Table Bases: Demand Quality

A customer sits down at a table in a local restaurant to have a delicious lunch and a refreshing drink, but there's something wrong with the table. What's wrong with the table? Why is it leaning, or wobbly? As the customer places an item on the table, the item begins to slide and is headed towards the floor. Are all the tables in the restaurant like this? Is someone going to fix this? Will the customer feel compelled to try to fix it themselves? What is the real issue with this table?

Why all these questions? Oh, we know you have seen one or more wobbly tables in a restaurant before. But are you aware of the hidden implications? Maybe...maybe not. Let's take a look at the table base and see why it's so very important to the grand scheme of things.

It's "No Big Deal"

A table base is not usually an item that people notice; until something goes wrong. Like that drink that develops a sliding effect right off the table top. A table base doesn't cost much in a restaurant budget. It's probably only about a 2-5% portion out of the entire build/rehab. So, it's not a big deal how much they cost, so price isn't a driving motivator. But quality in the long run should be a consideration.  Are you prepared to deal with issues of leaning table tops in a short amount of time?  

Customers are hard on tables. Face it, they lean on them; they push up and off of them getting up from the table; they will put their feet all over the base plates, and kids even kick the heck out of the columns. All these things, along with uneven floors, or staff that just doesn't perform "table checks" make the table vulnerable.

Starting at the Install

The whole process starts before the install. The decisions of what type of equipment, smallwares, table tops, etc. are made with great care; but, not so with the table base.  It's unfortunate, but many accept that the table base is just going to have problems. Sometimes, the delivery of the bases arrive in bulk. larger boxes or crates that have broken or bent pieces that have to be discarded or are deemed unsuitable for whatever reason.  This results in your budget money going down the drain.

Sometimes top manufacturers may send inappropriately sized top plates for the table, making the table not so sturdy once assembled and on the floor. Can you really imagine a large 42" round table top being solid with a 12" stamped steel top plate? Some manufacturers think that this is acceptable; and so, over time leaning tables are inevitable.

What Else Can I do?

Since this is your restaurant, or your table top that is going under customer scrutiny and you will want to guarantee that your customers are happy with either the buying or dining experience. With JI Bases, you receive:

• a LIFETIME guarantee on all cast iron table base products.  We know our products - we should, we've been making & improving them for over 60 years.
• Shipping in appropriately sized cartons, with easy-to-read assembly instructions printed on the box within 24 hours of your confirmed order.
• Customer service you can bank on before, during and after the installation by experts that have been in the business 

Different restaurants will place a different amount of effort into ensuring they have no wobbly tables. At JI Bases, we want to make sure that we supply distributors and manufacturers with quality products that restaurant owners need to ensure they deliver an outstanding customer experience at all times. We also offer lifetime guarantees on all cast iron products to indicate how invested we are in delivering high-quality products.