It's going to be interesting to see if I can get it repaired under warranty; they promise a 12-year warranty covering all parts and labor with "three shift" usage, and yet they specifically say that the chair is not covered for "normal wear and tear."
More amusingly, the 800 number printed on the chair itself for warranty service now forwards to a truncated message asking you to call another number, which turns out to be a phone sex line ("hey, sexy man! thanks for calling! we have live girls..." - and then I hung up). The national toll number for Herman Miller got me an operator who forwarded me to a voice mail box, and their Seattle distributor explained that Susan, the woman responsible for repairs, doesn't get in until noon.
Hmm.