Categories
Video

I made a video…

… of my trip to Ikea!

That’s right – following on from my recent blog post about Ikea, I made a little video.

My trip to Ikea….

As previously mentioned, there’s a lot more to why we spend so long in Ikea…. be great to hear your thoughts.

Categories
Smart Home

Buying something I don’t need…

On LinkedIn, Tuesday morning – Dean posted this…

It’s true- people do.

On Tuesday – I had the day off (I know, right? – I actually put an Out Of Office on and took a day off!) – so, Tuesday…I decided to go to Ikea.

Now, many of you who go Ikea – will know, doesn’t matter what you aim to do – if it’s just looking, or you’ve done your research and know exactly what you want, you’ll always end up buying something that you think later… do I really need it?

So why does Ikea do this? – (and this blog post idea was created by my friend Raj, who mentioned the below….)

Well… so during my visit on Tuesday, I did wonder, a) what will I end up buying and b) there must be some science behind it!

Now, before I even entered the store – I knew what I wanted. I knew the exact items, etc… however, yes – like most folk, somehow… I’d ended up at the cashier till with not only the items I wanted to buy originally but some other nice ‘additions’ in the basket.

Now… couple of reasons when I did some research and looked into this…

  1. Children – or shall I say, ‘children-less’. That’s right, Ikea have Smaland – a place where you can leave the kids to be entertained and you go off to enjoy Ikea without the nagging, shouting, fighting… and ultimately thinking ‘hope my kid doesn’t break that’.
  2. Windows – Now, I’d heard about this previously – but it is kind of true! – There aren’t many windows once you are in the realm of Ikea. This means, you are isolated some-what in the Ikea World, and have no idea what time it is (obviously you can check your watch)… clocks on the wall don’t tell the real time – so being honest, you can literally spend hours…and hours…. and hours….
  3. List – I always thought it’s very kind of Ikea to provide you with pencils and the measuring guide…. oh, and the paper list (to write down what you want). Yep – there’s science behind that, once you write down what you want or thinking to get – you’re kind of making a commitment to purchase it. You’ll only write things down you want – and if you’re in two minds – chances are, once you’re written it – it’ll be in the back of your car in no time.
  4. Mix – I love it, that I’ll be walking looking at beds, and all of a sudden… I see an extension cable. Why would I need an extension cable? – maybe because I can plug several things that need charging overnight near my bed? – oh look… this bed side table I was looking at, can store everything I want an on top, there’s space for my mobile phone… Do I have enough sockets… I think I should buy one to give me that flexibility. And there you go – there was a reason I picked up that blue/yellow bag at the front of the store – to pick up little items that might make my life easier.

I think I could write a book about this – in fact, I’m sure someone has already!

The other final note was – Ikea Family. Not clubcard, not Nectar points, not anything like that… not even loyalty card… but Ikea Family card. That’s right, You’re part of the family. And family support each other.

So, there you go… so much we can learn from Ikea to incorporate into our organisations, into our companies and places of work…

… and yes, I didn’t even mention the hot dogs. That’s a whole blog post on it’s own!

Categories
Smart Home

Smart Blinds…

I’ll be honest. I wasn’t expecting that much feedback on the ‘Smart Dining Table’! – it was phenomenal!!

“Bal – really? You don’t need a table to be smart. Just be practical!”

“How’s about not having devices on the table – as per the news headlines.”

But my favourite was from my old friend, Hugh… who said “Sensors to detect food and keep plates warm would be progress. However, the purpose of a dining table is to not only enjoy your food, but hopefully engage in conversation with good company. Rather than a wireless charger, perhaps a Faraday layer to block the use of phones?”

That is very true, Hugh. The purpose of the dining table is indeed, to enjoy your food – however, no issue with it being a little smart, right?

So, on Sunday morning – when I was up, I was kindly asked to open the blinds. With a slight roll of the eyes… I did as I was told. I opened the blinds.

Which then got me thinking… Why haven’t I got Smart Blinds?

Is there such a thing, Bal?

YES! – There is!! Ikea!!! They have introduced Smart Blinds… watch the video below… it explains it…

That’s right – you can pop down to your local Ikea. Not only pick up a hotdog… but either the Kadrilj or the Fyrtur Smart Blind!

How awesome is that! – Runs on batteries, connects to your Alexa or Google Home… and you’re up and running!

Now, I will talk more about how Ikea is becoming ‘Smart’ about their home offerings in another blog post.

Back to the blinds. So, this got me thinking… they got to be expensive, right? – Well… not really….

Now… the problem is… I’ve already got blinds fitted.

Do I have to really change all the blinds in the house?

Well.. the answer is No!

That’s right Ladies and Gentlemen… you can retro-fit a device that’ll make your current blinds… SMART!

I know right – I should become a Smart Home Expert!

Manually pulling that string to open or close your blinds will be a thing of the past….

You can buy a device… which has a battery (which lasts for 2 months, and can be charged for a short period of time – or you can leave the charger in – or you can use a solar panel to charge it)… it connects to your phone… it connects to your Alexa or Google Home… and will open and close your blinds for you!

How awesome is this! All the blinds in my home.. can now be Smart!

The only problem is…. some of these devices are new and expensive. The one in the above photo is £130 per device.. but you can buy 2 for £180 and there’s various other promotions on. The more you buy, the cheaper it is…

So there you go… Bal helping your home become smarter. Hugh, what do you think now hey?! 🙂