12 January 2007

Adventures in Furniture Assembly


On Wednesday we picked up two bookcases from Ikea. Last night we put one together and it all went perfectly and looks very nice in the space. We ran out of time as we needed to stop pounding by 10 pm (Swiss Quiet Laws are strictly enforced.) However, no problem. The piece was actually quite easy to put together and I knew I could do it on my own while GLH worked.

This morning I went to put the other bookcase together and discovered to my dismay that instead of giving us a right side and a left side that are mirror images, they gave us two right sides. Or two left sides. Regardless, it was wrong. Unfortunately, they are the largest pieces in the kit -- the two tall sides of the bookcase. Each piece is slightly more than six feet tall.

I called Ikea. "No problem," I was cheerfully informed, "Just bring one piece in and we will replace it with the correct piece."

Problem. We no longer have the rental car to take it back. After a quick discussion about the logistics of carrying the piece down the hill to the train station, on a train to Zurich Haubtbahnhof, transferring to another train to Dietlikon and finally a bus to the Ikea and then doing it all in reverse, we decided to rent another vehicle for one more day.

So much for saving money by getting it from Ikea!

4 comments:

The Big Finn said...

I went through the same kind of problem when we bought our bed for our guest room six years ago. They gave me the wrong size mattresses. I brought them back the next day, and I received...a coupon for a free cup of coffee for my troubles.
When you pick something up at the warehouse area, you really have to look everything over to make sure they gave you the right stuff.

Global Librarian said...

Silly us! We actually thought that just because it was all boxed together and still sealed. that would mean the correct pieces would be in it!

What ever happened to Quality Control?

Unknown said...

I really like this piece you are showing in the pic. We desperately need a new book case which I think I will show to P. Maybe we will get it in a few months time..

And by the way, bday - spending it with some good friends out for dinner tonight. Fun enough!

Global Librarian said...

Real wood and everything. I don't care for the laminated, pressed wood look...

It was only CH 159. (Not including extra cost for a rental car.) Have no idea how much it would cost in Canada...