When two chairs are better than one
Today, instead of just sitting around, I decided to do something about it. Go shopping for new chairs. After all, the solution to a problem starts with the problem, right?
We had a crisis. Too many people for too few places. Rather than continue playing that musical game into a new calendar year, I headed over to our local office depot, where there are enough chairs to satisfy any reasonable need. We’d tried the surplus store route. Too little choice. We’d tried the “look, it’s on sale!” method, and discovered that chairs have a limit. In weight. My weight, or so the rumour goes. I’m still a little sensitive about that accusation.
This time around, I found an employee who looked like he’d been on the payroll for more than a few weeks (the monogrammed shirt is a dead giveaway to experience level). I put the question in simple terms: Are some chairs more resistant than others? The answer was tied to price point and fabric finish. I changed up, mentioning the concept of “under guarantee”, and that modified the approach, greatly. Turns out that there are stickers, under the chair, outlining recommended capacity. Now we were “cooking with gas”.
The end of the line; I found a brace of chairs that would satisfy MY price point, and he managed to move them from the storage shelf, some four meters above our heads. Even agreed to muscle the cartons out to the car. I was sold.
Later that same day (about an hour ago), I went through the frustrating assembly steps for the first of the pair, and it’s “under test” as I write. If a passing grade is given by the designated official, I’ll assemble the second, and we’ll move the worn out furniture to the curb (where it becomes the problem of someone else).
