Is buying furniture like dating?

We got a great email from a customer recently that I wanted to share…

“I expect you are used to this.  But just so it’s not a surprise to you on Monday, I wanted to let you know that I have found a unit similar to yours that does offer a modesty panel.  Prices are similar as well so I may go that route.  I’m not sure yet though because, believe it or not, I like your wheels better!  Buying furniture is too much like dating.  You never get anything perfect.”

 

So that got me thinking… if you compare buying furniture to dating, how do we stack up against the ‘eligible’ competition?  What features are considered when ‘playing the field’ with furniture options?  I thought of a few…

• Dependability – No one wants something that’s not going to last.  You need to have faith that a product will stand the test of time.
  (Good thing we offer lifetime warranties for any manufacturing defects.)
• Flexibility – Change is inevitable so you need something that will grow with you over time.
  (Not only do our products allow you to decide how to configure your workspace at the start, but we have accessories and companion products that help your cart evolve as quickly as your interests do.)
• Personality – How can you bond with a product if it’s just not compatible with your personality or lifestyle?
  (With several product lines, accessories, and color options, who can argue that Anthro isn’t compatible with just about everybody?  We make it easy to customize your workstation to compliment your style.)
• Availability – Who wants to fall in love with a product just to find out that it’s not available when you need or want it?
  (No sense in waiting once you’ve made up your mind.  Luckily with Anthro most products ship within a week.  Not fast enough for you? Some products ship in just one day!)
• Strength – Products need to be strong enough to carry your equipment and your reputation. They can’t wimp out when the going gets tough.
  (Don’t worry, Anthro’s products can shoulder the weight.  Depending on what you choose, our furniture can hold 150lbs and some can hold up to 500lbs! Whew!)
• Appearance - We’re talking about that instant attraction.  You know the kind that makes you stop dead in your tracks and say ‘Wow’?  Furniture can’t have that ‘just rolled out of the cardboard box’ look – it needs to impress.
  (Anthro has a lot of show stoppers and we’re always coming up with new and innovative designs.  Take a look, I’m sure you’ll find one that’ll make you believe in love at first sight.)

With all these things working in our favor, I think we’re a pretty good catch – don’t you?

From the pages of the AnthroGonian

Here at Anthro we have an internal publication lovingly known as the AnthroGonian (an ode to our local newspaper The Oregonian).  It’s there that Anthro folks can publish stories of what is going on in their departments, lives outside of Anthro or interesting happenings around Portland to share with their fellow Anthro-ites.  I’m posting a recent article that gave us a chuckle for your reading enjoyment…

We have a 10 year old cat that is too smart for her own good. 

I’ve noticed as she gets older she really likes to stay warm but I didn’t know just how warm until yesterday when we were sitting in the living room and saw her jump to the top of her cat tower.  As we watched, she reached with her paw around the corner of the wall and started swatting at something.  I got up and walked around the corner to find she had been swatting at the touch pad thermostat and turning up the heat to over 70 degrees in the house.  I looked and my husband Tim and we both said, ” No way! Really??”

The only way that Tim & I could explain the strange behavior was we figured that she must have learned her new ‘trick’ when he adjusted the controls the week before.  She was watching him and swatting at his hands to play.  Now she finds it fun to swat at the touch screen to see the lights come on.  Nice trick… but no thanks kitty!!

Anthro Survives Macworld 2009

Monday, we got the official reports from the employees representing the booth at Macworld, and the show was in our humble opinion was a success. It was a busy, foot-aching, back-breaking, Verte-Chair-demonstrating kind of week and…

Anthro’s Holiday Ho Ho Ho-down!

I am running late, the party has been about 2 hours strong, and I have been getting pretty frequent and angry calls from co-workers thinking I have strategically missed the Anthro Corporation Holiday Ho-Ho-Ho-Down…

Christmas Party to Come

One of the best Christmas Parties I ever went to was after my first 5 days at a previous job. They had hired a Murder Mystery theatrical crew to come in, and the we solved the crime, I got the crab dinner and the bar was open. Even after the party ended, most traveled across the street to continue the evening… much later in the evening one of the guests, a family member of the owner, was shouting “TIMBER” he knocked over the beautiful and very large designer Christmas Tree…

A Lesson Staking a Larger Claim on Valuable Space

Not unlike almost everyone else, I hate to move. I can only think of 2 reasons I like to move: to purge all the weird stuff I’ve collected since the last move and that the move could potentially be an upgrade. While the process isn’t much fun, the potential gains are immeasurable. As of today…

Tradeshow Season Begins

This week has been a great example of no matter how many weeks of planning you put into a project. The countdown to completion usually brings surprises and stress. This can be said of our trade show planning process; this process starts at least 3-4 months prior to the show itself. It involves…

Anthro Behind the Scenes

Just wanted to announce that our picture pages have been updated from our October festivities. You can find Anthro employees in a wide variety of silliness…

Giving Back: Canned Food Drive

Now that our Birthday Madness has come to a close, those involved in planning finally get to breath a deep sigh of relief. It just isn’t easy to measure how much time it takes get a team involved in team building. It warms my heart to know that the Birthday Spirit Month wasn’t just about silly shirts and massive breakfasts; we also all joined together and helped out the Tualatin Food Pantry…

Halloween Isn’t Just for Kids it’s for Anthro Too…

Somewhere in the midst of customer service calls, unloading product, designing future ergonomic Anthro products, there are employees lurking around every corner wearing this years selection on the costume front…