The document discusses improving customer service in the trade show industry. It describes how exhibitors often face poor customer service experiences like long wait times, lack of tools and preparedness from installers. An Exhibitor Industry Task Force was formed between industry associations, labor unions, and contractors to develop strategies to improve service. Their goals include standardizing language, increasing and training workers, and creating a PR campaign to improve the industry's image and communicate the benefits of their efforts to turn customer service from a "third-world" experience into a "world-class" one.

1. 6 Tradeshow Executive • November/December 2000
Industry associations and labor unions join to develop
top service through a true team effort.
I
s anything more frustrating than lousy customer ser-
vice? Many who make their living in the tradeshow
industry can recount horror stories experienced in
restaurants, in hotels and on airplanes. If you’ve had
the misfortune (like me) to fly United Airlines in recent
months, you’ve had the privilege of experiencing customer
service at its worst—pilots who won’t fly overtime, flights
that are delayed and canceled, and counter agents who
make up excuses or just run and hide.
And let’s not forget the phone company. If
you’ve ever called the 800 number to talk to
someone about your service, you’re inevitably
stuck in some ridiculous phone tree that only
wants to prompt you to learn your balance or
arrange a payment. It’s as if they assume their
customers don’t need service.
But what about the perception and the
reality of customer service in our own indus-
try? The biggest reason to turn it around was
best summed up in comments made at the
most recent meeting of the EACA’s Exhibit
Industry Task Force (formerly the National
Labor Committee). One exhibitor’s repre-
sentative said that exhibitors feel like they’re
continually being ripped off when they purchase services
on show site. Another representative asked, “Why can I go
online on Christmas Eve and buy an $11 item from the
Land’s End catalog without incident or problem, but I get
put through bloody hell trying to spend $1 million in the
tradeshow industry?”
Why Do They Feel That Way?
Imagine for a moment that you’re an exhibitor, arriving
at the service desk to begin the process of setting up your
booth. You represent a fairly good-sized company but were
a late entry to the show. Not only did you not receive an
exhibitor kit and have the ability to order services in
advance, you cannot find a service representative who has
a record of your company being in the show. For this exam-
ple, let’s just say this interaction is handled well, and some-
one from show management is quickly located and
confirms your right to access the hall and begin installing
your booth.
At this point you’re informed that you must hire union
labor to erect your display. The only catch is that this is a
large show in a major convention city and there isn’t any
labor currently available. You’ll need to wait. “Fine,” you
say, “but just tell me where my computer rental company
can unload our computers so we can get started on that
part.” You are told this won’t work either. This facility has
an exclusive service provider for computer rentals, and you
must obtain all computers through them. After two hours
of cooling your heels in your booth, your two
display installers show up. When you ask if
they have tools, they shake their heads.
When you ask if they’ve done this before,
their heads keep shaking. It’s about now that
you’re ready to scream. To make matters
worse, you don’t have the slightest clue who
to yell at. Does this sound familiar?
Exhibiting at tradeshows can be like
doing business in a third-world country. The
rules change based on the city or facility. It’s
not so much what you know but who you
know and who you can influence. It can be a
nightmare for the service providers too. They
are constantly challenged with customers
who expect the worst, come loaded for bear,
and continually attempt end-runs around any systems that
have been established. I’ve even heard show managers
lament that everything would be just fine if exhibitors
weren’t so stupid. Well, when you do business in a third-
world country, everything looks idiotic.
Don’t you think it’s time we create a plan to turn third-
world customer service into world-class customer service?
First, let’s take a look at how simple good customer ser-
vice can be.
This Month’s Lesson in Good Service
My wife uses one of those glass cruets with the plastic
tops for making salad dressing. The problem is that these
cruets’ plastic lids have a knack for landing on the bottom
EACA PERSPECTIVE BY JIM WURM
Exhibit Industry Task Force Tackles Customer Service
Shouldn’t Customer Service Be
World-Class, Not Third-World?
“I’ve heard show
managers lament
that everything
would be fine if
exhibitors weren’t
so stupid.Well, when
you do business
in a third-world
country, everything
looks idiotic.”

2. of the dishwasher where they’re completely disfigured dur-
ing the drying cycle. My wife’s response was to go online to
www.kraftanswers.com to ask Kraft (the cruet’s manufac-
turer) where she could buy replacement lids.
Within four days my wife got a written letter in the mail
with two replacement lids. The letter reads something like,
“We’re happy you took time out of your busy schedule to
contact us.... Enclosed is the item you requested. Let us
know if there is anything else we can do for you in the
future. [Then, my favorite line] ... remember, food brings us
together, and together we can make something good.” Is
that poetry or what?
The incident deserves some ink because it’s a prime
example of world-class customer service. It’s not complicat-
ed or even expensive; it’s just good service. World-class cus-
tomer service is service the way you want to be served each
and every time. I know that our household won’t be buying
salad dressing cruets from anyone but the people at Kraft.
The value of great customer service is that it creates great
customers. But as long as customer service in tradeshows
remains third-world, our customers will continue to mete
out investments in a very controlled way. That’s what you do
when you operate in fear of the next rip-off.
So is anyone doing anything to turn this fear around?
Moreover, is anyone doing anything to build a world-class
customer service capability in our industry? I’m happy to
report that the answer to both of these questions is a
resounding yes.
The First Steps: Coming Together Through the
Exhibitor Industry Task Force
About a year ago, at the board meeting of the Exhibitor
Appointed Contractor Association, EACA Director Ken
Viscovich proposed the formation of what was then called
the National Labor Committee. Viscovich, who is Interna-
tional Representative of the Carpenters Union, suggested
that the committee should involve the highest levels of
labor organizations, tradeshow industry associations and
industry contractors to discuss high-level issues as they
relate to labor and provision of exhibitor services at our
industry’s shows. He recognized that there was great room
for improvement in the way that exhibitors were serviced
and that the unions should be included in the discussions
that built the ultimate solution to this concern. Like many
good ideas, it was simple, powerful and very timely. The
EACA board (already dedicated to “raising the level of
service excellence on the showfloor”) immediately
approved facilitating the committee’s formation.
Invitations were quickly circulated, and the response
was just as quick. The Carpenters, Decorators, Teamsters,
November/December 2000 • Tradeshow Executive 7
Stagehands and Electricians
Unions confirmed participa-
tion. RSVPs came from
many industry associations,
including HCEA, TSEA,
IAEM, ED&PA, SISO,
IAAM and ESCA. The next
step was to get everyone
together, communicate the
idea of developing world-
class customer service and
generate momentum.
The committee’s first
meeting took place in Febru-
ary 2000 at the Las Vegas
Convention Center. More
than 75 people attended in
addition to the invited delegates. While there was unani-
mous consensus that the idea of coming together was an
important one, some suggested that the name “National
Labor Committee” could be a misnomer. The issues in
front of us weren’t about labor exclusively—they were
about our industry’s customers, the exhibitors. It was decid-
ed that the next step would be to establish a name and a set
of directives for this body.
Fittingly, the second meeting was held in conjunction
with TS2
(the Trade Show Exhibitor Association’s Annual
Meeting) in Washington, D.C. in July. In the interim, the
delegates from the first meeting submitted their ideas for
the committee’s name, its mission and its set of directives.
“Let’s Do” Directives
The committee has now been renamed the Exhibit
Industry Task Force. Its mission is to “increase, improve
and invest in customer participation.” And while there are
many ideas yet to come, the task force has identified some
initial objectives, including the following:
● Let’s make this a real team effort. Specifically, let’s be sure
that we support all members of the team, particularly labor.
For too long they’ve been the convenient whipping post for
all our failures. While labor shares the responsibility for
improving customer service, they are by no means the only
ones with work to do.
● Let’s standardize the language of service in our industry. For
instance, can’t we settle on the term forklift, instead of tow
motor or any number of other references?
● Let’s train our workforce, and increase their numbers.
Exhibitors don’t mind spending money for value received.
They do, however, have a problem paying exorbitant
amounts of money for little or no value.
“As long as
customer service …
remains third-world,
our customers
will continue to mete
out investments
in a very controlled
way.That’s what you
do when you operate
in fear of the
next rip-off.”

3. 8 Tradeshow Executive • November/December 2000
● Let’s develop standards for the health
and safety of those workers. And let’s
include them as part of the team.
We’re still building facilities that
accommodate everything and every-
one except the temporary workforce
that moves shows in and out.
● Let’s create service teams to resolve
customer service issues. Many times
service problems cross over between
organizer, facility, contractor and
labor source. Service teams will solve
problems faster.
● Let’s put together a PR campaign to
communicate the benefits of these under-
takings, and repair our industry’s image
as a place where you get ripped off.
● Let’s educate the exhibitors to the
fact that 17 percent of their tradeshow dol-
lar is spent on show services. This per-
centage has held steady for more than
20 years.
The Job: Making Something Good
The Exhibit Industry Task Force
realizes that a big job lays ahead of it.
The tradeshow industry is growing
quickly in terms of numbers of shows
and exhibitors and sizes of convention
facilities. It’s important for our indus-
try also to focus on the necessary
resources to service this growth.
While the task force’s efforts are a
work-in-progress, something impor-
tant has begun. I’d like to think that
the tradeshow industry can be less like
a third-world country and more like
the Kraft’s of the world. After all,
tradeshows bring people together. So
let’s bring them together and make
something good. TSE
Jim Wurm
(jimwurm@eaca.com)
is Executive Director
of the Exhibitor
Appointed Contractor
Association, (514)
317-8768.
SISO CEO Forum: Industry
Moves and Shakes in Bermuda
T
he recent SISO CEO Forum theme “See the Stars of the Exhi-
bition Industry” should have been titled “See the Superstars.”
Nearly 100 of the most powerful and influential independent
show organizers in the world gathered in Bermuda this past
August to network, listen and share best practices during the
sessions, form strategic alliances with each other—and pur-
chase each other’s shows.
The energy was palpable, even if the atmosphere was relaxed. Tanned
people showed up early for breakfast and sessions, learned through lunch,
networked on the golf course in the afternoon, and spent evenings convers-
ing at receptions and dinners in lovely settings. Each evening ended with an
Afterglow—and both men and women enjoyed Cuban cigars, legal in
Bermuda. Highlights included:
Ⅲ Sheldon Adelson, founder of Comdex and developer of the Sands Con-
vention Center and the Venetian Hotel, was the keynote speaker. Ses-
sions covered a variety of highly relevant topics, including employment
issues, CRM, Online/E-Commerce Strategies, CEO Success Stories and
the role of a CEO as a change agent.
Ⅲ Sponsorship was strong for the event, with 22 companies and CVBs con-
tributing to the success of the event in exchange for the opportunity to
meet face to face with the SISO member Presidents, CEOs, and CFOs.
Ⅲ Tradeshow Executive sponsored the session presented by attorney Henry
Schaffer, entitled “The Internet, Intellectual Properties, and the Trade
Show Industry: What You Should Know.” (The September/October 2000
Tradeshow Executive was distributed as handouts for the session.)
Save the Date for the 2001 CEO Forum
The 2001 SISO CEO Forum is scheduled for Sunday, August 26, 2001
(opening reception and dinner), to Wednesday, August 29, 2001 (departure
day). The Forum will be held at the Four Seasons Biltmore in Santa Barbara.
More information, including eligibility requirements for attendance, will be
available on the SISO Web site after January 1, 2001.
Learn More About SISO
Are you an independent trade show organizer? If you are interested in
SISO membership, contact SISO at (877)YES-SISO or (708) 361-0900, or
visit www.siso.org for membership information.
EACA Perspective