Issue 41 – January/February/March 2022

Feature

Hello again,

I found myself in need of a new office chair between Christmas and New Year. Choosing a new one
provided me with a salutary lesson in just how much the way we buy things has changed over the
past few years.

A couple of years ago, I would simply have popped into the car, driven around 20 minutes into
town and visited my local branch of a chain of office supplies shops. There, I would have been
completely ignored by the staff while trying out a few chairs to find one I liked. I’d have made a
choice and somehow managed to fit the box into the car.

This time, things were rather more complicated. Firstly, the office supply shop went into
administration well before the pandemic. This may have had something to do with the determination
of the staff to avoid any interaction with customers.

I decided to look online and started with my local Argos, since they can often deliver quickly.
Although they offered many office chairs, there were rather fewer models actually available for pick
up or delivery. I found a model I liked the look of, but then read the reviews. They suggested it was
a great chair to look at, but had little in the way of padding and support. Several users suggested it
gave them back pains and was very cheaply made despite a hefty price tag. I went elsewhere.

I thought I should buy local, so checked the website of an independent office supply company in
my nearest town. Again, there was lots of choice, but no indication of pricing on the website and
mentions of bulk ordering. This suggested that their chairs might be too expensive and they might
not sell me a single chair. I chose not to phone and enquire.

I wondered briefly about a local charity which has a warehouse full of used office furniture from
firms who have given up their office space. I thought this would be eco-friendly, but they were
closed over the holidays and I couldn’t wait that long.

I ended up buying a new chair online from a national supplier. It arrived quickly, was well priced
and even has some features that I didn’t need, in that it offers both massage and heat.

So what’s the point here? Just that it’s often easy to put people off buying from you and it may be
time to review your customer journey and see where you could be losing out on new clients. We’re
here to help you build your business.

Love,

Alison and everyone at Holistic Therapist