Top 3 Reasons To Invest In Commercial Grade Furniture

It can be tough when you’re starting your own business – so many details to attend to, lead times to take into account, and of course trying to stay within your budget. Plus, you want your place to look a certain way, to evoke certain feelings within your clientele. Along that line, let's talk about why it's best to pay a bit more for commercial grade furniture than to buy residential grade furniture. I’m going to simplify the benefits and characteristics of commercial grade furniture for you. You’re welcome, it’s my pleasure.

Sure, residential grade furnishings are cheaper, at least in the moment. However, over the long run contract (a.k.a. commercial) grade furniture will give you a greater return on your investment.

Here's Why:

~ Commercial grade furniture is always designed to be durable, easily maintained, 
    and have lasting value. It is ideal for when a business cannot budget for new 
    furniture every few years.

~ Contract furniture is meant to be used anywhere there are large numbers of 

    people who will use it daily, and/or where there may be large weight differences 

    among those users.

~ Commercial furniture takes into account the rough movements, multiple uses, 

    and environmental stressors that furnishings encounter, and reduces their 

    impact by using scratch-resistant surfaces, non-corrosive materials, mortise-

    and-tenon joinery, and UV-resistant fabrics.

Now for the technical specs for contract grade chairs and tables, as mandated by the Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturer's Association (BIFMA):

Top 20 Dining Trends for 2013 - #trendalert

It's that time of year again - when one year ends and another begins. On that note, here are the predicted Top 20 Dining Trends* for 2013:

 

1. Locally sourced meats and seafoods will be in demand.

2. Locally grown produce and restaurant gardens - Top 10 Farm-To-Table Restaurants

3.  Healthful kids' meals - find ideas here for restaurant kids' meals.
4. Environmental sustainability as a culinary theme. Read what GustOrganics CEO Alberto Gonzalez has to say on this topic.
5. Sour gets its day - there will be an abundance of tart, acidic, and bitter flavors to choose from on menus.
6. Chefs will be health-conscious and include items such as brown rice, high-fiber grains, and vitamin-rich vegetable broths in their dishes.
7. Asian foods will add spice and variety to traditional American comfort foods. "Expect to walk into a classic ... diner and see options like Vietnamese chicken sandwiches, Sriracha mayo and Korean-glazed pork ribs."
8. Children's nutrition as a culinary theme. Enlighten yourself about the nutritional needs of your smallest patrons.
9. New cuts of meat will be sought after, such as Denver steak, pork flat iron, and teres major. Learn about these new cuts.
10. Hyper-local sourcing - see restaurant gardens, above.
11. Gluten-free cuisine.
12. Vegetables are featured as a main dish, and are no longer relegated to a side or a salad. Here are 18 Vegetarian Main Dish Recipes from Saveur.
13. Customers will seek out sources of sustainable seafood.
14. Kids' menu options will grow up and become kid-friendly versions of adult dining options. Adios, chicken nuggets!
15. Major U.S. cities will proudly develop support local, artisan foodie destinations in 2013. See an example.
16. Diners are done with the "family-style" sharing of food.  Small plates traditionally meant for sharing will now be used for smaller portions, for a truly customized dining experience.
17. Savory fruit. "Chefs are fermenting, pickling, drying, dehydrating, salting, grilling, frying and generally manipulating fruit to get new flavors out of what we are used to eating raw."
18. Chefs who are cutting-edge realize and plan for the varied diets of their diners. Vegan and gluten-free options will become more prevalent on menus.
19. Whole grain items will make their way into kids' meals. Here are some kid-friendly whole-grain recipes to get you started.

and last, but not least (drumroll, please) ...

20. Popcorn is the snack for 2013. It's healthy, it's inexpensive, and it's versatile. Flavored Popcorn Recipes: Sweet, Spicy And Savory

Which of these trends do you think are most likely to show up in restaurants across America?

Share your predictions in the comments below ...

Five Reasons Why We Love Live Chat

As of November 2012, we now have a Live Chat option on our website, www.ContractFurniture.com

These are the reasons that we love it:

1. There's no better way to make a customer feel attended to than to answer their questions on the spot. We can also provide links to products, guiding them through our site to the most appropriate furniture for their needs.

2. With our chat analytics it's easy to see the city, state, and country of every visitor to the site, as well as their landing page and even the search engine they used to find us.

3. A favorite tool of mine on the Live Chat operators' screen is the keyword information - whatever words/phrases the site visitor entered into a search engine to find us are shown, and can be used to better understand our clientele and their needs.

4. We can look at an individual's navigation through our website, allowing us to see what products they're interested in and what page they exited the site from. We also know if someone has visited our site before, which is handy for number five ...

5. Visitor's to our site can be invited to chat. There are a number of reasons why we'd want to do this: 

• They've visited before and have looked at the same products - therefore, maybe they have questions.
• A person has navigated through many of our site pages, and we want to help them narrow down their search, if needed.
• Someone we've chatted with before has returned and we want to offer a follow-up chat.

Moral of the story: Don't underestimate the power of the Live Chat feature - it's so versatile and such a rich source of information that it's well worth the investment.

Do you use Live Chat on your website? 

What do you love about it?