Back to the Weekly Home Page

Classifieds

Palo Alto Online

IKEA: A survival guide

by Jocelyn Dong

Three years ago, the Bay Area got its first taste of IKEA when the Swedish home furnisher opened up shop in Emeryville. More than 2 million people a year flock to the store. Today, the big, blue giant launches its second local emporium, along East Bayshore Road in East Palo Alto. Managers there are planning for a crowd of 100,000 customers in the first week alone.

Some may ask what the big deal is. It's just furniture, after all. Ah, but avid shoppers will eagerly explain that going to IKEA is something more; it is an experience. Described as part Disneyland, part Costco, and part human maze, the IKEA experience is "overwhelming," "fun," and "maddening." With 9,000 products displayed over nearly 120,000 square feet, one customer observed with a mix of enthusiasm and exasperation: "It's great, but it's awful."

If you're tempted to see what all the fuss is about, it pays to be prepared. Here, then, is the Weekly's guide to surviving -- and thriving -- at the new IKEA.

IKEA: The overview

IKEA's three-story, blue-and-yellow building sits across the street from those other big boxes, Best Buy and Home Depot. It includes a street-level parking garage and a two-story retail shop above. There's only one public entrance for cars, and that's along East Bayshore, facing Home Depot. The only public exit is around the corner on Donohoe Avenue. In addition to parking in the garage at street level, customers can go up a ramp and park in a lot that encircles the store's first floor.

There are few options for getting to IKEA. The most direct route from Highway 101 is to exit onto University Avenue and turn right onto Donohoe. If you're trying to avoid a traffic jam on the highway, get off at either Embarcadero Road to the south and sneak around the back using East Bayshore. You can also take the Willow Road exit to the north and turn right on Newbridge Street and then a quick right onto Saratoga Avenue, which turns into East Bayshore if you stay to the right.

The challenge: Parking
Solution No. 1:

There are 1,400 parking spaces in the IKEA complex, which should be enough spaces for the crowds except possibly during peak periods, such as weekends, according to East Palo Alto city officials. Nonetheless, carpooling is advisable. Families can take advantage of designated, extra-wide "family" parking spaces, which allow you to get your kids and their strollers out with minimal hassle. In the ground-level garage, the 15 family spaces are in aisle 1Q. Up the ramp, there are 20 more spaces near the front of the store. There are also 29 handicap parking stalls.

If you get lost in the garage and can't find the store, look for the yellow walls; those indicate the entrance. (The blue walls denote the garage exit.)
Solution No. 2:

Leave your car at home. Take the bus. SamTrans routes 280 and 296 drop off riders in front of IKEA. Or you can bicycle and park your bike in racks at the store. Of course, both cycling and mass transit limit your options for carrying goods home.

The challenge: Navigating the store
The solution:

Here's the first thing you need to know: There is a system to shopping at IKEA, and the sooner you accept that fact, the better oriented you'll be. Customers enter the first-floor lobby and are directed up an escalator to the second-floor showroom. Here, you'll find furniture on display in 52 tastefully decorated "rooms," designed to inspire and sell. There are also groupings of furniture by type -- chairs, desks, kids' beds, etc. If you like an item, copy down the information from its tag (pens and paper are available in the store). This will tell you where to get the item later on in your shopping expedition. For some larger furniture, you'll need to flag down an employee, who'll give you a special pick-up ticket.

The floor plan -- dubbed "maze-like" by more than a few shoppers -- takes you along a circuitous route that ensures you see everything. IKEA staff call this the "long, natural way." Never fear, there are also a few "shortcuts" that let you skip areas. Look for the blue hanging signs labeling the shortcuts, or consult the floor map you picked up in the lobby.

If you want to take a break, there's a restaurant serving Swedish food on the showroom floor. To move on, proceed down stairs to the first floor, called the "marketplace." Here are all the smaller items that make a house a home, from pots and pans to storage units, plants and picture frames. You can grab a shopping cart before you start browsing.

Like the showroom above, the floor plan takes you on a designated route, but also as above, there are shortcuts. Toward the end of the path, the marketplace opens out into a full-scale warehouse, where all the furniture you saw upstairs is stacked, unassembled and flat, on shelves that stretch toward the ceiling. Remember the information you copied down upstairs? Here's where it all makes sense, as it tells you in which aisle you can find your item. Flat, dolly-like carts are available for moving especially big items.

Now you've reached the cash register. After a bit of a wait (Emeryville shoppers say the line takes at least 10 minutes), you are ready to leave with your purchases -- unless you're getting a piece of furniture for which an employee gave you a pick-up ticket upstairs. Those products are stored behind the scenes, and you'll have to wait in another line for another 10 minutes while staff brings it out to you.

The challenge: Not getting overwhelmed.
Solution No. 1:

If getting up close and personal with strangers isn't your thing, don't go when everyone else does. The best time to shop is on a weekday, either first thing in the morning or sometime after lunch, says Didi Malabuyo, the store manager. Customers say the worst time is Saturday, when thousands more people show up.
Solution No. 2:

Know what you want. Emeryville customer David Gregory clutched a handwritten list last week as he waited in line to check out. When he arrives at IKEA, "I know exactly what I'm looking for," he said. He combs the IKEA catalogue at home to prepare for his excursion.

Likewise, Ruth Gelbert, part owner of Interiors & Textiles in Palo Alto, advocates having a destination when you enter. She and her daughter shopped IKEA for a bed for her daughter's new apartment.

"You don't need to be overwhelmed," she said. "Go there with something in mind."
Solution No. 3:

Enjoy the ride. Some shoppers shun preparation in favor of spontaneity, which is a fun solution so long as you have the budget for it. Customer after customer can tell stories of walking into an IKEA with a particular item in mind and walking out with stuff they couldn't resist -- a giant Picasso print, a 2-foot-long shoe horn, a pint-sized wooden artist's mannequin, or a pack of 100 tea candles.

"This is one of those places we come for the experience of seeing what reaches out and grabs us," Emeryville shopper Claudette Masters said.

Another "plus" to this solution: The store carries 3,500 more products than the catalog, so shoppers wanting the full selection benefit from going "off-list."

Solution No. 4: Take a break.

The 270-seat restaurant serves everything from meatballs to dessert, all under $6. Restaurant manager Donna Lynn is aiming to get people through the two cafeteria-style lines within five minutes. Snag one of the seats by the floor-to-ceiling windows, stare out to the south and think soothing thoughts. On the store's first floor, check out the bistro for grab-'n'-go food.

Solution No. 5:

Put off buying till next time. Those with steely resolve and a master plan might want to go for a study-only trip, during which you collect information for consideration at home -- after the urge to "buy, buy, buy" has passed. You can bring a camera and take pictures to help you remember what you saw, but check in first at the reception desk, says Richard Castanon, project lead for the new IKEA.

The challenge: Shopping with your children
Solution No. 1:

Drop them off at the play area called "Smaland," located just off the lobby. More than a linguistic double-entendre, this forest-themed room harkens to the southern Sweden region of Smaland and can take 60 kids at a time. There's room to run around, a pool of "lingonberries" (really, red plastic balls) for jumping into, a DVD viewing area and a place for board games and coloring. Kids must be between 37-54 inches tall and toilet trained.

The kid-to-staff ratio is 10 to 1. Childcare workers undergo background checks, including criminal background, driver's license, Social Security and drug testing, according to Melanie Jones-Carter, IKEA customer-service manager.

To make sure no one walks off with someone else's kid, parents sign their children in and out, get a matching hand stamp and sticker, and receive a flashing pager that goes off when their allotted 90 minutes of childcare are up, or if there are problems.

Rohnert Park mother Mary Egbert makes an afternoon of it, bringing her son and daughter to have lunch and then play in Smaland while she shops with a friend.
Solution No. 2:

Take them with you, but use the store's 11 play areas and other amenities. For tots, start at the lobby by getting a truck-shaped stroller, which has room for your purchases in the back. There are play houses filled with stuffed animals, a giant "blueberry basket" (filled with blue plastic balls) on the showroom floor for kids under 37 inches, family restrooms with kid-sized toilets, and quiet baby-care rooms supplied with free diapers.

David Gregory called it "easy" to shop with his 1-year-old son, Sule. With stuffed animals available throughout the store, "I don't feel a problem with him grabbing things."
Solution No. 3:

Leave the kids at home. The average IKEA shopping trip is two to three hours. Consider it a date with yourself or your friends.

Palo Alto resident and former Weekly advertising rep Kimberly Perlmutter is one mom inclined not to bring her toddling son to IKEA. "If they're walking, I wouldn't try it. It's too hard to keep him in the stroller," she said.

The challenge: Finding great deals
Solution No. 1:

This is generally not a challenge in a place that sells seven-piece sets of bathroom accessories for $3.99 and glass table lamps for $7.99 each. But for the unbelievable bargains, check out the "As Is" section, located right before the cash registers, where you can get deep discounts on floor samples and returned items.
Solution No. 2:

Faster than they can say "student discount," college kids with a valid student ID get a 20 percent break on all in-store merchandise. The deal lasts until Sept. 30, and picks up again for the month of January.

The challenge:

Getting in and out quickly
The solution:

Those determined to cut their trip length down will have to go straight to what they want. To get to the marketplace, go straight from the lobby (same floor) by walking past the escalator and the kids' play area and down the hall. Or get to the warehouse from the lobby by taking a left at the escalator and walking in (in reverse) past the cash registers.

The challenge: Ending up with the right furniture and price
Solution No. 1:

Check the box labels to make sure what's inside unassembled is what you want. This goes both for self-serve items and especially the furniture that's brought out from the back storeroom. More than one customer has complained about receiving mismatched boxes of bed frames and headboards, and only discovering it when they got home.
Solution No. 2:

Check the tag for the price. If an item comes in more than one material or color, the price may vary. All floor samples should be labeled, but if the variations are not on the showroom floor, don't assume the one you want is the same price. The popular $79 Poang chair, for example, can cost as much as $199, when it comes with a leather cushion. Go to an information kiosk for accurate prices.

The challenge: Solo or handicap shopping
The solution:

Bring a friend. When Emeryville regular Jing Shi visits the store for some serious buying, she ropes her boyfriend into coming. "It's not easy to carry heavy items," said Shi, an Asian woman with a slight frame.

Although staff say they can help you get an item to the cash register if needed, they won't act as your personal shopper. Best to have someone you know there to bounce ideas off of anyway.

The challenge: Bringing your stuff home
Solution No. 1:

Use the loading zones. IKEA has created 66 loading zones on both parking levels near the store exit and they want customers to use them. These extra-wide spaces allow you to load items into your trunk or strap boxes to the roof. The store provides free twine and cardboard triangles that act as roof racks. You can get to the loading zones either by walking straight out from the cashier lanes or taking your cart down to the garage's loading zones by an elevator or moving sidewalk.

The one hitch is you have to move your car from its parking space to the loading zone. IKEA management discourages shoppers from taking the carts into the parking lot, where cars are driving and parking spaces are smaller. If you're alone, you'll have to put your purchases in a special holding zone while you get your car.
Solution No. 2:

Arrange for home delivery. IKEA is contracting with Midnight Express, and charges a minimum of $59 for home delivery. Prices vary by delivery zone. You can reportedly choose the day and four-hour time frame for the delivery.

The challenge: Getting help with decorating and assembling
Solution No. 1:

Make an appointment with an IKEA home-furnishings consultant if interior design is not your forte. The store will have three consultants available in the "Work IKEA" area on the second floor who can discuss your project and make suggestions. Call ahead to schedule a time: (650) 323-4532 x1932.
Solution No. 2:

Those who become a danger to themselves when picking up an Allen wrench and Phillips-head screwdriver can call -- and pay -- for expert help in assembling the furniture. A list of local contractors will be available from staff in the "Kitchen & Dining," "Work IKEA" and furniture pick-up areas. If you decide to do it yourself, IKEA's Richard Castanon said assembling furniture could take 30-60 minutes for a desk, or longer for a multi-part wall unit, depending on your skill and experience. Take your time, customers say, because the furniture isn't made for being put together and taken apart more than once or twice.

Either way, when you are done, you can sit back, relax and enjoy the fruit of your IKEA experience. Happy shopping!

Jocelyn Dong can be e-mailed at jdong@paweekly.com