On a visit to IKEA, there's a chance that you're probably doing a ton of things that make life so much harder for your fellow customers.
From walking too slowly to not cleaning up after yourself at the cafeteria, there are many things that might make other shoppers at the Swedish furniture giant silently seethe.
So, when you're out getting some affordable furniture and other housewares on your next IKEA run, take a moment and watch what you're doing because if you're partaking in any of the following acts, you just might be that person.
Moving around without looking
Listen, we go to IKEA to buy furniture, not to be involved in a major shopping cart t-bone traffic collision.
Whether you're just following the arrows or manoeuvring in the smaller aisles, please watch where you're going.
And if you can't see where you're going, just slow down!
It's never nice to see your life flash before your eyes after a near miss as you search for the perfect Malm.
So, please chill out, slow down and look where you're going. That's not too much to ask, is it?
Going too slow
The inverse of the last gripe.
While there is a whole lot to see in IKEA, especially when you're going through the showrooms, walking too slowly just clogs up everything.
A lot of the time, the slowest groups are also somehow the biggest, so it can be nearly impossible to pass them if they're taking their sweet time.
And no, you don't have to go through the store in a sprint. But, if you look behind you and you see an exasperated line of fellow customers, there's a good chance you might be walking too slow.
Walking against the flow
As anyone who has been to IKEA knows, there's a certain order to the experience.
You come in, walk through the showrooms, then continue to the retail space. It's a specific order and a specific flow, and to go against that? Well, that just screws everyone up.
Not only is it annoying to have to move over if someone's coming toward you with a full cart in the opposite direction, but it throws the entire vibe off and is just one step closer to complete chaos in the store.
Make everyone's day less intense, and loop back around if you have to!
Moving stuff around in the displays
The showrooms are a really fun and unique part of the IKEA experience. You get to wander through a wonderfully manicured and modelled room filled with little gadgets and knick-knacks that cost a few bucks apiece.
But, one thing that isn't fun is when it's clear that someone has messed with the display, either having broken, taken or added something to it.
It's annoying to see something that is obviously not supposed to be there or something that obviously shouldn't be broken just hanging out there. Respect your environment, people!
Letting your kids run loose
While this isn't just an IKEA problem, this is something that is felt especially hard there.
It's fair to bring your kids along with you to the store, but if you do, try to get them to chill out a bit.
It's hard enough navigating the store, but it doesn't get any easier when children are zipping in front of your cart, yelling or moving stuff around.
While the presence of children isn't de facto annoying, out-of-control kids can be a nightmare, especially when you're just trying to get a Luftmassa.
Not cleaning up after yourself at the cafeteria
The IKEA cafeteria is a very special place. It's a place where folks young and old meet to eat Swedish meatballs and drink that Swedish fruit water.
The store makes it incredibly easy to clean up after yourself, so when people don't, it just doesn't make sense!
Leaving your dirty plate and tray on one of the tables means that either a customer or an employee will have to make the extra effort to clean up after you.
It's so easy to bring your tray to the little tray place yourself, just do it!
Bad cart control
The carts at IKEA are not always the most functional.
Often, they'll want to veer in one direction the entire time, or they'll have a bum wheel, but that shouldn't be an excuse for bad cart control.
There is no worse feeling than getting hit in the Achilles tendon by a runaway cart piloted by a hapless fellow shopper.
Just grab your cart, be chill and please, watch where you're going with the damn thing.
New Toronto IKEA.IKEA