Hi All

Got dragged to IKEA tonight by SWIMBO after work to buy a cooker hood.
Asked juvenile imbecile x 3 if it could be exhausted via wall or was it
necessary to go through ceiling void?

Due to conflicting answers, took display model apart & found it could indeed
be exhausted through wall. News to juvenile imbeciles.

Stood in line for 25 mins due to unmanned checkouts, drove 1 mile to
collection point on other side of retail park. Waited 20 mins.

Arrived home at 9:45pm. Consumed several beers.

Unpacked hood, read instructions;

"The hood has an upper air duct B1 and an optional rear air duct B" (no it
doesn't) for external fume exit. Select the suitable air duct and apply the
flange C supplied, ensure to close the unused air duct with tap D supplied
if provided".

"Caution! In some models the rear hole duct is not easily accessible, even
when the tap D (if mounted) is removed".

It was also covered in tape warning against inserting your fingers into the
fan blades if they were switched on and rotating.

I'm leaving it till the weekend.

Why oh why, can't they communicate in plain bloody English???

I still reckon we should take military action.....................


--
Dave
The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257

The Medway Handyman wrote:


Why oh why, can't they communicate in plain bloody English???


I still reckon we should take military action.....................


That reminds me...

The man who makes it doesn't want it.
The Man who sells it doesn't want it.
The man who buys it doesn't want it.
The man who gets it doesn't know he's got it.

--
Sir Benjamin Middlethwaite

The Medway Handyman wrote:

Got dragged to IKEA tonight by SWIMBO

She who is my big other?

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
. uk...
....
Unpacked hood, read instructions;

"The hood has an upper air duct B1 and an optional rear air duct B" (no it
doesn't) ...

Optional usually means you need to buy it separately.

Colin Bignell

On Wed, 30 Aug 2006 08:05:08 +0100, "nightjar" nightjar@insert my
surname here.uk.com wrote:


"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
.uk...
...
Unpacked hood, read instructions;

"The hood has an upper air duct B1 and an optional rear air duct B" (no it
doesn't) ...

Optional usually means you need to buy it separately.

Colin Bignell


The ducting always is sold seperately with cooker hoods.

In message om,
Weatherlawyer writes
The Medway Handyman wrote:

Got dragged to IKEA tonight by SWIMBO

She who is my big other?


She Who *Instantly* Must Be Obeyed?
--
Peter

Ying tong iddle-i po!

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
. uk...
Hi All

Got dragged to IKEA tonight by SWIMBO after work to buy a cooker hood.
Asked juvenile imbecile x 3 if it could be exhausted via wall or was it
necessary to go through ceiling void?

Due to conflicting answers, took display model apart & found it could indeed
be exhausted through wall. News to juvenile imbeciles.

Stood in line for 25 mins due to unmanned checkouts, drove 1 mile to
collection point on other side of retail park. Waited 20 mins.

Arrived home at 9:45pm. Consumed several beers.

Unpacked hood, read instructions;

"The hood has an upper air duct B1 and an optional rear air duct B" (no it
doesn't) for external fume exit. Select the suitable air duct and apply the
flange C supplied, ensure to close the unused air duct with tap D supplied
if provided".

"Caution! In some models the rear hole duct is not easily accessible, even
when the tap D (if mounted) is removed".

It was also covered in tape warning against inserting your fingers into the
fan blades if they were switched on and rotating.

I'm leaving it till the weekend.

Why oh why, can't they communicate in plain bloody English???

I still reckon we should take military action.....................


--
Dave
The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257

=============================
I wonder what these '.....juvenile imbeciles......' think of elderly
hen-pecked men who take out their frustrations on young people who who have been
working all day trying to help to customers.

Cic.





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I am using the free version of SPAMfighter for private users.
It has removed 361 spam emails to date.
Paying users do not have this message in their emails.
Try SPAMfighter for free now!

The ducting always is sold seperately with cooker hoods.


Not always. SWMBO went and bought one on-line, and it arrived complete
with vent kit included.

Only trouble was, she was seduced by the super-high extraction rates and
very low noise. ( this was to replace a feeble, screeching old thing. )
Upon inspection, the reason it had such good performance was a massive
slow-running fan, and a duct almost 200mm in diameter! ( the old one was
something like 100 or 110mm ) Our local hire shops only go up to 150mm in
core drills. What was to be a simple swap turned into a weekend's work with
a hilti drill and cold chisel to form the blasted hole big enough for the
vent kit, and then making good afterwards. All done to the background
sounds of " But cant you just swap one for the other?" "How long will it
take?" "Do you really need to make a big hole in the wall?" "You're not
going to make a mess in my kitchen, are you?" etc etc. Grrr...

--
Ron

On 29 Aug 2006 18:05:33 -0700, Weatherlawyer wrote:
The Medway Handyman wrote:

Got dragged to IKEA tonight by SWIMBO

She who is my big other?

Someone Who Is My Beer Opener?


--
.................................................. .........................
.. never trust a man who, when left alone ...... Pete Lynch .
.. in a room with a tea cosy ...... Marlow, England .
.. doesn't try it on (Billy Connolly) .....................................

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
. uk...
Hi All
[snip]
Why oh why, can't they communicate in plain bloody English???

When an item is sold out the notice describes the situation as:
'Temporarily Oversold'

Can something be oversold? (as distinct from double booked)
Why don't they just say Sold Out.
There seems something about the oversold word that shifts the blame to the
consumer rather than it being a supply side failure.

Roger

In uk.d-i-y, Ron Lowe wrote:
Upon inspection, the reason it had such good performance was a massive
slow-running fan, and a duct almost 200mm in diameter! ( the old one was
something like 100 or 110mm ) Our local hire shops only go up to 150mm in
core drills. What was to be a simple swap turned into a weekend's work with
a hilti drill and cold chisel to form the blasted hole big enough for the
vent kit, and then making good afterwards. All done to the background
sounds of " But cant you just swap one for the other?" "How long will it
take?" "Do you really need to make a big hole in the wall?" "You're not
going to make a mess in my kitchen, are you?" etc etc.

"Where's that cold draught coming from?"

--
Mike Barnes

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
. uk...
Hi All

Got dragged to IKEA tonight by SWIMBO after work to buy a cooker hood.
Asked juvenile imbecile x 3 if it could be exhausted via wall or was it
necessary to go through ceiling void?

Due to conflicting answers, took display model apart & found it could
indeed be exhausted through wall. News to juvenile imbeciles.

Stood in line for 25 mins due to unmanned checkouts, drove 1 mile to
collection point on other side of retail park. Waited 20 mins.

Arrived home at 9:45pm. Consumed several beers.

Unpacked hood, read instructions;

"The hood has an upper air duct B1 and an optional rear air duct B" (no it
doesn't) for external fume exit. Select the suitable air duct and apply
the flange C supplied, ensure to close the unused air duct with tap D
supplied if provided".

"Caution! In some models the rear hole duct is not easily accessible, even
when the tap D (if mounted) is removed".

It was also covered in tape warning against inserting your fingers into
the fan blades if they were switched on and rotating.

I'm leaving it till the weekend.

Why oh why, can't they communicate in plain bloody English???

I still reckon we should take military action.....................

That'll teach you to stand up for yourself and not be dragged against your
will!

Mary

On 2006-08-30 09:43:01 +0100, "Roger R" said:


"The Medway Handyman" wrote in
message . uk...
Hi All
[snip]
Why oh why, can't they communicate in plain bloody English???

When an item is sold out the notice describes the situation as:
'Temporarily Oversold'

Can something be oversold? (as distinct from double booked)
Why don't they just say Sold Out.
There seems something about the oversold word that shifts the blame to
the consumer rather than it being a supply side failure.

Roger

Marketeer-speak.

It means that they have an order backlog. This is a nice position for
the supplier because it allows earlier measurement of demand and
possibly improved cash flow.

Arguably it also communicates that something will be available again,
whereas sold out can mean that it will never be available again.

The supply side "failure" is that they under-forecasted demand.

Even so, I don't think it apportions blame to anybody.

On 2006-08-29 23:56:50 +0100, "The Medway Handyman"
said:


Why oh why, can't they communicate in plain bloody English???

How well do you communicate in Swedish or Italian? The language
doesn't seem to be as curious or precious as some I've read.

I guess that IKEA operates in at least 30 countries and has almost as
many languages to contend with - hence the instructions with pictures
and use of as little text as possible, often safety and warning notices
only. This is helpful for Matalan customers as well :-)

I've just been looking through installation instructions for taps
(HansGrohe) and toilet pan mounting frames (Grohe). Both companies
supply step by step instructions in picture form with dimensions where
needed. In some cases there are multiple options of how the
installation can be done depending on what one wants to achieve.
The pictures are very carefully orgnanised for cases where one can
either do option A followed by B or C followed by D but not A followed
by D etc.
It takes some time of careful studying to work it all out - there is
little text at all - but the information is all there. Goods of
German origin tend to have this type of instruction material very well
done.

I suppose that intended audience matters as well, and IKEA's suppliers
could have done a better job of the instructions. Is there
inofrmation on where the hood was made? Most tend to come from Italy,
but IKEA may be sourcing elsewhere. IME, products coming from latin
language countries often don't have quite such good written English
instructions. Usually they are not confusing but do take some working
out. Hopefully it's made up for in other ways such as in the design
appeal.






I still reckon we should take military action.....................

Wasn't Matalan enough for one week? Surely LIDL would be a better next
military target...... ;-)

Perhaps we could call it "retail cleansing"

OTOH, I suppose that the enforced promenade past all of IKEA's wares is
deserving of some "correctional attention" Even so, they seem to
have got something right - I wouldn't mind a small portion of Ingvar
Kamprad's wealth.

Perhaps we should just get Kofi Annan involved. He seems to be
exceptionally skilled at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

Mary Fisher wrote:

That'll teach you to stand up for yourself and not be dragged against your
will!

Mary



Nope. It's just that if we stand up against you bloody women, you'll
finally drop the subject, then bring it up again later down the line
when we least expect it. At least if we act as the under-dog class and
satisfy your whims then there are fewer surprises lurking for us years
down the line. It's easier this way.

(looking forward to the first year anniversary)

Mike

"Mike Dodd" wrote in message
...
Mary Fisher wrote:

That'll teach you to stand up for yourself and not be dragged against
your will!

Mary



Nope. It's just that if we stand up against you bloody women, you'll
finally drop the subject, then bring it up again later down the line when
we least expect it. At least if we act as the under-dog class and satisfy
your whims then there are fewer surprises lurking for us years down the
line. It's easier this way.

Ah, the easy way out, that's a man :-)

Heavens! Are you a man or a mouse?

Don't squeak too loudly! You'll learn.

(looking forward to the first year anniversary)

I'm looking forward to the 47th - just hope we'll get there ... it's been
well worth it.

Mary

Mike

On 30 Aug 2006 11:39:51 GMT, Huge wrote:

On 2006-08-30, Andy Hall wrote:


OTOH, I suppose that the enforced promenade past all of IKEA's wares is
deserving of some "correctional attention"

I always go in the exit and walk throught the checkout. No-one's
ever said anything.


Not even when you walk out of the entrance with the goods?

Bernie The Bolt
--
'Blue shirts good, red shirts bad' - George Orwell

Huge wrote:
On 2006-08-30, Andy Hall wrote:


OTOH, I suppose that the enforced promenade past all of IKEA's wares is
deserving of some "correctional attention"

I always go in the exit and walk throught the checkout. No-one's
ever said anything.

Yebbut you're not called "Huge" for nothing, are you ?

There are usually a couple of short-cuts in the(*) store, and last time
I was in I think these were actually signposted. I also observed
opening hours are extended to midnight, so relative peace should be
achievable from about 23:30 onwards. I used to aim to arrive at half 7
for 8 o'clock closing. Any earlier and my sanity was at serious risk.

(*) One basic floor-plan for all stores, someone once claimed.

--
"Honeymoon: time between "I do" and "you'd better""

In message , Ron Lowe
writes
The ducting always is sold seperately with cooker hoods.


Not always. SWMBO went and bought one on-line, and it arrived complete
with vent kit included.

Only trouble was, she was seduced by the super-high extraction rates and
very low noise. ( this was to replace a feeble, screeching old thing. )

Must....resist....the....temptation....to....ask.. ..who...that....was...


Upon inspection, the reason it had such good performance was a massive
slow-running fan, and a duct almost 200mm in diameter! ( the old one was
something like 100 or 110mm ) Our local hire shops only go up to 150mm in
core drills. What was to be a simple swap turned into a weekend's work with
a hilti drill and cold chisel to form the blasted hole big enough for the
vent kit, and then making good afterwards. All done to the background
sounds of " But cant you just swap one for the other?" "How long will it
take?" "Do you really need to make a big hole in the wall?" "You're not
going to make a mess in my kitchen, are you?" etc etc. Grrr...


--
Peter

Ying tong iddle-i po!

Huge wrote:
On 2006-08-30, wrote:
Huge wrote:
On 2006-08-30, Andy Hall wrote:


OTOH, I suppose that the enforced promenade past all of IKEA's wares is
deserving of some "correctional attention"

I always go in the exit and walk throught the checkout. No-one's
ever said anything.

Yebbut you're not called "Huge" for nothing, are you ?

Well, I've lost a few pounds lately, but I'm still 6'3".

There you go then. Have you checked recently though ? I seem to have
misplaced 1/2" since my youth. It may of course have gone sideways.

There are usually a couple of short-cuts in the(*) store, and last time
I was in I think these were actually signposted. I also observed
opening hours are extended to midnight, so relative peace should be
achievable from about 23:30 onwards. I used to aim to arrive at half 7
for 8 o'clock closing. Any earlier and my sanity was at serious risk.

(*) One basic floor-plan for all stores, someone once claimed.

Based on Hampton Court maze?

That's the one.

(I'm moving house soon. Already having nightmares about being drawn
inexorably back to I*** for bits and pieces for months to come.)

--
"If you smoke after sex, you're doing it too fast."

Cicero wrote:

I wonder what these '.....juvenile imbeciles......' think of elderly
hen-pecked men who take out their frustrations on young people who
who have been working all day trying to help to customers.

Elderly? Cheeky git! Hen pecked I'll admit to :-)

If they knew the answer to relatively simple product related question
everybodys life would be easier.

As it happens, I didn't take out my frustrations on them at all. They
remain juvenile imbeciles though.



--
Dave
The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257

Roger R wrote:

Can something be oversold? (as distinct from double booked)
Why don't they just say Sold Out.
There seems something about the oversold word that shifts the blame to the
consumer rather than it being a supply side failure.

Saw a memo from our procurement people today, explaining (in
essence) that there had been quite a bit of the new accounting
software saying "No!". This has apparently resulted in suppliers
"receiving none payment" sic.

We were wondering if they bothered to send it in a brown
envelope.

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham UK


Have dancing shoes, will ceilidh.

"Peter Twydell" wrote in message
...
In message , Ron Lowe
writes
The ducting always is sold seperately with cooker hoods.


Not always. SWMBO went and bought one on-line, and it arrived complete
with vent kit included.

Only trouble was, she was seduced by the super-high extraction rates and
very low noise.

Details, please?

Mary

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
. uk...
Cicero wrote:

I wonder what these '.....juvenile imbeciles......' think of elderly
hen-pecked men who take out their frustrations on young people who
who have been working all day trying to help to customers.

Elderly? Cheeky git! Hen pecked I'll admit to :-)

If they knew the answer to relatively simple product related question
everybodys life would be easier.

As it happens, I didn't take out my frustrations on them at all. They
remain juvenile imbeciles though.



--
Dave
The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257

============================
Well, I think they do their best with rather limited training. The fact is that
product information is an expensive commodity - one of the hidden costs when we
buy from more traditional shops.

We like the convenience of the large outlets like Ikea, B&Q etc. and the price
we pay is a lower standard of service and long queues.

Cic.




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I am using the free version of SPAMfighter for private users.
It has removed 365 spam emails to date.
Paying users do not have this message in their emails.
Try SPAMfighter for free now!

Cicero wrote:

Well, I think they do their best with rather limited training. The
fact is that product information is an expensive commodity - one of
the hidden costs when we buy from more traditional shops.

A good point. Personally I've always believed that if you sell a product
you should make it your business to know all about it. I guess they are on
minimum wage and have no motivation from their management.

We like the convenience of the large outlets like Ikea, B&Q etc. and
the price we pay is a lower standard of service and long queues.

Aint that the truth...........


--
Dave
The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
. uk...
Cicero wrote:

I wonder what these '.....juvenile imbeciles......' think of elderly
hen-pecked men who take out their frustrations on young people who
who have been working all day trying to help to customers.

Elderly? Cheeky git! Hen pecked I'll admit to :-)

If they knew the answer to relatively simple product related question
everybodys life would be easier.

What you are asking is that every employee should be capable of answering a
wide range of questions about every product in the IKEA inventory. That is
the only way that an employee, chosen at random, is likely to be able to
answer the particular question you want answered.

Colin Bignell

"Ron Lowe" wrote in message
...
The ducting always is sold seperately with cooker hoods.


Not always. SWMBO went and bought one on-line, and it arrived complete
with vent kit included.

Only trouble was, she was seduced by the super-high extraction rates and
very low noise. ( this was to replace a feeble, screeching old thing. )
Upon inspection, the reason it had such good performance was a massive
slow-running fan, and a duct almost 200mm in diameter! ( the old one was
something like 100 or 110mm ) Our local hire shops only go up to 150mm in
core drills. What was to be a simple swap turned into a weekend's work
with a hilti drill and cold chisel to form the blasted hole big enough for
the vent kit, and then making good afterwards. All done to the background
sounds of " But cant you just swap one for the other?" "How long will it
take?" "Do you really need to make a big hole in the wall?" "You're not
going to make a mess in my kitchen, are you?" etc etc. Grrr...

Wierd isn't it. If it was an outside builder that came in to do it, it would
be "don't worry about the mess, would you like a cup of tea, do what you
need to do, take your time...".

-- JJ

"nightjar .uk.com" nightjar@insert my surname here wrote in message
...

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
. uk...
Cicero wrote:

I wonder what these '.....juvenile imbeciles......' think of elderly
hen-pecked men who take out their frustrations on young people who
who have been working all day trying to help to customers.

Elderly? Cheeky git! Hen pecked I'll admit to :-)

If they knew the answer to relatively simple product related question
everybodys life would be easier.

What you are asking is that every employee should be capable of answering
a wide range of questions about every product in the IKEA inventory. That
is the only way that an employee, chosen at random, is likely to be able
to answer the particular question you want answered.

No, I think he is expecting every employee to know how to find out, and to
be motivated to do so. There is a big difference between knowing everything,
and knowing enough to know where to look for an answer.

-- JJ

"Jason" wrote in message
...

"nightjar .uk.com" nightjar@insert my surname here wrote in message
...

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
. uk...
Cicero wrote:

I wonder what these '.....juvenile imbeciles......' think of elderly
hen-pecked men who take out their frustrations on young people who
who have been working all day trying to help to customers.

Elderly? Cheeky git! Hen pecked I'll admit to :-)

If they knew the answer to relatively simple product related question
everybodys life would be easier.

What you are asking is that every employee should be capable of answering
a wide range of questions about every product in the IKEA inventory. That
is the only way that an employee, chosen at random, is likely to be able
to answer the particular question you want answered.

No, I think he is expecting every employee to know how to find out, and to
be motivated to do so. There is a big difference between knowing
everything, and knowing enough to know where to look for an answer.

Oh, and sometimes a "I don't know" will do better than a guess. Sometimes
people will just say what they think you want to hear, just so they an make
a sale and move on. That results in conflicting information, and usually
several visits back to the shop to buy the extra bits you were not told you
needed, or for a refund on an item that was not quite what you were told it
was.

-- JJ

Colin Bignell wrote.

What you are asking is that every employee should be capable of
answering a wide range of questions about every product in the IKEA
inventory. That is the only way that an employee, chosen at random,
is likely to be able to answer the particular question you want
answered.


No I'm not. What I'm asking is that the specific staff behind the kitchen
help desk, in the kitchen section know the basics of thier range.


--
Dave
The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257

In article ,
"Jason" writes:
Wierd isn't it. If it was an outside builder that came in to do it, it would
be "don't worry about the mess, would you like a cup of tea, do what you
need to do, take your time...".

I'm told by a plasterer that the standard trick is to ask to
borrow the vacuum cleaner to clean up any mess. Housewife is
delighted you offered, but secretly horrified at the thought
of her lovely expensive vacuum cleaner being used for that
mess. More often that not, the response is "Oh don't worry
about that -- I'll clean it up after you've gone."

--
Andrew Gabriel

On my way over to my brother's place last weekend, I stopped off
at IKEA to pick up some things he wanted. Only when I got back
to his place did I notice the catalogue I had picked up said
"STORE COPY - RETURN TO CHECKOUT DESK ON THE WAY OUT".
Did I pick it up from the wrong pile (it was a giant pile inside
the door), or aren't you allowed to take any catalogues from the
store anymore?

--
Andrew Gabriel

wrote:

There are usually a couple of short-cuts in the(*) store, and last time
I was in I think these were actually signposted. I also observed
opening hours are extended to midnight, so relative peace should be
achievable from about 23:30 onwards.

Just been to Ikea at Lakeside. Another improvement they've introduced
is being able to take your trolley out to the car park.....Perhaps they
have started to listen to some of the complaints.

The downside of their expansion at Lakeside is that you have to drive
over to another unlit warehouse complex next to a crummy lorry park to
pick up items that are not self service.

In article .com,
writes:

Just been to Ikea at Lakeside. Another improvement they've introduced
is being able to take your trolley out to the car park.....Perhaps they
have started to listen to some of the complaints.

The downside of their expansion at Lakeside is that you have to drive
over to another unlit warehouse complex next to a crummy lorry park to
pick up items that are not self service.

Same at Brent Park store in all respects (except the external
warehouse a mile up the road has been there for ages).

When I have been picking up kitchen parts in the evening, I
would order them in the store, and then go to the resturant
for a meal. Afterwards, I would drive over to the warehouse,
walk in and pick up my order almost immediately. Couldn't
help noticing the same customers who were in the kitchen
department earlier had been sitting in the waiting area all
that time ;-)

--
Andrew Gabriel

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
. uk...
Colin Bignell wrote.

What you are asking is that every employee should be capable of
answering a wide range of questions about every product in the IKEA
inventory. That is the only way that an employee, chosen at random,
is likely to be able to answer the particular question you want
answered.


No I'm not. What I'm asking is that the specific staff behind the kitchen
help desk, in the kitchen section know the basics of thier range.

IKEA has gone upmarket since I was last in one if they have help desks for
product ranges now. However, I still think you are being hopelessly
optimistic if you think they ought to be able to tell you more than you can
find out by looking in the catalogue.

Colin Bignell

Andrew Gabriel wrote:
In article ,
"Jason" writes:
Wierd isn't it. If it was an outside builder that came in to do it, it would
be "don't worry about the mess, would you like a cup of tea, do what you
need to do, take your time...".

I'm told by a plasterer that the standard trick is to ask to
borrow the vacuum cleaner to clean up any mess. Housewife is
delighted you offered, but secretly horrified at the thought
of her lovely expensive vacuum cleaner being used for that
mess. More often that not, the response is "Oh don't worry
about that -- I'll clean it up after you've gone."


You do a fair bit of plastering don't you Andrew...is this a technique
you us at home

Roger R wrote:

When an item is sold out the notice describes the situation as:
'Temporarily Oversold'

Can something be oversold? (as distinct from double booked)
Why don't they just say Sold Out.
There seems something about the oversold word that shifts the blame to the
consumer rather than it being a supply side failure.


If you live some distance from an Ikea and want to make sure that
important stuff is in stock, you can phone and check.

They will then lie to you and you'll waste the journey to the store.

Inside, the assistant will tell you that the particular item hasn't been
in stock for ages and the call centre people are always doing that.

When you complain to Ikea, you get the most appallingly condescending
reply suggesting that it's never happened before. I've had two of those
replies from four wasted journeys and have now given up any hope of ever
getting an honest reply from either their call centre, their customer
services department or individual store managers.

It's particularly annoying in my case as I live roughly equidistant from
four stores and it's of little consequence which one I went to, so long
as the stuff was going to be there, but they simply can't be honest and
admit that something is out of stock at a particular store.

On 2006-09-03 01:06:36 +0100, (Roly) said:

Roger R wrote:

When an item is sold out the notice describes the situation as:
'Temporarily Oversold'

Can something be oversold? (as distinct from double booked)
Why don't they just say Sold Out.
There seems something about the oversold word that shifts the blame to the
consumer rather than it being a supply side failure.


If you live some distance from an Ikea and want to make sure that
important stuff is in stock, you can phone and check.

They will then lie to you and you'll waste the journey to the store.

Inside, the assistant will tell you that the particular item hasn't been
in stock for ages and the call centre people are always doing that.

When you complain to Ikea, you get the most appallingly condescending
reply suggesting that it's never happened before. I've had two of those
replies from four wasted journeys and have now given up any hope of ever
getting an honest reply from either their call centre, their customer
services department or individual store managers.

It's particularly annoying in my case as I live roughly equidistant from
four stores and it's of little consequence which one I went to, so long
as the stuff was going to be there, but they simply can't be honest and
admit that something is out of stock at a particular store.

This is where you insist on compensation for the wasted time and fuel.

I have done this both with IKEA and Marks and Spencer in the past and
have received cash in one case and a store credit in the other.

We went to look at sofabeds - we have one of theirs already and it's
very nice, just what we wanted for the conservatory.

"Try each mattress and then collect your choice from the warehouse" says
the sign. Great - only one mattress is on display. Well, sort of. The
other sorts are there but half way up a wall.

--
Skipweasel
Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.

In article ,
Guy King writes:
We went to look at sofabeds - we have one of theirs already and it's
very nice, just what we wanted for the conservatory.

"Try each mattress and then collect your choice from the warehouse" says
the sign. Great - only one mattress is on display. Well, sort of. The
other sorts are there but half way up a wall.

Oh, but you didn't understand. They were for trying other positions...

--
Andrew Gabriel