One IKEA shopper has claimed that one type of customer should be stopped immediately and ‘adult-only’ hours should be introduced after voicing their frustrations
IKEA can be stressful at the best of times, never mind on a busy weekend when every man, woman and their dog are in store. Known for their fair prices for good quality furniture, IKEA is a must-visit when you’re trying to furnish your home on a budget.
But with so many people cramped in a narrow one way system, it’s easy for customers to step on each others toes and get frustrated when shopping. This was true for one customer who couldn’t help but vent about a trip they took the the furniture store.
While waiting in the returns area with a table they no longer needed, a child pushed a shopping trolly into it, causing damage as their parent was on their phone.
They said: “Your kids do NOT belong in Ikea. I was just at Ikea a few weeks ago and while I was waiting at the returns area, a kid drove a shopping cart into the table I tried to return, denting the wood badly.
“I had to return a broken item and ask for a refund, which made me seem like the rude customer. The parent was busy with their phone at the time.
“I feel bad at Ikea having to absorb the cost for this. IMHO the parent should have paid. They apologised to me, but didn’t even tell off their son for their behaviour.”
Frustrated IKEA customer demands ‘adult-only’ shopping hours
The rant continued as the customer demanded that children should not be allowed in IKEA unless they could be “restrained” by their parents.
They continued: “Kids are just a nuisance to other customers, not to mention store staff who have to clean up their mess politely and not utter a peep.
“Your kids should not be running and screaming, and throwing food at one another at the Ikea cafeteria either. If you can’t restrain them, then they should stay at home. And let’s face it, no parent can. They’re all loud and wild at a certain age, causing noise and wreaking havoc.
“Today I was looking at lights and a kid was swinging a pendant light, hitting me in the head. I could have lost an eye. I wish Ikea declared adult-only store hours or something. Enough is enough. This is not a playground.”
People couldn’t agree with the shopper in the comments, with one former member of staff weighing in.
One person said: “I used to work for Ikea, and we actually got trained that they WANT families to treat it as a day out, especially on a rainy day. Go look at furniture, eat meatballs, get lost in the flatpack maze.”
A second said: “Really? Every IKEA I’ve ever been to seems geared specifically towards encouraging people to bring their children – toys out they can play with, slides between departments in the kids area etc. It’s one of the only Homeware shops I’ve been that seems to very much have families with kids in mind in all their layouts and design.”
A third added: “I notice a lot of parents with kids make Ikea like a day out. They barely buy anything and just go to let their kids run wild and be as much of a nuisance as possible. Ikea is not a theme park. People are actually trying to buy stuff they need. Keep your s**** kids at home.”
A fourth said: “It’s always been worse on the weekends, if you can try going mon.-Thursday. Much less kids around.”
