The pressures of furniture shopping on couples has led one innovative retailer to offer in store relationship counselling.
“Furniture shopping can be a real source of disagreement,” says Ikea’s Mark Hann. “We want to help our customers have a smooth and peaceful experience.”
On a trial basis, Ikea’s store at Tempe in Sydney’s inner west has introduced a relationship counsellor to help settle disputes.
“Whether you’re arguing about furniture selection, or about other matters, we want to help,” says Mark Hann.
“Many of our clients have just started living together, so it’s a high stakes stage of their relationships.”
Ikea Tempe has a roster of three experienced counsellors on hand to ensure support is available across all of the store’s opening hours, including weekends.
“We’re also encouraging customers to use our therapy services if they’re having trouble assembling our furniture,” says Hann.
Ikea is also known for its pioneering role in introducing in-store activities for children in the 1980’s.
“It’s in our interests to keep everyone happy in store,” says Hann.
If successful the counselling initiative will be rolled out at Ikea’s stores nationwide.
