Confessions of an Ikea hater

They say that confession is good for the soul.  I am not sure, however, that confessing that I hate the Ikea brand will win me a lot of friends, because the company's popularity in the UK continues to grow (UK sales in 2013 were nearing £1.3bn).  Perhaps "hate" is too strong a word, but there is no doubt that there are elements of Ikea which I heartily dislike.

I'm not quite sure why, but I don't find most of their products very stimulating or attractive; they just don't appeal to my taste.  To be honest, we did buy a small Christmas lamp from Ikea recently, but I certainly wouldn't cry if I never owned another Ikea item in my life.  I do understand that many people do like Ikea, and that's fine.  But there is one thing about Ikea which really winds me up, and that is how their stores are laid out.

Last Friday Sue and I travelled up to Ikea Nottingham, as Sue wanted to buy some mugs for church.  I do admit that their cafe facilities are very good, and we really enjoyed tucking into our very reasonably priced full English breakfast!  Then came the immensely frustrating part of the Ikea experience.  We made our way to the area were the products are kept.  In most stores you can locate the product you want and then head for the payment area.  Not at Ikea, oh no!  There is a laid-out route to follow, with arrows on the ground to tell you which direction to go.  I felt like a mouse caught in a cruel experiment, walking slowly along a designated pathway along with hundreds of other mice!  When eventually we got to the check-out area, we faced long queues before eventually escaping into the fresh air. 

Of course it's good sales technique from Ikea, and no doubt many people, as they tread the designated route, put various items into their trolleys which they never intended to buy.  But I still heartily dislike it.  On reflection, maybe next time it would be better if Sue does her shopping while I have breakfast?

As I was on the Ikea "conveyor belt" I sought to stifle my growing frustration by trying to think of a "moral of the story", an element of the experience which I could relate to matters of faith (always a good challenge for a preacher!)   Perhaps not the greatest illustration ever, but I think that maybe the experience could be related to how, in the Christian life, we will sometimes face difficult or frustrating times (Jesus never promised that the life of following him would be easy - quite the reverse!)  But in those times, we need to remember why we are on the journey, and keep focussed on the goal. In the end, Sue and I did get some mugs which will come in very handy at church.  No pain, no gain?