IKEA is a popular place to shop for furniture, decorations, and kitchen supplies. It’s affordable, convenient, and a complete experience when you go. However, sometimes shopping with your family at IKEA can make such a great experience into a pretty awful one. These IKEA employees share the worst family meltdown they’ve witnessed while at work.
Refusing a Return
Jim, an IKEA employee, was working at the cash register that handled returns. A woman came up with some pillows that she wanted to exchange. However, the pillows had clearly been used and she didn’t have a receipt for them. Jim politely told her he could not make the return. She began to scream at Jim, make fun of his slight accent, and even called him stupid at one point. As her son asked her to stop screaming, she finally asked why it mattered so much. Her son then revealed that Jim was his math teacher at school.
IKEA, Scotland
While working at IKEA as a student, one employee likes to tell the funny story of how an elderly couple from Ireland thought that IKEA was a town in Scotland. They said that when they arrived at the ferry port, they saw a bus headed to IKEA, so they decided to get on and check it out. They soon found out that IKEA wasn’t a town, but a store.
Domestic Abuse
One couple decided to check out some kitchen ideas while at IKEA. They were working with one of the employees trying to pick out a countertop. After some arguing, the wife ended up hitting her husband in the face with her phone and then walked away.
Black Friday
Black Friday is always a crazy day, especially for IKEA. One year a children’s kitchen set was marked down to half off. When the store opened, a crowd came rushing in to buy the kitchen set. When that ran out, people took the liberty to rip open the packaged pallets with more of the product. It was absolutely chaotic!
Rug Fury
Some people just can’t leave their marriage problems at home. One elderly couple fought in IKEA over a rug. When the husband picked out a rug, his wife told him that it wouldn’t go in their home. He then accused her of thinking that he was stupid and stormed off with the rug.
Adult Trantrum
When IKEA refused to return a man’s used duvet without the receipt, he threw a whole tantrum. Security and the cops were called. They got him out of the store, but then he returned and lay on the floor screaming. Finally a larger officer came in and handcuffed him.
Hungry for Food
One of the best things about IKEA is the delicious restaurant inside of it. However, when one man asked for a little more food on his plate, he threw a fit when the employee told him that he could add a side dish, but she could not add more food to his plate.
Teenage Rage
One mother-daughter couple came to IKEA and rang up a bill of over $1,000. However, right after everything was processed and bagged, the mother changed her mind and told the cashier to put everything back. The teenage daughter threw a whole tantrum right in the middle of the store.
Big News
While shopping around for a desk chair, one couple had the argument of the century. It was here that a husband told his wife that they were going to have to move to Colorado for a job. With 15 minutes of screaming in the store, they moved out to the parking lot for more screaming.
The Forklift Guy
One man insisted that the employees use a forklift to get the table that he wanted down from the shelf. However, they are not allowed to use the forklift when the store is opened in case of any accidents. He threw a fit until his wife came over and handled the situation.
Squatters
One IKEA store in Beijing experienced a problem where older people could come in and occupy their tables in the café for hours. So, the store put a one-hour limit rule. This angered the customers who then started chanting and brought in friends to fill up every single chair.
Keep Up, Kids
While stocking shelves before the store opened, one employee recalls seeing a woman duck under the gate as the store was opening and run through the store. He then noticed her two children running after trying to keep up with her.
No Dogs Allowed
IKEA has a “no dogs allowed” policy. So, when a girl tried to sneak her Chihuahua into the store, an employee told her that she had to leave the dog outside. She started screaming that it was incredibly hot outside and she couldn’t do that. So, the employee suggested that one of her family members buy a dog bowl and water from upstairs. That was when she really started losing it.
Junk in the Trunk
In the IKEA parking lot, a man was strategically fitting a ton of furniture into his small car while his wife was yelling at him for buying so much and how there wasn’t any room in the car now. He got in the car and drove off without her because there wasn’t any space for her in the car.
Pushed to the Limit
A couple was quietly arguing while in line for the register about a lamp. When the wife asked again why they weren’t buying the lamp, her husband responded loudly, “I will snap your neck!” Talk about a tense relationship.
Quality Furniture
Not everyone loves IKEA furniture. While shopping around, one man tried to expose just how cheap the furniture was. So, when he tried to slam a drawer, it closed softly on him and he walked away extremely embarrassed.
The Cookie
It’s a sad day when your favorite item is discontinued. However, when a woman threw a tantrum about needing a cookie that was discontinued and asked to see a manager, employees couldn’t help but laugh at the scene.
Shopping with Kids
A woman was shopping with a boy of about seven or eight years old. Of course, kids don’t enjoy shopping, especially at IKEA. So, when the boy kept asking for a stuffed animal toy, the woman turned around and screamed at him calling him ungrateful. That’s a little harsh, don’t you think?
Free Water
One customer asked the café if they could have a cup for some water. The employee responded that the cups are inventoried and cost $1. The customer then went on a rant about how water should be free, even though there was a water fountain right next to him. When it was pointed out, he responded that water fountains were for “peasants.”
Divorced and Shopping Together
If you’re a divorced couple, you probably don’t want to be spending too much time together. One IKEA employee tells the story of helping a couple who started to argue. The yelling got louder and louder. Finally, the man walks away and says something about that is why the two are now divorced.
Sign Here
Some customers can be so rude and entitled. One man dressed in a nice suit was at a cash register and paid with his credit card. The cashier handed him the receipt and asked him to sign on the line, in which he responded in a nasty tone, “I know, don’t you dare talk that way to me.”
Sobbing on an IKEA Bed
One employee recalls seeing a girl crying on one of the beds on display. Apparently, she had just bought the bed the week before and paid full price. This week it was marked down 80%.
Sassy Kid
While attending a customer at the café, an employee recalls a father son couple standing in line. The child asked for a soda and his father refused. When asked why, his father said because it would cost him a dollar. The son then responded, “You can’t spend a dollar on your own son?”
Nowhere to be Found
A man came storming towards one IKEA employee and shoved his phone into her face asking where a clothes rack was located. He had been searching everywhere for it. After some insulting comments, he then realized that he was looking at a clothes rack on Target.com, not the IKEA website.
The Twin Debate
An argument overheard between a girlfriend and boyfriend is too funny not to mention. The argument soon ended with her saying to him, “Nobody is going to think you’re gay if you come to IKEA with your brother. You’re identical twins!”
Jesus is the Way
While helping an older gentleman buy a desk chair, he asked the employee if he had “found Jesus.” The employee made a joke about not knowing that he was supposed to be looking for him. This resulted in the man telling him about Christianity and praying with him for close to an hour before the man’s wife came up and apologized.
Silent Arguing
Have you ever witnessed a silent argument? One employee saw a deaf couple having an intense argument in sign language while shopping around IKEA. The woman ended up walking off and the man followed her with slouched shoulders.
Set a Good Example
While holding the hand of her child, a woman started screaming at an employee that an item was out of stock. The only thing the employee could think about was the poor manners this woman was teaching her child.
Violent Customers
Sometimes customers can get unnecessarily violent towards employees. One seasonal cashier recalls a time a man threw a pack of batteries and it hit them in the head. Those things are pretty heavy!
The Cat Fight
While a man was shopping at IKEA with his mistress, they ran into his wife and mother-in-law. That’s when the claws came out and the wife attacked the mistress while her mother attacked the husband. Needless to say, security was called and the four were escorted out to sort their problems on their own.
Impatient Customers Get Hurt
One man was trying to get a cart from the auto machine, but was becoming impatient. Since it was under hydraulic air pressure, it slammed into his shins once it was released. He screamed and the employee who had asked him multiple times to be patient had to call an ambulance for him.
Chivalry is Dead
A family was back in the loading zone picking up their items when an employee noticed the wife was the one loading the furniture into the car. The husband was just talking to their kid. Finally, the wife yelled at her husband for not helping her.
A Simple Mistake
At first, a woman’s meatball order came up wrong, but it was easily fixed. However, she was having a rough day with her family and decided to take it out on the employees. She asked for free ice cream and when both the employee and manage refused, she threated to call the corporate office.
SKU Numbers
IKEA employees are more than happy to help customers if they provide them a SKU number. However, one woman shoved a piece of paper with random numbers and letters to an employee asking him to find her a light bulb. Too bad the SKU number didn’t belong to the IKEA database.
Devil Child
Children don’t necessarily love shopping with their parents. So, one child discovered that he can force himself to throw up. He did this on a sofa in IKEA. The knee-slapper is that the parents were prepared for this and had a bag with a change of clothes ready for him.