man stopped her and said no! So, 30 minutes later, I walk towards the bathroom area near the end of the store only to hear that the store would be closing in five minutes! It would have been nice to have that time I wasted back on the clock so I wouldn’t have to rush through bathroom accessories! I found a bath mat that I liked, but I felt rushed by the employees when picking out my bath towels. I never even made it to the shower curtains! I know that the store was closing, but I should have been given the customer service of not feeling rushed to make my decisions when the store was closing. I proceeded to checkout and was disgruntled. A lady told me to go back and select my towels and shower curtain. I tried, but a man in that department rushed me and I told him that they allowed me to finish my shopping. I got the towels, but didn’t think they were the exact match for the mat. He picked up gray, suggesting they would look good. I told him that my towels and mat are green! A lady walked by and asked him if he would see me out of the store. They were closed for the evening. I got to checkout and just left my cart there. I was so exhausted from walking all over the store, my legs and feet would barely move! The manager named Olympio asked me what happened. I told him this story. He said that he would definitely have a talk with the employees. I can’t say that he didn’t apologize, but I don’t remember if he did. It was closing time, so I felt unwelcome in that store. I could have used that two hours doing something more productive than listen to untrained employees, except the one nice gentleman, and uncaring employees. That was probably $300 I didn’t spend last night. I lost time shopping due to your employees. I was running late and needed more time to shop at closing due to your employees. I left my merchandise and walked out of your...

Employees give bad information and you will waste time!

I ordered something I could not pick up in the self pickup and was in the back. When this happens the process is:

1. Figure out that your product isn't in the warehouse for you to pick up yourself
2. Ask an employee where it is.
3. Get an order slip to scan at register and pay with. You will pick up in Lot K
4. Pay
5. Drive to Lot K
6. Register to pick up on a mobile phone and get in a virtual queue
7. Wait.... At this point I should have gotten my item but
8. Was told I was next but the fork lift driver was at lunch so I had to wait for them to get back. This is interesting they didn't have anyone else at the time.
9. Wait some more while they find the item and folklift it.
10. Get told that they dont have the item! WHAT??? Why would they give me an order slip and make me pay if THEY DONT HAVE THE ITEM!
11. ask for options and they tell me I will have to get a refund.
12. Drive back to normal parking lot
13. Walk to returns
14. WAIT FOR RETURN LINE
15. AUGUE FOR MY RETURN SINCE IT SHOWED THAT I WHEN TO PICK UP AND GOT IT LINE. They eventually asked the loading person and told them what happened. and agreed to return.
16. Tell them my situation and what I can do They tell me that Ikea in Frisco has my item They tell me that I can setup and alert at Ikea.com to tell me when the item is back in stock. THIS IS NOT TRUE BECAUSE IT SHOWED 10+ in stock currently. They tell me that I can call in tomorrow or the next day to see if they have it in stock. I ask HOW CAN I BELIEVE the person on the phone if they went so far as to make me do all this just to tell me it is not in stock. This person did not have any good answers and was dumbfounded.

This is where I should have stopped dealing with IKEA but I went to Ikea Frisco since this item was for my mom and she really wanted it.

I drove 30 minutes to Ikea in Frisco only to find out they do have the item but it cost ~x2 more than Grand Prairie. I asked for a price match: DENIED: IKEA doesn't price match itself. Got a long excuse... asked to talk to a manager: DENIED: Dan the manager was out...

OVER ALL A TERRIBLE EXPEREINCE AT IKEA WITH NO RESULT, WASTED TIME, WASTED GAS, and a...

Disappointing Return Experience at IKEA**

I had a terrible experience with IKEA’s return service recently, and it’s made me seriously reconsider shopping there again. The return process was incredibly frustrating and shockingly inefficient. When I arrived at the store, I was relieved to see that there weren’t many people ahead of me in the return line. I thought it would be a quick and straightforward process. Unfortunately, I was completely wrong.

Despite the small number of customers waiting, the process took forever. It felt like the staff were moving at a snail’s pace, and I couldn’t understand why it was taking so long. Each customer seemed to require an excessive amount of time to complete their return, and there didn’t appear to be any urgency or consideration for those of us waiting.

What made matters worse was the apparent lack of training among the staff. They seemed confused and unsure about how to handle even basic returns. I watched as they fumbled through simple tasks, constantly seeking help from each other. It was clear that they hadn’t been adequately trained to handle the return process efficiently, and this was contributing to the long wait times. I expected better organization and competence from a company of IKEA’s size and reputation.

Overall, the entire experience was incredibly disappointing. I went into the store expecting a quick and smooth return, but instead, I wasted a significant amount of time standing in line, waiting for staff to figure out what they were doing. IKEA really needs to address these issues, either by providing better training for their employees or by streamlining the return process. As it stands, their return service is a major letdown, and I’ll think twice before shopping...