When philosopher Plato from Ancient Greece expounded upon his Theory of Forms, he asked the question: “What is a chair?”
His answer was to look for the “ideal” chair, not in the physical realm but in the subjective realm, suggesting that chairs in the physical realm are imperfect variations of the ideal chair.
If Plato were alive today and had the opportunity to see and sit in a Gary Platt chair, he would have had to revisit his theory.
Plato’s rationale implies that acting upon the idea of constructing the perfect chair requires great thought and planning into the design and materials. Yet, when the ideal chair that exists in the mind of the builder becomes physical reality, it will be imperfect.
Once again, Gary Platt would have compelled Plato to change his mind.
Gary Platt is recognized world-wide as the G.O.A.T. in ergonomically comfortable “ideal” seating for guests on the casino floor. The company’s entry into the hospitality division opened up a whole new world.
Gary Platt now offers over 100 different Hospitality chairs, armchairs and stools that are stackable, durable, portable and comfortable for bars, lounges, restaurants, theaters, hotel rooms, and banquet and convention venues, all with the incomparable Gary Platt design and comfort that reinvented casino floors. If they don’t have it, they’ll custom produce it for their customers.
The company brought in Eric Segal, with over 20 years of hospitality experience and industry knowledge, to serve as president of its Hospitality division.
“Gary Platt’s hospitality division allows us to service our casino customers for all of their seating needs,” Segal said. “It began with banquet seating, and expanded into dining areas, bars and lounges. Our customers are so pleased with these chairs, they’ve led us to expanding our line to larger, loose theater seating, office chairs, oversized room and lounge chairs, and more.”
Pause for a moment to envision a scene of the thousands of guests to a casino property at any given moment. A conservative estimate is that about 20 percent of the time they are on their feet walking about. The level of comfort they choose for their tootsies is up to them.
When it comes to the other 80 percent of the time when they are sitting down, their level of comfort is up to Gary Platt. They have it covered. Literally.
“The fundamental differentiating factor is the Gary Platt proprietary foam,” Segal said. “The comfort level on Gary Platt foam wins ‘sit’ tests more than 90 percent of the time. It is the most comfortable seat you can have. Add a 10-year warranty and real-world proven lifespan of over 20 years, and you have the greatest comfort/longevity combination in the industry.”
Fact of the matter is, there is nothing quite like Gary Platt foam. It’s a custom blend of cold-cured foam that is injection molded with built-in contours to include lumbar support. The chairs support the activity of guests to alleviate pressure points and allow for complete comfort and ease while sitting.
“When you look at a chair, you observe the colors and fabrics, but outside of the casino floor, hospitality purchasing rarely focuses on the foam cushioning,” Segal observed. “But customers do. They feel the discomfort, which only makes them want to leave and detracts from the overall casino experience.
“I was visiting a casino in the central U.S. and sat down on a competitor’s chair in their dining area, and I literally sat all the way down to the wood. I was told they’d only had the chairs three years. In comparison, at Gary Platt, we have reupholstered chairs that have been in constant use for 15 years on the casino floor after 24/7 use, and you cannot tell the difference between that cushion and a new cushion. There simply is no breakdown of the foam.”
The comfort level that Gary Platt gave to chairs on casino floors, both at the slot machines and the gaming tables, changed gaming entertainment forever. The attention to hundreds of ergonomic details is what it takes to be the top gaming seating company in the world.
Tremendous engineering, planning, and testing goes into every Gary Platt chair prior to their catalog release, to ensure that their chairs’ unparalleled comfort will translate into guests enjoying the total casino experience.
“It’s all about enhancing the experience of people sitting down,” Segal said. “It means increased enjoyment on the gaming side and now the same experience on the hospitality side.”
In essence, what Gary Platt accomplished is to take the basic notion of a chair – a back, seat, and four legs, something which everyone takes for granted – and make a developmental science out of creating perfect comfort for casino guests who are seated somewhere in an area of the property approximately 80 percent of the time.
If, for no other reason, ponder the difference that investment in Gary Platt seating means for our planet.
“As the foam breaks down in chairs that are not Gary Platt, either customers will not be enjoying their casino experience, or chairs or their cushions if they’re reupholstered are going to wind up in landfills after five to seven years,” Segal reminded. “It’s nice to know we’re not only enhancing the casino guest experience throughout the entire casino, but that we’re also doing our small part to enhance our planet through practical sustainability achieved by the longevity of our cushions and our chairs.”
