There are at least two undeniable facts about trade shows. They cost more than they should and something almost always goes wrong. Costs and be controlled to an extent and good planning can help avoid major problems. But considering that you are just one manager working for one company at a show that includes hundreds of companies, a General Contractor, show management, several unions with hundreds of laborers, traffic, weather and too many other factors to list, it’s amazing that shows come together as well as they do.
You can only control and plan for so much for each show and none of that extends outside the range of your exhibit. Katrina is a great example. However, eliminating as much as possible the things you can control as issues will allow you to address any problems that do arise much more effectively. Things like proper labeling of your crates, double checking your order forms before you fax them in and then following up with a phone call to ensure they were received, arriving early to check the placement of your utilities and timing your labor correctly will go a long way. But what about the unforeseen issue that pops up just before the show opens?
The fact is that you can’t control everything and when the power to your booth, and only your booth, goes out 5 minutes before the doors open you have one simple choice to make. Panic or solve the issue. Panic will get you no place and the issue still exists when you’re finished. The other fact to keep in mind is that in 5 minutes the doors are going to open whether you’re ready or not so you need to get busy resolving the issue.
There’s never a good time to panic and there are very few good times to get irate. The first thing you want to do is to evaluate the situation and decide on a course of action. Determine if the cause is within your booth or outside. If the issue is caused from outside of your booth then your next stop is the service desk. By the time you get to the service desk, if there isn’t a line, the doors are either open or about to open. Don’t panic. You’re working the issue and that’s all anyone can ask.
When it’s your turn at the desk don’t rush up and begin to batter the poor person behind the desk. Always remember that the people behind the desk are there to help you. They didn’t cause your problem and they only have so much power to resolve it. I’ve spent some time behind that desk and I can tell you that a calm, cool and collected approach from an exhibitor makes all the difference. If you start yelling at and blaming me for your problem I’m more likely to have computer issues, forget your booth number, etc.
Calmly and relatively slowly state your booth number and your issue and use the person’s name if possible. “Hi Mary. My booth number is 1234 and … Can you please help me?” Allow the person to ask whatever questions they have and answer them clearly. By now the doors are open and your coworkers are doing their best to work around the issue. Remain calm. Depending on the issue it could be 30 minutes, an hour maybe longer before your issue is resolved. The people behind the desk realizes the doors are open and that you need a fix as soon as possible. Remember that throwing a fit will usually just slow things down.
A great example of this was a show I did in 2007. The power to my booth went out with five minutes until the doors opened. The first thing that went through my head was “What just happened”. Looking around I saw it was just me without power. I checked my main connection and it was good so off to the service desk I ran. After catching my breath I calmly informed the Freeman representative of my problem. As it turned out it was the fault of someone in our office hundreds of miles away. We had recently changed credit card companies and the new company wasn’t used to $35,000 hits so they declined my M&H bill. Freeman had run the card just prior to the show opening for the third time and when it didn’t accept the charge they shut off my electricity. I can’t think of a better way to get my attention on the show floor to be honest. The officers on site and I used 3 of our personal cards to pay the bill and got the power on in about 45 minutes and as soon as I returned to the office my credit limit was bumped from $15,000 to $50,000.
Freeman did their job and, though they turned off the power, the issue was ultimately our fault and certainly unforeseeable. I thanked the desk person for their help and walked away with a smile because hey, being a jerk wouldn’t have helped and I would have had to apologize later when it turned out to be our issue.
So plan ahead as much as you can but when it all hits the fan, don’t panic, and be nice.
Posted by Tom Poalinelli 
