Ikea Log

July 20

We bought 2 bookshelves for about 800 shek. The delivery people wanted to deliver it the following week, but we were traveling to Italy. After some haggling (because how dare we go on vacation and ask for a later shipping date, right?), they agreed to delay the shipping to July 31. The cost of shipping was 200 shek. We are told to expect a text telling us in what time range to expect delivery.

July 31

No text, no delivery.

Aug 1

I called Ikea; on hold for 20 minutes. Eventually someone told me that the shipment had been pushed off by another week, and to expect the delivery on Aug 10-11 (by the way, since when is 10 or 11 days a week?). I should expect to receive a text.

Aug 10-11

No text, no delivery

Tues or Wed the following week

Rachel calls Ikea, on hold for 20 minutes. Someone eventually told her that really, no question, the delivery will arrive Thursday or Friday this week. She’ll get a text.

Thurs, Aug 18

Still no text. Rachel calls again, on hold for 20 minutes. She is told it might come Friday, but if not, Sunday at the latest.

Sun, Aug 21

No text, no delivery

Tues, Aug 23

I call customer service, sit on hold for 10 minutes and get hung up on. I call again and get through. Rep asks me for a delivery ID number. Note: this is the first time either of us was asked for anything other than our names and phone numbers. I don’t have this number, and she can’t track down the delivery details, although she sees in the system that we did indeed buy the shelves.

Eventually she digs up the delivery number and realizes that the item is essentially lost. She tells me Ikea will open up an internal inquiry to settle the issue. Someone will definitely get back to me... within 72 hours. I lose it. Eventually she promises someone will get back to me within 24 hours instead.

I ask if they have the item in stock, and she says yes. I ask why she can’t simply ship it to me now and she explains that she is in the Netanya customer service center, and has nothing to do with the actual store. I ask to be transfered to the store and she tells me they don’t take phone calls from customer service.

I give up.

Wed Aug 24

Customer service gets in touch with us and promises to ship us new identical items through Ikea’s own delivery people (not the company that lost our original stuff). We each spoke to someone different; a woman told me we’d be refunded for delivery and asked for my credit card info. I told them to call Rachel, and they never did.

It seems we were finally, partially, successful. We’re still holding our breath until our items are actually in our home, in the color that we asked for. I think there’s a 50% chance someone will make good on the refund.