Quick Review: Chick In (Del Valle Centro, CDMX)

A few weeks ago we ventured out to find a place called 'Chick It' that Judy thought she saw near our place. That turned into a trip to HM Hamburguesas. Yesterday we were walking around on Insurgentes for some reason that currently escapes me and we walked past Chickin, recently opened. So recently opened that they didn't have any furniture. Or customers. Or a location in Google Maps. So I'll link to the Condesa location here as reference. Can't find any trace of them online besides this modest instagram account.

We had already eaten lunch, so we noted the opening and decided to come back today. Still pretty empty this afternoon, but at least they had a few tables brought in. ALL the signs in english. I think the menu was all in english, too, which is a little weird. It's common to see the occasional bit of english sprinkled into some advertising, especially with some aspirational car billboards and whatnot. But a chicken sandwich joint?

The vibe was like a Food Network show pop-up restaurant competition that wasn't quite ready for service.

They had a promo going. Standard Chickin sandwich, fries, and a drink (can, no soda fountain), for $119MXN. We got two.

Pretty solid. They maybe make them to order. Took about 7-8 minutes and we were literally the only people there. Sandwich was hot and tasty. Fries were also fresh. Maybe a bit over-seasoned for me. Like the fact that they are generous with the salsas (2 per order).

Hot honey was a good call on the sandwich. Should have gotten something else for the fries. But I will make use of the chipotle habanero with my breakfast tacos.

Verdict: pretty good. Next time I'll just go with the sandwich.

A nice and productive Friday

After some delays thanks to IKEA's shit customer service, yesterday was the day we could change out the display shelves at our shop in San Ángel.

We have had these shelves along our long wall for maybe 3 years now.

And they were okay. Solid, clean, well-lit. But earlier this year one of our neighbors in the Bazar put up a huge table in the middle of our room and having to navigate around that has impacted people's sightlines toward our display. With our old display you couldn't really see down or off to the periphery as everything was blocked by wooden shelves or the sides of each unit. So the idea was to get something more open. Glass shelves. No solid sides.

Step one was ordering them from IKEA. Step two was having to drive out to IKEA to clean up the 40% of the order they couldn't manage to properly deliver. Step three was getting a day sorted with Daniel to transport them over to the shop and set everything up. (Side note on Daniel: We met him as the handyman who managed the house we rented here 2015-2017. Ever since then he's been our go-to guy for a variety of projects. Lucha and Mia, our dogs, have known him since they were puppies and still get very excited when he comes to work on something at the apartment).

So things lined up for Friday, August 15th. Daniel got the shelves secured to his car and we were off into Friday traffic in la CDMX.

(Side note about this Burger King. I remember many times driving home on the upper level in this part of the city. You cruise through an aroma wave of french fries and whoppers.)

After getting everything off the old shevles and cleaning up a few years of dust balls, we got the new shelves set up.

In that middle section that has an opening the idea is to custom order a typical Michoacán shelving unit like the one we have in out kitchen:

But we will have it painted yellow to complement the end pieces of the shelving unit.

I thought the lights we had in the old shelves could be re-purposed. But I didn't realize they were actually too long to install in the new shelves. So we have a temporary situation where the new shelves will be a bit dim until I can track down an appropriate lighting solution. But I'm happy with the new direction.

All that done by about 2pm or so, I enjoyed a Friday afternoon nap with the hounds followed by a quick visit to the gym before meeting some friends for dinner. Coincidentally, we met these friends when they were shopping in San Ángel a few years ago and stopped in our shop.

We picked Sapore d'Italia, which I have passed by and wondered about a number of times.

It is down the street from La Parillita, which we've had a couple of nice meals at. Down the street in the other direction is Ocehntaocho Cemitas, which we have enjoyed more than others apparently, given its 3.9 rating (won't stop us from another visit when we want a cemita).

The restaurant was bigger than I expected, with a split dining room. It felt charming. We all agreed it felt a bit like a neighborhood place you could find in the US. They had a full house. And the service was friendly, as noted repeatedly among the nearly 3000 reviews they have (impressive given its lowish-profile neighborhood location). Our collective verdict was it was okay. A nice setting for a meal and to catch up with friends we hadn't seen in a few months. But I don't think anyone was overly impressed with their meal. Judy and I would go back and try a pizza another time. Glad we went, but it is not being added to our must-go list or regular rotation.

5 things I learned about IKEA Mexico through an abysmal customer service experience

In general I think it's fair to say my disposition skews more toward cynical than hopeful. I don't consider myself naive. Less likely to be dissapointed if you have low expectatations going in. But every now and then I still find myself surprised when I encounter a situation like the one I'm going through now with IKEA Mexico. Perhaps my naivete is that I still believe companies will do the right thing for customers. Especially when it's easy to do. Not all companies, of course. For some, gauging and screwing the public is an integral part of the business plan. But others invest tens of millions of dollars in building a brand that is allegedly 'fun, quirky, and caring'.

And they post their values online, expressing who they are. What their brand promise is. The "compass that guides everything we do". This bit, in particular, is sadly ironic:

We are straightforward, innovative, creative and common-sense problem-solvers.

Unfortunately, that wasn't my experience. My interactions with IKEA Mexico has shown them to be sloppy, slow, and indifferent. And my problem (really theirs, honestly) has not been solved. So, I feel inspired to document and share a few things I have learned through my recent purchase via IKEA Mexico's online channel.

Here is the list, upon which I elaborate further below:
1. Their delivery network is unreliable
2. Their customer service channels are slow, and when they do respond, they are not empowered to deliver real solutions
3. Their online / offline channels are poorly integrated
4. Their website may not present a true picture of their actual inventory
5. Leadership at very high levels inside the company cannot be bothered about 1-4 above

1. Their delivery network is unreliable
I'm not talking about arriving late outside of an agreed upon delivery window. Or even having to reschedule a delivery. My order was not delivered in full. The delivery partner marked my order 'complete'. And then, according to the customer service rep I eventually got a hold of, the other pieces of my order were 'lost'. Now this matters as the 5 pieces I bought were meant to be a full set. Having 3 of the pieces does me no good. Need the 5.

2. Their customer service channels are slow, and when they do respond, they are not empowered to deliver real solutions
Their phone service is only available Monday - Friday, during work hours. Not super convenient. I realized my order was incomplete Saturday morning, when I was working to assemble the pieces that did arrive. Emailed them at 9am. By late Monday afternoon I had no response, so I tried again. I never received a response from them. Not even one of those automated 'we received your message' responses. Nothing. So Tuesday morning I tried dm'ing their Twitter account. 4 hours later I got a response. 3.5 days after my initial outreach via servicioclientesikea@ikano.mx
I will illustrate more below about the limitations of the 'service' that I did receive once in contact with them.

3. Their online / offline channels are poorly integrated
This was particularly surprising in 2025. I live in Mexico City. IKEA has a big ol' store in Mexico City. The pieces of my order that were 'lost' by their delivery partner are in stock in IKEA's store in Mexico City. IKEA Mexico's Twitter customer service tells me they have no way to get those pieces from their Mexico City store to my Mexico City home. ... This is where I'll revert back to the company's heritage and DNA as "... straightforward, innovative, creative and common-sense problem-solvers". ... Sounds wonderfully inspiring. Unless they find themselves faced with a true dilemna, like how to navigate the 12km between their store and my apartment. That is apparently beyond their capacity.

4. Their website may not present a true picture of their actual inventory
Another surprising one. Integrating logistics of your online operations and your bricks and mortar stores can be tricky. You'd think a world class retailer like IKEA might have a go at it. But at least they can manage their retail website, right? I mean, if the online channel inventory is totally separate from what can be sourced and delivered from the stores, then there's no issue with latency as real-time sales are processed and reflected online. Right? Nope. When I pointed out to my IKEA Mexico Twitter contact that their own website showed one of my pieces as being available for delivery I was told that was an error.

5. Leadership at very high levels inside the company cannot be bothered about 1-4 above
This was also a bit surprising. But everything I experienced made a bit more sense after we tried an alternate path to maybe get some resolution. My wife is a casual acquaintance of someone whose partner is in a leadership position within IKEA Mexico. After going down this path via their customer service channels for a few days with no luck, thought we'd see if perhaps someone down the ladder on his team might intervene and offer some 'common sense problem solving'. I mean, it's the brand's DNA, right? Unfortunately we got a brush off response of, 'there are support protocols in place' yada yada. This could reflect both on their regard for us and their regard for customers in general. Hard to say. But (a) we didn't reach out the moment I opened the boxes and saw my order was incomplete. The support protocols had been failing for a few days before we mentioned the situation to you. And (b) the incident involves multiple problematic concerns. Not just an incorrect delivery. Incompetent delivery partners. Obvious disconnect between online / offline fulfillment channels. Slow customer service. Unreliable inventory information being published on your retail website. Hello? Get your shit together.

So, where is this netting out? They are refunding me for the pieces that were not delivered. I'm still paying the delivery fee, even though I got 60% of my order and suggested perhaps they might shift that cost over to the delivery partner who f*cked up the delivery. But no, that's not possible. (Customer-centric. Caring.) And if I want the other two pieces it's on me to head to IKEA store and hope they are there. They won't hold them for me there. I asked. Also just not possible. Beyond their capacity. (Customer-centric. Caring. Common sense problem solvers.) So I need to invest 3+ hours in a round trip that may or may not result in me getting what should have already been delivered to me.

Below are screenshots of the entire thread with my Twitter customer service contact (en español).

Photo post (mostly) of a catamaran tour in Milos, Greece (April 2023)

Milos was an interesting island to visit. Definitely different than the others we had just passed through (Naxos, Paros, and Mykonos). The sense I came away with is that you need a few days to really do it well and comfortably. I personally would aim to stay near Pollonia, which struck me as having the best overall vibes. Definitely a vacation spot with beaches and small hotels and holiday apartments. But it also had a least a couple / few streets with some restaurants and coffee shops. I would also want to have a car rental to get around. Or, more precisely, probably a 4x4 rental to access some of the more remote parts of the island. We stayed in Adamantas, which was logistically convenient but a little less charming.

We were not in Milos very long, but had a full schedule to cover a lot of ground. Arrived by ferry at 8pm and went immediately to dinner at Mikros Apoplous. It's well-reviewed and I was happy with my meal, but I played it simple with salad and beer. My colleagues, however, were more adventurous with some kind of seafood dish which disappointed.

Packed it up right after dinner because we had an early bell to answer for a 6-7 hour catamaran ride around the island, with Milos Adventures.

As you can see in the stream of photos below, it was cloudy. Not too cool, as I recall. Maybe mid 60s. The scenery was in turns dramatic, serene, spectacular. Braver souls hopped off for some swimming and cave exploration. I kept my butt on the boat. Overall an experience I recommend. Just dress for the weather. Or visit Milos later in the season. Or both.