An old company of mine had Nightingale CXOs (http://www.nightingalechairs.com/cxo_home.html) as the standard issue developer chair. I remember the first few days I was there, not really getting it - the thing is this complex-looking chair that you'd think would be infinitely comfortable, and mine...wasn't.
And then around day three, just as I was finishing all my HR stuff and the get-to-know-you tours (and starting on my first project), one more person came around and introduced themselves as the local ergonomics advisor, and explained that they were here to fit my chair. I then had to watch the Flash movie on how to adjust my chair, and play with the little 3D rendering of it (during which time, the visitor was watching how I moved). After ten minutes of this they stopped me, and proceeded to adjust five or six settings on the chair (a few angles, the arm width, the pan distance, etc.).
Upon sitting down again, it was like I was sitting on a cloud, and I understood what you get with a thousand-dollar office chair. In an ideal world, it wouldn't take someone who took a course in chair-adjustment (they had a rep come in for two days to teach the advisors how to perfectly fit the chair to the desk and person) - but damn, does the system work well.
I've had a Nightingale CXO for about 5 years and I love it. I went to the store intending to buy an Aeron, but I'm glad I considered some other models that weren't quite as trendy. Wish I had one at work too!
I'm sitting in the Herman Miller Embody, which is vastly harder to adjust properly, at least for me. I've actually been meaning to finish a very long review of the chair; maybe this'll inspire me to do so and submit to HN.
And then around day three, just as I was finishing all my HR stuff and the get-to-know-you tours (and starting on my first project), one more person came around and introduced themselves as the local ergonomics advisor, and explained that they were here to fit my chair. I then had to watch the Flash movie on how to adjust my chair, and play with the little 3D rendering of it (during which time, the visitor was watching how I moved). After ten minutes of this they stopped me, and proceeded to adjust five or six settings on the chair (a few angles, the arm width, the pan distance, etc.).
Upon sitting down again, it was like I was sitting on a cloud, and I understood what you get with a thousand-dollar office chair. In an ideal world, it wouldn't take someone who took a course in chair-adjustment (they had a rep come in for two days to teach the advisors how to perfectly fit the chair to the desk and person) - but damn, does the system work well.