realtrueblue wrote:

chingiskhan wrote:Ikea came to China to make money NOT to make the few expats from Europe feel like they are back in their home countries. From everything I have seen and read, they are achieving their objective.

You missed the point.
Why in IKEA they behave like this and why in Chinese local furniture stores the don't ?

Did you start this thread? The OP's point wasn't asking why Chinese don't do it in Chinese furniture stores. He asked why it doesn't happen in other countries.

rotjen wrote:

Chrisse wrote:

SindbadMalone wrote:

In your
home countries you treat most foreigners
like ****

Actually in Sweden I would say that we treat foreigners better than we treat ourselves... Strange but true.

victorinchina wrote:

I would say foreigners in Denmark get treated pretty good also...

There's the answer

OK, let me summarize:
In order to improve the behaviour of the Chinese customers in IKEA, China should treat us, foreigners better.
Did i got that right ?

victorinchina wrote:^ So if back where you're from, your kid couldn't hold himself and you where at the supermarket, you would actually encourage him to piss in a plastic bag inside the store?

EDIT: No wait... you would actually hold him over a trash can, and let him take a dump in it?

I don't know if you have ever had the pleasure of toilet training a toddler, but there are little "on the go" fold-up potties you can get, which is basically a sort of seat the adult holds, with a plastic bag under it. So that your kid can go anywhere, anytime as needed. And yes I have seen people use this. In a supermarket. In Europe. So, it happens.

chingiskhan wrote:

rotjen wrote:I'm guessing Ikea didn't build multiple shops in China to benefit Expats, and as many have argued it wouldn't strike you as odd many other places, why should Ikea be any different.

Good to see there are some sensible people here. It's like saying I saw a Mercedes the other day and the woman passenger had taken her shoes off and had her feet up on the dash and her husband was picking his nose it was disgusting. Mercedes should really not allow their customers to do that.

No that's nothing like that at all... Unless of course you talk about a demo model parked inside a dealership, which customers can try sit in and take for a spin. In that case Mercedes should of course be informed.

When IKEA customers buy the furniture they can of course do what ever they want with them. (Not anything that'll harm others of course)

But until the furnitures are paid for, it ain't yours and you would think that normal respect for other people was to..... oh... TIC... I get it now

what if Ikea charged all and sundry 1 RMB to walk through its door, taken off your bill if you buy something? That'd make most of them think tiwce, or come to think of it, 10 times, before going. That way, they don't lose custom, and people would be encouraged to actually buy something.

Klick wrote:

victorinchina wrote:^ So if back where you're from, your kid couldn't hold himself and you where at the supermarket, you would actually encourage him to piss in a plastic bag inside the store?

EDIT: No wait... you would actually hold him over a trash can, and let him take a dump in it?

I don't know if you have ever had the pleasure of toilet training a toddler, but there are little "on the go" fold-up potties you can get, which is basically a sort of seat the adult holds, with a plastic bag under it. So that your kid can go anywhere, anytime as needed. And yes I have seen people use this. In a supermarket. In Europe. So, it happens.

I haven't no
Haven't seen the "on the go" fold-up potty either. But I trust you when you say you've seen it in Europe. Fair enough, toddlers doing their business in supermarkets ain't no thing... At what age would that stop then? When they're 2? 3? Again, haven't got kids so kind of clueless here

chingiskhan wrote:

realtrueblue wrote:

chingiskhan wrote:Ikea came to China to make money NOT to make the few expats from Europe feel like they are back in their home countries. From everything I have seen and read, they are achieving their objective.

You missed the point.
Why in IKEA they behave like this and why in Chinese local furniture stores the don't ?

Did you start this thread? The OP's point wasn't asking why Chinese don't do it in Chinese furniture stores. He asked why it doesn't happen in other countries.

O, i see.
But then, the solution is very simple:
IKEA in Shanghai should put a big warningplate at the entrance:
(in English only, because it is intended for foreigners)
"We regret having to warn you that in this shop, other than any other furniture shop in Shanghai, you will see local people behaving badly.
This is entirely in accordance with our company policy. Please don't feel offended."

Shangstar wrote:what if Ikea charged all and sundry 1 RMB to walk through its door, taken off your bill if you buy something? That'd make most of them think tiwce, or come to think of it, 10 times, before going. That way, they don't lose custom, and people would be encouraged to actually buy something.

That may actually work

victorinchina wrote:At what age would that stop then? When they're 2? 3? Again, haven't got kids so kind of clueless here

Not to totally derail the conversation, but I would say anywhere between 1.5 and 3, depending on the kid. Basically it's when they have developed enough to control to recognise the fact that they need to have a wee more than 10 seconds before it actually happens. Some kids get it quickly and others take fooooorrrreeeeeevvvveeeerrrrr. (At least it feel like forever when it's your kid!)

Here's what it looks like:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tommee-Tippee-Portable-Potty-Blue/dp/B000HSZTRO
Note that one of the technical specs is listed as "perfect in shopping centres"...

^ Ha ha, awesome... I just found a link where you can buy them back in Denmark too ha ha..

Although in the specs on the Danish site, it says: Perfect for travels and trips in the car.

rotjen wrote:

Chrisse wrote:

SindbadMalone wrote:

In your
home countries you treat most foreigners
like ****

Actually in Sweden I would say that we treat foreigners better than we treat ourselves... Strange but true.

victorinchina wrote:

I would say foreigners in Denmark get treated pretty good also...

There's the answer

Answer to what? The great question of life, universe and everything? Seriously I was not kidding when I wrote that, if you even had the slightest idea how we tread on our toes to accommodate foreigners in Sweden. One example is that we are not allowed to have our "end of the school year"-ceremony in churches anymore (which has been a tradition basically since the schools started many, many years ago) because that might offend people with another religion (even though there was basically nothing religious about it).

^Tell that to the poor Iraqi kids you just sent home to death and destruction

And that goes for you too Vic

what if Ikea charged all and sundry 1 RMB to walk through its door, taken off your bill if you buy something? That'd make most of them think tiwce, or come to think of it, 10 times, before going. That way, they don't lose custom, and people would be encouraged to actually buy something.

It's a developing country for **** sake, do you think they hang around Ikea in the tropic heat just to annoy you?

rotjen wrote:^Tell that to the poor Iraqi kids you just sent home to death and destruction

And that goes for you too Vic

?

Never mind, pretty off topic, I'd hoped that I left Europeans who think they can define normal, and claim they do so much to welcome foreign refugees, back home.

Guess not:(

When in Rome do as Romans do, and apparently when in Shanghai do as the other Westerners do

rotjen wrote:^Tell that to the poor Iraqi kids you just sent home to death and destruction

Whut Please, link to where you found this info.

rotjen wrote:Never mind, I'd hoped that I left Europeans who think they can define normal, and claim they do so much to welcome foreign refugees, back home.

Guess not:(

So you don't think they are good to foreigners back home (in Denmark)?

i am wondering what if the same crowd migrates to lv or gucci ... wat wld they do? probably stop them

@rotten: Man, you know how to get off topic in a dumb way.
You are learning fast for a 21 poster.
You are similar to AIB 1 2 3 ...., but from a different country, so cant be him, well I hope not. RIP AIB.
Sort him out Chrisse.

Back on topic: It was interesting to see Ikea likened to the zoo, for entertainment value, but this is a gross insult to the animals in the zoo. They are far better behaved than the animals in Ikea.

Ikea = over priced hyped rubbish furniture. Far better value elsewhere.
Agree the meatballs and mash are yum and cheap, but is that Ikea?
Probably not.

monalisalee wrote:Ikea = over priced hyped rubbish furniture. Far better value elsewhere.

Actually, their kitchens are really good. I mean of course they are not top of the line, but for their price range they are very good value for money. We have 3 rental properties in the US and we've used IKEA kitchens for all of them. Our thinking was that if anything is damaged, it will be easy to swap parts in and out. One kitchen we have had in for over 10 years now and haven't had to replace a thing. The tenant in that apartment is also a friend and according to him it's all looking pretty good, nothing showing too much wear or stress, etc.

monalisalee wrote:Agree the meatballs and mash are yum and cheap, but is that Ikea?
Probably not.

If you like those poor excuses for meatballs than you should try some real Swedish ones. The ones they have in Ikea here are "Made in China".

^ Should be well burned and crispy...

@Klick: So are you saying the Ikea stuff you bought in U.S. is exactly the same as in China? Bet not.
Have you compared Ikea price and quality (in Shanghai) with the huge furniture malls? Bet not.

When we furnished our new apartment here, we went to Ikea, three times, hoping for decent furniture, but in the end, all we bought were a few pretty place mats!

Got prices from them however, then bought ALL our furnishing from two malls, at better quality, better price, (negotiable as well).

chingiskhan wrote:Good to see there are some sensible people here. It's like saying I saw a Mercedes the other day and the woman passenger had taken her shoes off and had her feet up on the dash and her husband was picking his nose it was disgusting. Mercedes should really not allow their customers to do that.

Great logic, there!!!!! Wow. Mercedes? Ya, the people that work at IKEA should absolutely do nothing about Migrant Wang taking a 2-hour nap on the sofas. Your English is too good to be Chinese, chingiskhan, so I'm baffled.

monalisalee wrote:@Klick: So are you saying the Ikea stuff you bought in U.S. is exactly the same as in China? Bet not.
Have you compared Ikea price and quality (in Shanghai) with the huge furniture malls? Bet not.

Well I can't say, as I've not fitted a kitchen here, so it is possible they may not offer the same range, I don't know. My response was really just to the comment that Ikea is all cheap crap. It's not. Yes, some of it is, in all of their shops, but if you have a good eye for design and construction, you can see that some of what they offer is, in fact, good value for money. When we went there (the day we arrived in SH, as we needed sheets, towels, plates, cutlery etc) it all looked generally like the same stuff I see in my local Ikea in NJ, and in London. In fact it was kind of weird walking around all jet-lagged and seeing loads of stuff I had just either sold or given away from our flat in London. So possibly their kitchen and furniture ranges sold here are different from what is on offer in the US and the UK, but it sure didn't look like it to me. I've had no need to go to a "big furniture mall" here as we have rented a furnished flat. (Bo Concept, too - noice!)

realtrueblue wrote:

chingiskhan wrote:Ikea came to China to make money NOT to make the few expats from Europe feel like they are back in their home countries. From everything I have seen and read, they are achieving their objective.

You missed the point.
Why in IKEA they behave like this and why in Chinese local furniture stores the don't ?

Because in Chinese local furniture stores there is a Chinese sales person jumping on you to buy something before you can even get that booger from your finger to the sofa. In addition Chinese furniture shops do not have as many "tourists" who only came in for a look and so are not crowded like IKEA.

realtrueblue wrote:You missed the point.
Why in IKEA they behave like this and why in Chinese local furniture stores the don't ?

Not one Chinese furniture store could even dream of the VOLUME of that IKEA gets.

monalisalee wrote:@Klick: So are you saying the Ikea stuff you bought in U.S. is exactly the same as in China? Bet not.

You are mistaken. It's all made here.

If anybody interested about Ikea business - read a book of owner. In beginning they ordered all stuff in own country. Then been refused by all manufacturers. Next step was - ordering in Poland. And now - ALL ORDERED IN CHINA

Btw, I love my Ikea sofa and working table !

welcome to china, people! If you have a choice and needed to go, try week day/nites...lesser crowd! I had to go to get home supplies when I first arrived but I stopped going altogether now...too far, too much hassle and just disgusted by the unruly crowd...

RussianBear wrote:If anybody interested about Ikea business - read a book of owner. In beginning they ordered all stuff in own country. Then been refused by all manufacturers. Next step was - ordering in Poland. And now - ALL ORDERED IN CHINA

Btw, I love my Ikea sofa and working table !

haha...all made in china and still cost a bomb!