Role: Shopkeeper for Kitchens & Dining
Company: Ikea Belfast
Track Record: It’s good to hear how our products improve homes.
THE POST
Shopkeeper for kitchens and dining, IKEA
THE POST HOLDER
David Meers
TRACK RECORD
David Meers, who lives in Antrim town, has been married to Claire for 24 years.
He has two daughters, Catherine (19, a Bio-medical student at QUB) and Anna (16 and currently studying for GCSEs).
David joined IKEA Belfast in 2007 as customer relations manager.
For the last three years he has worked in the sales team and has responsibility for the kitchens and dining department.
David began his career with MFI as a sales temp and then became a manager at B&Q prior to joining IKEA.
6.30am
On a typical morning I’m up and have a quick breakfast with my wife, Claire, and then out the door at 7.15am for the journey from my home in Antrim to IKEA in Holywood Exchange.
8am
I have a quick read at any new emails and check my planner for the day and week ahead.
The store is open seven days a week and has late trading on six nights to suit customers’ busy lives, so I work a variety of shifts and alternate weekends to work alongside all of my team and see things as a customer would.
However for the past six months I have been working on the very impressive rebuild of our kitchen department and the launch of our new METOD kitchen range which is now in store.
9.30am
The store opens to visitors for breakfast and starts to trade at 10am so we prioritise this time to get ready for trade.
We all support the logistics team in filling the sales locations with stock and upstairs in the showroom the communication and interior design team in presenting our room sets for the many visitors that day.
It’s a busy start to the day with everyone focused on preparing the store.
9.40am
I take a break and have breakfast with colleagues from across the store in our co-worker restaurant.
This tradition happens across the IKEA world, and it is a good opportunity to catch up with people who I wouldn’t normally work with.
10am
My regular day would see me on the shop floor in my department working with my team, helping customers.
The kitchen department gets a huge range of inquires and I enjoy the variety from someone looking to improve their cupboard organisation to a major design or refurbishment project.
I have used the knowledge gained over the past three years in the department to help shape how our new department is planned and organised.
Together with my colleagues on the METOD (which is Swedish for method) project team we have adapted the new kitchen plans to provide the best possible environment and service for customers.
11am
IKEA Belfast offers a one to-one appointment in the kitchen department and my diary is already filling up for consultations for the new kitchen range.
If I’m not with customers, I’m thinking room sets.
Roomsets have been a massive part of my job in recent months.
We already know a great deal about our local market as we have planned thousands of kitchens and visited hundreds of homes from all over Northern Ireland.
So the first priority was to design METOD kitchen/dining roomsets that reflect the typical size and layout of Northern Irish homes.
We wanted to show practical solutions for different living situations and budgets, as well as providing inspiration.
We then need to be able to answer the typical enquiries a visitor will have such as the price, range, availability, guarantees, delivery, assembly and installation information.
Finally, no matter how impressive our new kitchen department may be it would be nothing without the team of co-workers who make it all possible.
In IKEA Belfast we believe that by investing in our co-workers’ knowledge and training we will be able to give our customers the service they deserve.
I enjoy seeing customers return, often many months after purchasing their kitchen, and hearing how our advice and products have helped improve their home, and in turn their everyday lives.
12noon
Lunch is 45 minutes and taken between 12pm and 2pm in the co-worker or customer restaurant.
I try to avoid the restaurant’s ever-appealing short-crust strawberry tarts but have been known to have the odd one or two.
1pm
The afternoon flies in and, as part of a large management team in the store, I share the duty manager role.
This takes the form of a complete walk of the store and checks against our store standards. Where necessary we resolve issues promptly or seek solutions from the responsible areas.
It’s also a good opportunity to engage with customers and discover new products or learn more about familiar ones from the knowledgeable co-workers in the area.
5.30pm
Home time comes fast but we are encouraged to achieve a good work-life balance and I normally try to get home for an evening meal together with my family at around
5.30pm-6pm.
In the wise words of our founder Ingvar Kamprad, “most things still remain to be done”, but hopefully together with my fellow co-workers, visitors will enjoy our newly opened kitchen department.