Yes, here we go again! The morning started out just fine – well almost. Friday night I wrote down everything we were going to pick up at the Ikea Store in Burlington. Nat and I both went through the torn up and partially assembled kitchen, the catalogue and Purchase Order to make double sure we had the right order numbers, names and amounts. By 9:13 we’re on the road.
It goes without saying that once we arrived at the store, the parking lot was full and it was only 10:10 am. I swear no one in the Province of Ontario has any place to go but Ikea Burlington for breakfast and shopping. The restaurant was packed, and who really could pass up a sausage, hash browns and scrambled eggs for breakfast for $1.00??? With luck someone was pulling out of their parking spot just as we drove in and we were off and running.
As all things go between Nat and I, he’s always in front walking at a half decent pace to get where he’s going. Me, on the other hand, I’m lagging behind trying to crank my head left and right and even give it a spin sometimes to check things out as we walk through any store. Today was no exception. New displays, new items all shiny and new. No shopoholic could resist. I managed to keep up as we headed towards the kitchen department, when suddenly what, whoa, Nat stopped at a display!! Oh wait, he was checking out a countertop corner – the mitre cut. Whooohoooo.
Finally arriving at the kitchen department we checked out the recycle bins for our new recycle cabinet. Keeping one step ahead of Nat, I wrote down every cabinet size with or without drawers, and also brought with me the Ikea Catalogue for Kitchens. We made our decision as to how many bins, what size and how they would be arranged. I couldn’t believe it, but we actually managed to make a decision relatively unscathed.
Of course, the bins were stacked pretty high and in their different sizes across from all of the other kitchen accessories. I picked up the 3 we wanted and was then convinced that we could pick them up downstairs in the Warehouse Store, along with the oil for the Butcher Block countertop. So we continued on our journey meandering in and out of young people, older people, possible newlyweds, and, of course, moms, dads, children and baby strollers in the gazillions!! Boy, glad to get off of this floor.
As we walked into the Warehouse Store we approached the computers set up in order to find out which aisle each item on our list was going to be found. Wait for it!!! Our items wouldn’t be found in the Warehouse Store. We were directed to the Service Counter where we had to get another Purchase Order for our list and then drive over to the Ikea Warehouse to actually pick up our order. Apparently all kitchen items cannot be “picked” up in the Warehouse Store but have to be picked up at the Warehouse on King Road, Burlington. As it also happens we should have picked up those recycle bins at the time we were upstairs, along with the oil. The only place these and other little bits ‘n bobs for a new kitchen could be found.
Another journey began. We had to walk the whole length of the building to get back to the elevator, and once upstairs walk another half of the building to get back to the kitchen department, pick up the bins and oil, and then retrace our steps again half way back to the elevator and then the whole length of the warehouse to get to the check-out. Man, oh man. Bobbing and weaving again through single people, elderly people, strollers, lovers, moms, dads, children and baby strollers – all of which had doubled or tripled in population since we arrived. We then had to stand in mega-lines to get checked out, but got lucky as one store clerk became open in the self-serve line called us over and helped us get checked out. We owe this woman a huge debt of gratitude.
We dumped the couple of items we bought in the car and headed over to the Ikea Warehouse, after being given a map by the Service Department. This part was easy and relatively quick. There were quite a few people ahead of us but the organization was great and we were back on the road within the half hour.
My God, Nat and I were exhausted when we arrived at The Gateway in Grimsby to grab a bit to eat. We were also starving as it was way past our lunch time. By now I said “to hell with it regarding the pre-diabetes and ordered a Double Cheeseburger and fries from Wendy’s while Nat bought soup and dessert from Tim Horton’s.
When Nat and I arrived home it was well past 2:30 and we couldn’t get to our recliner chairs fast enough. We knew the total exhaustion was also due to stress and tension from the kitchen renovations. We concluded we were NOT leaving our recliners all day Sunday for love nor money!!
One small hiccup, of course, had to rear it’s head. Nat kept wondering why the top cabinet doors wouldn’t close quietly on their own, like the bottom cabinets. After some research from the Purchase Order (I keep telling you people – that Purchase Order is your Ikea Bible) I found the “Damper Hinges” that were to be added to the normal hinges to make the doors close quietly. God, if Nat does anymore advance thinking tomorrow I’m going to throw that damned Purchase Order at him. I may have one on him now, as I’ve also come across the extra side panel we think we needed – and it’s already sitting in the garage unopened!! Tomorrow will be a whole other story.
Filed under: Family News, Humour Tagged: double checking purchase order, Ikea Burlington, Ikea kitchen pick-up, Ikea kitchen renovations, Ikea purchase order, Ikea service department, Ikea Warehouse, Ikea Warehouse Shop, kitchen renovation nightmares, picking up Ikea kitchen orders at Warehouse, The Gateway Grimsby
