January 29th, 2015

Things to Consider When Buying Chairs for Your Business

Most businesses require some kind of seating, and you’ll often find that a large number of chairs in a building can affect its general interior appearance. So how important are chairs in relation to your business? Let’s face it, they’re probably the most important piece of furniture in the entire building. Your staff and visitors sit on them all day, and if you don’t choose the right chairs then your staff could end up with a host of health and productivity problems at worst, while customers could possibly never return to your establishment again.

So now that you’re aware of the importance of seating, how do you go about choosing the best? Here are some tips to help you out with choosing seating for both office spaces and establishments. Let’s begin with choosing chairs for an office.

Make sure it’s suited to your particular height

The best office chairs are adjustable. If you’re particularly tall or short, consider testing seat adjustability before you buy to make sure it can be adjusted to your individual needs. Ideally, your feet will fully reach the ground while your thighs and lower legs form a right angle. If your legs have to reach out in front or dangle from the chair, the height of the seat is not optimal.

Make sure it’s the right size

This isn’t something you are going to be able to adjust, so make sure it’s right before you buy. Ideally, the seat should enable you to sit back comfortably without the sides forcing you to squeeze your legs together, and without the edge of the seat digging into your legs at all. If you can’t sit right back comfortably, the seat is not a good fit.

The backrest needs to be supportive

If the backrest leans back too far it will not support proper posture. It should be upright enough to stop you slouching, but reclined enough to stop you slouching forwards. Some office seats do come with adjustable backrests, which could be useful if you move around a lot during the working day.

The chair itself needs to be comfortable

The material needs to be nice to touch, durable, and hardwearing. Although additional cushioning can be purchased, the more comfortable the chair is to begin with, the better. Check for adequate padding that is sturdy enough to provide support and cushioned enough to be comfortable.

Remember, office chairs are in use for at least seven hours a day, so they need to be comfortable and provide good support. Now you know the basics behind purchasing seating for an office space, let’s look at what kind of seating is best suited for establishments.

Lead with the brand

The look of your brand is paramount, and don’t forget that when you’re selecting the seating. Yes, the chairs need to be comfortable and practical, but if they look bad, they may put customers off visiting you in the first place. Again, if they look too uncomfortable, the same might happen and customers will avoid your establishment.

Lead with your target consumer

Your seating must fit in with your target consumer. If it doesn’t, once again you will lose out on business. No business provides all things to all kinds of people, so stick to your target consumer group when choosing seating.

Go for quality seating as an investment

If your seating is stained, tatty, and gets worn quickly, you’ll be left making a bad impression on new visitors, and have to replace what you’ve bought extremely quickly. You get what you pay for with seating, and hopefully your seats will be filled constantly, so think about finding something that is high quality and durable. Opt for stain resistant, chip resistant, easy-clean chairs that can withstand a lot of wear and tear. It might cost you a bit upfront, but it’s a worthy investment long term.

Go for social and moveable

Bench style seating does suit some businesses, however, the more moveable your seating is, the better. In coffee shops and restaurants this enables diners and customers or staff to move the seating around to suit the situation. This way if a large party of customers visits a coffee shop, they can move chairs around a table. If a large party books into a restaurant, chairs should be easily moved with the tables to suit that booking. The more adjustable the seating is, the better it is for you and your customers. You don’t want a large group walking away from your establishment when you have plenty of seating, just because you cannot arrange it to suit their needs.

Go for comfort

Test the chairs yourself, and get friends and colleagues to test them as well. What might be

comfortable for you might not be comfortable for someone else. Of course, you cannot cater for every shape and size, but you can get universally comfortable seating that appeals to most people.