Are you in the market for some new office furniture, and do you need some guidance when it comes to selecting the best office furniture provider? With so many options for products and thousands of ways to design an office layout, you want to find a provider with a great selection of products and one that can also be there to help every step of the way.
This is where we boldly toot our own horn and tell you that at Office Interiors, we strive to set ourselves apart from our competition. However, this article provides unbiased information to help you choose the best furniture provider for your office, even if you decide not to go with us and our proven and measurable customer service.
To help avoid any potentially costly headaches that can come from purchasing products that do not meet all your needs or having a layout design that creates inefficient workflows, we created a list of characteristics to help your find a strong office furniture provider.
1. Measurable Customer Service
Everyone claims to offer excellent service, but very few can prove it. Rather than just taking a provider’s word for it, investigate whether they have industry certifications or customer feedback to support their claims. We believe it is important to measure customer service, and here are a few examples of ways to measure customer satisfaction.
Has your furniture provider been awarded Haworth’s Best In Class?
Haworth’s Best in Class program independently scores dealers on their Customer Satisfaction, Sales, Operations, and Finance and Administration. Only 10 percent of Haworth dealers in North America attain the highest level of recognition and are awarded Best in Class. Office Interiors has been named Best in Class in 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022!
What is your furniture provider’s Net Promoter Score (NPS)?
The Net Promoter Score system is a tool that measures customer loyalty by asking customers whether or not they would recommend the product and services of a company to a friend. An NPS can be as low as -100 and as high as 100. Typically, any score above zero is considered good, while a score over 50 is considered excellent. Customers are surveyed after every interaction with Office Interiors, and we are thrilled to have a grade of 89.98 out of 100.
Does your furniture provider have any Consumer Choice Awards?
Consumer Choice Awards uses a third-party research firm to poll thousands of consumers and businesses to determine the top provider in each product category in a specific market. Office Interiors has been awarded the Consumer Choice Award in both the office furniture and imaging categories every year since the Consumer Choice Award debuted in Halifax in 2010.
An organization that takes its customer service seriously and constantly listens to and implements customer feedback to improve its overall experience shows the signs of a quality furniture provider.
2. Local Support and Services
The most important part of any furniture purchase is what comes after the sale. Regardless of how much furniture you buy, your office furniture provider should always be there for you, even after your furniture is paid for, delivered, assembled, and installed.
Some furniture providers outsource the service and installation of their products. Unfortunately, this means your provider has little to no control over what happens after the initial sale, leading to issues for you down the road. If your furniture breaks, there may be no way of fixing it.
If you are the type of customer who wants a hands-on, timely approach to maintenance requests, then you will want to choose a supplier who has a local service team within your region.
At Office Interiors, we have a local service team at your disposal for every one of our locations. This not only means that our service team is in the same time zone as you but can also respond to your requests much faster. You can count on our team of local experts to deliver personalized, on-site services because they know the community you operate in.
Your furniture partner should provide you with a dedicated customer support contact. Not only does this provide one point of contact for any questions that arise during the ordering, scheduling and installation phases of a project, but in the long term, they will also be able to facilitate any warranty claims or service care.
Local and timely after-sale support is an important box to tick off when it comes to selecting the right office furniture provider, even if they don’t necessarily offer the lowest prices. Remember, it is an investment that will save you valuable time and ensure minimal downtime so you can focus on growing your business.
3. Custom Design Capabilities
A great office furniture provider takes the time to listen to your specific needs and then helps you develop a custom plan to meet those needs. Partner with a provider that doesn’t believe in a one size fits all approach. No two offices are exactly alike, so no two solutions should be exactly the same.
The right partner offer you a full consultation, and then deliver the custom solution that is right for you. They will have their own full-time Workspace Planners who can take the time to learn your needs and will work with you to lay out a floor plan to best make use of your space. Live design sessions and interactive 3D renderings of your space are just a few of the benefits available when working with an experienced Workspace Planner. A good furniture provider understands that your relationship doesn’t end as soon as a payment is made. In fact, they realize that a purchase decision is only the beginning.
They will offer a team to support you through the entire process including dedicated customer service, installation services, as well as ongoing support after your installation is complete to ensure continue having the best experience possible in your redesigned office.
4. Discusses Budget Early
It’s important to team with a partner who understands that a solution won’t work for you if you can’t afford it. An ideal partner will be upfront and open about the cost of a project so that everyone is on the same page from the start.
An open and honest budgetary discussion allows for more creativity when working within a budget to ensure you can receive the best solution at the best value possible. If you are struggling to determine what a fair budget may be for your next project, we recently summarized how much office furniture costs. The article gives a rough range of what to expect to pay when selecting an office desk, office seating, office workstations, as well as the primary factors that influence those prices.
5. Carries Reputable Brands
We have all heard the old expression, “you are the company you keep.” Well, in the office furniture industry it would be accurate to rephrase it as “you are the brands you carry.”
If an office furniture provider carries brands with poor warranties or negative customer reviews, they are going to be hard-pressed to deliver great customer experiences.
6. Full-Service Offering
When it comes to outfitting an office from head to toe with all the essentials, it would be helpful to have a provider that can act as a one-stop-shop for your office needs.
Currently, We are the only dealership in Atlantic Canada that can provide our customers with a complete offering of office furniture and technology. Office Interiors can offer complete Maritime coverage for all your office essentials.
We are the Maritimes’ most comprehensive office furniture provider and the region’s only Haworth-preferred dealer. We have Atlantic Canada’s largest selection of copiers, printers, and phone systems from global leaders such as Ricoh and Avaya.
Our managed print consultants provide our customers with recommendations on how to best deploy your print devices to increase workflow efficiency, improve employee productivity, and reduce the total number of required devices.
7. Strong Values
When finding the right company to do business with, we think it’s important to investigate what that company does after office hours. Seeking a furniture provider with a strong set of core values that they implement and hold their employees accountable for, goes a long way. At Office Interiors, our core values are focused on the following:
- Our customers
- Our people
- Our community
- Our environment
- Integrity
- Results
8. Giving Back
Contributing to our community has been a long-standing tradition at Office Interiors. As an organization, we financially support dozens of non-profit and community groups each year, but we believe we have more to offer our communities than money.
That’s why we encourage every member of the Office Interiors team to volunteer in their community, even on company time. Click here to read more about our involvement in the local community.
We believe it is our responsibility to give back to the communities that helped us get to where we are today.
9. Offers Multiple Financing Options
Your office furniture partner will provide you with flexible financing options. From furniture leasing to monthly payment plans, your choice of furniture provider should not restrict your options when choosing what financing method is best for your business.
Have More Questions About Buying Furniture?
Buying new office furniture can be a significant investment of both time and money; you should feel armed with all the information you need to make the right decision for your business.
Our Office Furniture Buyer’s Guide answers all the questions our customers most frequently ask us, such as:
- What are the costs of office furniture?
- How do furniture warranties work?
- Am I picking the right furniture?
- And much, much more.
Ahona Saha
Marketing Assistant
Office Interiors
