Jake C.
Yelp
First time for me to visit an IKEA, although my wife loves the one in Portland, Oregon (closest store to where we live). Since we were in Dallas, I thought we should swing in so she could show me what she has been planning on buying.
IKEA is a destination location. It is huge. I had no idea. They have a Swedish food court on the top floor because they know that people will die of starvation by the time they finish navigating this place. I'm pretty sure more people have been lost to the depths of time at IKEA than the entire history of humans in the Bermuda Triangle.
The upper floor is laid out really well. It is easy to follow the different categories of rooms and furniture as you walk. However, the layout has you snaking all over the place (to maximize the space) and if you want to see kitchen stuff, for example, you have to walk for a while just to get to that area. And if you want to purchase something from that set up, you have to walk a very long time until you can get downstairs (where the stuff to buy is actually kept) and find it again down there.
I can't imagine people actually getting lost here. I'm sure it happens, but there are exit signs everywhere. Problem is, they just point you another exit sign. And another. And another. They really need a way to stop in the middle of it all and take an elevator down to get out halfway. I realize IKEA prefers you see EVERYTHING, but to be more customer friendly, especially to older individuals or those that have difficulty walking, it would be very helpful
After nearly two hours meandering through and looking at everything, I was thankful to finally make our one small purchase. Then, I saw a counter with a few food items on the monitors above it. 75 cent hot dogs and some types of expressos for dirt cheap. Score! The hot dog was basic and cheap, but that's fine. My wife got some ice cream in a cup. It is mimicking the Costco experience where you spend a ton of money, but at the end, you get some cheap food. It helps the customer feel like the "won" after potentially spending a bunch of money. It helped me feel like I won and I only bought one thing.
IKEA is a neat place, but you better book some time for a visit. You can't stop part way through and trying to find an exit is laughable because there are dozens of exit signs that just lead you to the next exit sign as you must go through the entire maze to get out. There are no shortcuts. The Swedish food was reasonable and good and the little bit we got at the end downstairs helped us to feel like we "won."
I have a feeling, based on how excited my wife was as we walked around and she pointed to how everything in the entire building would somehow fit perfectly into our house, that I will be back. Not this location as it is too far away, but if this was the closest IKEA to my home in Oregon, I wouldn't mind it. Just know what you are signing up for before you walk in the door.