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deird_ljI've been stuck at home pretty much for the whole day...
(On the bright side, this has allowed me to do some housework, and catch up on a lot of tv.)
The reason? Ikea.
It sort of happened in several parts.
Part One - in which I go to Ikea to buy a bookcase
My old (and extremely crappy) bookcase finally broke this week, and I needed a new one. So... I went to Ikea.
Ikea, by the way, is half an hour's drive away.
While there, I managed to find several exciting new purchases, and a bookcase I really liked.
Unfortunately, there weren't any packages of that bookcase left in the warehousey bit.
So I asked at the info desk, and they said there'd be some in the next day.
That was on Thursday.
Part Two - in which I find an empty shelf
On Friday, I went back to Ikea, to pick up my bookcase.
Being very sensible, I checked the website before going - and was told that yes, they had my bookcase in stock.
Having been told by a) yesterday's info desk, and b) the website, that the bookcase would be in the warehouse, I went in fairly confidently. And of course, having been there the day before, I knew exactly where the bookcase packages should be.
Strangely enough, there weren't any on the shelf.
So, I went back to the info desk.
Part Three - in which I have a conversation with an Ikea employee
Here is an approximate transcript:
Me: "Hi! I'm wondering if you have the bookcase I'm after in stock."
Ikea Info Desk Guy: "Sure. I'll just check." *opens up computer program* "Which bookcase is it?"
Me: "It's the Leksvik* bookcase."
Desk Guy: "Okay..." *types things into the computer* "Which one?"
Me: "Uh... the Leksvik one?" (I have only seen one Leksvik bookcase in the showroom upstairs.)
Desk Guy: "There are two. Is it the *rattles off complication number* or the *equally complicated number*?"
Me: "No idea. Which is which?"
Desk Guy: "Why don't I show you a picture?" *brings up a picture of one, and swivels the computer round so I can see* "Is it this one?"
Me: "Yes! That looks like it!"
Desk Guy: "Okay."
*Ikea bookcases, for the uninitiated, all have Swedish names. That's how you tell them apart.
Desk Guy then directed me to a completely different part of the warehouse, to a shelf which, sure enough, was labelled "Leksvik bookcase", and had a picture of it.
Part Four - in which I take advantage of a Home Delivery service
This bookcase package was SO HUGE I could barely get it off the shelf by myself. I certainly wouldn't be able to fit it in my car. In fact, I think it might actually be longer than my car.
Thankfully, Ikea does home delivery. For a price.
This is the reason I was stuck at home this morning. I knew that, at some point, my doorbell would ring, and a humungous cardboard box would be delivered, all ready for me to assemble with my very funky tool kit.
Which was fine, because, hey, I like assembling furniture. And I really didn't have any reason to leave my house this morning.
Part Five - in which I make a discovery
So, this morning I spent a little while taking all the books off my old bookcase, and clearing a space for the new one.
After my bookcase was delivered, I happily killed a couple of hours putting it together.
It seemed kinda large, but then long bits of furniture lying across my living room floor will do that.
...and then I put it upright.
This bookcase is five centimetres away from hitting my ceiling. It is not the one I wanted.
Sure, it looked right in the picture. And, in fact, both the bookcase I was after and this imposter bookcase look exactly like the picture.
But, while the bookcase I wanted to buy was about 1.8m tall and maybe 1m wide, this Mutant Bookcase is nearly 3m high, and 1.5m wide. It's HUGE.
And now I have a problem.
-I can't use this bookcase. I can barely see the first two shelves of this bookcase. It needs to go back.
-I can't take it back myself, because it doesn't fit in my car. I need to use the delivery service.
-I still need the bookcase I was after.
-The bookcase I wanted is about $60 cheaper than this one.
-I can't get money in and out of my bank account to Ikea over a long distance. I have to be in store.
-The store is half an hour away.
-This bookcase is so huge that, assembled, I'm not sure it's going to fit out my front door.
So... somehow, I have to get this huge bookcase out a front door that's too small for it, into a delivery truck, wave goodbye to the delivery truck as it drives half an hour away to Ikea to return the bookcase and collect the bookcase I wanted, drive to Ikea myself as well, purely to get a smallish refund, and then come home, wait for the delivery guys to deliver my actual bookcase, and put that one together.
Did I mention that they usually deliver between 9 and 5, and I have to be at work on weekdays?
I'm currently stuck at home waiting for the Ikea customer service centre to call me back with an ingeneous solution to this whole situation...
(On the bright side, this has allowed me to do some housework, and catch up on a lot of tv.)
The reason? Ikea.
It sort of happened in several parts.
Part One - in which I go to Ikea to buy a bookcase
My old (and extremely crappy) bookcase finally broke this week, and I needed a new one. So... I went to Ikea.
Ikea, by the way, is half an hour's drive away.
While there, I managed to find several exciting new purchases, and a bookcase I really liked.
Unfortunately, there weren't any packages of that bookcase left in the warehousey bit.
So I asked at the info desk, and they said there'd be some in the next day.
That was on Thursday.
Part Two - in which I find an empty shelf
On Friday, I went back to Ikea, to pick up my bookcase.
Being very sensible, I checked the website before going - and was told that yes, they had my bookcase in stock.
Having been told by a) yesterday's info desk, and b) the website, that the bookcase would be in the warehouse, I went in fairly confidently. And of course, having been there the day before, I knew exactly where the bookcase packages should be.
Strangely enough, there weren't any on the shelf.
So, I went back to the info desk.
Part Three - in which I have a conversation with an Ikea employee
Here is an approximate transcript:
Me: "Hi! I'm wondering if you have the bookcase I'm after in stock."
Ikea Info Desk Guy: "Sure. I'll just check." *opens up computer program* "Which bookcase is it?"
Me: "It's the Leksvik* bookcase."
Desk Guy: "Okay..." *types things into the computer* "Which one?"
Me: "Uh... the Leksvik one?" (I have only seen one Leksvik bookcase in the showroom upstairs.)
Desk Guy: "There are two. Is it the *rattles off complication number* or the *equally complicated number*?"
Me: "No idea. Which is which?"
Desk Guy: "Why don't I show you a picture?" *brings up a picture of one, and swivels the computer round so I can see* "Is it this one?"
Me: "Yes! That looks like it!"
Desk Guy: "Okay."
*Ikea bookcases, for the uninitiated, all have Swedish names. That's how you tell them apart.
Desk Guy then directed me to a completely different part of the warehouse, to a shelf which, sure enough, was labelled "Leksvik bookcase", and had a picture of it.
Part Four - in which I take advantage of a Home Delivery service
This bookcase package was SO HUGE I could barely get it off the shelf by myself. I certainly wouldn't be able to fit it in my car. In fact, I think it might actually be longer than my car.
Thankfully, Ikea does home delivery. For a price.
This is the reason I was stuck at home this morning. I knew that, at some point, my doorbell would ring, and a humungous cardboard box would be delivered, all ready for me to assemble with my very funky tool kit.
Which was fine, because, hey, I like assembling furniture. And I really didn't have any reason to leave my house this morning.
Part Five - in which I make a discovery
So, this morning I spent a little while taking all the books off my old bookcase, and clearing a space for the new one.
After my bookcase was delivered, I happily killed a couple of hours putting it together.
It seemed kinda large, but then long bits of furniture lying across my living room floor will do that.
...and then I put it upright.
This bookcase is five centimetres away from hitting my ceiling. It is not the one I wanted.
Sure, it looked right in the picture. And, in fact, both the bookcase I was after and this imposter bookcase look exactly like the picture.
But, while the bookcase I wanted to buy was about 1.8m tall and maybe 1m wide, this Mutant Bookcase is nearly 3m high, and 1.5m wide. It's HUGE.
And now I have a problem.
-I can't use this bookcase. I can barely see the first two shelves of this bookcase. It needs to go back.
-I can't take it back myself, because it doesn't fit in my car. I need to use the delivery service.
-I still need the bookcase I was after.
-The bookcase I wanted is about $60 cheaper than this one.
-I can't get money in and out of my bank account to Ikea over a long distance. I have to be in store.
-The store is half an hour away.
-This bookcase is so huge that, assembled, I'm not sure it's going to fit out my front door.
So... somehow, I have to get this huge bookcase out a front door that's too small for it, into a delivery truck, wave goodbye to the delivery truck as it drives half an hour away to Ikea to return the bookcase and collect the bookcase I wanted, drive to Ikea myself as well, purely to get a smallish refund, and then come home, wait for the delivery guys to deliver my actual bookcase, and put that one together.
Did I mention that they usually deliver between 9 and 5, and I have to be at work on weekdays?
I'm currently stuck at home waiting for the Ikea customer service centre to call me back with an ingeneous solution to this whole situation...
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no subject
Date: 2009-01-10 04:33 am (UTC)Oh, that's unfortunate.
I'd happily help put the next one together, but then you'd be waiting a few weeks...
btw, when Desk Guy directed you to the shelf, and you then went 'omgit'shuge'...didn't you notice that it seemed rather strangely tall, like, bigger than the one you wanted...?
I guess for next time, take not only name, but product code too!
And here I was thinking IKEA was all easiness. Tsk.
no subject
Date: 2009-01-10 07:21 pm (UTC)Strangely, no. Or rather, I thought it was really huge, but concluded I just hadn't remembered how big these things look in their packaged form... *headdesk*
no subject
Date: 2009-01-10 09:58 pm (UTC)Well, hope you get it all sorted.
no subject
Date: 2009-01-10 07:38 am (UTC)can help get it back there and collect the new one.
no subject
Date: 2009-01-10 07:19 pm (UTC)From Laney
Date: 2009-01-12 02:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-12 02:56 am (UTC)Should have my bookcase by the middle of this week, I hope...
no subject
Date: 2009-01-10 11:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-10 07:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-11 02:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-10 06:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-10 07:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-10 07:04 pm (UTC)Good luck.
no subject
Date: 2009-01-10 07:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-10 08:31 pm (UTC)I would have to agree with Ikea being a branch of Wolfram & Hart.
no subject
Date: 2009-01-11 10:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-11 01:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-11 10:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-13 06:30 am (UTC)