The people that work day-in and day-out in the tradeshow world are really not masochists - most of them love the excitement and thrill of making something out of nothing in 72 hours! You have to work at your tradeshow site for five to seven days and you literally feel as if you are being poured into your plane seat on the last day.

Tradeshow people live in a tremendously taxing environment, first and foremost due to unpreventable deadlines, and sometimes due to non-performance of service companies. Exhibitors often feel extremely frustrated in their dealings with the tradeshow people.
Some of these exasperating folks are exclusive for your show, and no matter how you feel about that, to make your life easier, you must always treat everyone with consideration, respect, and especially understanding (try to recognize what they are going through and their problems). We suggest using logic, and patience.

 You do not have to give up until you have a situation your company can live with, but end it there - there is no perfect. Keep in mind, that the General Service Contractor assigned to your show believes it is giving superior service. And compared to a decade ago - they really are doing just that.

Changes in service cannot be accomplished in an argument on the show floor or at the service desk. Compromise now and take your issue to your show management after the show.

Jan Koren - jkoren@AbsoluteExhibits.com