Back blowing!

by Luke Leslie May 10th 2008

I've spoken about Space Exploration, The Biggest Film Festival in the world, even the future of wireless communication. I've spoken to racists and pedophiles aplenty, but now I reveal the all uniting apparatus, from which stems the seeds of all digital creativity I have undertaken since I first put mouse to movement.

My chair.

A Product can have one feature, and if it carries that off well, then indeed...

If a product offers multiple features, and does all of them well, but for one, That product for me becomes a failure.

A computer's keyboard on average features around 101 keys. If 100 of them work perfectly, but the space bar causes the computer to blow up... I consider that keyboard a failure.

My very expensive chair from the Backshop is brilliant. I can sit in it. It has wheels, making it mobile, it has arm rests, and chiefly it was specifically moulded to my back after I sat in a malleable chair in store, so it fits no-one but me - at-least in terms of comfort I alone enjoy this chair to its fullest. Making this chair the Rolls Royce of Chairs, the iPhone, the Rolex.

Here's where they're coming from.

Makes sense, even if the individual seemingly undergoes a sex change after a upgrading to a back shop chair, Alas it suffers a flaw...

When you recline in it... after casual use, I estimate a week or so... (Casual use being that mostly its upright but sometimes set to recline) Be that for a dvd viewing or relaxation with company, the whole chair literally explodes. It decides you enjoy reclining so much - it better put you all the way on to the floor, the back of the chair detaches from its base and you enjoy a brief free fall thrill usually the exclusive domain of theme park rides.

Now I've become quite the laughing stock among my friends, as this chair was exceedingly expensive, paid for by my loving mother, to keep her babies back nice and straight while I edit away on my computer through the wee hours of the morning.

And this isn't the first time this has happened... In total the Backshop has been called in about 3 times to repair this faulty chair. Now I admit, I'm a little heavier then the woman in this chair advert...

But does that really excuse a product that fails at a basic level to do what it claims to be able to do?

If this chair is unable to sustain a grown mans weight in the recline position - then simply remove the recline option from the product.

The conundrum I now face is wether to bother replacing this chair. My mother of course feel's hard done by, considering the money she spent, but I feel that this company have proven 3 times now that their product is sub standard.

For perspective, the chair I now sit in is a cheap Argos chair. It cost about 60 euro, and I've had it 4 years now. It was in-fact a hand-me down from my dad's firm, making its age impossible to determine, it could 1000's of years old. But I assure you, I'm as heavy on this thing as the big expensive chair, and I'm gleefully reclining on right now, as I tap out this passage of rantitude.

The lesson I've drawn from this is that expensive does not always equal quality. Additionally expensive should come with a disclaimer pointing out cheaper alternatives with better longentivity that do exactly what they claim to do. But alas that's seldom the case.

That old man is clearly taking taking the piss. I think they do it just to re-watch the security camera footage of you in this contraption, slapping their knees with delight as they blow coffee out their noses.

And I know I am not alone... I've seen Backshop Chairs cast wearily aside in my college...

Perhaps a gimmick and faulty product is all it takes these days? See Macbook Air...

Luke