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Road Warrior
By: Tama Underwood, Associate Editor
Issue: 2010jul
A supplier rep reveals the truth behind the daily grind that is tabletop shows.
Life on the road may seem glamorous, but when you are your own booking agent, driver and roadie orchestrating a five-cities-in-five-days tour, the appeal wears off quickly.
“Tabletop swings are both celebrated and reviled by us road warriors,” says Deborah Mann, CAS, owner of D Mannding Results, Inc. (UPIC: DmannDMH). “There is no denying the power of whipping through an area of the country and seeing 100 or more people every day for a week, but they are exhausting in a way that other shows are not.” Mann recently wrapped up a smaller-city, four-day tour and provided a snapshot of her experience.
Sunday
2:42 pm The first show is on Tuesday, so I don’t have to hit the road today, but I need to pack my car with my display and enough catalogs and samples to last the week. As usual, I am bringing way too much and know I’ll end up bringing most of it back home with me on Friday. I live in a high-rise condo building near downtown Chicago, and have the luxury of packing my car in an indoor, heated garage. We have hotel-style luggage carts available to us, so this makes moving everything from my apartment down to the garage pretty easy.
In order to maximize the space in my car, things need to be placed just so, and I have this part down to a science. The guys who work in my garage always laugh when I come down with my carts because they think I’ll never get it all in to my Honda CR-V. In the end, they shake their heads in admiration when I do.
Monday
7:30 am Leave for Evansville, Indiana—the trip will take about six-and-a-half hours. I forwarded my office phone to my cell so I can take calls and stay productive during the trip.
2 pm My drive was not bad at all thanks to the beautiful early spring. Snow and ice bring a whole new level of difficulty to weeks like this and doing them in nice weather is much, much easier. I stopped a couple of times to check e-mail (and get gas), so I arrive at the show hotel caught up on everything.
3 pm Set up is done and I am ready for a shower. I try not to be too jealous of reps who have simple displays that pop up and look great in 10 minutes!
I use Priceline.com and Hotwire.com for my hotels, so I rarely stay at the show property. So, after set up I head out to find my sleeping hotel and some dinner, too. After a couple hours of e-mails and TV, I hit the sack.
Tuesday
6 am Think about working out before heading over to the show, but sleep wins once again. Eventually I get up, shower, caffeinate and head out.
9:30 am The show opens and we enjoy a steady turnout. People are ready to work on current projects and are looking for specific products, which is great and makes the show so much more productive.
1:30 pm Teardown takes about 45 minutes and four trips out to the car.
2:30 pm I get back on the road to begin the five-hour drive to city No. 2—Dayton. While driving I call in hot quotes from the show and return phone calls that came in during the day. I checked e-mails before I left the show hotel, but I check again when I stop for gas.
6:10 pm After arriving in Ohio I learn the event room isn’t available for set-up until 7 pm, so I head to my hotel for a few moments of quiet and relaxation before tackling the e-mail once again.
Next, I grab dinner with a couple of other reps (sushi in Dayton, Ohio?) and then set up later that evening. I seriously consider setting up in the morning, but this never works out well for me so I buckle down and do it.
10:56 pm I arrive back at my hotel and, surprisingly, fall asleep quickly.
Wednesday
9:30 am This show has the same hours but a slightly better turnout. I see some key accounts that usually travel to shows in nearby bigger cities. They express gratitude that we made the trip to see them, which is nice.
1:30 pm It’s time to tear down and load up once again. Thankfully, our drive to city No. 3—Toledo—is only a couple of hours and we can set up right away when we arrive. That makes things so much easier. Or so I think.
3:23 pm We arrive at the hotel to find the ballroom is on the lower level and there is no ramp or elevator to reach the room. There is, however, a wheelchair lift and a very steep loading ramp in the back of the building. It’s just another of the ongoing challenges in the life of the road warrior.
A member of the hotel’s staff loads us one by one, along with all our boxes and other items, onto the wheelchair lift and lowers us to the room level. It’s not exactly efficient, but it’s better than carrying dozens of boxes down the stairs.
5:45 pm After this experience, a group of us decides to meet at a local pizza place known for its live music. We have a great time relaxing and dancing and gearing up for the next day.
Thursday
7:25 am One of the toughest things about staying in a different hotel room every night is that I never feel settled in, so the amount and quality of sleep I get from one night to the next varies widely. Last night was a good one and I am surprisingly energized.
10:37 am The show is a bit on the slow side, so I spend time chatting with my fellow exhibitors and checking e-mails from the iPhone.
1:40 pm Teardown brings a new situation. Overnight, the event staff learned the wheelchair lift cannot be utilized for equipment and that our only options are the stairs or the steep ramp in the back. Thankfully, a couple of staffers from the hotel help me push a cart up to my car.
3 pm I’m on the road headed to Fort Wayne, a two-and-a-half hour drive. Again, we are able to set up immediately upon arrival and, in a rare turn of events, I am staying at the show hotel.
The show coordinator has planned a party for the evening complete with live music, so I am glad to be on the property.
10:44 pm We all have a great night, which includes a couple too many adult beverages, but it was a fun way to wrap up the week.
Friday
11:52 am It’s Friday! By this point in the week, we are a slaphappy group and things are a bit loud on the show floor. Attendance is not too bad for a Friday, and the day goes quickly.
5 pm My drive back to Chicago flies by thanks to a conference call with one of my lines. I make great time until I hit the city at rush hour. The last five miles take me an hour and a half to drive, but since most people have already knocked off work for the day, my phone is quiet and I am able to unwind a bit and start planning for next week’s sales calls.
7:35 pm I finally hit home, put aside all thoughts of work and get ready for the weekend to begin.
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