Lisa
Beware of Beware of Buying IKEA Floor Model or As-Is
I left IKEA Renton with a functioning clock today. But first I was told by 3 IKEA employees that I had to go home with a totally broken, unusable item that cost $50.99. The reason? The item was sold As-Is. I interacted with 2 IKEA employees when I purchased this item. The website was reporting that there were 4 of these clocks in stock, but there were none. I asked a salesperson about this and she asked if I wanted to buy the floor model and I said Yes. She directed me to another part of the store where another employee took the clock, then gave it back to me, without a word. He gave me a tag that said in huge black letters on a yellow background: $50.99. The original price was $59.99. I didn’t think this was much of a discount, but I didn’t say anything. When I got home, I printed the instructions from the IKEA website, and I inserted new batteries. According to the instructions, the numbers were supposed to start flashing, but they didn’t. I tried to insert a USB cable, but it would not go in. The instructions did not say what kind of cable to use and it didn’t come with a cable. The clock did not work at all. I prepared to return the item. I got the tag and receipt. Now that I had my glasses on, I could see that the tag said in very small letters, under the price, “ASIS Non-Refundable.” I didn’t think that would be a problem. I wasn’t planning to ask for a refund. I just wanted a store credit. I assumed that a reputable company like IKEA would issue a store credit for an item that was totally broken. I never imagined that a company like IKEA would expect me to pay $50.99 for merchandise that was unusable. But I was mistaken. I went to the Returns area 2 weeks later and told the IKEA employee that called my name that I would like a store credit for an item that was broken. She said it was As-Is so she could not take it back. I explained that no one told me it was As-Is and As-Is was printed in tiny letters that I didn’t see because I did not have my glasses on. She called a manager in Recovery and when she hung up, she handed the clock back to me and said they would not give me a store credit. I said that was unacceptable, and that I wanted to talk to the Recovery manager. The Recovery manager came out and was insulting. She reiterated that the item was As-Is and said several times that I had waited “a month” to return it. I bought it exactly 2 weeks prior. She said I could put on my glasses, turn over the receipt, and read the As-Is policy which is printed on the back. She said they would not give me a refund. I said I didn’t ask for a refund, that I wanted a store credit. She said no. I said that is unacceptable, I want to talk to your manager. Soon a third IKEA employee came over to talk to me. She pointed out that the area I went to to get the tag 2 weeks ago, had a sign that says As-Is. 1. I didn’t notice the sign 2. Even if I did, I would not know that it applied to me because no one said As-Is to me, only Floor Model. 3. Even if I was told the clock was As-Is, I would still expect a store credit if the item turned out to be totally broken and unusable. She said IKEA’s As-Is policy is very strict. I said, if that’s your policy, and you are going to enforce it with no exceptions, you need to train your employees to explain that to customers. She said I had waited “over a month” to return it. It was, in fact, exactly 2 weeks. She also referenced the fact that the clock had been “deeply discounted.” The clock was discounted less than 10%. Since it didn’t come with the cable included with new clocks, I would have to purchase one, which really makes the discount closer to 5%. That is not a deep discount. Eventually she took the clock in the back, and returned with it in about 2 minutes. It was working. I asked what they did and she said they just put batteries in it. I put new batteries in it and it did not work, so I don’t know what happened. IKEA clearly puts time and effort into training it’s employees to enforce its As-Is policy even when circumstances make it unethical to do so, as they were in my case today. It may be legal. It is not ethical. IKEA needs to redirect some of the energy it puts into training employees to enforce the As-Is policy, into training employees to make the As-Is policy clear to customers before they buy one of these items. For example, “This is a floor model which means it is sold As-Is which means it cannot be returned, even for store credit, even if you find it doesn’t work at all.” I couldn’t even throw it in the trash because it requires special disposal. I wanted to put this in writing and submit it to IKEA, but when I called customer service I was told that there is no email or physical mailing address for IKEA.