1. Congratulations, @IKEA. With 85 years to go, you've already won the #WorstCustomerService of the Century Award!
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
2. I know there are 85 years remaining, but what's the use of trying? You're Number One! @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
3. The NYC Dept. of Motor Vehicles came in a distant second. @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
4. You pulled it off, @IKEA. How? Funny you should ask … #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
5. Let's go back to August 10, @IKEA, when I placed a large order for my mom through your website. #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
6. Change that. Make it I TRIED to place a large order for my mom through your website. @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
7. A word about my mom, @IKEA. She's 89 and moving to independent living in Riverdale, NY. #WorstCustomerService
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
8. I order a bed, mattress, bedframe, dresser, loveseat, two chairs, a desk, a swivel chair and a side table. @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
9. It takes a while, but I'm pretty good at this Internet ordering stuff. @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
10. I need delivery in one week. Like Amazon does. You've heard of Amazon, right? @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
11. But the order doesn't go through. No reason why. It just doesn't. @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
12. So I spend considerable time on your website, searching for a phone number I can call. @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
13. I Ask Anna, "the fastest way to answer your @IKEA related questions." #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
14. She has red hair. Her eyes blink. Her head tilts. She's a cutie. And she's useless. @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService. pic.twitter.com/stHvHnWxbW
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
15. I finally find a number. On Google. 888-888-4532 Nice try, @IKEA, but I found it anyway. #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
16. About five minutes into the voice prompts, I find the right one. @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
17. Please hang on. A customer service representative will be right with you. @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
18. An hour later, a human comes on the line and says if I want it within a week, I have to order in a store. @Ikea. #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
19. An hour later, I'm in Paramus, NJ, where your helpful service guy totals up my order. @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
20. I ask him to recommend a good mattress, and he suggests the Sultan Hallen. Sounds good, I say. @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
21. Whoops, the Sultan Hallen is out of stock. He recommends the Sultan Hanestead. Sounds good, I say. @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
22. Whoops, the loveseat is discontinued, though it's still on the website. He recommends an alternative. @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
23. He totals up the bill and charges me for both mattresses. @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService. pic.twitter.com/GcBtGHRoud
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
24. Is "Hallen" Swedish for #WorstCustomerService? Or is it Hanestead? I'm just asking, @IKEA.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
25. I spot the error when I get home. I call to get my $229 plus tax refunded. I hold for an hour. @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
26. This time nobody picks up the phone. @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
27. I try again. After an hour, I get a human voice. They can't help me. @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
28. But they give me a four-digit extension to use when I try again. @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
29. I call back, because I'm a glutton for punishment. The four-digit extension isn't in service. @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
30. I try a few more times before I give up. @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
31. Later, I get an email that says the mattress I ordered is out of stock. @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService. pic.twitter.com/g0HU5OHjL5
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
32. I'm offered a return card that I can use to repurchase the item I neither want nor need. @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
33. I want a refund. My mom is a demanding person, but even she needs only one mattress. @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
34. I call several times over the next few days, and never get a human on the line. @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
35. On Sunday, a phone call and an email say delivery will be between 2 and 6 Monday. @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService. pic.twitter.com/1z9uv3M6Aj
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
36. On Monday, I drive an hour to my mom's home-to-be to meet the delivery. @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
37. I wait four hours and nobody arrives. So I call, you guessed it, 888-888-4532. @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
38. Please stay on the line. A customer service will be with you shortly. @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
39. An hour later, I finally speak to a woman who takes my information and asks me to hold for a short moment. @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
40. 15 minutes later, she comes back and says my shipment never got on the truck. @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
41. I've been sitting here for five hours, I tell her. She says she's sorry. @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
42. How come you can email and phone me a window for delivery, but you can't tell me it didn't make the truck? @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
43. She says she's sorry again. And she can reschedule the delivery. In about a week. @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
44. I say my mom needs a bed to sleep on, and the assemblers are coming on Wednesday, and I need it tomorrow. @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
45. Not a problem, she says. But I'll have to go to Paramus to arrange it. They close in two hours. @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
46. I'm not kidding. I have to do this in Paramus. That's the only way. @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
47. I drive to Paramus. Danea speaks with her boss, Adriana, and promises me it will be delivered today. @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
48. She consoles me and takes half off the delivery. That's $42 out of $2,137, which includes two mattresses. @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
49. She says I'll get an email, a text and a call telling me when they'll deliver. @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
50. What are the odds? @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
51. UPDATE!!! THIS JUST IN!!! Delivery scheduled today between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. A 12-hour window! @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
52. I want a shorter window. I'm on hold. Let's see how long this takes. @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
53. Miracle? In only a 25-minute phone call, Jason says the window will now be between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
54. Automated phone call. Delivery will be between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. today. My bookie puts the odds at 4-to-1. @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
BONUS 1. Sometime between 9 and 9. Or 10 and 2. Take your pick. @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService pic.twitter.com/vhjtca9V6g
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
BONUS 2. 2 p.m. No delivery. Call direct # in Paramus. Please leave message and they'll call back in 24-48 hrs! @IKEA #WorstCustomerService
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
Leave a message for Mona Astra Liss, IKEA Corp. PR, 610-834-0180,5852. She'll get back to you in 24 hours. @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
Call Janice Simonsen, IKEA Product PR, 610-834-0180,6349. Go straight to voice prompts. @IKEA. #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
3:50 p.m. Got through to Ikea. They'll call me back. @IKEA. @Ikeausa. #WorstCustomerService
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
4:30 p.m. Stacy calls. She's sooooooo sorry about all this. Delivery will be between 6 and 10 p.m. @IKEA @IKEAUSA #worstcustomerservice
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
Make that 5 to 9 p.m. We've gone from 9 to 9, to 2 to 6, to 5 to 9. @IKEA @IKEAUSA #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
My old pal Dave says I should tweet this to J-Lo or something, so she can tell the world. @IKEA @IKEAUSA #WorstCustomerService
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
Dave also tells me @IKEA isn't a functioning Twitter account. So we're adding @IKEAUSA. #WorstCustomerService
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
Quite a day, and it ain't over yet. @IKEA @IKEAUSA #WorstCustomerService pic.twitter.com/uVxgFTh4Yk
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 18, 2015
9 o'clock and all ain't well. @IKEA @IKEAUSA #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 19, 2015
9:04. This just in! @IKEA @IKEAUSA #WorstCustomerService. pic.twitter.com/1HdIV3cF8F
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 19, 2015
9:34. They've arrived! Thirty-one hours late, and after hours of phone calls, Ikea delivers! @IKEA @IKEAUSA #WorstCustomerService.
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 19, 2015
Now coming to the plate . . . @optimum!!!
— Steve Bromberg (@stevebromberg) August 19, 2015
The morning after, in my email …
OK, Ikea. You asked for it.
Woke up this morning ... 
Steve, This would be funny if it wasn’t so disgusting and typical of the way it goes in too many interactions between customer, client, patient whatever. Whatever has happened to the old fashioned spconcept of calling a number and getting an actual human instead of a menu that never ends.
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I am reeling from reading through these again this morning, I had missed the last update. *sigh* That is the worst, but as you said, Optimum… Oh dear.
I recently had the worst customer service from Panera Bread. Tweeting helped at first, but in the end… Pffft. But my several screwed up orders have nothing on what you and your mom have been through.
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Steve – you are obviously a man of extraordinary stamina. Most people would be bleeding from the ears and nose. Too bad we are beyond doing these things old school – pick up and delivery by a couple of friends with a van, a six-pack and a pizza. Hey, maybe there’s a business model in there.
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I can’t believe you went to ikea without me.
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I’ll never do that again. I promise. Just be sure to bring your daughter. 🙂
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