How Many of IKEA's Services Do You Know?

“Shopping with IKEA always saves you money and it can also save you time and effort. We offer a range of services to help you with everything from putting it together to getting it home. Of course, the more you do yourself, the lower the price will be. And the more we do for you, the more you can sit back and relax!”

Above is an excerpt from IKEA's company website. This text meets the visitors on the sub-page dedicated to all the different services available in-store. There is 11 of them, no more, no less (to be confirmed). Here I'm going to reveal a little something for each one and while I do so you could check how many you knew about beforehand. IKEA plays such a large part in many people's lives but most still perceive it merely as a furniture store with a nice restaurant and a bistro selling Swedish goodies. It is much more than this.

This is how the official description of IKEA's delivery service goes:

Most of our products are flat packed and designed in such a way that they are easy for you to take home yourself. However, if you prefer we can deliver the same day/next day* for you within the store delivery area**. We can also arrange delivery outside this area and at a later date on selected items. Please speak to a co-worker in store for more information. Terms and conditions apply.

Basically, what the fist asterisk tells you is you shouldn't hope too much and the second one – your address is not within the store delivery area. And no, I'm not being sarcastic, this is experience speaking.

You could also see this as Collection and delivery. In other words, you place your order with one of IKEA's co-workers and they will arrange the delivery for you. This is virtually everything that could be said about the combined IKEA collection and delivery service.

In case you would rather drive your furniture home yourself, IKEA have come up with a van hire service. Because they cater for all your needs. You should note, however, that this service is not available in every store.

A great service. How it works? IKEA will take your existing bed, mattress, sofa or appliance away for you, when they deliver your new purchase for a non-profit fee. Then your old furniture will be presented to a charity organisation who will in turn try to give it a new life with local families in need of some support. In the event that any item is not reusable, it will be disassembled and recycled with the lowest environmental impact.

There isn't much to say here. For a standard basic charge of £25 plus 20% of the full retail purchase price a professional assembly service will be carried out on your behalf. On top of that, the service includes 1 year workmanship guarantee and disposal of packaging in an environmentally friendly way.

Another helpful service . You either go to one of IKEA's specialist kitchen co-workers who can help you to plan your new kitchen in store or arrange for one of their approved planning representatives to come to you and plan your new kitchen with you in the comfort of your own home. A planning fee of £50 (including VAT) applies.

A fully coordinated installation service for the trickier jobs like fitting sinks, taps, worktops and appliances. It is designed to save the customer valuable time. IKEA's installation service includes a free 5-year guarantee on workmanship and installation. On the downside, it could cost you an arm and a leg.

Official IKEA description of the service:

If you are in love with our textiles, but not do handy with a sewing machine we offer a curtain making and alteration service to help you bring new life into your home.

Bear in mind this service is only available in the stores in Wembley, Birmingham, Warrington and Glasgow.

Now, this is exceptional stuff. Let's assume you've found the solution to create your dream home but need some help spreading the cost. In this case the Swedish company comes to the rescue by offering a range of finance options to help you make your dream a reality. First, there is the IKEA personal loan. With it you can borrow between £150 and £1,500 and spread the cost over 12 to 60 months with affordable, fixed payments of £10, £25 or £40 per month. There are no hidden set-up, arrangement or early settlement fees, so you know exactly what you will repay. Then there is the interest free credit. IKEA offers interest free credit (representative APR 0%) on their range of kitchens, including kitchen installation. To take advantage of this scheme you would have to spend £1,500 or more on kitchens and accessories for the 12 month interest free credit option, or spend £3,000 or more for the 24 month option. Other conditions apply! Check with IKEA's services page for more details.

This service comes in handy when the items (or some of them) you intend to buy are too bulky to fit in the boot of the car and yet, you neither want to hire a van, nor use IKEA delivery. That's why the Swedish company has teamed up with another firm, who offer all IKEA customers a preferential rate when buying their inflatable roof rack online in preparation for a visit to a store. As usual, terms and conditions apply.

What they are trying to convince us here is that this is a actual service. It is not. IKEA simply says they sell their reusable blue bags to help you take your goods home. Thanks a lot. While those bags are indeed very useful, they are not a service, duh!

This concludes my examination of IKEA's services. How many did you know about beforehand?Unless you are a former employee of the company or some IKEA aficionado, I would be surprised if the number is greater than 5. Anyway, well done for reading this far. I hope you learned about at least one IKEA service you had no clue existed. To summarise, there are 10 different in-store IKEA services plus another one which is in essence a product, not a service.