Ikea: A cheap alternative to childcare
Ikea's childcare center is seeing an almost 15% increase in drop-offs this year at some of its stores. The retailer is a cheap place to leave the kids for a short while and visitors don't need to shop to use it. Ashley Milne-Tyte reports.
Children play in a ball pit at Smaland, Ikea's childcare drop-off center. (Sven Nackstrand/AFP/Getty Images)
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Bill Radke: Ikea is a popular spot for cheap and stylish furniture. It's also got a play area called Smaland, where you can leave you kids for a bit while you shop. That's the idea. Well, it seems attendance is up at Smaland. It's sort of a free babysitting service. Here's Ashley Milne-Tyte.
Ashley Milne-Tyte: Ikea says some of its stores are taking in 10 [percent] to 15 percent more children at Smaland this year.
One of those stores is in Brooklyn. Monica Willis is a regular there. She says childcare is expensive, but Ikea makes it easy to deposit her two kids for an hour or so of play without having to pay $15 to $20.
Monica Willis: It's a really, really comfortable place to be. You know, and it's safe. The kids love it, there's so much to do in the Smaland ball pit. You can't really go anywhere, it's like an indoor play space and it's free.
It's also supervised. The number of staff members goes up along with the number of kids they have to watch. Willis's 7-year-old daughter, Polly, loves it.
Polly: You can either play in like a ball pit or this giant shoe, or you can watch a movie.
But while Polly and her brother are plunging into a sea of plastic balls or parked in front of a DVD, their mother is often slumped in a chair just out of sight, reading. Or making some phone calls, free of interruptions.
Milne-Tyte: Do you ever use it as an opportunity to actually shop at Ikea?
Willis: Umm, with the kids, no, usually. We might buy a few small things while we put them in there, but actually mostly we just go to hang out.
Ikea says if a parent chooses to skip the store's aisles, that's fine. The company says it's glad to introduce people to the Ikea experience.
Patricia Pao is a retail consultant. Sitting in the cafeteria at the Brooklyn store, she says Ikea is doing well while other home stores suffer -- and it's partly because it offers cheap food and free childcare.
Patricia Pao: Every retailer now is desperate to provide their customers for a reason to walk in the door and spend money. And Ikea has done exactly that with a relatively little amount of money and investment.
Pao says other retailers with space could benefit by having drop-off play areas.
Pao: Especially someone like Target, who is really struggling. I think this kind of service is a great way for Target to kind of increase their value to the kind of customer that they want to reach.
Of course, the kind of customer most stores want to reach is one who stays on the premises, even if they don't buy anything. Monica Willis says she knows one parent who parks her child at Smaland, then sneaks off to shop at a nearby supermarket.
In Brooklyn, I'm Ashley Milne-Tyte for Marketplace.
Comments
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From brooklyn, NY, 01/18/2010
Yesterday I put my 3 yrs old in Smaland. Less than 15 minutes after I checked her in, they called us back. We were informed my baby had pull-ups –and that’s not allowed! Also it’s not allowed for me to go inside & help– so I decided to get her out. They refused, saying they're NOT going to return my child until A GUARD is coming! At that point I got really aggravated, as the situation turned to kidnapping: THEY WERE HOLDING MY CHILD AGAINST MY WILL! I could see my girl very distressed on the other side, and the rudest worker actually HANDLING her brutally (AGAINST THEIR RULE), trying to get her in the bathroom. So I called 911.They got scared & released my baby right before police arrived. Bottom line, we spent over 1,5 hour with it, got my 3 year old trembling with crying & fear, felt threatened, humiliated, my basic rights impaired. I never got any apologies. Those 3 female employees should be laid off for being unprofessional, rude& TOTALLY unprepared for working with kids or people.
From brooklyn, NY, 01/18/2010
On January 17, 2010 I went to Ikea Brooklyn with my husband and 3.5 years old daughter. Around 7.30 PM, we decided to put her in Smaland. Less than 15 minutes after I checked her in, they called us back. We were informed my baby needed to go potty -which she does well by herself -but due their policy, they discovered her with pull-ups –and that’s not allowed! I said just let me in so I can help her with-NOT ALLOWED -they said. We are not allowed to touch a child -they said. Than I am going to take her away now –I said. "You need to give us the beeper & sign her off" Which I did, so I am now waiting for her release. Which they failed to do, saying they're NOT going to return my child until their security is coming! At that point I got really aggravated, as the situation turned to kidnapping: THEY WERE HOLDING MY CHILD AGAINST MY WILL, AFTER I SIGNED HER OFF! I could see my girl very distressed on the other side, and the rudest worker actually HANDLING her brutally by the arm(AGAINST THEIR RULE), trying to get her back in the bathroom. So I called 911.They got scared & released my baby right before the police arrived. The 2 officers -PO Iturrulde 11872 & PO Gonzalez 9416 @ 076 pct were very helpful, they spoke to Ikea's security guy (rude) & some Swedish manager (UNHELPFUL). Bottom line, we spent over 1,5 hour with it, got my 3 year old trembling with crying & fear, felt threatened, humiliated, my basic rights impaired. I never got any apologies. Now I am expecting all the 3 female employees to be laid off for being unprofessional, rude& TOTALLY unprepared for working with kids or people.
From Hartland, CT, 07/20/2009
I love shopping at Ikea, and I've used the childcare - it's decent and the kids have much more fun than looking at candles and wine glasses with me or measuring bookcases. I do LOVE the cafeteria - the food is delicious (especially their chocolate mousse cake). The prices for furniture and household items are excellent - only problem is their locations are so far away.
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