Ikea Cheras? Not for me, Ikea Damansara I love you more.

Before I start, read my earlier article about IKEA. Here: My favourite store, whether or not I am renovating  My brother-in-law from Penang visited me here in KL and said he wanted to visit IKEA Cheras. Great idea since I also wanted to visit it too. Many have informed me that the jam is pretty bad along the way into IKEA Cheras. I told them, it should not be too bad. After all, it’s IKEA. Everyone knows they have good planning and execution. When I was only about 3 turns away into IKEA’s car park, the traffic stalled. The traffic light was not helpful and the cars were no longer following it. I presume it’s because they have been waiting there for a very long time. It took me nearly 35 minutes to clear the three roads and when I saw the IKEA building, suddenly cars in front of me parked right along the main road on my right. One whole row of cars just parked like that. Huh?
As I drove further, when I saw the P sign, there were cones along the entrance into the car park! Fortunately for me, the cars in front of me drove in between the cones into the car park and I followed. It did not take long to find a car park once inside. It was 1130am. The entrance was not as nice as the one in Damansara. Somehow, the crowd was a little unruly and it was like a ‘pasar.’ Since it was close to lunch, we decided to have lunch at the restaurant first. The queue took me 45 minutes before I could order my food. This is a little unacceptable as I have never waited beyond half an hour in IKEA Damansara. Then, my wife and my sister-in-law went to the toilet and made me and my brother-in-law worried. They came back only after 30 minutes. The queue was still very long at 430pm. Something must be wrong somewhere. Perhaps some of the toilets were not fully opened?
Okay, going inside, it’s nice. There were many show rooms which showed how you can renovate your home even if it’sjust 800 sq ft, 550 sq ft or even 400 sq ft. Pretty clever since these days, SOHO, SOVO or SOFO is getting popular with the many younger working adults. Not for me though. As usual, you can sit as much as you want and we can even sleep if we wanted to. Suddenly, a mosquito bit me. Huh?? My wife was also bitten by one and she killed one too. Mosquito in IKEA? She said maybe it’s due to the construction next door. Well, if it is, I still seriously hope they do something about it quickly. No one likes to be bitten by a mosquito when dengue is still prevalent. Air-con in some spots are also a little warmer than usual. Hope it’s only because it is too new, so there are too many visitors currently.
Leaving IKEA, the traffic light just outside was nearly as bad as when we came. Sigh. All four of us concluded, it will be our first and last time in IKEA Cheras. We still love the IKEA Damansara more. Okay, to be fair, my home is in Damansara Damai, thus it would take me faster to reach IKEA Damansara. However, with the many little things I mentioned above, I seriously hope IKEA takes note and quickly improves them. I perceive them as head and shoulders above the rest of the furniture stores and I think it will be a great brand for me always. Never failed to buy something every time I am there and today, I spent around RM350 there including the lunch, ice-creams and curry puffs too. Happy visiting both and may your experience be way better than mine.
written on 25th Dec 2015
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