Inn of the Wandering Dragon

My co-worker was there to answer any questions and naturally he sent me to check out the competition. I wandered and played the less than knowledgeable consumer to see what would happen. I think the response would have been different had I actually walked into the showroom, as opposed to being simply one body of hundreds passing by. Regardless, not one of them was interested in actually qualifying me, and not one of them went into any technical detail. I found it odd that not one of them seemed interested in promoting the quality of their product or some other means of differentiating themselves from the competition. Let's be honest, there are only so many ways that you can build any given product so why not try to make it stand out from the others? Just a thought.

The one booth really stands out in my mind - but not for the right reasons. If there is one thing that bugs me it is not presenting yourself well. This company looked like they slapped things together at the very last minute. Product was set up incomplete, but not a deliberate incomplete as if they were showing the hidden workings, more like, "oops, we don't have X part so just spray paint a piece of MDF and slap it on". The booth itself had sloppy details, like dirty signs and messy papers scattered around, that showed a real lack of professionalism in my opinion. And on top of that the reps seemed less than interested in being there and talking to people. Ouch!

The small things add up in a big way. Even if I did not work where I do, could they have sold me on their product? Not a chance! Especially after visiting the other booths which were clearly put together with more care and spoke with reps who were more interested in talking to people. First impressions can count for a lot and I think sometimes people forget that.