Facebook and Twitter

We are now tweeting and Facebooking. As we get great new inventories we will post them immediately on those two outlets. Follow us on Facebook.  Or on Twitter @abettersource.

These 120 degree HPL stations are great for a startup wanting collaboration. 

Selection of Seats Saturates the Senses

Just a few of the chairs to choose from. 

At our warehouse, we are loaded up with chairs right now. If you need chairs, you have quite a choice.

Buying The Cheap Chair

My friend Cole Erickson did a great video about the pitfalls (and pratfalls) involved with buying a cheap chair. It was done for Interior Motions, a great Herman Miller dealer in the east bay. His point is also apt when buying a high quality used chair from us at BetterSource. Watch the video and you get the point.

Video

Do the math. If you buy an $89 chair from Office Club Warehouse Depot, it will most likely be replaced in a year or two, but for this example let's say it lasts five years. You will sit uncomfortably working for 40 hours per week, to save the $500 net you would have spent buying a great used Aeron or other chair. If the Aeron lasts five years that works out to about 5 cents per hour more for the used Aeron. If you aren't worth a nickel per hour to work more productively and comfortably in a stylish and ergonomically superior chair, then go get the junk chair and enjoy spending 2 hours putting it together.

Check out the used seating from BetterSource on out website at abettersource.com.  Or email me to set up a time to sample some great chairs at our showroom. As you can see below, we are well stocked.

BetterSource Warehouse, Newark, CA

SRK

Fire Files – Why do I need one? Why do they cost so much?

On first glance the two questions posed above may seem unrelated. The answer to the first, relates to the second. Fire Files are made to withstand a fire for up to one hour and not have damage caused to the paper contents inside. (Electronic media requires additional protection inside the file.) They are also designed to withstand a 30 foot drop if the floor collapses during a fire. They are waterproof in case of sprinklers and fire hoses. They come with very secure locking systems to prevent theft.

To accomplish these many things, construction is expensive. Gypsum in the 1” thick walls is reinforced by steel mesh. This construction results in a 4-drawer 44”W lateral file weighing 1019 pounds.

Note: All specifications quoted here are from Fire King on their website. We have found Fire King to be the top line of fire proof files. Other files are available as well, but may not have these stringent of specifications.

In summary:

Fire Protetcion
Impact Protection
Waterproof
Theft Resistant

A new Fire King 4 drawer lateral fire file can cost up to $4000. Used fire files are often available on the market, but make sure that they are in good working order and have not been dropped in transport, which can degrade their fire resistance. Delivery is usually very expensive because multiple people are required to move such a heavy object. It is a good idea to check floor load capabilities if you are not in a ground floor location.

We often have used ones at our store on our website.

Small Lobby On a Start Up Budget

Startups are always finding themselves faced with the lobby problem. They get small space with and even smaller lobby. There are few issues that always seem to come up.

1. How many people can sit in this lobby?
2. We don’t want to spend a lot, but we want it to look nice.
3. We don’t have a receptionist, how do we outfit for that?

Let’s deal with the how many people issue first. This tends to be a non-issue when most people look into it. Generally, in most lobbies at startups, the people that come to visit don’t have an appointment and won’t be sitting for long. If it is a big group, it is usually a board meeting and the people end up going right into the boardroom to wait.

Two chairs will almost always work. Since most meetings are with one person, this will accommodate up to two different visiting parties. If there are more than two there at once, it usually isn’t for very long, and they can stand. Always put an end table between the two chairs. This is a good spot for company brochures or a magazine. (Tip: Don’t put out your old trade magazines like, Capacitor Weekly or C++ News. These are only interesting to a very limited group of people who probably already work at your company. Put out more general interest magazines like Time or Fortune or possibly the Wall Street Journal. But keep them up-to-date.)

One more digression on the two chairs theme - don’t get a loveseat, two seat couch. Only one person will sit on this. Two men especially won’t sit together on a loveseat. Spend a little more for two chairs. You can spring for wood chairs, with a padded seat if you want to save money. Just make sure they match the wood on the end table. This will also help with the cost issue.

Finally, you do not have a receptionist. A reception station, even a small one, still makes a welcoming statement. The counter says, go here to check in. I know some people just put a table with a phone, but it screams, unprofessional and no revenue! Place a phone on the counter with a list of employee extensions. Make sure there is an obvious number to call if they don’t know whom they are seeking. This helps for delivery people and obnoxious furniture sales people.

The following is a sample budget for new furniture that outfits a small lobby in a professional manner and keep everything under $2000.

Laminate Reception Station $900
2 Wood Side Chairs - $500
Wood End Table - $300

Don’t end up looking like a Doctor’s Office or a College Dorm. Get a real lobby.

Herman Miller Action Office 2 - My Favorite System

I love working with Herman Miller Action Office Series 2 (AO2) as a used option. The reasons are endless.

- Huge Installed Base
- Easily Refrabricated
- Wood Panels can be easily cut
- Clone product is available
- Easy and fast to install

There are probably more AO2 stations in existing inventory than any other system. This is because Action Office has been continually manufactured since 1968. AO2, with the fixed, four-circuit electrical base, has been in service since the 80s. All action office components work with AO2 no matter what generation or when they were made. So product compatibility is assured.

AO2 is easily refabricated. You can change the fabric on AO2 quite easily. There are many people in almost every major U.S.
city who can do the remanufacturing. So if you have some, you can always get more to match without buying new.

You can cut down AO2 panels. Almost every other cubicle system has panels with metal frames. If you want to cut one to a lower height or a narrower width, you need a blowtorch and a welder. With AO2, you just need a saw. I recently had a client that loved some 6x8 AO2 cubicles I had, but their space was not quite big enough. Solution: we cut panels from 48 wide to 42 wide and made them 6x7.5.

Third Party clones exist for AO2. When the patents expired for Action Office several years back, several folks started making components that work with Herman Miller’s AO2. Called clones by the industry, these parts are less expensive and can often be purchased from existing stock. Also, anyone who makes good quality laminate worktops can make them for the stations as well.

Some of the clone folks have even come up with add-ons not made by Herman Miller. Window inserts of various sizes and materials, unusual heights, white board panels, 120-degree connectors, even a door that slid into the panel, called a pocket door. The pocket door was so popular that Herman Miller bought the patent and discontinued the manufacture of it, killing a competitor.

Recently Herman Miller lost a 300 station job to one of these clone manufacturers. They couldn’t compete on price.

There is even a green version made from locally sourced and re-used components with fabric from plastic bottles called GQA.

Finally, the system is by far the fastest and easiest to install. No tiles, no special tools and the panels are light to carry. No wonder installers also like AO2 the best.

Aeron Alternatives

In my previous blog I considered why the Aeron was so popular. In this one I will provide some information on Alternatives to the Aeron.

So you aren't crazy about the Aeron, or you don't want to follow the crowd. Maybe you don't want to pop for the big price tag. (At BetterSource, we sell the Aeron for about $550 used. They go for about $900 new.) What are other chairs should be considered?

The Herman Miller Embody chair (Photo at right from Herman Miller Seating.) is their latest attempt to follow up the success of the Aeron. It has a spine-like support system and is a very complicated chair to operate. It was co-designed by Bill Stumpf who designed the Aeron with Bill Chadwick. I have sat in this chair and found it very comfortable. But I have heard differing reviews, particularly that smaller people don't like it as well. Herman Miller Seating sells the chair for $1495. Knowing Herman Miller, a dealer that advertises the chair has to do so at that price. But you can probably buy them for considerably less if you call, particularly if you buy larger quantities.

The Humanscale Freedom chair (Photo on left from Humanscale site.) is probably the most successful premium priced chair (Above $500) that is a good alternative to the Aeron. Mark Erickson of Mark Erickson Associates, who used to work for a Herman Miller dealer and has sold thousands of Aerons prefers the Freedom. "When I sit in the chair, it seems to follow my body." Said Erickson. Indeed that is what Neils Diffrient intended when he designed it. It is one of the simplest and most easy to use chairs. New Freedom chairs sell for about the same as the Aeron. Used ones for under $350.

The Steelcase Leap chair is hugely successful in terms of volume shipped. The Humanscale may not outsell the Steelcase Leap, but then again, Steelcase discounts the Leap to get the large national contracts and sells the chairs as part of packages with cubes and desks. The Leap, which has no mesh, is one to consider as an alternative.

The Contessa chair, from Teknion, is less well known, but one of the few chairs to feature a mesh seat as well as back. This chair is one of my favorites. It has a seat sliding adjustment to accommodate longer or shorter legs, which the Aeron does not. Its controls are on the arm pads, so you don't have to reach under the chair to adjust. It is a very good-looking chair too. It is premium priced comparable to the Aeron. They are hard to find used, but will sell for less than a used Aeron. (Photo of Contessa below from Teknion Website.)

The Knoll Chadwick (Photo below right from Knoll website.) chair also has a mesh seat. I like this chair and as the name implies, it was designed by the designer of the Aeron. It can be purchased new for less than the Aeron, usually less than $650. One doesn't run across very many used ones.

Some others high-end chairs of note are the Allsteel 19 chair, the Knoll Life Chair and the Haworth X99 chair.

Going lower down the price scale are a group of chairs that tend to have fabric seats and mesh backs. My favorite is the Office Master Yes chair (Photo at below left from Office Master site.) that can be purchased new for $350, considerably less than a used Aeron. The chair has adjustable arms, a memory foam seat and choice of seat colors in Teknit fabric. It is a great value.

At the bottom of the price scale are the knock-offs from Asia. These come in various names and many can be purchased for at or below $200. There are some that were copied directly from the Yes chair.

Of course there are many others, but these are a good starting point. Talk to your favorite furniture dealer for more alternatives.

SRK