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(More customer reviews)I've purchased 5 Aaron chairs within the last 14 months. I've had the technicians out to replace parts under warranty. Because of those issues, I had to repeatedly contact the vendors, Amazon, Herman Miller and the local chair technicians. Even so, I don't regret buying the chairs pending arrival of a worthy competitor to drive prices lower.
The ones I purchased include three highly adjustable models with lumbar support and two of the PostureFit. To be certain I know what I'm talking about, you can see my verified purchase logo on my reviews for both types here Aeron Chair - Highly Adjustable Graphite Frame - Carbon Wave (Large) by Herman Miller and here Aeron Chair - Highly Adjustable Graphite Frame - with PostureFit - Carbon Classic (Large) by Herman Miller. Below I offer inputs based on recent experience with these chairs. One more thing. I've had back problems - I had spinal fushion surgery (it was successful). I mention that because it explains why I was motivated to research ergonomic chairs.
We'll get to what to do if your Aeron chair has problems, but first let's cover the basic decisions to get the right chair as numbered below.
(1)Price. I'd never guess an Aeron chair would be this expensive from looking at one in person. Yet costs less than most true ergonomic chairs. Unless you're into fashion and have the budget, forget about almost all competitors to this chair. As style increases, price increases geometrically. So far nobody beats Herman Miller, in my view, probably because it benefits from scale. Herman Miller (HM) sells large orders direct to the federal government too - using a GSA Schedule (contracting vehicle to sell to the feds). By definition, that's the lowest price anyone pays for this chair. As soon as I find a worthy competitor to this chair with at least equal value, I'll update my review.
Unfortunately for me, I found out late that HM runs semi-yearly sales on the Aeron. I called HM only after my last purchase. Their week long sales run starting the day after Thanksgiving (Black Friday), and then again about six months later. Typically, HM allows authorized vendors to sell at 15% discount from suggested retail price - but only during the official sales.
Hopefully you can qualify this purchase as a business expense. The tax code currently favors furniture purchases by businesses that have offsetting revenues. If you want to know more about this, look up "Section 179" on Wikipedia.
(2)Warranty. You always get a 12-year warranty when you buy an Aeron from a HM authorized dealer, period. I have no insight on whether HM will be a viable company 12 years from now, but remember the warranty. If you buy new, go through the channel that includes warranty, and if you buy used, get the remainder of warranty transferred to you.
For goodness sake, don't unpeel the sticker on bottom of frame underneath the seat. That sticker is about .5" x .5". The all-important sticker gives the Factory Order Number and the Born-On date, needed to exercise the 12-yr warranty. Write it down the number on the sticker; keep a duplicate record. When you call HM or the local technician, they only ask for the number on the little sticker. Literally, no other information was requested of me.
(3)Size. They come in A, B or C. A is the smallest, C the largest. Find Aeron chair dimensions for all 3 sizes posted on the Internet. I've never seen size A. Most people should go to a brick & mortar store that carries Aeron chairs and sit on the sizes they carry. B, the medium size, will cut off short on the bottom thigh for many. I believe C will fit many more people than B. Beware that if you're quite tall, then even C will cut off short under the thighs where you need support. If so, you might not even want an Aeron. Also, there is one easy way to tell the size of an Aeron: stand behind chair and feel under inside of upper frame lip (just behind the embossed Herman Miller logo) for Braille-like dots. 3 dots is for size C, 2 for B, and 1 for A.
For some, there'll be a tradeoff because size C is a little wide. I have size Cs, all my Aerons. You can get used to sitting on a wide chair but you need support along the bottom of the thighs. Notice the waterfall edge of seat shape on all Aeron chairs - that is to easily allow blood circulation when seated and it works.
(4)Model type. This is where I'm likely to be most helpful to you. For most people the highest end model, the PostureFit, is not the best. The PostureFit X-shaped support piece protrudes too low for almost all of us. We need support in the curved lumbar region of our backs. Take a look at "vertical column" in Wikipedia and see the diagram. Incidentally, orthopedic surgeons perform more surgeries related to the disk between L4 & L5 than any other area of the back.
For this reason you almost certainly should go with the model that has the Lumbar Pad. I have both and the Lumbar Pad can be placed to support the lumbar region whereas the PostureFit mechanism is set too low and is not adjustable up and down. Look hard at the pictures of these two models right on Amazon. See it? The PostureFit is lower support.
The chair technicians have now made 4 visits to my office. They confirmed that Lumbar Pad is better and also that changing PostureFit chairs to Lumbar Pad is their 2nd most common reason for an Aeron site visit. Please be warned that the lumbar pad is not going to last as long as the rest of the chair. Expect to replace it, but I don't know how often.
(5)Color and also, some of Amazon's Aeron offers have many mesh pattern choices. I don't have a notable preference regarding colors or mesh patterns and have no advice on the fifth decision point. From an ergonomic standpoint, you care that the mesh is tight.
Additional points including using the warranty:
A.Assembly. This is easy, especially if you avoid getting the PostureFit. The only tool used is the included hex key (Allen key). Assembly will probably take 10 to 15 minutes, with most of that unwrapping the parts. Assembly for PostureFit may take 25 minutes because you have to place a wire mechanism and actually poke a hole through the mesh. But if you believe me, you'll probably get the highly adjustable with lumbar support model and have zero trouble in assembly. If you get the chair with lumbar support, you will ONLY have to attach the back of the chair to the rest of it by screwing 4 bolts with the included hex key.
B.Defective parts. One of my chairs came with loose arms that kept falling to the lowest adjustable position. Upon telling HM my chair number, I was given contact info for local chair technicians. They first came to document the problem. They returned a couple months later after I called a few times to expedite the process, and installed new and good arms. They also gratuitously gave me a used lumbar support part and installed it on one of my PostureFit chairs because they're nice guys.
One of my chairs came with loose mesh in the seat. You want a seat to feel like a taut trampoline, not spongy. The technicians came to document the problem. They didn't think it was all that loose but I insisted. Again, after calls to expedite, they returned one day with a really good seat. As they tested the chair, they explained that their company bills HM for these site visits. Their company does better when fixing many chairs at one site, hence indirectly explaining why I had to make so many phone calls.
The technicians also told me with enthusiasm the #1 cause for their site visits. The most common complaint is the height adjustment stops working. These chairs are designed to handle the weight of up to a 250-pound person. Somebody heavier than that will often cause this up-down function to cease working, but the techs say it's a real easy thing to fix and the warranty covers it. Best for them, they can fix it on the documentation visit, not having to return with parts.
I have another compliant that the techs can't solve. One chair came without the sticker. The dealer has promised to have HM mail me a Certificate of Authentication. But not before I make some more calls to expedite it.
Finally, you are considering a big purchase so I've done my best to help you through the process and beyond. It took me awhile to graduate to increasingly more expensive chairs until I finally caved and got this expensive chair. Everyone in my little accounting firm gets to sit on an Aeron, no exceptions. I can work longer sitting without discomfort as a result. I and others are more productive using these chairs. Your body is worth it. You are a creative person who deserves a bona fide ergonomic chair.
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Aeron Chair Lumbar Pad by Herman MillerThe extremely versatile Aeron Chair has a lumbar support that can be adjusted to fit the contours of your body. The pad can be set vertically through a 4 1/2-inch height range and its depth can be set at 3/4 inch or 1 1/4 inches.
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