Yesterday while at Ikea with Bossy’s friend Martha, Bossy was taking stealth photographs of stuff like a stack of their votive candles which have now resorted back to poopy-butt manufacturing practices — when suddenly Bossy was confronted by an intimidating employee and told to empty her camera of all photos or else, for security purposes.
Bossy is already decades into this dance with Ikea, as Bossy used to be an interior designer who often wished to capture different, appealing, product shots for her clients than those made available in Ikea’s thin-paged directory of a catalogue.
Bossy’s point is she knows about this policy and so is therefore extra stealth, except she did drop her guard a little while in As Is because, as is.
So Bossy pushed lots of buttons and emptied her camera of all shots and then turned her camera monitor to the employee and said, red-faced, “See? Nothing left but my dog,” which somehow seems a funny thing to say, now, in retrospect.
golden says
November 19, 2009 at 9:26 amI don’t get what the big deal is. I see people taking pictures all the time, of individual items, or room setups, etc. I’ve taken photos with my phone of things when I went husband-less and sent them to him to discuss.I guess you’re not allowed to do that?
BH says
November 19, 2009 at 9:39 amDid you actually delete the photos?
HAHAHA!
BH
BH says
November 19, 2009 at 9:41 amFor reasons unknown, some stores have that silly policy… I remember a controversy at BestBuy a couple of years back. Apparently they actually DON’T want you to comparison shop!
BH
Grandma J says
November 19, 2009 at 9:46 amBossy should have done what Grandma J does….just nod your head, smile, and pretend you don’t speak English.
I love Ikea, but I quit going because I can never get out…seriously it takes me forever to find the check out and exit.
WebSavyMom says
November 19, 2009 at 9:54 am–>It’s been decades since I’ve been in an Ikea but is most of the stuff in the store online?
I Almost got kicked out of casino for taking pictures once, now That i can understand but Ikea?
http://www.WebSavyMom.com
Junebug says
November 19, 2009 at 10:07 amReally? They can make you empty your camera? That seems a little dictatorial.
GK in MI says
November 19, 2009 at 10:32 amWhen traveling from Ireland to Northern Ireland, I took a picture of the armed guards at the checkpoint, and suddenly found myself being pulled out of the car at gunpoint. Stupid tourist that I WAS.
The Domestic Goddess says
November 19, 2009 at 10:53 amWHAT? We do it all the time! So we can make our room look just like it or because the kids are doing something cute!
Gaby says
November 19, 2009 at 10:54 amWhole Foods has that same policy. Because Heaven forbid someone steal their fruit stacking ideas!
Audubon Ron says
November 19, 2009 at 11:18 amKnow whatcha mean. I get into all kinds of big trouble at B&N, but the difference is I’m giving them the agony yank. Let me explain.
I go to the coffee shop and order a Passion tea, one Panini of the day and a slice of raspberry chessees cake. I call it cheeses cake because when I eat it I go, “Cheeses, that’s good.” The guy behind the counter, we’ll call him the rabbi, turns my Panini into cracker with the Panini press, which I hate. Then my wife sits down and does an expiration chug on my passion tea, goes all deepthroat on my cheeses cake and then vanished into the rows of books.
I get cookbooks off the shelf and while eating my Panini cracker, snap pictures of recipes I want with my cell phone and then return the book. I keep getting looks but haven’t been 86’d just yet.
That’s because I’m a 007_jah lost in the sound of my own epicness. 😉
reen says
November 19, 2009 at 2:20 pm1) Audubon Ron, you cracked me up.
2) AHA! I knew you must have been an interior designer in a past life with the adorable home you have.
3) “Security purposes??” Really? It’s IKEA, not the flippin’ Pentagon.
dgm says
November 19, 2009 at 2:49 pmI don’t get it. How exactly are they harmed if you either copy their design ideas or take a picture of prices? What if you memorized the price or how the candles were stacked–would they make you empty your head?
thatgirlblogs says
November 19, 2009 at 2:57 pmoh come on — you know you have elves in the basement just waiting for blueprints.
Lizzy says
November 19, 2009 at 3:29 pmVotives are a matter of National Security (in caps). They’re dangerous little bastards.
Sallie (FullTime-Life) says
November 19, 2009 at 3:32 pmFunny post, funny comments, Great ideas for stealth photography. This just makes me want to try to get away with it, esp Whole Foods and B&N. I always wonder if being as old as the hills would help as I plead age and ignorance.
Sallie (FullTime-Life) says
November 19, 2009 at 3:34 pmHo ho ho! you have an IKEA popup ad on your site now! I think that is hilarious — those little pop-up gnomes have limited comprehension.
Bush Babe says
November 19, 2009 at 6:38 pmGrandma J – I like your style!!!
🙂
BB
PS Ikea is evil. Vampire evil.
NellyFrittata says
November 19, 2009 at 8:15 pmMy sister got busted for taking a picture of the chandelier in the foyer of Studio 54 in NYC (it’s a theater now).
giddy girlie says
November 19, 2009 at 10:09 pm#1 – that’s just an individual employee getting a little too much buzz from being “authoritative”
#2 – I bet the real reason is Ikea Heights – a “soap opera” that was/is filmed on the sly inside Ikea stores during business hours. They film inside the store in Burbank, CA (near LA) and have been doing it without permission. I think Ikea got miffed about it and has been extra stringent with stopping people from turning their displays into a personal stage. I’ve heard from lots of people shopping there that they get a suspicious eye if they even take out their cell phones…
http://www.ikeaheights.com/
Sweatshop Seamstress Susan says
November 21, 2009 at 3:48 amCongratulations, now you’re on a LIST.