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Comments: What It's Like to Set up for Macworld Expo
By Senior Editor John H. Farr
Earlier today we berated the management of Javits Center for not turning on the AC so that everyone could set up in cool comfort, insofar as such a thing is possible with Yankee air conditioning in the first place (native Texan speaking :-). Well wouldn't you know it, trade show veteran and famous Internet columnist Beth Lock has something to say about that!
Her two emails on the subject are sufficiently descriptive and eloquent that we need do no more than reproduce them for you below, minus a few colorful words. Enjoy and be informed:
"The reason they don't turn on the A/C (or the heat, for that matter) during trade show set-up/tear down is because the freight doors are open to load in/out. which always pisses off the exhibitors.We've come to expect this from our many years of doing trade shows. We always ship rags and a case of bottled water with our exhibit materials: rags for wiping sweat, water for making more sweat ,so when the forklifts go whizzing by a bit of a breeze might cool ye.The freight doors are the entire [censored] back wall of the building. I's not like having entryway doors open and shut. It's like there's no wall there. They roll the doors up, and up they stay until the carpets go down and the show opens. another thing is the riggers use propane lifts, and the forklifts are also propane. I can imagine how much worse it would smell if the doors were shut.
So yeah, it's hot and sweaty and stinky during show set up, and yeah, it pisses off the exhibitors to have to work in that environment, especially when they pay upwards of $50/sq.ft. for whatever trade show they are exhibiting in... And Javits is a union house, which means anything that requires a tool to set up your booth requires union labor...starting I think at about $78/hour. And if you complain about how hot it is to the union guys they just smile 'cause they don't give a rat's ass...they're taking home big bucks and they get a paid 15 minute break every two hours, not to mention overtime."