Oak Street Manufacturing: Where There’s Never A Bad Seat

Course Overview

Oak Street Manufacturing: Sales Enablement & Operational Excellence

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to Oak Street Manufacturing, combined with practical best practices for leveraging Oak Street’s tools, processes, and product capabilities to drive higher close rates, reduce friction in the order lifecycle, and deliver superior customer outcomes.

Participants will gain a working understanding of how to position Oak Street as a preferred commercial furniture partner, how to navigate operational requirements such as freight acceptance and inspection, and how to confidently guide customers through product selection using foundational restaurant design principles.

The curriculum is designed for dealer sales teams, inside sales, project managers, and customer-facing personnel who support quoting, specification, ordering, and post-delivery execution.

What You Will Learn

1. Selling Oak Street Manufacturing

• Oak Street’s value proposition: product breadth, commercial-grade construction, customization capabilities, and supply chain reliability.

• Key differentiators versus commodity and import competitors.

• How to position Oak Street for durability, lifecycle value, lead time performance, and consistency in multi-location rollouts.

• Identifying the right product solutions based on application, budget, volume, and timeline.

• Upselling opportunities across made-to-order programs, finishes, upholstery, frames, and coordinated seating packages.

2. Customer Instructions for Accepting Freight

• Proper delivery preparation and dock requirements.

• Best practices for inspecting shipments upon arrival.

• How to document visible and concealed freight damage correctly.

• Required steps for signing Bills of Lading and submitting claims.

• Common mistakes that delay resolution and how to prevent them.

• Protecting margins and customer satisfaction through compliant receiving procedures.

3. Restaurant Design Basics

• Understanding ergonomics: seat heights, table pairings, aisle clearances, and guest comfort standards.

• Space planning considerations for traffic flow, ADA compliance, and seating density.

• Selecting frames, finishes, and upholstery based on durability, maintenance, and brand identity.

• Matching furniture styles to restaurant concepts, from fast casual to upscale hospitality.

• Balancing aesthetics, budget constraints, and operational realities.

4. Oak Street Capabilities & Resources

• Overview of Oak Street’s product portfolio: chairs, stools, table tops, bases, booths, outdoor seating, and custom programs.

• Customization options: frame materials, finishes, upholstery, hardware, and dimensional variations.

• Lead times, minimums, and production considerations for stocked versus made-to-order items.

• How to effectively use Oak Street’s website, spec tools, resources, and product data.

• Quoting workflows, order accuracy best practices, and communication expectations.

• Leveraging marketing assets, imagery, and technical documentation to support selling.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Confidently sell Oak Street products using value-based positioning rather than price-only comparisons.

• Reduce order errors, freight claims, and post-delivery issues through proper process adherence.

• Advise customers on furniture selection using fundamental restaurant design principles.

• Navigate Oak Street’s capabilities, tools, and resources to streamline quoting and project execution.

• Improve customer satisfaction, repeat business, and overall profitability.