So the question on the table…Why buy a quality office chair? Staples has chairs for $100 – what gives??
Office chairs can be one of the most crucial office furniture purchases you can make. Lets be real, most office furniture dealers are going to quote you the cheapest office chair you can find. Office furniture dealers don’t make much money in the way of seating. If you were going to second guess a selection you made on your office furniture quote, let it be the office chairs. Office chairs can single handedly make or break your office space. Why? You can buy high quality cubicles that look very cool to attract new talent, buy conference tables that fuel creativity, select colors, carpet, computers and what have you to aid your work force but if you select crummy seating your employees will be uncomfortable ALL day. Office seating is the backbone of your working environment. It is crucial that your employees are comfortable throughout the day and that that have enough adjustablity options so that the chair can fit their individual needs. Here are a few tips on buying quality office seating.
1. Don’t buy cheap.
Chairs are like anything else, you get what you pay for. If you go down to your local office supply store and pay $100 for a brand new chair….you could have done better. Those chairs may be comfortable for the first year but, soon after the seat pan will start to wear out and you will have to replace the chair or a host of others parts. Quality office chairs can last a very long time, their parts are warranted and they are not cheap. Here is a good rule of thumb to find out if a chair si worth buying: go up to the chair with one arm and pick it up by the arm rest, if its heavy / difficult to pick up you most likely have a quality office chair. It should be heavy. If its heavy it means the mechanisms within the chair are heavy duty, the materials used are high quality and the chair will last longer.
2. Buying used or new chairs?
Buying used office seating is done all the time but some businesses prefer to buy new office seating because they have been through the ringer on office seating before. Here are some good rules for buying used office seating.
Used office seating is a great way to save money on quality office chairs but, DO NOT ever buy low quality used office chairs. What do we mean? We mean a used chair that was originally purchased from a chain office furniture store. Chairs that are low quality to begin with are sure to be even worse when purchased preowned. If you do decide to save money buying pre-owned seating buy a name brand only. Teknion, Herman Miller, Haworth, Steelcase, Knoll just to name a few are good brands to stick with. Their chairs last a very long time and can be purchased used without any problems. Herman Miller Aerons for instance are highly sought after in the pre-owned office furniture market as are Steelcase Leap chairs.
Another good tip would be to find a chair that can fit any person in your office. People come in many different shapes and sizes, some big, some small, some heavy, some skinny. It important that you select and office chair to accommodate the bulk of your workforce. This means finding a chair that has many adjustments available. The most common are height, seat pan, arm rest and lumbar but their are chairs with over 25 adjustable options available. The more options the chair has, the easier it will be for your employees to fit right in.
These were just some basic guidelines for finding and buying the right office chair. Come to our site, like us on Facebook or visit www.bestusedcubicles.com If you have questions or require assistance in finding the right office chair please email us at smcbee@wsauth.com or give us a call at (404) 392-3516 or (888) 689-2384.
About Shane McBee