Swedish furniture brand IKEA recently removed a particular brand of boxes from its shelves in Singapore after a viral complaint that claimed they were infested with bugs.
An unsatisfied customer went on TikTok to rant about their frustration after purchasing six storage baskets from IKEA, which she says were infested with tiny black insects. After she reported it to the store, she says the company tried to place blame for the bugs on her instead.
“A while ago, I called IKEA regarding the 6 [boxes] I bought for my nursery room [which were] infested with insects. They said the insects [were] from my house,” TikTok user Wlr1002 wrote in the captions of the video posted on Wednesday.
@wlr1002 @IKEA @Ikea_official ♬ Oh no, oh no, oh no, no no – Hip Hop
The user also posted a screenshot of an email from IKEA in which the store apologized for what happened but said their warranty “does not cover any plague” and that the Knipsa boxes – which are made with seagrass woven around a steel frame and cost priced at S$32.90 each – could not have been infested on their end as they have “procedures” to rid any plagues from their warehouses and supply chains.
“Due to it, it is unlikely that this incident is related with the product itself,” they wrote.
The customer responded by going back to the store to prove her point that the boxes she purchased were already infested when she purchased them.
The video shows the Tiktokker slamming one of the boxes on display and several insects falling to the ground.
The user challenged other customers to “try it for yourself.”
After the video went viral (it now has close to 200,000 views), the brand told TODAY on Friday that the boxes have been temporarily removed from sale in stores and online.
The product was still unavailable online when Coconuts checked this morning.
IKEA Singapore said they have launched an internal investigation and also reached out to its Swedish developers. Also, to lessen the blow, they said they offered the disgruntled customer a gift card.
Comments in the customer’s TikToks were mostly from users who were disgusted by the video, with some expressing shock as they had had similar experiences.
“[O]mg! [I] bought this 2nd hand from carousell! and [I] thought was the previous owner problem, as all the insects were crawling out of it!” User Nicolettetanningn wrote.
Others complained about IKEA’s response and customer service.
“[T]he defensive mode in the letter is self [destructive]. worst [example] of [customer service],” Hensu Jaya wrote.
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