Sunday, May 25, 2008

IKEA Criminology Update

I visited IKEA again this weekend and was accosted yet again by a poor Filipina lady just trying to do her job. We had bags (small bags). I thought I would push the envelope and see how far I could get.

“Madame! Madame! It is not allowed for you to take bags.”

‘Call the manager.’

I don’t think she did. Who cares? Not Ikea management. They still treat their customers like criminals.

Ikea management: Buy a stapler or a bag sealer like they have in Carrefours. Jeez. Show some creativity – after all, your store is supposed to be innovative, right?

2 comments:

abolesanzalef said...

Asala malikom
Dear friend,
I dont know what to say but most of the famous companies are just got their fame by luck, not according to their services. Not Only Ikea but also more companies .

Desert Girl said...

Abolesanzalef - I think Ikea got their fame by lots of hard work. They established themselves (originally) on good customer service and quality products. I know this because I met with the senior management years ago.

I think that the problem now stems from their recruitment of mid-level managers who are mostly from a country with a lowered standard of quality. In other words, they have expanded and want to cut corners by hiring cheaper help (as many companies in the region tend to do). It tends to be cyclical over time: hire poor management; lose sales; hire expensive management to fix the problem.

Ikea is losing not only customers, but good staff as well.

Quality staff retention = sales retention.