Trade Show!

[Rapscallion]

We had our trade show today. Well, as of the time of typing, it's still happening, but that's not my problem. I wasn't actually rotad for working today, but because of the trade show one of my departments (customer services) was badly behind. I came in to do a half-day work in there to catch back up.

I only took three calls from people on the line to hear, "I'm at a roundabout - where should I go now?" I did go down for a wander around and took a fair number of photos.

I got to meet a fair number of people, some of whom I loathe over the phone and others who are both nice on the phone and in person. Some of them heard my name and came over for a chat. We've got some very nice customers and suppliers, plus a few bad apples.

The bugger is that this week - with the preparations and all that - I put in seven and a half working days worth of effort. I hope my bank manager's happy.

Rapscallion

[Rapscallion]

In the aftermath of the event, sort of a post mortem if you please, I revealed to some what I had been sorely tempted to do on the day.

We have a reasonably effective tannoy system that blasts across the warehouse, and I had to stop myself going to the microphone and doing my best gravelly voice.

"This is the voice of the Mysterons. Bring us the body of Captain Beige. He doesn't clash with anything."

Several voice opinions that I should have done it. I mused aloud that it would have been an interesting disciplinary tribunal.

What really amused us was the number of people who said it was well organised. They hadn't seen what we'd seen.

Rapscallion

[Rapscallion]

Oh, the fun continues...

A colleague of mine reports from her stint in customer services that someone who didn't attend the trade show - but was sent a booklet of offers which needed to be traded in at the booths at the time - was trying to persuade her that he should have got the discounts despite not having turned up on the day.

She says she invented new ways to say 'no' politely.

Rapscallion

[Brighid45]

Ah, the joys of trade shows . . .

The company I'm working for right now attends several shows in this area throughout the year. The biggest would be the annual Book and The Cook down in Philly at the Convention Center in March. I have many not so fond memories of standing in a booth for hours at a stretch, handing out crackers with our products spread on them and getting told 'Oh, your stuff is terrible' while the entire plateload of crackers disappeared into the derider's cakehole.The ONLY real benefit was working the last day of the show. We were often given a chance to walk around and collect all kinds of stuff to take home, like cases of cheese, snack cakes, drinks and so on.

Meanwhile, the owner got to schmooze to his heart's content and add another line or two of dry goods to the enormous catalog already clogging his warehouse, to the despair of the production manager.