InformationWeek

June 21, 1999

Free To Roam At Ikea

Ikea, the Swedish chain of no-frills furniture stores, has brought no-wire communications to three locations.

Stores in Chicago; Elizabeth, N.J.; and Toronto use wireless phones from Spectralink Corp. to let customer-service managers make and receive calls and retrieve voice mail--all while roaming the stores' aisles, warehouse, or parking lot. The early verdict: "We love them," says a customer-service manager in the Chicago store.

Transceivers the size of smoke detectors are located throughout each store to help maintain a clear signal, and to let Ikea staff use all the phones in each store at once, say Spectralink officials. Staffers can also turn off the phones when assisting customers face-to-face to avoid interruptions, Spectralink officials say.

The phones are also durable, Spectralink contends. The company drops the phones 24 feet onto a concrete floor as part of its sales pitch. "People take these phone wherever they go," says Tom Ohhlson, director of marketing at Spectralink, "and they take the durability of the phone for granted."

Spectralink says other customers include General Motors, Home Depot, Microsoft, and Toys "R" Us.

--Bethany Cooke

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