As you know, I’ve been in the process or reorganizing my office, and this past week I went to Ikea in the daytime. My husband offered to go with me and help me carry all that stuff but since he works regular hours he wanted to go on a Saturday, and Saturdays at Ikea are crazy, so I declined. I went to Ikea a year ago on a Saturday and all I remember were a ton of people in a maze, and me standing in the middle of it and not really enjoying that consumer experience at all. I vowed never to return there again on a Saturday, and after the current experience that I am having with the furniture I don’t think I’ll be buying from them for a while.
In any case, part of my Saturday evening was spent with a pair of teenage brothers from church who helped me assemble some furniture, since 150 lbs of chipboard is not really my idea of a good time. Here’s how it went:
Derek: Here Dennis, you screw on the wheel.
Dennis: No, Derek, you screw it on! I’ll be the brain, and you can be the muscle.
Derek: Why don’t you just listen to me, I’m older.
Christine: You know, it might be easier if you screw the wheels on with the wheel panel on top instead of to the side.
Dennis: Yeah Derek, why don’t you do that?
Derek: That wasn’t your idea, Christine said it before you did.
My husband was busy doing Sunday dinner preparations so I think he got to enjoy the show.
Needless to say, I thought they weren’t being very efficient, so my friend Stan and I helped out. I take a closer look at the manual. I used to be a tech writer, and the directions are simple enough, but the execution is much more complicated. My friend Stan and I took over assembling the paper drawer, since Derek had finals and his mom wanted him home by 11 (they were sweet and refused to take any money, so I sent them home with some clementines and much gratitude).
Like me, Derek and Dennis just didn’t understand that Ikea products have a learning curve and a pattern that you get used to once you’ve built enough Ikea products. Turns out my friend Stan assembled an Ikea living room with his roommate before, so he was the one who took over in building the paper drawer. By midnight we weren’t done and sawdust was all over the living room, and needless to say I was a bit frustrated. Certain parts were also ill-fitting so I still need to assemble the rest of the paper drawer and run a drawer back to Ikea for an exchange in parts.
On the brighter side, the other piece of furniture I bought went without a hitch, as there were really only 3 main pieces to put together.
If I’m worth my salt I’ll show you pictures of a clean and organized office by the end of next week.
