I build flat pack furniture for a living (12 years now) and this certainly looks like advertising to me, but hey what do I know? I would strongly recomend you do this when choosing any tradesman for any job or buying form Ikea or anyone else:-
CHOOSING YOUR ASSEMBLY SERVICE (there are plenty online, all over the UK)
1) The internet is a big glass bowl, so Google the company name followed by the word "problems" or "complaint" - if there are lots of recent complaints then steer well clear. Also read the complaints with a degree of skepticism, some people expect far too much and complain about trivial things. If there are a handful of problems spread over years then they are probably a good bet. Sounds odd but this means they have been around for a while and the old adage of "you can't please all the people all the time" means you will inevitably have some bad press however good you are. I know I do, despite how hard I try.
2) It is a legal requirement that the following is displayed when advertising products or services online and it should be easy to find: Company Name, Company No (if a Limited company - you can check this at Companies House ), full postal address, email address, telephone number and VAT no (if registered).
3) When you get your quote, it should be clear and unambiguous, include payment terms, how they have arrived at the price, and detail any extras and all your questions should also be answered. This is comon sense really. With flatpack furniture assembly, whether from Ikea or any other main supplier like Argos, Next, John Lewis etc these are just kits, any competant assembler will know exactly how long they take and what it will cost.
4) Don't just look at the price.
5) There is no harm in trialling a firm yourself on a simple job (chest of drawers or bed) before a big job.
FROM IKEA
6) Check the packaging meticulously for damge. Bashes in corners and tears or dents in the packaging often indicates a damaged product. You can always tear the packaging at the damaged point to look, or if you are at Ikea picking them yourself, only choose nice clean boxes without damage. Also avoid resealled boxes with packing tape different to the others, it is almost certainly a return and not brand new.
7) Have some extra hands with you when you receive delivery from Ikea, they will be in a rush and only carry up 2 flights of stairs, a bend in a stair case means two in their book, if you are not careful it might all get left downstairs.
8) Don't understimate the rigmarole of buying from Ikea. Accept that when you are buying a lot of furniture there will be mistakes a combination of you ordering the wrong items and the wrong boxes being delivered. Mentally prepare yourself to sort this out. The furniture might be cheap, attractive and effective, but they are selling a lot of it as fast as they can. If it all goes smoothly you are one of the lucky ones, however Ikea will sort out most issues without quibbling (unless the item is worth more than £150 which requires an investigation), the quickest way is to use the online chat.
RE the comment that flat pack furniture assembly is not rocket science. Two points:
a) Large wardrobes are often very heavy and there is a degree of skill to getting bigger ones (especially with sliding doors) to look and work how they should. You can easily get into a mess by doing things in the wrong order especially with Ikea's flag ship product - the Pax range.
b) If you are buying a lot of furniture, there will be a lot of work, many people underestimate the time and effort required to do one room, let alone a whole house. I know I can assemble to a higher standard than most DIYers in half to a quarter of the time, because I do it every day.
I hope that all helps,
Edwin
