IKEA is both our home-DIY mecca and the queuing nightmare of our dreams.
Somehow, despite leaving with the intention of simply stocking up on glassware or a new lamp, we find ourselves leaning over coffee tables and cushions before taking a detour down to bedding.
Thankfully Mental Floss did some digging on employee secrets, and while we were intrigued to find out how they trick us into buying more stuff, we also applaud their tip on how to make it around your local store in record time.
If like us, you tend to wander through IKEA taking a look at each faux-kitchen and candle set along the way, then you need to know the secret shortcut to get through the store quicker.
IKEA employees told Mental Floss that while the store hope you fall along the natural path (that long devious route that brings you through EVERY section), you can take one of the multiple quicker routes through the stores.
Employees revealed that there are open doors and entranceways in the walls that are open for both safety reasons and stock-taking – which are open to the public too.
Although they’re not advertised, IKEA employees say that unless it’s a dark marked clearly for employees, it’s likely a secret passageway to help customers in the know manoeuvre their position in the store more easily.
One worker Paula said:
“If you know where to look, you’ll find them.
“Nobody’s going to stop you unless it explicitly says ‘employees only,’ but other than that you can open doors and you’d be amazed. I love IKEA, but sometimes you just need to get in and out in like 20 minutes.”
We hear you Paula.
One word of warning though – if a secret shortcut gets too familiar, IKEA will change the layout.
Paul Robertson, who worked in IKEA for 10 years added:
“They’re always changing.
“They used to change them fairly frequently because we had a lot of repeat business, so customers would get familiar with the shortcuts and know how to zip through. After a while they would change the shortcuts to force people to go around the long way again.”
