According to a round-up of the Sunday papers: "Ikea's newest outlet at
Edmonton in north London, which opens next month, will be the chain's
first store to charge customers for using the car park. Each driver
will have to purchase a £1 ticket, irrespective of whether he or she
buys anything, and - unlike at supermarkets - will receive no refund
even even after spending money in the store. The reason, says Ikea, is
that it wants to encourage shoppers to use public transport."

http://www.theretailbulletin.com/ind...=5674&cat=news

This news also featured in a review of the papers on Radio 4's
Broadcasting House this morning.

I wonder whether IKEA intends to introduce parking fees for all its UK
stores? This, by the way, follows IKEA's introduction in all stores of
a 70p levy when you pay for goods by credit card.

MM

MM wrote:
According to a round-up of the Sunday papers: "Ikea's newest outlet at
Edmonton in north London, which opens next month, will be the chain's
first store to charge customers for using the car park. Each driver
will have to purchase a £1 ticket, irrespective of whether he or she
buys anything, and - unlike at supermarkets - will receive no refund
even even after spending money in the store. The reason, says Ikea, is
that it wants to encourage shoppers to use public transport."

http://www.theretailbulletin.com/ind...=5674&cat=news

This news also featured in a review of the papers on Radio 4's
Broadcasting House this morning.

I wonder whether IKEA intends to introduce parking fees for all its UK
stores? This, by the way, follows IKEA's introduction in all stores of
a 70p levy when you pay for goods by credit card.

Most of the time I go to IKEA I'm spending at least £100, so unlike a
supermarket a £1 fee wouldn't really bother me.

Anything to improve the car parks (e.g. so you can get within 1/2 mile of
them!) would be nice.

John.

On Sun, 16 Jan 2005 10:36:12 -0000, "JM" wrote:



Anything to improve the car parks (e.g. so you can get within 1/2 mile of
them!) would be nice.

And immediate destruction / disposal of the cars of offenders parking
in disabled / parent child bays ... oh, and those who park diagonally
.... or over to one side of the bay .. or across the middle of two
bays ... ;-(

"Ping Customer announcement, would the driver of vehicle ABC 123
please make their way to the railway station immediately" ..

T i m ;-)

The reason, says Ikea, is that it wants to encourage shoppers to use public
transport."

Just have an image of someone on a bus with a flat pack bed, and matress!

I no longer go to Ikea. Most of their stuff, although well designed conceptually, is tack IMHO. I spent a fortune on a kitchen from their Wednesbury store. Parts were missing, the hardwood beech doors 'blow' with the slightest damp (yes it should behave in a kitchen), their pre-drilled holes are inaccurate leading to uneven doors (in the vertical plane so non-adjustable) whilst their customer service attitude stinks.

The last item I bought was a 12 volt cupboard light, the transformer of which failed after just 2 days. Given the prevailing long queue on the M6 north of Birmingham which blights the store, I couldn't be bothered to return it for a refund, instead choosing to chuck it in the bin. That was 3 years ago.

You get what you pay for with Ikea, great designs but poor quality.

Not for me, so they can charge whatever parking they wish as far as I'm concerned.

MM wrote:
According to a round-up of the Sunday papers: "Ikea's newest outlet at
Edmonton in north London, which opens next month,....


That's the fourth store in London now, and still nothing in Southern
England.

IKEA realise there's life north of Watford, but not yet south of the M4
(Yes I know the Bristol store is, *just*).

Nothing still to serve those of us who have no wish to venture inside
the M25, and sit forever on the N/S circulars.

On Sun, 16 Jan 2005 11:31:16 +0000, Mark Carver
wrote:

MM wrote:
According to a round-up of the Sunday papers: "Ikea's newest outlet at
Edmonton in north London, which opens next month,....


That's the fourth store in London now, and still nothing in Southern
England.

Tell me about it! Nothing to the east of Nottingham, which is a very
difficult cross-country trip of around 80 miles one way.

MM

On 16 Jan 2005 11:47:29 GMT, (Huge) wrote:

MM writes:

The reason, says Ikea, is
that it wants to encourage shoppers to use public transport."

Morons. Like some is going to carry a hundredweight of flat-pack on
the bus.

Joking aside, do they offer free delivery? *Their* idea being that you
choose / pay for yer bits then go home on the bus and the stuff get's
delivered by them later?

When I had a 'sensible car' (the Sierra Estate) I wouldn't think twice
about collecting nearly all my own stuff, now both the cars come
gutterless (so I can't use my HD Thurle roofbars) I only have the poxy
'small hole in the roof' type bars that I wouldn't trust for one
suitcase (well I would but you know what I mean ..).

All the best ..

T i m

On Sun, 16 Jan 2005, Huge wrote:



MM writes:

The reason, says Ikea, is
that it wants to encourage shoppers to use public transport."

Morons. Like some is going to carry a hundredweight of flat-pack on
the bus.

Or they want you to use their delivery service - which, in my and other
peoples experience, is absolutely useless.

Wouldn't be so bad if they credited it against your bill.

"JM" wrote in message
...


I wonder whether IKEA intends to introduce parking fees for all its UK
stores? This, by the way, follows IKEA's introduction in all stores of
a 70p levy when you pay for goods by credit card.

Even their own?

Most of the time I go to IKEA I'm spending at least £100, so unlike a
supermarket a £1 fee wouldn't really bother me.

Yes, I can't understand the furore. If we use a vehicle we pay for the
petrol, why not for the parking?

Mary

"T i m" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 16 Jan 2005 10:36:12 -0000, "JM" wrote:



Anything to improve the car parks (e.g. so you can get within 1/2 mile of
them!) would be nice.

And immediate destruction / disposal of the cars of offenders parking
in disabled / parent child bays ... oh, and those who park diagonally
... or over to one side of the bay .. or across the middle of two
bays ... ;-(

Hurrah!

Mary

"John Borman" wrote in message
...
The reason, says Ikea, is that it wants to encourage shoppers to use
public transport."

Just have an image of someone on a bus with a flat pack bed, and matress!

Not all shoppers buy bulky goods.

Mary

On Sun, 16 Jan 2005 11:31:16 +0000, Mark Carver
wrote:

MM wrote:
According to a round-up of the Sunday papers: "Ikea's newest outlet at
Edmonton in north London, which opens next month,....


That's the fourth store in London now, and still nothing in Southern
England.

IKEA realise there's life north of Watford, but not yet south of the M4
(Yes I know the Bristol store is, *just*).

Nothing still to serve those of us who have no wish to venture inside
the M25, and sit forever on the N/S circulars.

Onlt been there twice (Iron Bridge is it) and that was because I was
passing. I rarely bother going into London (in spite of being consumed
by it now being only 12 miles from the City) and would rather drive 50
miles North than 5 miles South ;-(

A mate drove one of the 12 Artics that made up the Eagles road tour
and the leg he did was from Norway (or summat) into Russia. After a
few hundred miles of nothing and on the final few miles into Moscow
guess what was the first establishment they saw was ...?

Yep, Ikea ... then ...

McDonalds .. !

Moscow could still be quicker for me than the Nth Circ ... ;-(

All the best ..

T i m

On 16 Jan 2005 11:47:29 GMT, (Huge) wrote:

MM writes:

The reason, says Ikea, is
that it wants to encourage shoppers to use public transport."

Morons. Like some is going to carry a hundredweight of flat-pack on
the bus.

You won't mind paying one pound if you have a hundred weight of flat
pack. In certains shops car parks round here it would be good if they
charged. You might actually get a space instead of wasting several
quid on petrol queueing. Not to mention that time is money!

M.

Just have an image of someone on a bus with a flat pack bed, and matress!

Not all shoppers buy bulky goods.

No but those that do will have a nightmare trying to get a mattress on a bus

Joking aside, do they offer free delivery? *Their* idea being that you
choose / pay for yer bits then go home on the bus and the stuff get's
delivered by them later?

No free delivery, if they did then yeah it would be a great idea well worth
paying the £1 for maybe with the introduction of paid parking then they
could introduce a free reliable delivery service for bulky items you cant
get on a bus.

Mary Fisher wrote:

"JM" wrote in message
...

I wonder whether IKEA intends to introduce parking fees for all its UK
stores? This, by the way, follows IKEA's introduction in all stores of
a 70p levy when you pay for goods by credit card.

Even their own?

No.

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham UK


Have dancing shoes, will ceilidh.

On 16 Jan 2005 11:47:29 GMT, (Huge) wrote:

MM writes:

The reason, says Ikea, is
that it wants to encourage shoppers to use public transport."

Morons. Like some is going to carry a hundredweight of flat-pack on
the bus.

I reckon, along with so many companies IKEA is using the new store to
gauge public reaction. If it is not a big problem, expect to see £1
parking charge at all IKEA stores within the year. This would bring in
a massive extra amount - think of the thousands of cars and vans which
park there every week. They said that the 70p levy would go towards
lowering prices, but of course we have absolutely no way of verifying
this. Next up: Charge a fee for the catalogue. Well, why not? I can't
believe it's still free. How about a fee for using the lav? Many
railway stations and public toilets now do so. Why not charge a fee
for using a trolley? After all, no one's forcing you to trundle it
around. And think of all the migrant workers they could save having to
pay if the trolleys didn't continually have to be collected and put
back in the tunnel.

MM

On Sun, 16 Jan 2005 12:13:40 GMT, T i m wrote:

On 16 Jan 2005 11:47:29 GMT, (Huge) wrote:

MM writes:

The reason, says Ikea, is
that it wants to encourage shoppers to use public transport."

Morons. Like some is going to carry a hundredweight of flat-pack on
the bus.

Joking aside, do they offer free delivery? *Their* idea being that you
choose / pay for yer bits then go home on the bus and the stuff get's
delivered by them later?

No free delivery from IKEA.

MM

On Sun, 16 Jan 2005 12:16:37 GMT, wrote:



On Sun, 16 Jan 2005, Huge wrote:



MM writes:

The reason, says Ikea, is
that it wants to encourage shoppers to use public transport."

Morons. Like some is going to carry a hundredweight of flat-pack on
the bus.

Or they want you to use their delivery service - which, in my and other
peoples experience, is absolutely useless.

Wouldn't be so bad if they credited it against your bill.

Indeed. THEN I would not be too concerned, since a pound's worth of
goods can always be bought at IKEA (though not much more than that...)

MM

On Sun, 16 Jan 2005 12:22:16 +0000, Markus Splenius
wrote:

On 16 Jan 2005 11:47:29 GMT, (Huge) wrote:

MM writes:

The reason, says Ikea, is
that it wants to encourage shoppers to use public transport."

Morons. Like some is going to carry a hundredweight of flat-pack on
the bus.

You won't mind paying one pound if you have a hundred weight of flat
pack. In certains shops car parks round here it would be good if they
charged. You might actually get a space instead of wasting several
quid on petrol queueing. Not to mention that time is money!

Go ahead! Pay your pound! I see you have excess disposable income, so
why not donate something to me? £500 should be fine for starters.

MM

"MM" wrote in message
...
On 16 Jan 2005 11:47:29 GMT, (Huge) wrote:

MM writes:

The reason, says Ikea, is
that it wants to encourage shoppers to use public transport."

Morons. Like some is going to carry a hundredweight of flat-pack on
the bus.

I reckon, along with so many companies IKEA is using the new store to
gauge public reaction.

But as it's a new store how will they tell what difference it makes.
It could be that demand is above/below expectations because
of some other factor.

How will they gauge the number of casual shoppers (like me, not
that I would go to this onme anyway) who now won't go there on
the off-chance of finding something suitable.

tim

How will they gauge the number of casual shoppers (like me, not
that I would go to this onme anyway) who now won't go there on
the off-chance of finding something suitable.

Cant think of anything worse, going to Ikea on the off chance of finding
something.. The times I've been to Ikea for kitchens bathrooms, I cant spend
ages in the place drives me mad. Maybe its just that its in Lakeside that
makes it so bad

John Borman wrote:
The reason, says Ikea, is that it wants to encourage shoppers to use
public transport."

Just have an image of someone on a bus with a flat pack bed, and
matress!

Try getting all that in a Vauxhall Corsa!

(Last time I bought that much, I used their delivery service and took only
the mirror back in the car).

John.

"Markus Splenius" wrote in message
...
On 16 Jan 2005 11:47:29 GMT, (Huge) wrote:

MM writes:

The reason, says Ikea, is
that it wants to encourage shoppers to use public transport."

Morons. Like some is going to carry a hundredweight of flat-pack on
the bus.

You won't mind paying one pound if you have a hundred weight of flat
pack. In certains shops car parks round here it would be good if they
charged. You might actually get a space instead of wasting several
quid on petrol queueing. Not to mention that time is money!

That's one reason we substituted one car for a scooter. It's surprising how
much shopping you can get in the panniers and top box - not a mattress
though ...

But you can always find space to park and never have to sit in a queue
burning fuel.

There's only been one day in two years when we've felt the desirability of
another car and that was when we wanted to take granddaughters somewhere
when the big car was full. Their parents had to take the little bra ...
darlings instead.

Mary

M.

T i m wrote:
On 16 Jan 2005 11:47:29 GMT, (Huge) wrote:

MM writes:

The reason, says Ikea, is
that it wants to encourage shoppers to use public transport."

Morons. Like some is going to carry a hundredweight of flat-pack on
the bus.

Joking aside, do they offer free delivery? *Their* idea being that you
choose / pay for yer bits then go home on the bus and the stuff get's
delivered by them later?

Not free, but quite reasonable if you're getting a large amount of stuff. I
moved into my new house a couple of months ago and spent around £1000 in one
go (bed, mattress, bedside tables, 3 bookcases, coffee table, TV stand, etc.
etc.) and £30 for the delivery was pretty good.

John.

"MM" wrote in message
...
On 16 Jan 2005 11:47:29 GMT, (Huge) wrote:

MM writes:

The reason, says Ikea, is
that it wants to encourage shoppers to use public transport."

Morons. Like some is going to carry a hundredweight of flat-pack on
the bus.

I reckon, along with so many companies IKEA is using the new store to
gauge public reaction. If it is not a big problem, expect to see £1
parking charge at all IKEA stores within the year. This would bring in
a massive extra amount - think of the thousands of cars and vans which
park there every week. They said that the 70p levy would go towards
lowering prices, but of course we have absolutely no way of verifying
this. Next up: Charge a fee for the catalogue. Well, why not? I can't
believe it's still free. How about a fee for using the lav? Many
railway stations and public toilets now do so. Why not charge a fee
for using a trolley? After all, no one's forcing you to trundle it
around. And think of all the migrant workers they could save having to
pay if the trolleys didn't continually have to be collected and put
back in the tunnel.

If you are prepared to pay for your beer and newspapers why not other
services?

Land (for car parks) costs money. 'Free' catalogues are a pain and have to
be paid for somehow - the diesign, paper, printing, distribution to people
who don't want them. Many public toilets have always charged, they cost a
lot of build and mainatin. You could take your own wheelbarrow to a
supermarket. Ikea provides big bags anyway. Trolleys cost money to buy, why
should they be free - and, worse, abused, stolen, dumped ...

Of course, you don't have to shop at Ikea or supermarkets ... there IS life
outside them.

Perhaps you want to buy stuff there because it's cheap? In that case, £1 for
parking is virtually nothing, you probably spend more than that on a drink.

Mary



MM

Markus Splenius wrote:
On 16 Jan 2005 11:47:29 GMT, (Huge) wrote:

MM writes:

The reason, says Ikea, is
that it wants to encourage shoppers to use public transport."

Morons. Like some is going to carry a hundredweight of flat-pack on
the bus.

You won't mind paying one pound if you have a hundred weight of flat
pack. In certains shops car parks round here it would be good if they
charged. You might actually get a space instead of wasting several
quid on petrol queueing. Not to mention that time is money!

Plus, they may not want the customers who won't pay a pound.
If you can reduce the size of the car-park needed by eliminating those
just going round for a wander every week, and usually not buying anything,
it might be worth it.
Or if there are enough customers that will choose this one over other
stores because of easy parking.

MM wrote:
On Sun, 16 Jan 2005 11:31:16 +0000, Mark Carver
wrote:

MM wrote:
According to a round-up of the Sunday papers: "Ikea's newest outlet
at Edmonton in north London, which opens next month,....


That's the fourth store in London now, and still nothing in Southern
England.

Tell me about it! Nothing to the east of Nottingham, which is a very
difficult cross-country trip of around 80 miles one way.

Although we do have the national depot, you'd have thought they could have
tacked a shop on the side of it.

--
James...
www.jameshart.co.uk

On Sun, 16 Jan 2005 14:41:08 -0000, "Mary Fisher"
wrote:


You won't mind paying one pound if you have a hundred weight of flat
pack. In certains shops car parks round here it would be good if they
charged. You might actually get a space instead of wasting several
quid on petrol queueing. Not to mention that time is money!

That's one reason we substituted one car for a scooter. It's surprising how
much shopping you can get in the panniers and top box - not a mattress
though ...

By 'scooter' do you mean 'scooter' or stepthrough motorcycle / moped
Mary (just out of curiosity)?

But you can always find space to park and never have to sit in a queue
burning fuel.

No but you have to sit in the rain getting cold (well except my hands
(heated grips) and feet (flat twin) ;-)

There's only been one day in two years when we've felt the desirability of
another car and that was when we wanted to take granddaughters somewhere
when the big car was full. Their parents had to take the little bra ...
darlings instead.

No roof rack for the big car Mary? Trust me, the kids love it ..
especially if it's not raining ... you don't have to listen to their
bickering and theres no problem if they spill drink or drop crisps
etc. (saves risking breaking the law these days by "pointing at them
in an uncaring manor").

All the best ..

T i m

On Sun, 16 Jan 2005 14:39:42 -0000, "John Borman"
wrote:

How will they gauge the number of casual shoppers (like me, not
that I would go to this onme anyway) who now won't go there on
the off-chance of finding something suitable.

Cant think of anything worse, going to Ikea on the off chance of finding
something.. The times I've been to Ikea for kitchens bathrooms, I cant spend
ages in the place drives me mad. Maybe its just that its in Lakeside that
makes it so bad

Lakeside .. where's that then .. I can add it to the long list of
'shopping centres I've never visited'.

T i m (Nth London / Herts) ;-)

MM wrote:

even even after spending money in the store. The reason, says Ikea, is
that it wants to encourage shoppers to use public transport."

And how exactly would I get my new kitchen home on the bus?

Sounds like something done to keep the planning dept happy.

--
David Clark

$message_body_include ="PLES RING IF AN RNSR IS REQIRD"

M25 junction 30 or something
"T i m" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 16 Jan 2005 14:39:42 -0000, "John Borman"
wrote:

How will they gauge the number of casual shoppers (like me, not
that I would go to this onme anyway) who now won't go there on
the off-chance of finding something suitable.

Cant think of anything worse, going to Ikea on the off chance of finding
something.. The times I've been to Ikea for kitchens bathrooms, I cant
spend
ages in the place drives me mad. Maybe its just that its in Lakeside that
makes it so bad

Lakeside .. where's that then .. I can add it to the long list of
'shopping centres I've never visited'.

T i m (Nth London / Herts) ;-)

On Sun, 16 Jan 2005 15:27:05 -0000, "John Borman"
wrote:

M25 junction 30 or something

Ah, the M25 .. another car park I try to avoid ..

I remember watching it being built (well, just the local bit) and also
remember the days when an 'accident' on it was fairly rare .. seems a
rare thing when there isn't one accident [1] per junction these days
... ;-(

All the best ..

T i m

[1] mostly = crap driving.

On Sun, 16 Jan 2005 14:42:12 -0000, "JM" wrote:

T i m wrote:
On 16 Jan 2005 11:47:29 GMT, (Huge) wrote:

MM writes:

The reason, says Ikea, is
that it wants to encourage shoppers to use public transport."

Morons. Like some is going to carry a hundredweight of flat-pack on
the bus.

Joking aside, do they offer free delivery? *Their* idea being that you
choose / pay for yer bits then go home on the bus and the stuff get's
delivered by them later?

Not free, but quite reasonable if you're getting a large amount of stuff. I
moved into my new house a couple of months ago and spent around £1000 in one
go (bed, mattress, bedside tables, 3 bookcases, coffee table, TV stand, etc.
etc.) and £30 for the delivery was pretty good.

How far, though? I am 80 miles from the nearest store. I'll bet that
would cost more than £30!

MM

On Sun, 16 Jan 2005 14:39:42 -0000, "John Borman"
wrote:

How will they gauge the number of casual shoppers (like me, not
that I would go to this onme anyway) who now won't go there on
the off-chance of finding something suitable.

Cant think of anything worse, going to Ikea on the off chance of finding
something.. The times I've been to Ikea for kitchens bathrooms, I cant spend
ages in the place drives me mad. Maybe its just that its in Lakeside that
makes it so bad

I agree. As a shopping experience, IKEA is the absolute pits. The
showroom layout, where you have to follow the prescribed route around
the mock-up bedrooms and kitchens, is a very poor way to display the
stuff they sell. And later, in the part where the cups and saucers,
blinds and rugs, and other bric-a-brac are to be found, the aisles are
so narrow and there are usually hordes of shoppers with their trolleys
that it's a total nightmare trying to choose.

I only go because you do get reasonable quality on many items at
really low prices. I have bought tables and bookcases mainly, and the
Billy range, for example, is excellent value. That said, IKEA seem
bent on making the shopping experience not only probably the worst in
the country, but more and more expensive. Honestly, a quid to park
your car! How ridiculous. They are trying it on, just as they did with
the 70p CC levy. Of course, given that we in Britain don't protest
very much, they got away with it.

MM

On Sun, 16 Jan 2005 14:47:33 -0000, "Mary Fisher"
wrote:

Perhaps you want to buy stuff there because it's cheap? In that case, £1 for
parking is virtually nothing, you probably spend more than that on a drink.

Oh, IKEA just LOVE people like you, Mary! They could charge a fiver
and you'd still not complain, would you! As for a £1 being virtually
nothing, please send me one immediately. It's not as if you're going
to miss it, are you?

MM

On Sun, 16 Jan 2005 15:21:25 GMT, quisquiliae
wrote:

MM wrote:

even even after spending money in the store. The reason, says Ikea, is
that it wants to encourage shoppers to use public transport."

And how exactly would I get my new kitchen home on the bus?

Sounds like something done to keep the planning dept happy.

No, the FINANCE dept!

MM

T i m wrote:
On Sun, 16 Jan 2005 15:27:05 -0000, "John Borman"
wrote:

M25 junction 30 or something

Ah, the M25 .. another car park I try to avoid ..

I remember watching it being built (well, just the local bit) and also
remember the days when an 'accident' on it was fairly rare .. seems a
rare thing when there isn't one accident [1] per junction these days
.. ;-(

All the best ..

T i m

[1] mostly = crap driving.

It's not really surprising though given that most drivers are never taught
how to drive on them.

--
James...
www.jameshart.co.uk

"T i m" wrote in message
That's one reason we substituted one car for a scooter. It's surprising
how
much shopping you can get in the panniers and top box - not a mattress
though ...

By 'scooter' do you mean 'scooter' or stepthrough motorcycle / moped
Mary (just out of curiosity)?

Spouse calls it a scooter. Being a Little woman I wouldn't know ...

It's a Liberty. You choose.

But you can always find space to park and never have to sit in a queue
burning fuel.

No but you have to sit in the rain getting cold (well except my hands
(heated grips) and feet (flat twin) ;-)

I've only ever been cold once, when I wore just sandals when it was just
above freezing. Only did it once. Gloves and waterproof clothing (yellow and
orange plastic from Screwfix) keep us dry, a windshield was the answer for
wind round Spouse's neck.

He's always love m/bikes and has had many. I've always hated them and only
had one. I prefer a puch bike.

There's only been one day in two years when we've felt the desirability of
another car and that was when we wanted to take granddaughters somewhere
when the big car was full. Their parents had to take the little bra ...
darlings instead.

No roof rack for the big car Mary?

Presently we have a large top box but on this occasion we had the Viking
tent poles and two ok trestle tables strapped to the roof rack. The trailer
took canvas, groundsheeting etc. and the inside of the Laguna estate was
full of chests.

Trust me, the kids love it ..

I know. They were thrilled to sit on top untying the timber.

especially if it's not raining ... you don't have to listen to their
bickering and theres no problem if they spill drink or drop crisps

It's not allowed in our car. Not that it would be noticed, it - the car - is
a mobile dustbin. Spouse is a slut when it comes to cleaning it out. Does it
once a year for the MOT.

etc. (saves risking breaking the law these days by "pointing at them
in an uncaring manor").

I just need to look at them and they wither. Or anyone, really ...

A grandson was always keen to travel in the (packed) trailer tent. He once
stowed away but we, being responsible, looked for him and wouldn't leave the
site without finding him. Sometimes instinct takes over from better
judgement and expedience ...

Mary