Feeling Accomplished

I feel that I must update you on my recent Ikea situation.  To quickly recap:  our family recently made a weekend trip out to Ikea for a few new purchases.  I got home several hours later to realize that I didn't have the necessary wooden slats for the bed we bought Baby Girl.  I called the company, which was less than helpful.  In my frustration, I wrote a great letter to Ikea, spelling out every detail.  In response, I received a form letter telling me to visit my local store to pick up the needed item.  I gave up and decided to ask my dad to make slats for the bed.

Meanwhile, Baby Girl has been sleeping on her old crib mattress in the middle of her bedroom floor.  I've barely talked to my dad lately...he and I have each been so busy.  I know he doesn't have time to make slats of wood so I haven't asked him.  I told myself that I would call Ikea back and ask for a manager some day while Baby Girl was napping.  I'm a procrastinator.

Yesterday, I was feeling adventurous.  As I put Baby Girl down for nap, a wash of guilt overwhelmed me that I was allowing her to sleep on the floor.  I'm a better mom than that.  I went right to the phone and called Ikea.  I politely explained to the operator that I've had a bad experience and wish to speak to a manager.  One thing I've learned in my life is to start off the conversation politely.  The person I'm speaking to didn't directly offend me, so there's no use being mean to her.  A person can be nice and firm at the same time.  If the situation rises to the point where I have to bring forth all my wrath, I can do that.

The operator quickly transferred me to a manager, taking my name first.  The manager greeted me by name and asked how she could help.  I attempted to spare her some of the details but explained my story.  My main points were 1) I had no way of knowing I needed the bed slats since the bed was not properly tagged.  2) The first person I spoke to offered no real help.  3) After sending a detailed letter to the company, I was sent a generic response. 

The woman actually listened to me.  She agreed that I was mistreated.  I was proud of myself that I had kept my cool this long.  I didn't feel calm inside.  She said she would open a case for my problem and would mark it high priority.  She said, "We need to get this resolved and get your daughter sleeping in a proper bed."  I loved that response.  She said someone from the head office would contact me within 24 hours.  She also asked if I could forward her the email I received because she would like to handle that also.  I obliged.

Just a couple hours later, I received a call back.  They said I would have to pay for the bed slats but they would be shipped immediately at no cost to me.  I was totally fine with that.  I am willing to pay for what I need but I'm not going to fork out extra money for someone else's mistake.  She said the package would ship out first thing in the morning.

Ahh, sweet relief!  I am so glad that's over and that Baby Girl will soon be sleeping in her own bed!  I'm glad I actually followed this through instead of letting it go.  Just a bit of extra work accomplished an important goal.  Feeling a sense of achievement, I decided to take care of a couple other phone calls I had been dreading.

I called our satellite company and got them to ship a new receiver, completely free.  Hubby was very happy about that!  The representative I spoke to had the same last name as me, which is very odd.  When my father-in-law came through immigration, they told him his name was not American enough and assigned him a new one.  I had never before met a person with my last name, who wasn't a direct cousin.  This man pronounced his name differently, as he was French, but continued to call me by my name, giggling every time he did.  It was actually quite neat.

It's amazing how accomplished you can feel just taking care of a few things you've been putting off.  I encourage you to do the same today and let me know what you did!