Spoilt by Choice

Because of the sheer variety of things available, one is not spoilt for choice but spoilt by choice. My recent experience in buying a chair for my computer just proved my long held theory that shopping these days has become more difficult than ever.

In the good old days when one if one wanted a chair, one went to the shop, looked around, tried a chair out for comfort and then bought it. If it was too large, it was delivered to your place but if it was easy enough to take home, one just put it in the car and drove home with it. These days, however, buying a computer chair, like buying everything else , has become a big production.

• First up is the eternal question, do you really want the chair?
• What kind of a chair do I want?
• What is my budget?
• Do I want a branded product?
• Do I want to buy it on line or from a store.

Buying a chair is a major project because I do have space in my house for extra stuff. As it is, being a multi generational house, The stuff in my house spans different generations and different style periods. I have books, head gear, walking sticks, brass pots and the like from the late 19th century ( yes, inherited from great, great grandparents) to stuff from the 20th Century ( belonging to my in-laws and Hubby Dear and me) till lap tops and electrical gadgets belonging to Prima Donna and Ms Papaya. I like to call this complete mish-mash of styles eclectic though Prima Donna has long since dismissed my home as a live in antique shop.

So you see the importance of getting things just right!

Why do I need a computer chair?

As with all homes, we have multiple chairs for various uses –

• 3 four legged plastic stools for use in the kitchen
• 6 elaborately carved Jacobean dining chairs with natural cane
• 6 rickety large Jacobean arm chairs
• 2 over stuffed single seaters upholstered arm chairs to match the sofa
• 1 old computer chair
• 1 old bentwood cafe chair
• 1 modern arm chair for a desk

Obviously, none of these chairs match but in my opinion, they manage to serve their purpose and somehow get along together.

And with so many chairs, I should be able to use one of them when I use my computer . Alas! none of them are suitable for me.

Blogging is my passion and i love the freeom it offers me of writing what I want, when I want and putting it out in the Universe without having to worry about editors’ deadlines, politically correct views, marketing content and other such barriers to creativity.

For a long while I couldn’t write because my workspace was inaccessible for the most part of the day . Now it would have made sense to work on a laptop but somehow I can’t get used to one. Strangely I don’t mind working on a phone screen but I simply can’t work on a tablet or laptop. But writing on an iPhone also has its difficulties ( particularly fat fingers that tend to mistype!). So I moved my desktop to a small alcove and pulled out the bentwood cafe chair to complete my cute little workspace.

This arrangement worked for a few months till the chair became too hard and uncomfortable to sit for a long time.

The time had come for me to get yet another chair.

A good chair is of paramount importance because poor posture has its own problems. So for the past two months I was in the process of identifying the perfect chair.

The Hunt for the Perfect Chair

Thus began the hunt for the perfect computer chair.

• Budget friendly
• Ergonomic
• Attractive
• Good customer service

Today there are several manufacturers of computer chairs with multiple options – chairs for gaming , chairs for executives , chairs for offices , chairs for computers , chairs that revolve , chairs that recline, chairs with cushioning, chairs with mesh, chairs with colour options , chairs for different heights, chairs that adjust, chairs of steel, chairs of plastic. The combinations and permutations are simply mind boggling.

Most of these chairs are sold online with little or no presence in real shops. But even if all the specifications are mentioned in great detail, laypersons like me find it hard to make a choice on just these factors. So it took me a month to sift through all the information available on various web sites and finally homed in on the chair I finally chose : CELLBELL Leo .

Before settling on this chair, I had done a thorough market survey of the chairs available in the shops. Since none of them fit my requirements, I did a market survey online.

The companies that popped up on most reviewing sites were:

• Wakefit : Expensive, Didn’t like the design
• Green Soul: Expensive, ugly, Manufactured in Gurugram
• Sleep Company : Manufactured in Bangalore
• Cell Bell : Nice design, budget friendly, manufacturing near Mumbai
• Dr. Luxur – Expensive , ugly
• Baybee Drogo : Expensive, ugly
• Da Urban : Expensive, ugly

So I chose Cell Bell.

The paymet was easy and the delilvery was efficient.

But the problem was the assembly. I could have done it myself but tought it better to get a technician and paid extra.

I gave specific instructions NOT to send the technician in the week I was out of town but naturally , they sent the technician on the DAY tTHAT I WAS OUT.

The technician was not only from out of town but also faily dimwitted. Despite sending him the pin of my address, he had to be told how to read the map and make his way to my house. Then he waited for half an hour at the bus stop waiting for the wrong bus. When he finally reached home,he fired the house help and then ‘discovered’ that there weren’t any screws so left the chair back in the box.

A week later when I got home I contacted CELL BELL which was another difficult task because most online companies have AI assistants who interface with the customers. It takes almost a week before you can figure out how to contact a human being.

And then, after all this rigmarole, my chair is still not fitted properly because two screws to attach the head rest are missing!!!!!!

Give me the old fashioned shopping method any day.

Ciao