East Windsor Elementary School

The Challenge

Generally speaking, the process of ordering school furniture for the start of a new school year begins about six months before the end of the previous school year. Schools begin researching in January, place orders between March and May, and installation takes place from June through August so that everything is in place for the first day of school in September. Due to unforeseen circumstances, East Windsor Elementary School in New Jersey was only able to order the necessary furniture for their new building, including student and teacher furniture for all grades, storage items, and office and cafeteria furniture, in July.

In other words, the amount of work and effort that is normally spread out over four to six months had to be compressed into no more than two. Hertz Furniture was faced with the challenge of reviewing customer requirements, making sure that all desired items fit and match in terms of both space and budget, placing rush orders with vendors to ensure on-time delivery without incurring additional charges, and scheduling installation crews on last-minute notice at the height of the season. And that’s without taking into account the possibility of last minute delivery and installation issues that can sometimes crop up.

The Solution

Hertz Furniture accepted and rose to the challenge. The company’s representative gave the utmost attention to East Windsor, making their needs a top priority. A great deal of time was spent with the vendors and shipping companies to ensure that all orders would be filled and delivered as quickly and economically as possible without compromising on quality; installation schedules were juggled to accommodate the last-minute order.

The Outcome

Hertz Furniture was able to leverage its long-standing relationships for the customer’s benefit. The vendors made all the furniture available as fast as possible with no extra charges, and everything was shipped with due speed to Hertz Furniture’s distribution center in New Jersey — the location of which allowed the items to be delivered to East Windsor as quickly as possible. The installation team worked tirelessly to install all the furniture and the entire building was ready and waiting for the first day of school.