September 7, 2009

Ikea Goes the Extra Mile

In the grand movement of my stuff, the screws for the legs of an Ikea table were lost in transit. Something so simple as four little screws are so essential to transcending a table from donation candidate to fully functional.

I hiked out to Ikea Emeryville today via bus and shuttle and, once arrived, took a number in their ominous service department, hoping for the best. Finally, when I had my turn at the counter, the woman looked up the part number and said they no longer make the legs. But she was nice enough to work with another floor person to find something similar. After an hour of searching the showroom they came back with for mismatched screws that they said should do the trick. I was thrilled with the care they put into helping me, and extra happy that they didn't even charge me for the parts.

When I got home I screwed in each table leg with the random selection of screws. They fit perfectly. Suddenly my place felt like home. I even cooked a real dinner and ate at the table instead of at the computer. Small steps in claiming my space.