• Set Up
• During the Show
• Tear Down

The Soest Crew really, really wants your exhibitor experience to be as hassle-free as possible. Below are some frequently asked questions and problems that may come up and what to do about them. If you have a problem not covered here, let us know ­ maybe we have a solution for you!

Set-Up

Exhibitor Badges: Try to have your exhibitor badges mailed to you ahead of time so you have them in hand. If you must pick up your badges onsite, be sure to get them the day before show opening. Frequently on opening morning, the exhibitor and attendee registration areas are so jammed, the waiting lines wrap around like those endlessly long queues at Disneyland. Don’t believe that you can show up at 8:00am on opening day and get your badge in time to make it to your booth by 10:00am for show open.

Lead Retrieval: If you pre-ordered a lead retrieval machine, pick it up at the Lead Retrieval Service Desk, usually located within the “Exhibitor Services” area of the convention hall. If you did not pre-order ­ but wish you had! ­ they may have additional machines still available so it’s worth asking at the Service Desk as soon as you arrive at the hall. A cautionary note about lead retrieval machines: listen closely to the instructions so that you don’t wipe out three days of leads by pressing the wrong buttons!

Missing Freight: If you are exhibiting at a particularly big tradeshow, expect that the Expo Services Contractor will be receiving tons of freight, much of it directly to showsite (instead of “advance to the warehouse”), and it’s very easy for freight to become “misplaced.” Make sure your staff has the expected arrival date of your shipment, carrier name and airbill/shipping numbers with them; if your set-up dates fall on a weekend, your colleagues can’t very well call back to the office for this information. We stress this because missing freight is our biggest nightmare (shipping back out is our second biggest headache; be sure to review that section, too).
 

If you sent your shipment to the “advanced” receiving address within the time frame specified in the Exhibitor Manual, it should already be delivered to the booth and the Soest Crew will move it around as necessary.

If you sent your shipment to the “direct-to-showsite” address, it can take a day (or two or three) to be brought to the booth. Try to have your shipment arrive at least three days before show opening, so you still have time to track it down -- or get a replacement shipped ASAP -- if necessary. If you don’t have that three-day luxury, send the shipment to your hotel rather than the convention hall, if possible. Once the show opens, the Expo Services Contractor will not usually deliver packages to the booth during show hours. To find out the status of your shipment:

Step One: get the carrier’s name (Fed Ex, UPS, etc.) and phone number, and the airbill/tracking number of your shipment. Step Two: call your carrier to determine if the package has been delivered and when; also ask for a “proof of delivery” or delivery number or signature name of the person that signed for it. Step Three: armed with this information, go to the Expo Services Desk and ask them to locate your shipment. If you go directly to Step Three, they will send you back to Steps One and Two before taking your missing freight seriously.

Frequently, direct-to-showsite shipments get detained at the marshalling yard, the shipping docks or sometimes they’re just held in a single location in the hall and delivered to the booth...eventually.

Technical Demonstrations: This can get dicey. Make sure that the computer you will use to demo your product is properly configured for your needs. If you will need internet access, make sure your CPU has a phone line port (and ordered a phone line from convention facilities) or a T1 port (and order a T1 drop), usually requiring a network adaptor card installed in your computer, configured, and working. If you are using a laptop computer, make sure that you have all necessary adaptors and cables required to connect to the network via a Cat 5 RJ45 connection. With this connection, you will be able to browse the Internet and check your POP (Internet) email. To access your company’s corporate (Exchange) email, you must have your computer configured to connect remotely via a VPN connection.

Also bring copies of all the software that you will need to run your demonstration smoothly. This includes your operating system software, any peripheral drivers and all other necessary software. In case your system crashes onsite, you will not have to panic about getting copies of necessary software to reinstall everything if needed.

“Empty” Storage: Let me say, first off, try to store your empty boxes in your own booth! Keep reading to find out why.

If you have empty boxes that you will need when the show closes, you could have Expo Services store them for you for the duration of the show. Simply fill out an “empty” sticker (from the Expo Services Desk) with “[your company name], booth _____.” Place a sticker on each box you want stored, set them near the aisle and Expo Service workers will remove them before show opening. There is no charge for this, but here’s the caveat: you will not have access to your boxes during the show and it may take as long as EIGHT HOURS to get your boxes back after show closing, particularly for a really large show.

If at all possible, store your boxes within your booth -- collapse your boxes -- so you won’t have to wait. If you can’t fit them into your booth (like hard-sided fibercases), consider keeping them at your hotel and bring them back the day of show closing; store them at the Coat Check place in the convention hall during that day.

Soest, of course, does store empty crates with Show Services, but we can still begin dismantling the exhibit while waiting for crates to be returned. You, however, may want to pack your personal items as fast as you can and get the heck out!

“Access” Storage: If you have boxes to store that contain anything of value in them, do NOT send them to “empty” storage. Go to the Exhibitor Services Desk and request Access Storage, which you will be outrageously charged for according to the amount of space you need, the number of days you will need it, and the number of times you access it. Access storage is necessary for those ten boxes of giveaway t-shirts or literature that you will need during the show to replenish your supplies (that you can’t fit within your booth). FYI: at show close, Expo Services usually returns “access” storage items first before “empty” storage items, sometimes even before the aisle carpet has been removed.

Security Personnel: Although you may order Security Guard Service from Expo Services, we strongly discourage you from leaving anything of value out on your station overnight. Your guard may not be a former FBI agent, but rather a hard-working student looking to get paid for a good night’s sleep. Lock away or hide product samples and giveaways in your booth every night and take your laptop with you. The only exception may be your lead retrieval machine; so far, we haven’t had a theft problem with leaving those out overnight.

Theft: Although perhaps 90% of the population is honest, that remaining 10% can make your life very unhappy indeed. Unfortunately, theft and pilferage are a tradeshow fact of life. Don’t provide a “crime of opportunity” ­ never leave your purse, briefcase or laptop unattended at any time on the show floor, even during set-up or especially during tear-down.

If you use your laptop to demo your product during show hours, get a locking cable so it doesn’t walk away when your back is turned talking to a potential customer. Yes, it happened to one of our clients shortly after the show opened on the first day; the first day was a mad crush of people, just the opportunity that thieves are looking for.

Aside from putting a cramp in your demonstrations for the remainder of the show if it were stolen, think of all the personal/business/sales info your laptop contains! Also, if you display boxes of your product on the countertops during the show, display only “dummies” ­ empty product boxes. Items such as small electronic devices should be displayed in a showcase that requires an attendee to ask your assistance to have a closer look at them.

Fax and Copier Service: Most major convention centers have a Business Center (very busy and outrageously expensive) located within the convention hall; your hotel may also have a Business Center (not as busy or as expensive); or there is usually a copy/office center within taxi distance (may be busy, but also the cheapest with the widest variety of services and most able to accommodate conventioneers ­ several provide 24-hour service). Check these websites to find a location closest to you: http://www.officedepot.com; http://www.officemax.com; http://www.kinkos.com; http://www.staples.com.

Supplies: The Soest Crew usually brings basic supplies, like pens, tape, stapler, scissors, screwdrivers, utility blades, etc. for exhibits that are 20x20 or larger. The convention Business Center or the show’s computer service provider may also have what you need for an expensive fee. A little advance planning to send everything you or your staff might possibly need saves you the headache of having to scrounge it up at the last minute on the show floor.

Attitude: It seems that the pressure and stress of a tradeshow can bring out the worst in anyone. Patience, empathy and a sense of humor can go a long way in getting what you want from exhibitor services and union personnel. Gosh, even the Soest Crew is gullible to this subtle form of manipulation. The Golden Rule works well here: make nice to others and they’ll usually make nice back to you. Arguing, fighting and/or insulting Exhibitor Services personnel or union workers nearly always backfires ­ avoid it at all costs.

If you really hit a wall, come talk to the Soest Crew. We’ll try to help work out a reasonable solution for you.

During the Show

Noise: All tradeshows are fairly loud, but if the noise level in your area is rattling your bones or blurring your vision, let Show Management know about it and where it’s coming from. Show Management has decibel-level restrictions for exhibitors -- yes, they keep a decibel measuring device onsite -- and will quickly respond to complaints.

No Eating, Drinking or Sitting While on Duty!: Okay, unless you’re providing samples of your latest dessert pizza at the Pizza Expo in Las Vegas, eating looks unprofessional in the booth. You can get by with drinking bottled water -- talking non-stop can really parch the throat ­ but keep it hidden from attendees’ view, because they’ll want one, too, please. Save the Starbucks Double Mocha for when you’re off duty; the last thing you need is to waddle around on your hands and knees in your best work clothes during show hours, mopping up carpet stains from the coffee spilled by carelessness.

And yes, we know your feet hurt, but when you’re comfortably ensconced in your chair, perhaps chatting amiably with a fellow stafferÉwell, attendees just hate to disturb you. The only exception may be when you are with a client, say, writing an order or reviewing his needs. Otherwise, wear comfortable shoes and stay on your toes!

Attitude: The Official Required Exhibitor Attitude is positive, upbeat, helpful and cheery! Be courteous to your neighboring exhibitorsÉbecause you’ll be spending the next several long days with them. And, of course, be polite to your neighbor’s customers ­ they might become your customers, too!

Tear-Down

Return of “Empties”: As mentioned above, it may take Expo Services up to eight hours to return your empty boxes from storage after show closing. They must first remove the aisle carpets before forklifts roll (takes about one hour from show close) and, although they try to deliver empties starting at the front of the hall and work their way back, this is no guarantee that you’ll get your empties sooner. This is why we urge you to try to store your boxes in your booth, collapsing them if necessary. As mentioned, some exhibitors keep their rolling fibercases in their hotel rooms, retrieving them just before show close, to avoid any wait at all.

If you do not wish to wait for your empties to be returned that evening, secure your valuables for the night, and come back at 8:00 am the next morning. If you wait much longer than that to claim your boxes, other exhibitors assume your boxes are abandoned and will scavenge them for their own use. Yes, it begs the question, why would you bother to have them stored if you didn’t want them back? Because you may have used up all the literature or giveaways that came in the boxes originally and don’t need them back after all. A good, sturdy box becomes a hot commodity during tear-down, particularly when you have nothing to do while waiting all those hours for your own boxes to be returned.

Outbound Freight: You must contact the carrier to arrange for pick-up of your outbound shipment. If your carrier is not scheduled to pick up, Expo Services will “force” your freight to their preferred carrier and bill you for it.

In addition to completing your carrier’s required forms for shipping, you will also need to complete a freight handling form also known as a bill-of-lading (from the Expo Services Desk). This bill-of-lading/freight-handling-form is what commands union personnel to retrieve your packages from your booth and take them to the carrier’s truck. Per union regulations, your carrier is not allowed to load them himself. So, if you do not turn in a bill-of-lading (even for FedEx or UPS), your packages will sit on the show floor or be “forced” by Expo Services ­ they will ship out to you the most expedient way for them (and usually the most expensive way for you). The worst-case scenario? Expo Services assumes your boxes are discarded -- exhibitors frequently dump unopened boxes of excess literature rather than pay for shipping back -- so Expo Services personnel toss them in the trash.

After packing and addressing your boxes (get blank labels from Expo Services or pre-print your own), leave your boxes in the booth and turn in your bill-of-lading to the Expo Services Desk. When your carrier arrives and checks in with the freight desk, Expo Services will find your bill-of-lading (filed according to carrier name), pick up your shipment from the booth and take it to the loading dock where your carrier’s truck is waiting. Keep your copy of the bill-of-lading and a copy of your carrier’s forms in case you have to track down your shipment.

Drayage Bill: Drayage is the charge for having union personnel unload your freight from the truck and bring it to your booth; likewise, you get a drayage charge for having freight taken from the booth and loaded on the truck. This is completely separate from your shipping charge. Expo Services will not pick-up your outbound shipment from the booth unless you have made payment arrangements with them.

Lead Retrieval or Other Rented Equipment: It is safest to return these items to the service desk where you got them to avoid theft. Get a receipt as proof of return. If the service provider has told you that they will pick up the equipment from the booth themselves, tape a note to the equipment saying “Rental Equipment for Pick-up” and let the Soest Crew know about it. Occasionally, we have had to call computer rental companies to remind them to come get their equipment. If the equipment were to become “lost,” they may try to make you responsible for it.

Attitude: Who cares? The show’s over, you’re tired, your feet hurt and your face aches from smiling so much. Tear down and go home!

We look forward to working with you on your next show!
The Soest Crew
©2001 Show Tips by Lisa Byrns, LisaB@Soest.com