Serta Fairbanks Big & Tall Executive Office Chair, Ergonomic Comfy High-Back ComputerChairs with Lumbar Support, Semi-Plush Seat Cushion, Padded Armrests, Nylon Swivel Base, Bonded Leather, Black

Prelude: I'm a college student who got their first desk chair buying a room full of furniture from the last tenant of my house for a couple hundred bucks. I loved my chair cause I could sit criss-cross applesauce and lean back so far that I could sleep periodically while pulling all nighters. It had no butt support (I had a pillow and blanket layered under me) and the entire thing was basically held together with packing tape, but we spent many a night together and I appreciated it beyond rational thought. The final straw tho was when I was napping and one of the legs snapped, almost landing my head on the corner of my bookshelf. Even then, I loved this chair so much that I taped a tide pod box to the broken leg and kept it for another 8 months, playing russian roulette every time I leaned back, rolling the dice if I would fall over or not. After finally acquiring a student job I decided it was time for my Tide Pod Box Chair to go to the big office max in the sky. I tell you the legacy of TPBC to emphasize how reluctant I was to get a new chair, and how picky I was at selecting it. I searched for days before finally ordering this one out of defeat. Review: It seems that every frickin chair in the world has contradicting reviews online. One review says it's comfy, tall, and has great support, another says that this chair kicked their dog and embezzled money from their savings account. I'm here to assure you that this chair is a good chair. It came in 2 days with prime shipping, and took me under a half hour to assemble. My poor butt had no idea what support felt like until I sat in this desk chair. I am a lanky 6'5" basketball center with legs for days, and while I can't sit completely criss-cross applesauce like TPBC provided due to this chair's arms, I can twist my ridiculously long body into many comfortable positions with how wide the seat is. I don't think it would provide a comfortable amount of wiggle room for any of my heavier set friends out there, but my needs are met. The top of my head does go a couple inches above the back of the chair when it's straight up, but leaning back provides the perfect angle for me to tilt my head back and rest. The legs on this thing are sturdy. I am greatly enjoying leaning as far back as I please without the neverending threat of potential death looming over me, and I think after a good bit of use it will lean back as far as I'd like. The lowest setting is a little high for my semi-low desk, but my criss-crossed legs still fit under comfortably. Appearance-wise this baby looks just like the picture. The cushions provide good back/spine alignment and while I was concerned that the cushy pad at the front of the seat would be annoying its not at all, it actually provides more support and prevents me from tipping forward. The twisty thing that sets how easily you can lean back does its job perfectly, as does the height adjustment. If you're not looking to spend a bajillion dollars on an executive chair with the most confusing reviews in the world and you don't have the ability to go find a chair you can test in a store cause your tuition keeps you tap dancing the poverty line, this is a really. great. chair.

When I needed to replace a mesh-type office chair that got a broken gas cylinder, I wanted to stick with the chairs for big bodies -- I'm 6'3", 262. I also wanted something that appeared to be sturdier than what I had. I'm so, so, sooooo glad I took a picture of the brand that showed on the office chair I used at my previous job, that was ideal for me, for close to two years. The brand was Serta, and although I could find the exact same model, I got one that looked to be the closest, which was the Fairbanks Big & Tall Executive Office Chair. For Looks, Ergonomics, and Functionality, this chair has it all!! It also has great Back Support, and easy Adjustment capability. When I want to Recline in my Serta chair it is as simple as pulling a lever under the chair, and it still provides strong support. I got this office chair in early July and use it every day. I have loved every single second of owing it!! It was easy to assemble and is still super comfortable, sturdy, and easy to roll on the throw rug it's on, while I'm in it. Minor drawbacks: I use a high-quality seat cushion because the seat padding for the chair, though breathable, isn't very thick. There was also a part of the outside of the chair arm molding that wouldn't stay on one side. I didn't deduct any points for those things, because overall this chair is superb!!!

I like the chair overall. I do have several issues with it, however. - The seat height does not adjust down far enough. It's a big and TALL chair, with emphasis on the tall. If you're under 6ft tall, your feet will not touch the ground even on the lowest setting. - The armrests are super comfy, but do not have any adjustment at all. - The cushions feel great. Nice and firm for support, but still soft enough to be comfortable. I wish the lower back cushion was a tiny bit smaller, but it seems like they went with the lumbar support over the comfort. It's "fine". - The recline works well, but it does not recline back very far, and I can already feel the chair wanting to tip backwards a bit even with the limited recline. This is probably because the chair is so tall, it has a high center of gravity. I would give this chair 5 stars easily if the seat could be lowered another 2 inches. It's very comfortable and pretty well-built, it just doesn't fit my body completely perfectly (5'11" 195lbs man).

I've been actively using this chair now for a few weeks and overall its pretty decent. But even from the get-go I noticed a weird smell on it. Figured that it was leather so it probably had an odor that would fade as it'd been wrapped in plastic and such. So I kept using it. But the smell still hasn't gone away. In fact I'd say it's gotten worse. I'd compare its likeness to a dirty cat box. I tried contacting support twice now. Once was for something that worked itself out so its not worth mentioning. The second was about the smell. Both times the email I got back was a very copy/pasted response telling me to call a different company because apparently Serta doesn't make the chairs. So -- why are you selling a product you're unwilling to support? If they had just responded with some simple tips on ways to get rid of that smell, we'd be golden. Instead I'm sitting here frustrated because they went the easy route and bounced me to a different company. One that I'd have to call to get any support since their automated message failed to list any other options. Is the chair comfortable? Yeah it's pretty nice. It does wobble more than I like. The feeling of it moving unsecured in the bottom (the part with the rollers attached) can get annoying and I hope it doesn't wear it prematurely. The smell is pretty bad though. Every time I sit when it pushes the air out of the cushion, it stinks. Glad I don't have this in an office setting or I'm sure I'd get complaints. EDIT: March 10, 2023 This is really not worth the cost. The seat CONSTANTLY wobbles like it's not screwed in all the way or the base isn't seated right. It won't stay up. A couple sits and it slowly sinks back to the lowest setting. It feels like it's cheaply made. Sure the cushioning is comfortable, but when it feels like it's not stable, and you can't keep it at a comfortable height, that's obviously a big deal. I haven't even had this a year and its definitely less quality than the cheaper one I bought YEARS ago. One that lasted me a very long time, and I was able to comfortably use up until the seams were coming out, and the seat had tilted forward from daily use for many years. I'd say at least five years? And it was a Serta as well. That's pretty sad that the quality has declined that much when a seat that costs 100.00 MORE, can't even last a year. This is pretty ridiculous. UPDATE - Almost three years of using this chair daily and I heard a pop a few days ago. The chair is now very wobbly. A while back it stopped staying at the fully lifted position and slowly sinks down. Maybe a year or year and a half ago? Now after hearing that pop, I went to see if maybe one of the bolts had come loose or snapped or something. Turns out the actual plate has snapped and there's cracks as well. And reaching customer service requires a phone call instead of a form where I can submit images. I'm going to have to see if it can be welded back because I doubt they're going to replace the plate. It's unfortunate since the rest of it seems alright. The smell faded after a bit, but it still gets a bit of that weird scent to it sometimes. Still not sure the reason behind it. Anyway if this is the quality of their chairs, I'm never using their products again. This is insane. There's no reason for the plate to have broken the way it did when I'm not over the weight limit and am not rough with the usage of this chair.

I am a Big & Tall guy, and the office desk chair was killing my back. I researched proper chairs for a person my size. After looking at all the options, this Serta seems like a good choice for the budget I had available. The assembly was more challenging than I expected, took about 35 minutes and I need help from my wife (second pair of hands). The most difficultly was getting the back of the chair installed. Once it was assembled, I brought it to the office. The chair has basic adjustments, and it took <5 minutes to have it all setup for use. I have been using it for the last 5 working days and have had no back issues. The posture in my body is much better and the ergonomics provided by the chair work very well for me. The chair is comfortable for several hours. The chair has excellent stability and rolls well on the low nap carpet we have in the office. Overall, this as a great buy. The long-term robustness will need to be evaluated at a later date and may result in changes to the review.

Here’s how & why I chose to purchase this chair. I am 6ft 1in. and 285lbs I'm also 63yrs with back & shoulder issues. I’m not going to tolerate an uncomfortable chair. This model is among the top 5 most comfortable chairs I tried in person out of more than 50 various models and by far the best price. They ranged in price from $79 to $1600 The majority of big & tall chairs I tried were over stuffed especially the headrest, that forces me into an awkward uncomfortable position that hurts my neck. Many so called (ergonomic) style chairs are exactly the opposite for me, I feel like I’m not sitting back far enough and the mesh chairs that are all the rage had frame members that hurt after only a few minutes. I think mesh is okay if you’re of average size but I couldn’t find one that I could live with. Even some of the chairs claiming to be for big & tall folks were so narrow that no space existed between me and the arms! This was one of the few chairs at any price that didn’t exhibit these design flaws and also has a sufficient weight capacity, 350lbs. I’m using this at home mostly for gaming so I can’t say how my back & butt would feel after 8 hours in it but I have sat for 4 + hours with no discomfort. I’m wide and I don’t feel cramped by the armrests and the seat is deep enough and contoured so I don’t feel like I’m slipping off the front edge. I can actually lean back and feel fully supported. When I assembled it I noticed spacers where the base mounts to the seat that slightly angles the whole chair back so you don’t have the feeling the chair is trying to eject you. There was nothing under $300 that came close to matching the size, capacity and comfort but for an additional $150 the Serta Smart Layers Air series of big & tall chairs had a couple designs that had all the attributes of the Fairbanks and also has superior padding in the seat. I would look seriously at these if I had to spend an entire workday in a chair. I went to a local showroom that had all the popular brands with various price ranges and styles, I sat in every one. As an overweight large size person my advice is first to test in person I was surprising how many poorly designed products are on the market. Secondly if you must make a choice online focus your search only on big & tall series chairs with 350lbs capacity or higher and avoid standard size chairs of 275lb or less capacity, avoid TASK style chairs and WATERFALL seat designs. TASK chairs are tilted forward and WATERFALL seats taper down in front. Both make you feel like you’re slipping off the front edge of the seat. I’ve only had this chair a month so I can’t attest to the durability but this chair checks the most boxes by far and I have no complaints especially at this price! I'm not associated with this product or any other product. I received nothing in return for my review.

To start with, the pros: the chair seems comfortable so far, it showed up relatively quickly (but not 2 day prime quickly), and is relatively competitive priced. The cons: the screws included were not the correct screws. There weren't enough of them and they didn't match the assembly instructions at ALL. So I emailed Serta to get replacement screws and they referred me to True Innovations, the actual manufacturers of the chairs. That was a little annoying. The process to tell them the model number, prove I bought the chair, and get a final response that they would send replacement screws took about 2 weeks. Meanwhile I had an unboxed, unassembled chair strewn across my office. The screws took another 1+ week to arrive, and surprise - they look nothing like what the instructions said. Many of the screws didn't fit, or immediately stripped the screw holes. I finally abandoned the instructions and chose the screws that seems to fit best to finish the assembly. I'm now sitting in the chair at my desk writing this review and wondering why it won't recline or adjust, slightly afraid it might randomly fall apart. Today is the deadline to return the thing and quite honestly it's not worth the time to disassemble, re-box and go through the return process so I guess I'm stuck. Bottom line: I would skip over this option if given the chance and pick something a little higher quality that includes the right assembly screws and instructions, and is a little more high quality.

The chair was a little finicky to assemble; I had to get some help holding the arms in the right position. No big deal The chair is great. Looks good and is comfortable to sit on. When I opened the box, pieces were all over, nothing in the protective sleeves. The greasy hydraulic cylinder was pushed into the chair back, so I wiped that down. Looked like everything had either been a) thrown in haphazardly or b) severely abused by FedEx. So, aside from shipping, I highly recommend this chair!