As a newcomer to the trade show business, I was both excited and nervous when I was tasked with putting together a booth for Rock Your Show’s client at a trade show in Las Vegas. It was my first time, and it just so happened to be in the city that never sleeps.
As we arrived a day before the opening of the show, I was already feeling the pressure to set up the booth quickly and efficiently. However, things didn’t go as planned. Our materials and cases for our client were nowhere to be found, and we learned a valuable lesson that day – expect the unexpected…
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As a newcomer to the trade show business, I was both excited and nervous when I was tasked with putting together a booth for Rock Your Show’s client at a trade show in Las Vegas. It was my first time, and it just so happened to be in the city that never sleeps.
As we arrived a day before the opening of the show, I was already feeling the pressure to set up the booth quickly and efficiently. However, things didn’t go as planned. Our materials and cases for our client were nowhere to be found, and we learned a valuable lesson that day – expect the unexpected.
As we traced the process of shipment from our warehouse in Idaho, we found out that the crates and cases go through a lot of people before we see them again at the show. We shipped the case to an off-site warehouse where it could be stored until show time. But, unfortunately, someone had crossed off our materials showing it was transported to the show with all the other booths, but it actually never left.
Fortunately, we were lucky enough to have workers at the Caesar’s Forum who were staying late to help vendors get their booths set up. They contacted the off-site warehouse workers and freight drivers responsible for transporting all equipment to the show site. Hours later, we finally received a call that our case and materials had arrived, and we could go set up.
Since this was my first show, I wanted to make sure I had enough time to get the full booth together. I worked tirelessly, and luckily, I was pretty confident in my abilities to pump out the booth and have it ready and displayed by morning. After completing the setup, I finally had the chance to hit the Las Vegas strip for an hour or two to see all the city lights and the Bellagio fountain display.
The morning of the show, we added the final touches to the booth and made sure everything was in place. We had to add lights, electric outlets, tabletop signs, and pull out the swag for the client. The setup overall was the easy part, but we never expected to be cutting it so close before showtime.
Despite the hiccups, the job was good to go for the day, the client was happy, and we were out to explore the big Fabulous Las Vegas. I am thankful for these hiccups that happened because my boss was with me on-site for part of the time, and I learned a lot and how to troubleshoot when things don’t go as expected.
I also learned that in the trade show business, workers are always helpful, and there’s always someone who has a contact that can help you figure out your problem between shipment, pick up, electrical, offsite management, and sometimes even your booth neighbor can be helpful as well. Expecting the unexpected is essential, but with a bit of perseverance and a positive attitude, any trade show can be a success.