Officenter

Whether you call it a Task Chair, an Office Chair or a Swivel Chair it is one of the most important “tools” in your office. This is especially important for team members who spend a significant amount of their workday seated in an office. A proper task chair not only provides ergonomic comfort, but also has been proven to increase efficiency and productivity. As a commercial furniture dealer with literally hundreds of seating options available to us, we are constantly trying to determine which options are best for a particular client’s needs. The concept of “value” weighs heavily in this decision making process. We try to find that “sweet spot” where price, function and appearance coincide in the right combination to satisfy our customer. When it comes to seating, appearance usually takes a back seat to function and price. That leaves function and price to duke it out for dominance. It is impossible to ignore the importance of pricing in the current economy. Unfortunately, price often overwhelms “value”. “Cheap office chairs” is a common search string on the internet. The results produced by this search will often list hundreds of sites where you can buy task chairs for less than $100. How tempting is this to a potential buyer? The first thing you need to do is to determine the “final price”. How much is shipping, assembly (if available), and do you need to buy an extended warranty? These items can easily add 50% to your bargain. Also keep in mind that these products are usually sent to you as they arrived in a container from their Pacific Rim country of origin, shipped in pieces that you will need to assemble. This is typically a 30-60 minute proposition, adding more cost to your “bargain”. If any of these products have a warranty, they’re usually capped out at one year. Commercial seating should have a 5 year warranty of parts as an absolute minimum. Most commercial seating manufacturers offer a limited lifetime warranty on the mechanical components of their products. The warranty, often overlooked, is a great indication of quality. If a manufacturer is willing to back its product throughout its useful life, chances are they are confident that the product will perform as expected without any breakdown. Really inexpensive chairs are essentially disposable. Cheap chairs look like any other chair when you give them a casual inspection. Closer examination reveals their flaws. As mentioned before one of the reason they can be sold so cheaply is that the buyer is expected to supply the labor to assemble it. When you break down the components that are used in assembly, you start to see major differences in material quality that will eventually lead to product failure. Often the foam used in the seating is of poor quality that compresses much more quickly than a high quality foam. The result is a hard, uncomfortable seat that results after only a few months of use. Fasteners are usually anchored into a plastic component, which eventually results in it becoming loose or separating altogether. The components such as the adjusting mechanisms and arms (if any) are the least expensive available. The result is that you have limited function and greater potential for failure. These functional limits such as the inability to adjust back height, arm position, back tension and seat depth result in a chair that is uncomfortable for the majority of today’s working population. Manufacturers recognize that they need to fit the 95 pound woman who barely breaks the 5′ height barrier and the 250 pound former athlete that “let himself go” a little. You don’t need to spend a fortune on a good task chair. It’s easy to spend $800-$1000 on a chair today. However, there are wonderful products in the $250-$400 price range that will provide comfort, longevity and will outlast 2-3 bargain chairs. They will deliver value.

When can I have it? This is one of the most asked questions that we get. Sometimes it’s the most difficult to answer. Officenter lives in the world of “contract furniture”. This basically means that we don’t keep furniture in stock. We place individual orders with our manufacturers on behalf of our customers. This obviously creates a lead time that runs counter to our brave new world of instant answers and next day delivery. While many manufacturers have a “quick ship” program available (more about this later), it will typically take at least a month for a standard transaction to be delivered after it’s ordered. The wait is worth it in almost every circumstance. Here’s why.

1. It will almost always save the customer money. First, there are a wide range of options for almost every product that we sell. Each option has its own cost. By matching these options with your real needs, we can achieve optimal pricing for you. Secondly, manufacturers usually extend their best discounting on orders that are not expedited. In fact, many will add a significant surcharge for orders that are fast tracked. Dealers like Officenter will normally pass the additional discounting through to the customer and add the quick ship surcharge. Additionally, outlets for “next day” deliveries will often have very high delivery charges that will really pump up the price.

2. You get what you want. Minimal planning will not only get you great pricing, but also get you the best product solution for you. As mentioned above, there are a lot of options available with today’s office furniture. You don’t need to settle for an off-the-shelf solution. You will most likely be living with your product selection for a long time. You might as well get what you need. Take something simple like seating fabric as an example. Most “stock” items available over the internet, from “big box” stores and most quick ship programs allow you to choose your fabric as long as it is boring black, dull gray, blah blue, or vintage burgundy. You may not need a “wild” fabric pattern, but a little design and color will give your office a professional look. In almost every case these are also the lowest end fabrics that have the shortest life, which leads us to our next point…

3. You get the quality you deserve. Virtually every contract manufacturer that we deal with manufactures to standards established by BIFMA (Business Interior Furniture Manufacturers Assoc). BIFMA establishes testing standards for construction, safety, usage and longevity. Many of the available “next day” solutions are Pacific Rim imports that don’t adhere to these manufacturing standards. A good way to measure quality is to pay attention to an often overlooked feature, the warranty. Every quality product will have a 10 year to lifetime warranty on the physical structure of the product, with 5 years on fabric. This is typical of products that pass BIFMA standards. Lower end products usually come with 1 to 5 year warranties on their products.

4. You can be Green. Many businesses and public entities have recognized the many advantages to buying from an environmentally conscious perspective. Contract furniture manufacturers were quick to recognize this and brought products to market that answered these needs. In most cases these options need to be chosen, or “built in” to the product. Again, many of the “next day” solutions are far from environmentally friendly products since they’re made in countries that are environmental disasters.

5. You get the service you deserve. Contract dealers like us will include; delivery, assembly and inside installation and some design services with our sale. This will also include Project Management for larger installations. This bundle of services is a huge advantage for you as the customer and can be a significant cost savings. When buying quick solutions evaluate the whole package. A lot of furniture is not shippable by package services like FedEx or UPS. In some cases your “delivery included” or “delivery charges” means that a common carrier (tractor-trailer) shows up at your door. Your job then begins. You’ll need to get it off the truck, into your office, assembled and installed. Contract dealers do this for you. We even remove the trash created by the packing materials.

6. Your workspace will be more efficient and ergonomically correct. In addition to getting the product features that you want, a little advance planning will allow us to work with you to get you a workspace that fits your needs and will be ergonomically friendly. Contract manufacturers have a wide range of standard furniture components and customized “specials” in their product mix. Combining them (sometimes creatively) will give you the optimal configuration for your workflow through the office as well as efficient individual workspaces. Even manufacturers with the most aggressive quick ship programs will not make all of their components available on quick ship, just the most common ones. It also follows that good design creates good ergonomics. If a workspace is designed well, we can “design out” ergonomic pitfalls like over-reaching, stooping and lifting in addition to creating optimal sitting positions. When you’re buying commercial furniture, you’ll be literally “living with it” for several years.

Frankly, you will also be making a financial investment that can be significant. Taking time to follow a planning process that includes; product evaluation, space planning and allowances for manufacturing time and installation will always pay off. We also realize that “perfect world” settings don’t exist. That’s why they’re called “perfect”. It may be unreasonable to allow adequate time for a particular project, or even the purchase of an individual item. Quick ship programs were mentioned throughout this blog. They are becoming more prevalent, more aggressive and easier to use. They are getting better. You now have more products included; more fabric and option selections and they almost always deliver as promised. However, they are not a cure all solution. In most cases, you can cut the lead time down to about two weeks so it will help you out considerable, but may not completely solve your time crunch. It will always be a more expensive solution, usually 5-10% higher than standard lead times. You will have more product selections available than in the past, but these are still limited. In the end, you might be paying more for a solution that may not be exactly what you need, but is workable. If you have the luxury of time, use it to your advantage. Planning a commercial furniture purchase has a variety of tangible, cost effective payoffs. It’s worth the wait.

Our dealership has traditionally done a lot of work with government and not for profit organizations. Our work with our government clients has necessarily involved us in using either GSA schedules, or “State Contracts” as pricing and purchasing tools. As a result of our familiarity with these programs, it’s obvious to us that “non profits” are also able to utilize these contracts. This is especially true in our home state of Pennsylvania. Before we go any further, we should make a case for why anyone would want to even consider using a State Contract. The primary reason is pricing. This alone should be an incentive since it provides a deep discount from the manufacturer that you probably could not get on your own. Essentially, you are being extended the “volume discounting” that the State enjoys. Depending on the manufacturer, you will probably save 10-20% on every order. This should be the most compelling reason, but there are more. To go more in-depth on this subject visit our website by clicking here. What’s obvious to us is not always apparent to our not-for-profit customers. It seems that a week doesn’t go by where we don’t need to convince someone that, “Yes. You really, really can use the State Contract; and you won’t go to jail”. Many non profit customers assume that they are ineligible to utilize the State Contract system due to one, or both of the following reasons. The first is, “we don’t receive any State funding”. The second is, “we are a religious group”. In Pennsylvania at least, neither of these will disqualify you for using the various State Contracts. The manufacturers on these contracts welcome as many users as possible, and the State wants to extend their programs as broadly as possible. Additionally, there is no “funding” from the State which eliminates any conflict. The most popular program in Pennsylvania, for non profits is the COSTARS program. In addition to furniture, members also have access to contracts for software, computer hardware, janitorial supplies and a whole range of products and services. For eligibility information, you can access the Commonwealth’s website by clicking here for their FAQs. There is no cost for membership. We always suggest that you apply for membership to establish your eligibility. To see the range of eligible members, we suggest that you do a search by Clicking Here . Search your own county. You’ll be surprised that not only is your local government and school district a member, but also many churches, synagogues and mosques. If you’re managing a non profit, take some time to explore the option of using the State Contract system. It’s easy, and it will save you money on furniture as well as most of the products you use every day. Return to Officenter.com

I ran a consulting firm before I was involved in the Office Furniture industry. When we needed to buy new furnishings, I thought I was “smart” to avoid using a furniture dealer since I could get the same stuff at a cheaper price while avoiding delivery, design and installation charges. Besides, dealers didn’t want to be involved with “little guys” who only want the occasional chair, conference room table, or private office. Like most assumptions this proved to way off base. First, small orders are the day-to-day projects that keep the trucks rolling at dealerships. We love small orders. They keep us in contact with our customer and small businesses have the wonderful habit of growing. We like to be there from the beginning. Secondly, dealers have access to a wide variety of product that will fit anyone’s need, or budget. You don’t need to settle for what’s available on the big box store’s floor or the used furniture warehouse. You can actually buy something that will not look like “frat house chic”, and will actually come with a warranty. Lastly, price is always a factor. Going back to my “smart” choice, I assumed that we would need to pay for all of these “add ons”. In reality, most smart office furniture dealers will give up some margin to include, delivery design and installation services. There are two reasons for this. Number One is customer service. This is a way for us to be differentiated among the used product, big box stores and on-line sellers. Really smart customers, (unlike my kind of “smart”) will recognize the value of their time invested in the do-it-yourself method. Once you factor shopping time, transportation, visiting retail sites, and supervising installation, your “bargain” was just wiped out. If you add on: picking up a product, assembling it (assembly is always required) and disposing of the packing material you just paid a premium for your “bargain”. Not very smart. Reason Number Two is a secret that we’ll reveal. We want to perform delivery, design and installation services for you. It helps to keep us profitable. Controlling our delivery reduces freight related damages. Designing even a simple private office or conference room ensures that what we are proposing will actually fit in the space. This eliminates any surprises resulting in returned/rejected product (that we’ve paid for, and can’t return). To accommodate more efficient distribution, most furniture now requires some sort of field assembly. We sleep better at night knowing that we did the job correctly, used ALL of the screws, and that everything was built to specifications. As an office furniture dealer, we love small businesses. Don’t hesitate to contact us the next time you have the urge to buy furniture using the do-it-yourself method.