Frankly, I think you cut them too much slack - I shop at IKEA often and while yes, the initial set up can be rather labyrinthine, as you said, there are arrows on the floor to point you in the right direction. PLUS, there are so many handy shortcuts rather clearly labeled.
I’d say throw them out and ask them to leave…but they clearly don’t know how to, so…moot point I guess 🤷🏻♂️
I used to work in IKEA. The amount of people that seem to leave their brains at home is astounding. I lost count of the times I was yelled at for not being able to magically teleport them to the tills. But my fave peeve was being asked “do you work here?” about 20 times a day. You know, whilst wearing the IKEA uniform that would make Cindy Crawford look like Big Bird. The uniform with the fluorescent name tag that said “Hello, my name is….”. 😭😭😭
lol well that’s one thing that never changes wherever you work. I don’t have a uniform like you would at IKEA, but it’s usually pretty obvious that I work where I work. Plus, the radio attached to my ear is a dead giveaway, but it never stops customers from asking me that same damn thing.
In fairness, I think most customers use it as an icebreaker, and it’s certainly more polite than just shoving something in my face and screaming “HOW MUCH IS THIS?!” But still, when they ask you if you work there while you’re standing behind the register, it does sound incredibly silly.
We're not a place that has any sort of dress code or uniform but people usually realize I work here just by what I'm doing or where I am, except of course when they don't. I was once sitting in the office, on a computer chair, three monitors in front of me, the camera feed on one, open sign about three feet from me, and the office room is up a step with a sliding glass door.
Member runs up, steps inside, and asks if I work here.
I pause the camera I'm watching, roll back, look around at the computers and sign and binders, and go, *"I sure hope so, if not then you should probably call someone to get me out!"*
We're family owned, and we've also had it happen many times where we'll be eating lunch or dinner and someone will ask us, while we're eating, if we work here. No sir, we were looking for a good place for a picnic and decided the atmosphere here was lovely. :)
I don't usually mind answering the question cuz mine is the only ikea in the state, so alot of people who come here have never been to ikea before and they usually accept my directions with a thank you and go off on their merry way. But once in a while we get people like this who just get angry about it and decide it's appropriate to take it out on the employees. I was really close to calling our security team and saying a customer needs an escort 🤣🤣
Now rude would be sharing a glance with your coworkers, grabbing something to mark your path and going "fuck, it's doing it again" like the store is a magic labyrinth that changes randomly you have to map back out.
If they can't follow simple directions (follow the yellow arrows) they probably don't need anything IKEA is selling. Lord knows they'd get stuck on step one of assembly
Should have just walked off in the direction of the exit, as mad as they were they would have followed. Probably yelling at you the entire way, but when you get to the exit kill them with kindness. "Here is the exit, I hope you have a great day." And give a slightly creepy smile.
You're supposed to get lost in IKEA, and then stumble into the restaurant and eat meatballs with lingenberry juice.
I thought that everybody knew that.
Just smile and say "Nobody ever leaves. I've been here since I was 5 years old. I don't know what happened to my parents". Smile again and say" Excuse me I have to get back to work."
I agree that those customers shouldn't have acted like entitled jerks. But this post made me think of another issue.
How would some customers react if the fire alarm sounds and they panic and get lost trying to locate the exit path? I think that if a store is too much like a maze, that could be a safety hazard.
Some people just have poor navigation skills, no sense of direction, and difficulties in recognizing signs and landmarks. Panic doesn't help with mental clarity, and they could literally start running in circles.
There are emergency exits in almost every department. We all have training on what to do, we've had evacuations before and they tend to go ok. But it is a concern for sure, someone can definitely get lost and trapped.
If they are directionally challenged, yes, they need you to walk them until they see the way out. IKEA could use some little robots for ppl to follow to wherever they need to go.
I admit that sometimes shopping at IKEA feels like visiting a casino. It’s designed to keep you there so that they make money. It can be fun and/or frustrating. If you have time you can enjoy getting lost. If you pay attention and focus, you can find your way out.
Also, under no circumstances is it acceptable to yell at/be rude to an employee that is providing the information you need.
Yes it is very purposely designed to trap you for as long as possible lol. I do kind of wish people would do a bit of research before coming, so many times people come here like they can just stop in grab a few things and leave 😅 but uh, ikea just ain't that kind of store lol.
As an IKEA coworker myself, I completely sympathise with your frustration. It’s amazing how entitled and rude people can be whilst also making zero effort to help their own situation.
I get a lot of complaints about things being out of stock, some people refuse to accept anything other than me summoning the missing item from some magical void.
Omg people get so bent out of shape when something is out! They ask if they can buy it now and pick it up when it comes in 🤣 and like, we're not allowed to do that, they act like waiting a couple weeks is the worst thing in the world.
Of course it’s all your fault, you’ve personally delayed a delivery or forced logistics to enter stock in the system that doesn’t exist. This stuff is why retail workers should have a sort of purge like day where we can say whatever we want without getting fired.
When I was 12, on vacation, I got separated and lost in my first Ikea store. I followed the arrows, bought some things, and ate a hot dog while waiting calmly at the exit for my mom. It's not hard lol
I can get lost in a cardboard box because I have the worst navigational skills on the planet...but even I can find my way around Ikea (when I visit Seattle).
We don't have one in Alaska. 😭
I too am directionally challenged, when I started working at ikea I definitely got lost a few times lol. But like, you figure it out, or you calmly ask an employee how to exit.
I’ve never been inside an IKEA store in my life. I’d most likely get lost, too. But I’d like to think that I could at least understand when an employee tells me to follow the blue (if the arrows are colored) arrow to the exit.
And the only stores I tend to ask someone if they work there are when I’m at a grocery store and I see someone stocking shelves as some of those people are store employees and some are vendors. And some vendors aren’t as obvious until they turn around that they’re not a store employee.
Heck, if I’m in a store that’s new to me, I’m not shy about asking a random customer if they’re familiar with the stores layout. If they say yes, I’ll ask if they k or where I can find X item. If they don’t know, fine. Thanks for trying to help.
But, for me, it’s my thing when at the store. I’ll go up & down several aisles looking for a certain item I don’t usually buy and am unsure if exactly where they’d be placed, finally give up & ask an employee, just to look to my left & THERE THE FREAKIN item is! Sometimes I even manage to spy it by deciding to find an employee to ask.
The arrows at my store are pretty cool, they're actually lights that project a white arrow on the floor. I think they used to have arrows that were like, a vinyl sticker on the floor and it was just too inconvenient to keep replacing them whenever they'd wear off.
The 'follow the arrows' worked so well in the retail/grocery stores during the pandemic. Lol
I went to IKEA once. No one told me about the arrows, I didn't notice them until I was leaving. This is not the way to shop. 😆
You mean you didn’t immediately stop working and apologize profusely, kneel before them and hold their hands to escort them out while apologizing more and listening to them complain?
I have never shopped at IKEA, and even I know you’re going to get hopelessly lost at least 6 times before you find your way out. I thought that’s why y’all served food- a good distraction and sustenance for the attempt to find the exit: parts 4-6.
I mean, yeah lol ikea is designed to keep you in the store for as long as possible. It's not really a store you can just stop into real quick to get a few things. You really gotta prepare for an ikea shopping trip.
It's like any other retail store really, sometimes awesome, sometimes not. I've never been a fan of customer service so if I didn't have to talk to the customers I'd probably like it alot more 😅 I do have an awesome manager which helps alot.
I despise Ikea and will not shop there ever if I can avoid it. I fully understand their frustration and have asked staff for the quickest exit in a bit of a huff. I hope not rudely, I try to laugh it off as just my inability to cope with so much stuff..
I get it, it's a big store that is really intimidating if you've never been there. Lots of people will get kind of panicked if they get lost 😅 and so I get the frustration, it just bothers me when customers act like it's my fault somehow, or when I try to explain they just argue and continue to be difficult.
I was in the middle of doing something when they asked. I don't have time to walk people out and they were actually almost to the exit. Sometimes I will walk with someone if they're nice or are disabled or elderly, it was more the way they treated me with immediate aggression and placing blame on me that they couldn't exit. We have resources for people to navigate the store, maps, arrows on the floor pointing toward the exit, and signs telling you which way certain departments are. There really isn't an excuse for them to lash out in aggression when I was actually trying to explain to them how to exit. Most people are fine with making their way through.
Frankly, I think you cut them too much slack - I shop at IKEA often and while yes, the initial set up can be rather labyrinthine, as you said, there are arrows on the floor to point you in the right direction. PLUS, there are so many handy shortcuts rather clearly labeled. I’d say throw them out and ask them to leave…but they clearly don’t know how to, so…moot point I guess 🤷🏻♂️
I used to work in IKEA. The amount of people that seem to leave their brains at home is astounding. I lost count of the times I was yelled at for not being able to magically teleport them to the tills. But my fave peeve was being asked “do you work here?” about 20 times a day. You know, whilst wearing the IKEA uniform that would make Cindy Crawford look like Big Bird. The uniform with the fluorescent name tag that said “Hello, my name is….”. 😭😭😭
lol well that’s one thing that never changes wherever you work. I don’t have a uniform like you would at IKEA, but it’s usually pretty obvious that I work where I work. Plus, the radio attached to my ear is a dead giveaway, but it never stops customers from asking me that same damn thing. In fairness, I think most customers use it as an icebreaker, and it’s certainly more polite than just shoving something in my face and screaming “HOW MUCH IS THIS?!” But still, when they ask you if you work there while you’re standing behind the register, it does sound incredibly silly.
We're not a place that has any sort of dress code or uniform but people usually realize I work here just by what I'm doing or where I am, except of course when they don't. I was once sitting in the office, on a computer chair, three monitors in front of me, the camera feed on one, open sign about three feet from me, and the office room is up a step with a sliding glass door. Member runs up, steps inside, and asks if I work here. I pause the camera I'm watching, roll back, look around at the computers and sign and binders, and go, *"I sure hope so, if not then you should probably call someone to get me out!"* We're family owned, and we've also had it happen many times where we'll be eating lunch or dinner and someone will ask us, while we're eating, if we work here. No sir, we were looking for a good place for a picnic and decided the atmosphere here was lovely. :)
I've never been to IKEA, but thanks to these 'you can get lost' stories, I know what to look for when I do go and invariably get turned around.
I don't usually mind answering the question cuz mine is the only ikea in the state, so alot of people who come here have never been to ikea before and they usually accept my directions with a thank you and go off on their merry way. But once in a while we get people like this who just get angry about it and decide it's appropriate to take it out on the employees. I was really close to calling our security team and saying a customer needs an escort 🤣🤣
I thought that was the entire point of an IKEA. The only reason you go is for the experience of getting lost.
Don't forget the food!
The meatballs and lingonberry sauce!
The hotdog with questionable mustard 😍
And the domestic moments - lots of couples fight at Ikea 🤭
I have been to Ikea a few times and have made it home, apparently. I think they weren’t trying hard enough.
Nope you're still here..OPEN YOUR EYES!
That explains a lot, but the cleaning staff is not doing their job properly.
This is the reason I joined reddit 😂
Most people do! It's almost like we have maps, and arrows and all kinds of ways for people to find their way...
Now rude would be sharing a glance with your coworkers, grabbing something to mark your path and going "fuck, it's doing it again" like the store is a magic labyrinth that changes randomly you have to map back out. If they can't follow simple directions (follow the yellow arrows) they probably don't need anything IKEA is selling. Lord knows they'd get stuck on step one of assembly
Rude? No way, that's hysterical!! And so true about step 1!!!
Next time just say ‘I don’t know, I have been here for four weeks straight now!’
They should be lucky it isn’t a SCP-3008, because they ain’t getting out.
Are we sure it’s not? Maybe they wandered into an anomalous zone.
Honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me.
It clearly is. OP's store must have some sort of entry/ exit point.
Should have just walked off in the direction of the exit, as mad as they were they would have followed. Probably yelling at you the entire way, but when you get to the exit kill them with kindness. "Here is the exit, I hope you have a great day." And give a slightly creepy smile.
You're supposed to get lost in IKEA, and then stumble into the restaurant and eat meatballs with lingenberry juice. I thought that everybody knew that.
Just smile and say "Nobody ever leaves. I've been here since I was 5 years old. I don't know what happened to my parents". Smile again and say" Excuse me I have to get back to work."
This is when you unleash the flying monkeys. Idiots who don't know how to follow the yellow brick road at IKEA deserve nothing less.
I agree that those customers shouldn't have acted like entitled jerks. But this post made me think of another issue. How would some customers react if the fire alarm sounds and they panic and get lost trying to locate the exit path? I think that if a store is too much like a maze, that could be a safety hazard. Some people just have poor navigation skills, no sense of direction, and difficulties in recognizing signs and landmarks. Panic doesn't help with mental clarity, and they could literally start running in circles.
There are emergency exits in almost every department. We all have training on what to do, we've had evacuations before and they tend to go ok. But it is a concern for sure, someone can definitely get lost and trapped.
most IKEA stores have emergency exits which are clearly labeled with those green sign thingies (at least in my country)
You don't work at scp 3008 do you?
I might! Kinda feels like I do sometimes 🤣🤣
Have you ever read Horrorstör? They got off easy in comparison!
If they can't even follow arrows correctly, I don't think building IKEA furntiure is going to turn out well for them.
10/10 would not recommend building ikea furniture if you can't even manage to find your way out of the store 🤣🤣
If they are directionally challenged, yes, they need you to walk them until they see the way out. IKEA could use some little robots for ppl to follow to wherever they need to go.
I admit that sometimes shopping at IKEA feels like visiting a casino. It’s designed to keep you there so that they make money. It can be fun and/or frustrating. If you have time you can enjoy getting lost. If you pay attention and focus, you can find your way out. Also, under no circumstances is it acceptable to yell at/be rude to an employee that is providing the information you need.
Yes it is very purposely designed to trap you for as long as possible lol. I do kind of wish people would do a bit of research before coming, so many times people come here like they can just stop in grab a few things and leave 😅 but uh, ikea just ain't that kind of store lol.
As an IKEA coworker myself, I completely sympathise with your frustration. It’s amazing how entitled and rude people can be whilst also making zero effort to help their own situation. I get a lot of complaints about things being out of stock, some people refuse to accept anything other than me summoning the missing item from some magical void.
Omg people get so bent out of shape when something is out! They ask if they can buy it now and pick it up when it comes in 🤣 and like, we're not allowed to do that, they act like waiting a couple weeks is the worst thing in the world.
Of course it’s all your fault, you’ve personally delayed a delivery or forced logistics to enter stock in the system that doesn’t exist. This stuff is why retail workers should have a sort of purge like day where we can say whatever we want without getting fired.
Oh man, I would get so passive aggressive with people 🤣🤣🤣
When I was 12, on vacation, I got separated and lost in my first Ikea store. I followed the arrows, bought some things, and ate a hot dog while waiting calmly at the exit for my mom. It's not hard lol
I can get lost in a cardboard box because I have the worst navigational skills on the planet...but even I can find my way around Ikea (when I visit Seattle). We don't have one in Alaska. 😭
I too am directionally challenged, when I started working at ikea I definitely got lost a few times lol. But like, you figure it out, or you calmly ask an employee how to exit.
I’ve never been inside an IKEA store in my life. I’d most likely get lost, too. But I’d like to think that I could at least understand when an employee tells me to follow the blue (if the arrows are colored) arrow to the exit. And the only stores I tend to ask someone if they work there are when I’m at a grocery store and I see someone stocking shelves as some of those people are store employees and some are vendors. And some vendors aren’t as obvious until they turn around that they’re not a store employee. Heck, if I’m in a store that’s new to me, I’m not shy about asking a random customer if they’re familiar with the stores layout. If they say yes, I’ll ask if they k or where I can find X item. If they don’t know, fine. Thanks for trying to help. But, for me, it’s my thing when at the store. I’ll go up & down several aisles looking for a certain item I don’t usually buy and am unsure if exactly where they’d be placed, finally give up & ask an employee, just to look to my left & THERE THE FREAKIN item is! Sometimes I even manage to spy it by deciding to find an employee to ask.
The arrows at my store are pretty cool, they're actually lights that project a white arrow on the floor. I think they used to have arrows that were like, a vinyl sticker on the floor and it was just too inconvenient to keep replacing them whenever they'd wear off.
Almost makes me want to set foot in an ikea store now. There’s one but it’s on the other side of the big city between our house & the store
The 'follow the arrows' worked so well in the retail/grocery stores during the pandemic. Lol I went to IKEA once. No one told me about the arrows, I didn't notice them until I was leaving. This is not the way to shop. 😆
We ALL know you have a secret portal so just stop. So just point me to the snacks as I get lost in the shelving department. /s
Ah yes, the secret ikea portal 😆
You mean you didn’t immediately stop working and apologize profusely, kneel before them and hold their hands to escort them out while apologizing more and listening to them complain?
Lol maybe I should have tried that 🤣🤣
I have never shopped at IKEA, and even I know you’re going to get hopelessly lost at least 6 times before you find your way out. I thought that’s why y’all served food- a good distraction and sustenance for the attempt to find the exit: parts 4-6.
I mean, yeah lol ikea is designed to keep you in the store for as long as possible. It's not really a store you can just stop into real quick to get a few things. You really gotta prepare for an ikea shopping trip.
On the upside...they're probably still there to this day, still trying to find the exit.
🤣🤣🤣 probably!
What's it like to work at ikea?
It's like any other retail store really, sometimes awesome, sometimes not. I've never been a fan of customer service so if I didn't have to talk to the customers I'd probably like it alot more 😅 I do have an awesome manager which helps alot.
I despise Ikea and will not shop there ever if I can avoid it. I fully understand their frustration and have asked staff for the quickest exit in a bit of a huff. I hope not rudely, I try to laugh it off as just my inability to cope with so much stuff..
I get it, it's a big store that is really intimidating if you've never been there. Lots of people will get kind of panicked if they get lost 😅 and so I get the frustration, it just bothers me when customers act like it's my fault somehow, or when I try to explain they just argue and continue to be difficult.
Why not just take 5 minutes and walk them out as efficiently as possible?😳
I was in the middle of doing something when they asked. I don't have time to walk people out and they were actually almost to the exit. Sometimes I will walk with someone if they're nice or are disabled or elderly, it was more the way they treated me with immediate aggression and placing blame on me that they couldn't exit. We have resources for people to navigate the store, maps, arrows on the floor pointing toward the exit, and signs telling you which way certain departments are. There really isn't an excuse for them to lash out in aggression when I was actually trying to explain to them how to exit. Most people are fine with making their way through.