mikemiller1955
Lieutenant General
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2008
- Messages
- 17,490
I take a lot of things for granted...
Considering the shows…
I expect the dealers to be there when I show up...have great displays to show me…have all the new products displayed…greet me with a smile and treat me like a king...
I had no idea how much was involved in their setting up and selling…I have never thought of how much effort they put into making a great show for us...but these guys work their rear ends off...
I got the chance to help Nicholas Cameron at his Crown Military Miniatures booth last week in Hackensack…I wanted to do it and he was grateful for the offer…I thought it would be fun…I offered to help unload his truck…help unpack his wares…and help display them on his dioramas tables…even help with a few sales if needed…basically anything he needed…I would be his gopher…
It was a chore for sure…the traveling just to get there…unloading the heavy crates of soldiers…carrying in diorama displays…setting up the table with clothe skirts…unpacking each figure and meticulously setting them up to display them at their best…dealing with the customers…then reversing the whole process and repacking the truck and leaving…a lot of work pressed into a very small amount of time…
Unless you have done it before…you have no idea how much work is involved in setting up and hosting these tables…I flew in from Texas…Nicholas drove 5 hours from Salem, New Hampshire to get there…Joe Quintini (theLt) came in from Kittery, Maine with Nick and also helped set up the displays
Late Saturday night...at the last minute…Nick was notified that the Rothman Center said they would allow us to do some "pre-set up" until midnight...before for the Sunday show the next morning…so about 10:00 PM we drove straight from the airport...where he picked me up...over to the Center to take advantage of the extra time and basically just unloaded the boxes and dioramas from his van…planning on setting up the actual displays early the next morning…so we stayed there til midnight getting a head start...
We were back there at 6:00 AM the next morning…trying unpack and set up dioramas for the 9:00 AM opening…moving as fast as we could…we hastily set up his table and finished just as the doors opened…me and Joe helped as much as we could…and I know we did a lot…which made me really understand how hard it is for Nicholas to do it by himself…
These dealers are really put through the grinder to do these shows…
take George from Minutemen for example...
Nicholas’s booth was right next to George's…so I got to watch George set up…poor George…he basically set up his large van full of product by himself...handled all the sales by himself...and packed it all back up by himself...his dad was there the whole time...but George definitely did the lion's share...
George never missed a step and his table was impeccable...George has it down to a science from all the shows he has done in the past...he worked like a dog to satisfy his customers...it amazing how much effort these guys put into attending a show...poor, poor George…with no time to even eat…I saw him wolfing down a sandwich in-between customers while discretely crouching under a table...
I really didn’t get to watch Matt set up or sell from Hobby Bunker…who also had one of the larger vending stations…but after the show was over…he was one of the last dealers to vacate the premises...packing up two vans of merchandise…so organized...so smooth...packing things up systematically like he has probably done 100 times before...giving his crew directions like a captain on a ship...you cannot imagine how much work goes into setting up and tearing down a booth with 1,000's of fragile metal soldiers...
Matt and George had two of the larger booths there...Mr. Walker had multiple tables with huge beautiful displays for William Britain (as did many other vendors)...with 100's and 100's of figures on his table...I'm sure it was a time consuming job too...
Nicholas had 4 tables and it was a lot of work...I really appreciate the effort these guys put out to make a nice show and entertain us...I don't think anybody realizes the effort they put into doing this...
the logistics of the trip...4-5-10 hour drives…navigating in a strange town at night…sleeping in hotel beds...running on fumes...eating when and where you can...the physical and mental strain…these guys really put out an effort to display their wares...this was an eye opener to me...my hats off to the dealers for all their hard work...it's a tough way to make a sale...
Jackson Brown…Oh Won’t You Stay…
Now the seats are all empty
Let the roadies take the stage
Pack it up and tear it down
They're the first to come and the last to leave
Working for that minimum wage
They'll set it up in another town
Tonight the people were so fine
They waited there in line
And when they got up on their feet,
They made the show, and that was sweet,
But I can hear the sound of slamming doors and folding chairs
and that's a sound they'll never know
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiHBCruacA4&feature=related
Considering the shows…
I expect the dealers to be there when I show up...have great displays to show me…have all the new products displayed…greet me with a smile and treat me like a king...
I had no idea how much was involved in their setting up and selling…I have never thought of how much effort they put into making a great show for us...but these guys work their rear ends off...
I got the chance to help Nicholas Cameron at his Crown Military Miniatures booth last week in Hackensack…I wanted to do it and he was grateful for the offer…I thought it would be fun…I offered to help unload his truck…help unpack his wares…and help display them on his dioramas tables…even help with a few sales if needed…basically anything he needed…I would be his gopher…
It was a chore for sure…the traveling just to get there…unloading the heavy crates of soldiers…carrying in diorama displays…setting up the table with clothe skirts…unpacking each figure and meticulously setting them up to display them at their best…dealing with the customers…then reversing the whole process and repacking the truck and leaving…a lot of work pressed into a very small amount of time…
Unless you have done it before…you have no idea how much work is involved in setting up and hosting these tables…I flew in from Texas…Nicholas drove 5 hours from Salem, New Hampshire to get there…Joe Quintini (theLt) came in from Kittery, Maine with Nick and also helped set up the displays
Late Saturday night...at the last minute…Nick was notified that the Rothman Center said they would allow us to do some "pre-set up" until midnight...before for the Sunday show the next morning…so about 10:00 PM we drove straight from the airport...where he picked me up...over to the Center to take advantage of the extra time and basically just unloaded the boxes and dioramas from his van…planning on setting up the actual displays early the next morning…so we stayed there til midnight getting a head start...
We were back there at 6:00 AM the next morning…trying unpack and set up dioramas for the 9:00 AM opening…moving as fast as we could…we hastily set up his table and finished just as the doors opened…me and Joe helped as much as we could…and I know we did a lot…which made me really understand how hard it is for Nicholas to do it by himself…
These dealers are really put through the grinder to do these shows…
take George from Minutemen for example...
Nicholas’s booth was right next to George's…so I got to watch George set up…poor George…he basically set up his large van full of product by himself...handled all the sales by himself...and packed it all back up by himself...his dad was there the whole time...but George definitely did the lion's share...
George never missed a step and his table was impeccable...George has it down to a science from all the shows he has done in the past...he worked like a dog to satisfy his customers...it amazing how much effort these guys put into attending a show...poor, poor George…with no time to even eat…I saw him wolfing down a sandwich in-between customers while discretely crouching under a table...
I really didn’t get to watch Matt set up or sell from Hobby Bunker…who also had one of the larger vending stations…but after the show was over…he was one of the last dealers to vacate the premises...packing up two vans of merchandise…so organized...so smooth...packing things up systematically like he has probably done 100 times before...giving his crew directions like a captain on a ship...you cannot imagine how much work goes into setting up and tearing down a booth with 1,000's of fragile metal soldiers...
Matt and George had two of the larger booths there...Mr. Walker had multiple tables with huge beautiful displays for William Britain (as did many other vendors)...with 100's and 100's of figures on his table...I'm sure it was a time consuming job too...
Nicholas had 4 tables and it was a lot of work...I really appreciate the effort these guys put out to make a nice show and entertain us...I don't think anybody realizes the effort they put into doing this...
the logistics of the trip...4-5-10 hour drives…navigating in a strange town at night…sleeping in hotel beds...running on fumes...eating when and where you can...the physical and mental strain…these guys really put out an effort to display their wares...this was an eye opener to me...my hats off to the dealers for all their hard work...it's a tough way to make a sale...
Jackson Brown…Oh Won’t You Stay…
Now the seats are all empty
Let the roadies take the stage
Pack it up and tear it down
They're the first to come and the last to leave
Working for that minimum wage
They'll set it up in another town
Tonight the people were so fine
They waited there in line
And when they got up on their feet,
They made the show, and that was sweet,
But I can hear the sound of slamming doors and folding chairs
and that's a sound they'll never know
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiHBCruacA4&feature=related
