A Debate about Office Furniture

By the magic of technology, four experts in the field of office furniture have been brought together on this page to meet each other and wax lyrical about desks and workstations. Herbert Smith who owns and runs Office Heaven, hosts the chat and kicks off as possibly the least experienced in the field of office furniture.

“Although I sell a good range of office furniture, I would have to be the first to confess it isn't my area of best expertise, I am however, the most experienced in consumable office supplies. There are a number of questions that clients often ask of me, so it would be great to hear what my colleagues have to say. I am often asked about which is best, new or used office furniture. Whereas I only sell new, my three colleagues all deal in second hand furniture”.

Mike Wloch of Office Interiors Ltd has been dealing in both new and used office furniture over the course of the last thirty years. Having built the company up from scratch, Mike is best placed to know what it's like to sell all three.

“The main point about any type of office furniture is that it must be good quality, however old or new it is. Alignment is crucial in today's modern office environment, both demanded by interior designers and CAD designers – both parties want the office furniture to butt up exactly, and stay that way – no matter how much punishment the office furniture takes”.

George Davis of Office Furniture Used is strictly second hand office furniture. “Second hand evokes tatty, old fashioned stock that nobody in their right mind would want. This just ain't the case these days, blue chip companies are changing their interiors all the time. We dealers offer them an unparalleled service, collecting, breaking down and transporting it quickly so the new furniture can be installed into the designer environments without delay.

This means we buy very reasonably, and pass on what was previously the top office furniture brands of the last five or ten years. This is nothing in design years and buyers of used office furniture benefit hugely, particularly because the top brands show practically no wear.”

Luke Ponting is the hard working boss of Office Furniture Outlet and deals in both new and used office furniture. “It never starts out with new or used when a customer wants office furniture, just a need. You have to look at what you've got and think about which is the best solution. I'll get my sleeves rolled up and when we find the right stock, I'll be there loading it into the truck. It's service and knowledge – the customer comes to depend on you, and that's nice when everybody else is just too pressurised to make them feel they made the right choice.”

Herbert adds “The guys all seem to have a view on whether used or new is the right choice, but whatever they think, it's obvious that care for the customer is uppermost in their minds. I don't think I could be converted away from new, there's just something about a new unopened box with that fresh, never used smell that tells you your purchase is just for you, and never has been for anybody else.”

Office furniture means one thing – somebody will be sitting at those desks or workstations and wading through their daily routine of work, travelling backwards and forwards between filing cabinets and the water machine. Whether the furniture is used or new, you can bet your bottom dollar it will be worked hard and still look great at the end of the day.

Wherever the furniture comes from, there is one thing three of the men agree on – they all buy their office supplies from Herbert at Office Heaven!