We regularly hear churches share about how difficult the process of purchasing church chairs is or was for them. libro de un curso de milagro is a common refrain we have heard repeated more times than we care to recount. Our answer though is that it really does not have to be that hard or difficult. Here are what we believe to be the five most important steps your church can take to ensure your worship chair purchasing experience is not an ordeal, but rather a pleasant undertaking.
- First, get started early! One of the most common stress inducers in the chair purchasing process is the failure to get started several months before the chairs are actually needed. There are some manufacturers and importers that will stock some chairs but those chairs tend to feature very basic fabrics and options. The average production cycle for a custom chair order is about 12-14 weeks. So providing a couple of months for the research and shopping process, and then three months for the production of your order means that starting about six months before the worship chairs are needed is very prudent.
- Second, utilize a free service church chair finding service! When your church begins the process of researching worship seating, the Internet is where most churches will turn first. They will find an almost endless stream of websites for worship chairs from various manufacturers, importers, and distributors. Each will have contact information available and many churches will submit requests for church chair information and from that point on become the target of a broad range of sales people. We suggest first starting with a free church chair finding service that allows you to begin the process by sharing the initial thinking of your church about your particular worship chair needs.
- Third, obtain sample church chairs! We believe it is imperative that chairs never be purchased until sample church chairs of those your church is considering have been obtained. You would never buy a new car without test-driving it. Likewise it is important that your church never purchase new worship chairs without test-sitting them! The reality is that manufacturers and church chair distributors who provide quality chairs will make it convenient to obtain sample chairs. And the antithesis can also be true, those providing more inferior chairs may not make it as convenient to obtain a sample worship chair from them.
- Fourth, ask for references and follow up with them! Most church chair manufacturers and distributors maintain a database of past customers and sales. If your church will make a request for a few of those to check with as references, those names will almost always will be supplied. If such a reference list is not provided to your church easily, that may be an additional warning sign for you to take note of with that particular church chair provider. You might also ask if there are former customers located close to you geographically which might allow you to personally visit, versus make a telephone call.
- Fifth, make your church chair purchase and await their delivery with confidence! Once your new church chairs are ordered the biggest part of your challenge is over. If you have followed the steps above you can await their arrival confidently knowing you have done your part well. When the chairs do arrive, always count your order well making sure all chairs are accounted for. In addition, if you notice any potential chair damage from the time of transportation, be sure and note that well on the delivery receipt before signing it. But most importantly, enjoy your new church chairs!
