“Every business has a different personality, culture and brand they’re trying to project.” —Christina Pratt
Once you arrive at Trope Group’s Living Office showroom in Santa Rosa, you may be greeted by Khaleesi, a two-year-old rescue mix and one of 20 staff members. “She’s our greeter,” says Christina Pratt, president of Trope Group. “Did she lick your feet?” The unique quality found within their own office matches the kind of open-ended solutions offered for clients. “We’re not trying to provide cookie-cutter solutions for our clients. Every business has a different personality, culture and brand they’re trying to project,” says Pratt. Khaleesi certainly adds to the ambience at Trope Group.
Celebrating its seventh consecutive win for Best Office Equipment, Pratt and Principal Charlie Nicholls, point out that environment matters when creating an office space. Providing workplace business solutions and services throughout the North Bay, Trope Group represents manufacturers of open plan and conventional furniture for commercial, healthcare, education and a variety of other corporate offices, while remaining the only authorized Herman Miller Dealer in the North Bay.
As a Certified Herman Miller Dealer since 2004, Trope Group is a single point of contact for products and services. The company prioritizes a high standard of customer service and performance, which is expressed through its consistency over the years. Says Nicholls, “Herman Miller’s living office approach is a newer way of designing space. It’s based on looking at what type of interaction and activity is desired and then providing the right settings for those things to occur.”
Nicholls attributes customer support and efficiency to the company’s long-standing success. “You have to go above and beyond sometimes,” Pratt explains. “If our clients are successful, it’s going to contribute to our success.” With more prevalent trends arising in offices, height adjustable work surfaces with a sit-to-stand option are being seen as a valuable accommodation. “Employers are [now] seeing the value of it for the health of employees. We have a number of customers doing [this] everywhere.”
According to Pratt, refreshed and functional work spaces are key to productivity. “How productive are people going to be when they go to work everyday if they’re walking into a space that’s old, dingy and outdated?” Adds Pratt, “They’re going to feel like their employer doesn’t care about being innovative and forward thinking.”
To serve the community, Trope Group recently launched a new program called Furnishing Philanthropy, a green and community project. “Sometimes we get a client who’s remodeling their space and they have old furniture that still has life in it. They ask us to take it to the dump,” Pratt explains. “Or, we might have used showroom samples or a new product that shipped in the wrong color or size. We offer these products to local charities that can use the furniture, which results in a win-win solution for both businesses.
The link on their website allows more than 110 local nonprofit directors to select furniture for free and includes free delivery. The North Bay has many non-profits doing important work for the community. Says Pratt, “If we can do anything to help make their space where they’re doing that great work a better environment, while keeping stuff out of landfill, then that’s what we’re going to do.”
