IKEA in Juggling with Hedgehogs

Holy crap. I forgot to add in the huge bloody IKEA drama didn’t I? I’ve been too focused on Milo (see previous entry).

We had the most ridiculous evening last night. When Justine was over looking after Milo on Saturday while Paul and I did our soap making course, we mentioned we were going to IKEA last night to pay for the kitchen. As she’s never been, she asked if she could tag along. We agreed, and Mike said he’d watch Milo for us, but we had to take him over there (they have 4 dogs and 2 cats, so Milo had to be kept away from all their other animals). We picked Justine up - about a 45 minute drive from our house, but on the way to Matosinhos - and we set off for IKEA. The google maps app we use in the car for some reason decided to send us the longest way, and it was after 8pm when we finally got there. But I was only going to pay, and Justine wanted to buy some bedding so we agreed once we’d sorted out the kitchen we’d meet up again in the Bistro downstairs.

We went to the kitchen place and took a number and waited. Eventually, someone came to see us and got us someone who spoke English. Bear in mind we had already spent 2 hours there last weekend planning the whole kitchen, so the only purpose of us going last night was to pay and sort out delivery.

This girl went through every single item on our list. Then she asked a colleague to check it again. He took FOREVER. I needed the loo when we arrived at IKEA but didn’t go because we were in the queue. Then I didn’t go because I didn’t know at what point I would need to pay. So we waited, and we waited and we waited, and 1030 came and went, and Paul went downstairs to see how Justine was doing, and she’d finished shopping but couldn’t go anywhere because she had a trolley.

Paul came back up, and then he suggested he perhaps give Justine the car keys so she could sit in the car and wait for us. By this time it was getting very close to 11pm, which is when they close. I was starting to panic a bit.

They discovered they were short by 6 cupboard doors, and suggested we come back to collect them when they have them in stock. I point blank refused. We’re paying them 900 bloody Euros to deliver this kitchen! I told her that and said there was no way we were doing another 2 hour drive back to pick up 6 doors. They said they’d arrange to deliver them in a second delivery on the same day as the big delivery at no extra charge. But that took ages, because they had to order each door individually on their website.

By this time the young girl has given up and gone home and handed us over to the colleague that was checking her work. The store has closed, lights are going off (I tried to go to the loo but couldn’t find my way there in the dark!). Eventually he says it’s time to pay and I hand him my card.

I had already been to the bank to ensure there would be no issues with a card payment, and got their assurance it would be fine. But it wasn’t. The machine said the amount was too much. So then we had to phone the sodding bank and ask them what was going on. They said there was no problem, all was well and I could spend as much on the card as I wanted to.

The chap who was serving us then called another colleague. It’s 11.30pm by this time. She came over and suggested we split the payment to make them smaller and do more than one. The chap who was serving us was concerned about that, because he said if the payment failed, I wouldn’t be able to use my card for 48 hours. He asked if I had another card. I said ‘yes, but not with that amount of money freely available to use right now’. FFS.

Anyway, we split the payment and the transaction went through. We were escorted from the building after midnight with an honour guard of distruntled looking security staff waiting to lock up. It was ridiculous.

It was 2am by the time we got Justine home, and picked up Milo (who was very sleepy but otherwise unperturbed), and gone 3am when we finally got home.

Absolutely ridiculous.

But the kitchen is ordered.

Our loft hatch has been fitted, but the ceiling needs to be tidied up. Bloody mess. The builder is coming back next Monday to rip out the kitchen and screed the floor, fit the suspended ceiling, paint the walls and tile the floor for us ready for the new kitchen. The kitchen is being delivered on Friday 7th of Feb and Paul is going go fit it. Then we will have their specialists come and measure for the fitted worktop, which will then be manufactureed, delivered and fitted. And then we will finally have a workable kitchen. Probably just in time for work to start on the pool.