Chosing my Own Office Furniture....

[NOVA Lady]

Hi all

I can always count on you ladies for some advice, so I have to ask about my current situation. I work in a smallish (20-25 people) office and am getting my office moved  next week.

To begin, I am in a nicely sized office and I HATED the way it was configured before I came (I  have been here about 3.5 months) and I mentioned the fact that I wanted to move the furniture around and purchase a few lamps so as to avoid the floresants (most people do this). The CEO/owner said this was fine and just to purchase whatever I needed on the credit card (I have a company card in my name). Well I didn't get around to doing this (it had been about 2-3 weeks) and recently an announcement was made that one of our top ranking executives would be leaving (for an amazing political position, we're all extremely happy for him) and a litte while after the announcements the owner told me I would be moved into his office and gave me a catalog of furnishings to chose what I wanted so it could be set up for me before the move.

A) I cannot help but feel alittle bad about the office move. There are higher ups and people who have been there longer that would probably like the much nicer (with a window! lol) and larger office.

B) These furnshings are *expensive*!!!! I am sooooo a bargain shopper and its going to kill me to pick a hutch for 800 bucks or a file cabinet for 750.

Has anyone been there? I don't know if people are going to be a little bitter about this. How much should I spend? What should I get? Arrgh. I don't want to look like I was whining for a new office and furniture. I don't want to spend waaay more money then would be normal.

Thanks for any advice!

[Verruca]

A. Don't feel bad.  Congratulations! 

B. Don't assume that the prices you see in the catalog are the prices that the company is paying.  At my last job, the company got a big discount off the catalog price - your company may be in the same position.  In fact, it hurt the company if I purchased from a vendor who appeared cheaper, because the company usually had a "preferred vendor" arrangement such that they only qualified for the deep discounts if they did a certain amount of business with the vendor in question.

If you are really uncomfortable, you can ask your boss what your budget is for the office furniture.  Otherwise, I would tend to order as if I were in a restaurant - not the most expensive items, and not the cheapest.  I'd go for something in the low-midrange.

Re: what you should get:

Can you look at the offices of others of similar rank to see how they're equipped?  At my current job, all offices have a desk with a return counter, overhead cabinets, desk chair, two regular chairs, and a filing cabinet.  Nicer offices may have a separate table for meetings and a bookcase.

Yay new office!

[Twik]

Sigh. When I wanted bookcases for my office, I had to embarrass management by building my own out of cardboard boxes before they'd get me anything.

[NOVA Lady]

A. Don't feel bad.  Congratulations! 

B. Don't assume that the prices you see in the catalog are the prices that the company is paying.  At my last job, the company got a big discount off the catalog price - your company may be in the same position.  In fact, it hurt the company if I purchased from a vendor who appeared cheaper, because the company usually had a "preferred vendor" arrangement such that they only qualified for the deep discounts if they did a certain amount of business with the vendor in question.

If you are really uncomfortable, you can ask your boss what your budget is for the office furniture.  Otherwise, I would tend to order as if I were in a restaurant - not the most expensive items, and not the cheapest.  I'd go for something in the low-midrange.

Re: what you should get:

Can you look at the offices of others of similar rank to see how they're equipped?  At my current job, all offices have a desk with a return counter, overhead cabinets, desk chair, two regular chairs, and a filing cabinet.  Nicer offices may have a separate table for meetings and a bookcase.

Yay new office!

Thank your advice! This is my first time in a position of being able to chose my own furniture and its going to be my biggest office (it will have a small table for small meetings/conference calls/etc). Most offices of that size have a desk, of the 4 point variet (desk forward and back, a full return and a partial return, plus overhead thingy) a chair and 2 in front of the desk a wall of large bookcases, 2 hanging file cabinets, various drawer things under the return, the table and 4 chairs around it. Its  ton of stuff and the price really freaks me out. I guess I have get over my own personal cheap and deal with it. I bet you're right about the preferred vendor discount. We've been buying a lot of furniture lately.

I am going to try to look at this in a positive light and not be so freaked out!

[Twik]

Remember, the nice furniture is not just to make you feel good. It's to present a professional appearance to outsiders. So to a sensible company (unlike mine), it's a wise investment. What prospective customers think of my company when they see the carpet held down with duck tape, I really don't want to know!

Plus, good-quality furniture, like good-quality cars, pays off because it tends to be so much more durable. Better to buy one $600 chair that lasts for 10 years than a new $200 chair every two years.

If you're unsure of what's appropriate for someone in your position to be spending, I'm sure your manager can give you some guidance.

[Bethalize]

B) These furnshings are *expensive*!!!! I am sooooo a bargain shopper and its going to kill me to pick a hutch for 800 bucks or a file cabinet for 750.

Has anyone been there? I don't know if people are going to be a little bitter about this. How much should I spend? What should I get? Arrgh. I don't want to look like I was whining for a new office and furniture. I don't want to spend waaay more money then would be normal.

You have to look at the total cost to the company. If you spent two days shopping for your furniture how much would that cost them? Your salary plus 50 per cent, and that's just cash. There's also the hold up of business caused by you not doing your job during that time.

As to what to get, how big is your office? You obviously need a desk with drawers and a comfortable chair. A locking cupboard is useful if it's a choice between that and open bookshelves. You'll probably run out of storage some time so place for that. A small conference table for three of four people is often very useful both for internal and external meetings. A white board can be a god send. A noticeboard likewise.

HTH

[platys]

Has anyone in your company been in your same shoes - meaning, told to order new office furniture?  I'd ask them what they did.