First off, gotta love IKEA but you also have to be smart about what you get there. There are tons of items that you're better off getting a more quality build piece. But then again there are things like furniture that are worth your while, as long as you're not living with wild pets or hyper destructive kids or reckless people damaging it, your furniture can last you years, even decades if you use it as intended. For the price, it can be an absolute steal.
So despite some communication gaps, this Norfolk location was solid shopping experience. COVID doesn't make it easy but businesses are managing the best they know how.
I have been on the hunt for a specific piece of furniture for months now. It's extremely affordable and seems to fly off the shelves. I would check daily using their inventory checker on the website. And each time it's in stock in either of the locations closest to me, they would sell out within a day. I then realized that the item count down would decrease so quickly, that it's actually people buying the item online and picking it up as opposed to people going into the stores. Game changer.
So everyday, I'd refresh the website. Knowing that depending on which store had it in stock, I'd have to travel 2, 4 or 5 hours, I'd stalk Charlotte, Woodbridge and Atlanta relentlessly. It then dawned on me to check out Norfolk to see how far it was. Lo and behold, Norfolk happened to only be 3 hours away! When I saw the item in stock, I scooped it up and paid online. The trick however is that typically you have 7 days to pick up your order. Now due to COVID, you actually have 24 hours - which really makes scheduling tight. I had to rent a larger car, drive three hours away, collect my bounty, drive 3 hours back, unload my bounty and return the rental. It was an adventure to say the least. Did I mention that IKEA didn't offer shipping on this piece?
So the whole "click and collect" process is a smooth one. After you get your confirmation email that your order is ready, when you get to IKEA, you back in to the designed spots and then sign on via an app so that the workers then bring you your item to load your car. The wait wasn't long and it was a nice hand off. The only thing is, they don't help you load it so if you're not stronger enough, you may need to get a hand.
Afterward, of course one has to go into the actual store. The line was long due to staff letting folks in in phases but it went quickly. After collecting dozens of "must haves" I also sought to buy another large item that wasn't found on the shelves. I had to go to the info desk and from there, the worker told me that the staff would bring my item to where my car was parked (even tho I told her I was in the garage - she said yea yeah!) and handed me a receipt to pay at the cashier and told me I'd be given more instructions there. When I got the cashier I paid for the item and then was handled a leaflet that said "click and collect". I asked the cashier how it worked (not sure if it was different) and he also said that it would be brought to the car. I asked him how will they bring it to my car if I'm in the garage? He got flustered and said that they would and if I had further questions, then I should go to customer service.
Turns out, it was the same method I had previously used to pick up the first item. It's unfortunate that all the staff aren't trained on how "click and collect" works - if they were, they'd be better equipped to guide folks on what to do and would provide a better experience. In all, the leaflet and website led me to pick up my order correctly but I also wonder about people who don't have smart phones. Those folks are definitely at a disadvantage.
Still work to be done at IKEA but overall no crazy drama and I appreciate that. Got what I needed and also to my pleasant surprise, none of the items were damaged. Now that's a win! read more