PRI...who's going?

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Walter R. Malik
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Re: PRI...who's going?

Post by Walter R. Malik »

CamKing wrote: Sat Nov 25, 2017 12:23 pm
pamotorman wrote: Fri Nov 24, 2017 10:24 pm you never know by looks who is a good customer.
The two richest people I've ever met(1 is a billionaire), look like they bought their clothes from the clearance rack at walmart.
I went to their Town Hall meeting they had Thursday morning where ideas got thrown around for future shows.
I really liked the idea of making sure every legitimate attendee company or race team got ONE FREE pass ... then had to pay extra for any additional ones they wanted.

How they could fairly implement that became their real question for exiting that idea.
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Re: PRI...who's going?

Post by WeingartnerRacing »

Too many people this year. They need to make it from 9-12am buyer then after 12 everyone else. You must have a ein number to be a buyer. This would help the congestion and pri and the eateries.
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Re: PRI...who's going?

Post by ssdoug »

I'm looking for a new sonic cleaner . And I did buy one at the show . During my shopping I check out the Safety Kleen booth ask the guy about the specs and price of a certain model . HE says I don't know . Ask him if anyone there knows and he says no . Here fill out this paper and one of our company reps will email you . You can guess how this worked out. OK rant over.
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Re: PRI...who's going?

Post by Carnut1 »

I found the same thing over and over. The people representing the company and products didn't have basic info to help the customer. Not all mind you some were extremely knowlegeable.
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Re: PRI...who's going?

Post by Frankshaft »

I didn't go this year, but, last year, I swear they got the "help" from a local temp agency or something. Like said above, they didn't know the products, or, were completely clueless and didn't even have a basic knowledge of the industry. I saved one vendor representative his fingers. He fired up a surfacer, there was 4 of us standing there, he had no clue how to answer the questions being asked, it was obvious he had never surfaced anything, and, when he stuck his hand under the spinning cutter head, it was going 1200 rpm, as the digital display read, I yelled, HEY HEY HEY, get your hand from out of there. He jumped back, oh, its not running. I said, yes it is, look at the display. He looked up under the head, oh, your right, its running. wow. Completely oblivious to the fact I just saved him from a serious injury, and a trip to the ER. Everyone looked at each other and shook their head. The other thing I don't understand, no one spends anytime setting up machines. I was a serious buy for a new seat and guide machine. Not one machine I demoed left me with a warm fuzzy. Just more doubt and confusion. Most were still on pallets. If your trying to sell a machine, spend some time and set it up and have the ability to proudly display it.
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Re: PRI...who's going?

Post by j-c-c »

WeingartnerRacing wrote: Sun Dec 10, 2017 8:58 am Too many people this year. They need to make it from 9-12am buyer then after 12 everyone else. You must have a ein number to be a buyer. This would help the congestion and pri and the eateries.

One idea that was touched on earlier here that has some merit, I often notice sizable "groups" traveling the aisles, besides the physical room they take up, charging a fee after the first entrant would likely reduce that aspect, I am not sure why an audience is needed by those asking hopefully pertinent questions.

Maybe make everybody have a 2? min sand clock attached to their credentials as a time limit when at the front the line when asking questions. :D

Any vetting system will be worked around at some point, its just a kicking the can down the road solution, which maybe fine.
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Re: PRI...who's going?

Post by DCal »

It may have been the biggest show that I can remember and it was profitable but over-crowded. I didn't get the trashcans in the middle of the isle thing either, seems like it slowed traffic. To get from CP to CamKing took forever. Some vendors I visited seemed inept and didn't look like they wanted to be bothered so I didn't bother them-so much for me getting FI this year. I hope that our team was attentive, it's a lot of money to have 16 people there and 20 or more at mealtime every night. You'd BETTER have a smile on your face. I think it was a success overall and a positive sign as far as the economy is concered --no matter who you voted for.
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Re: PRI...who's going?

Post by engineguyBill »

Dave, your team always does an excellent job. Plenty of people in the booth and all of them very knowledgeable, from what I have seen . . . . . . Well done.

I agree with some of the previous posts, in that there are often people in the booths who are not on top of all the technical information, but these people should be able to direct the customer's questions to someone else in the booth who can answer the question (s).

Funny thing, this year I noticed large crowds waiting in line for autographs from Linda Vaughn and that hayseed who drives the "farm truck" on one of those idiotic "reality" TV shows. And the decal snatchers seemed to be out in force . . . . . Sad situation for a trade show aimed at the high performance INDUSTRY in my opinion.
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Re: PRI...who's going?

Post by machinedave »

This was my first PRI show. So much better than SEMA. I went there to look at and price equipment. They had some good show specials. I did find a few people that didn't seem to be able to demonstrate or answer questions about the machines but there was a guy that impressed me at CWT that spent almost twenty minutes with me demonstrating and answering questions about a balancing machine. I got a quote on a new surfacing machine that was better than I expected. Now to make some decisions.
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Re: PRI...who's going?

Post by Krooser »

I dragged my buddy along...he's not much into racing but he's a sales guy for a local auto parts chain. He made some good connections and was kinda amazed at the whole deal.
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Re: PRI...who's going?

Post by Walter R. Malik »

exhaustgases wrote: Sun Dec 10, 2017 4:20 pm So funny how can some one be in a business trying to sell a product or a service, and then want potential customers banned from a trade show? I don't get it. Just because someone is not running a business it does not mean they don't have a pocket or bank full of money. And besides why is this thread here, it is more of a general question deal not an engine tech deal?
I don't care how much money you have ... IF you are a normal RETAIL customer; you simply don't belong there.
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Re: PRI...who's going?

Post by Dave Koehler »

Walter R. Malik wrote: Sun Dec 10, 2017 6:49 pm
exhaustgases wrote: Sun Dec 10, 2017 4:20 pm So funny how can some one be in a business trying to sell a product or a service, and then want potential customers banned from a trade show? I don't get it. Just because someone is not running a business it does not mean they don't have a pocket or bank full of money. And besides why is this thread here, it is more of a general question deal not an engine tech deal?
I don't care how much money you have ... IF you are a normal RETAIL customer; you simply don't belong there.
AGreed
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Re: PRI...who's going?

Post by j-c-c »

Dave Koehler wrote: Sun Dec 10, 2017 8:44 pm
Walter R. Malik wrote: Sun Dec 10, 2017 6:49 pm
exhaustgases wrote: Sun Dec 10, 2017 4:20 pm So funny how can some one be in a business trying to sell a product or a service, and then want potential customers banned from a trade show? I don't get it. Just because someone is not running a business it does not mean they don't have a pocket or bank full of money. And besides why is this thread here, it is more of a general question deal not an engine tech deal?
I don't care how much money you have ... IF you are a normal RETAIL customer; you simply don't belong there.
AGreed
Define "normal"? :D

The problem is, the new products that are displayed have it appears a significant lag time before the "normal" retail customer gets wind of them. They are the real target. I observe this because when i mention stuff on the internet to the "normals" that is really new and trick, all I hear is crickets. A year later when the magazines finally get it installed in a project car and published, the internet buzz starts. A year? has been wasted. If there are only a select few who have discovered the new product at a show, they are either competitors of the product, sell a competing brand, don't know about it or don't care, or are racers who want to keep the new trick item a relative secret and for themselves. Holley Hydramat is a typical example. Reducing foot traffic at show, as meritorious as that appears, may have un intended consequences. And when the economy sucked, the attitudes were different.
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Re: PRI...who's going?

Post by engineguyBill »

The manufacturers who display at the Show depend on sales of large quantities of product to their target customers throughout the year. This is why they spend most of their time and effort talking to the larger customers who will distribute product to THEIR customers. Selling an intake manifold to a guy for his winter project is not the reason that manufacturers display at the show.
One exception would be the major equipment sold at Machinery Row, as these manufacturers are looking to sell major equipment in small quantities BUT they also are there to develop relationships with larger shops who will likely be upgrading their equipment at some time in the future.
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Re: PRI...who's going?

Post by PackardV8 »

This discussion reminds me of a truism in the advertising industry. "Half of all advertising is a waste. No one can predict which half." Same with those walking down the aisles at PRI.
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