The Real Reason Your Office Furniture is Failing You
Two office chairs shift in and out of focus.
Your office furniture isn’t living up to your expectations. We know why.
Want to know a question we get asked all the time? You’ve probably heard it, maybe you’ve asked it. Ready?
“Why can’t I just buy a nice-looking chair from Amazon and use it in the office?”
It’s an understandable question that begs for an answer. We have cheap furniture at our fingertips and it’s the first thing that shows up on our Google searches when you type “affordable office furniture.” We all love a deal. When saving money is a priority, it’s hard to turn away from the option that seems most affordable.
But let’s set the record straight on something. What’s being marketed to you as “affordable” from most multinational online retailers is often a technique to turn your attention away from the reality that the price indicates the quality. If something is marked as affordable, it’s most likely cheap and a friendly label is being slapped on it. What’s really affordable for a quality piece is still saving you money but providing you with more satisfaction and usage in the long run. For example, if you’re talking with a sales rep that you trust and they offer you affordable options, you can hold that person accountable for the price they give you and the quality they promise. Accountability with big chains is just a headache. You might get your money back, but you won’t get the time you spent on your return or exchange back.
There is the counterpoint, “What if I get a steal for something that lasts me years?” That’s a huge if. Here’s what we have to say about that from our years in furniture sales:
What isn’t made clear to you as a consumer is that there is a difference in furniture grades. The two categories that are beneficial for any business professional to know about are commercial-grade furniture and residential-grade furniture. Commercial-grade furniture is designed and manufactured specifically for workspace and professional use. It must undergo extensive testing to meet industry standards and safety certifications, like BIFMA, and is built to outlast high-traffic and high-usage environments. Residential-grade furniture is designed for homes and low traffic use. These are the pieces that cycle out frequently with passing trends, operate as beneficial for your kitchen accents, and can last only as long as the frequency of usage they have.
While Amazon does offer a small amount of commercial-grade furniture, it represents only a sliver of what's available in the broader commercial market. Their focus, and their best pricing, is on residential-grade pieces. The materials needed for residential-grade furniture are simply cheaper because of its shorter lifespan. If you buy a commercial-grade piece from Amazon or online, you’re getting higher quality than residential, but you still have to assemble it yourself and handle the details of larger projects and multiple pieces on your own. The setup and customer service element isn’t priced in to your purchase as it would be for commercial-grade furniture dealers like YTI.
Let’s break down the difference between commercial and residential furniture. Residential pieces make great additions to your home aesthetic, but not your office vibrancy and longevity. Check out the comparison in style and lifespan for your furniture below.
Here’s commercial-grade furniture:
A graphic of a commercial-grade chair and its features.
Commercial-grade furniture must use the best materials and most customizable options to meet the requirements of its class. Price comparing it to an Amazon office chair will help you see the difference in what it takes to build a premium piece that lasts and can be tailored to your needs. The service is grouped into the price as well, because your project is handled by an account manager who is responsible for getting your furniture exactly how you need it to be, and a professional team will come in and assemble your pieces for you.
Let’s take a look at residential-grade furniture:
A graphic of a residential-grade chair and its features.
Remember, this is an office chair made by residential-grade standards, which means it’s designed for home usage. If you installed this in your office, it might be the reason you keep going to the chiropractor for back problems. It isn’t designed for 8-10 hours of use per day, especially not used by multiple people of different heights, weights and seating styles. While it might have pretty options that keep up with the trends, you’re limited to about three colors, one fabric, and no stylistic customization when you order. When it arrives, you must take time out of your workday to assemble it yourself. Since residential furniture in an office setting has about 1-3 years of lifespan, depending on how much residential-grade furnishings you have in your space, you could be cycling a piece of furniture out of the office every few months.
If you’re wondering why your office furniture isn’t holding up, check to see if it’s residential grade. But careful, your warranty for it is limited to 1-2 years and is restricted to structural defects, not wear-and-tear. If you look at your failing chair and it’s commercial grade, you’re in luck. You may know this already because your account manager is on it, but commercial-grade furniture has an average 5-12 year warranty and some manufacturers include lifetime warranty, covering replacement for everything from your frames to casters and often upholstery as well.
Next time you’re looking for new office furniture, don’t be drawn in by the promise of a cheap chair. We’re here to tell you that you can find a true deal that can be a seamless, personalized experience for you.
Interested in learning more? Contact us. We’d love to help you find your solution today.