He figured his 10-year-old chair was long out of warranty, then Herman Miller fixed it for free

Buying a premium office chair can feel like a risky splurge, especially if you wonder whether it will still hold up years from now.

One Reddit user, though, said a decade-old Herman Miller came with unexpectedly strong customer support when it needed work.

What happened?

According to a post on Reddit, the user brought a Herman Miller Embody back into use after it had been in storage. They said they had bought the chair about 10 years ago.

After using it again, the poster noticed that one of the adjustable arms was no longer functioning properly and figured the warranty would be long gone.

A call to a local Herman Miller dealer led to a much better response than expected. The user said a customer service representative told them: "No problem. We'll send out a repair guy to replace the arm for you!"

The repair cost nothing, with a technician driving 90 minutes to fix the chair a few days after they got a needed part.

"They clearly stand behind their products in a way that most companies don't," the original poster wrote.

Why does it matter?

Plenty of furniture and office gear carries a high upfront cost but is difficult to repair, poorly supported after purchase, or simply treated as disposable once a part fails.

Replacing a high-end office chair can be expensive, so a free repair years later can save a customer a significant amount of money.

When companies repair durable products instead of pushing customers to buy new ones, fewer bulky items wind up in landfills and fewer raw materials are needed to manufacture replacements.

What can I do?

Some manufacturers offer more coverage than customers realize, and even when a warranty has expired, companies may still provide discounted parts and service or goodwill repairs.

"Herman Miller is top class," one commenter added. "People who can't afford new ones should look into second hand market places. They are just as good as new ones."

"Their warranty support after 10 years is kind of insane in the good way," another person wrote.

Someone else said: "Stories like this are why people keep recommending Herman Miller. A company actually honoring a decade-old warranty is pretty rare these days."

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