Should I complain?

[Ree]

I bought a new bed yesterday.

Since my husband died, I haven't been able to sleep in our bedroom or our bed.

I traded rooms with our daughter, but she had a futon that had seen better days. Most nights, I slept on the couch. My back has been killing me, and with the chronic sciatic nerve issues I already have, it's been really hard.

I had the mattress and box spring bought last week, but I couldn't use it because I didn't actually have a bed to put it on.
I spent last weekend looking, but didn't see any in my price range or that I liked. I had seen some nice ones on the IKEA website, and I was finally able to get to their store yesterday (since it's an hour away and I don't drive). I picked out a really nice bed. It wasn't terribly expensive, but it was pretty and reminded me of the bed I had as a child.

I got it home, and all I wanted to do was get the bed together and lie down on the mattress that had been calling my name for a week so I could finally get a comfortable sleep.

I got the footboard out of the box and there was a large brown oily mark on it. I almost cried, since taking it back to the store at that point was not an option. I wiped it off, and it came off easy, but it left a bit of a stain in the finish that isn't terribly obvious, but can be seen if you look closely. Luckily, it was on the inside on the part that is hidden by the mattress. There is still a bit of the oily brown showing at the base of one of the rungs, and it looks a bit like rust if you look quickly. I think, if I take a soft brush and scrub around it a bit, it will come off.

The thing is, I needed the bed so badly that I went ahead and put it together. Like I said, the majority of the flaw doesn't show, and what does show, really isn't that bad.

My question is, should I just keep quiet since I have a bed I can sleep in, or should I tell them since it could be an issue with other beds in this line? I didn't pay a lot for it, but I shouldn't have had to clean off oily marks from a brand new bed frame.

I have never bought from IKEA before, so I don't know what their company is like.

[Aethian]

I would pass a e-mail to the company. One of their machines might not be working properly.

[sms001]

Yeah, ditto that.

Obviously you are perfectly within your rights to return a defective or disfigured product, but it sounds to me like it would be a lot more effort on your part than it's worth. I'd probably call the store, make it clear that I was keeping the product and didn't want anything except to give them a heads up about what may be an ongoing problem.

Hope you get a great night's sleep on the new bed!

[Ree]

Hope you get a great night's sleep on the new bed!

Thanks, I had an awesome sleep!

I was pretty exhausted and sore when I finally settled down, because I had to assemble it all and haul the mattress and boxspring by myself. I also hung curtains, and because I'm short, that was a chore.

The only drawback is that I have to use a stool to get into bed. I am not kidding. The mattress comes to my waist, and I am only 5 feet tall.

[marasbaras]

Absolutely complain, Ree.

You paid for a clean bed frame.

[jerkface11]

Yeah you need to say something. You might prevent bigger problems in the future. Like a full blown SC getting something with a stain on it.

[rerant]

Complaining to IKEA is like talking to a wall. If you want something done about it your best bet is, unfortunately, going back to the store and making an exchange.
A lot of IKEAs use call centres, so when you call them you get the run-around before you're able to talk to anyone in the store you purchased your items at.
The thing about the call centres is they often know little to nothing about what's actually going on in any of the stores, and will likely just give you a scripted, "We're very sorry for the inconvenience, someone will contact you in 24-48 hours," speech.
Don't hold your breath on that call.

You could always call the call centre (the number should be on the website or in the catalogue if you have one) and ask for the direct store line number right away.
When you call the store you should be able to get through to an operator (which is actually an LP Admin coworker).
Don't bother explaining what you're calling about and just tell them you want to speak to either the Self Serve manager, Beds manager or Customer Service manager (whoever you think would be most suited to help you with your problem - most likely Customer Service) and ask for their extension in case you ever have to call back (that way you can just enter the extension when you call in and get them right away).

Chances are they're just going to tell you to bring the item in if you want anything done about it, and if they're anything like the the people who I used to work with at IKEA they won't even check the other items to see if it was just your bed with the stain or if it's an issue with all of them, or they'll check one and if there's nothing there they'll forget all about it.

Dealing with IKEA can be trying, so I would first determine how big an issue you really think it is, and if you can see yourself forgetting about it in a couple of days you're better off leaving it alone.
Honestly, IKEA has a big I-don't-give-a-shit attitude. You'd never think that, but after working there for three years trust me, that's how it is.
No one cares about anything and most of the managers aren't concerned about losing customers or even making them happy.

[Ree]

Thank you, rerant.
See, that's the thing. I was hoping for a bit of an "insider" view and whether reporting was a big waste of time or not.

Like I said, I really needed the bed, so it's all assembled, and the stain is where it won't show, once I get a brush to wipe around the bottom of the rung.

If the company is the type that doesn't really give a crap, then I won't waste my time, and I will enjoy my very comfortable sleep.

If they were the type who really cared about such a thing and had an easier solution than me waiting for a chance of a ride to a city over an hour away, and taking the bed apart and hauling the stained piece back, then I would take the time to alert them that there is a problem. (I know some companies that I deal with will just send the new part, and the customer sends their part back in the same carton.)

[rerant]

If they were the type who really cared about such a thing and had an easier solution than me waiting for a chance of a ride to a city over an hour away, and taking the bed apart and hauling the stained piece back, then I would take the time to alert them that there is a problem. (I know some companies that I deal with will just send the new part, and the customer sends their part back in the same carton.)

Yeah IKEA would never do that. I've seen them charge people for another delivery to get items back to the store after the wrong things were delivered or there were missing boxes and the customer decided just to send the whole thing back.
That's exactly $77.97 they're charging people when the mistake was on the store end, not to mention the initial delivery charge the customer already paid for.
The words that have left manager's mouths more times than I can count on all my fingers and all my toes are, "We don't need their money, this store will always be filled with people who want to spend their cash with us."

Nice, eh?

[flybye023]

One thing you might try, though is explaining the stain and see if they'll agree to a post-purchase discount.

[portia911]

I am hugely impressed you managed to get it together at all. I am hopeless with assembly stuff. I'd let them know though

[StanFlouride]

An easy fix for stained/scratched/mis-coated furniture that I often recommend at the hardware store is a thin coating of floor wax. Mop and Glo, Futura, etc., doesn't matter. It will smooth out the variation in sheen and hide the discoloration quite effectively as well as preventing any of the staining material from getting on your bedding.
Wipe it on with a soft rag, let it sit for a few minutes, and wipe away any excess.

[cj1991]

Actually, I've had fairly decent luck with IKEA, but you have to be persistent.

I don't live anywhere near one, and a friend bought me a small table and shipped it to me. It had no hardware, and a damaged tabletop. After the hell of their phone system (could not get someone at the store), I went on their website, picked their stupid read-headed FAQ woman thingy, and told her I wanted to chat to a live operator. She got one for me, and they agreed to mail me new parts. Which they did.

Problem is, the new table top they sent was.......damaged. And not easily fixable - the tabletop coating is plasticized.

I am using it right now - I'm not bothering to yet again go back to IKEA because they might think this was something I did myself. I'm just going to go down to Lowe's, get some rubber edging, and that will not only cover the chip, but actually improve the table. Should that not work, I'll be near an IKEA in November, and I'll just contact them back and let them know I'll be picking up a non-damaged tabletop in November personally (so I can inspect it)

So I'd go to their website, activate their dumb little robot thingy (I think it's name is Anna), and tell it you want to chat with an operator, and go from there. It's quick and easy. Just explain your issue, and see what they want to do to help you.