January 27, 2011
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The Big Apple. Just as rotten as I remembered
To New York City then for a return to the show I was at some years ago when the Slovenians thought they could get their product in to the US market (see posts passim). Back in the Digital Signage market, this time in high performance displays, I was sent over to help out with booth building and duty, as well as to talk all things marketing with them.
With the US making it difficult though to get a visa, Cathay Pacific would not allow me on to the plane until I had one. And of course, the US system was down, so that meant I missed my initial flight. The big plan was for me to get to NYC on the Sunday night, and have a meeting at 10 the next morning. After 7 hours of trying to get the damn online system working, it finally gave me approval and I was re-routed via Vancouver (FFS) for a 7AM arrival. You’re having a laugh.
And of course, my veggie meal was not on the plane. The stopover in Vancouver annoying, to say the least, and cold. Damn they could have heated the waiting area, but they did have some water to hand out for free as we waited well over an hour for the plane to reboard.
So I arrived in JFK cold, hungry and seriously tired. In to a cab which had some totally irritating digital signage crap in the back which you could turn off for all of 11 seconds, talking to me about the shows I would not have time to see, and which did not interest me anyway. I got to the hotel around 8, checked in and went to sleep for an hour.
Up in time for the meeting, I met the guys in the lobby of this monstrosity of a hotel across the road from Madison Square Garden. There were no Americans in there – probably because they knew it to be a heap o shite. Instead, Europeans galore were inside. Even the Asians were keeping clear of this one. Not in the least surprised.
To Starbucks for coffee, and the discussion, where we encountered the first problem. Nowhere in the city can you sit down for a meeting without having to wait an eternity, or spend a huge amount of money first. Despite ordering coffee, alongside half of Manhattan, we had to wait for a table to become free, and then our talk was interrupted incessantly by people trying to move past us. Eventually the batteries on the laptops were fading so we went to some diner to get some lunch. It may well have been Fridays. Yay. That restaurant of the finest dining and cuisine.
We ate, talked and discussed all areas that needed to be agreed on – essentially my boss wanted me to make sure that I understood their requirements for the year ahead. Having talked all the talk, it was time for the walk down to the Lenny Kravitz Centre where the expo was being held. We found most of the stuff had been delivered, and then checked some other stuff before deciding to head back to the hotel, and get the guys checked in.
Having had a big lunch, dinner was a quiet affair that evening, with just one colleague and myself heading out for pizza and beer. New Yorkers like to boast that NY pizza is among the best in the world Let me make it perfectly clear – it isn’t. It doesn’t even get close. In fact, it sucks, and apart from a couple of nice, cold Stella Artois beers and good conversation, there is nothing left to report on the evening. So we all headed to bed fairly early – and your humble scribe decided not to go on the internet given the stupid prices that were being demanded by the hotel.
Next morning was a decent time meet up for the building of the booth at the show and we got everything set up. I am amazed still at the stupidity of the American system. We had to get people to rotate a handle to get the top of the booth up. We were not allowed to do it due to union rules. And the union charged a grand total of $150 + for a minute’s work.
The screens were up, the media players were playing, and it looked good. Once it was all sorted, we went out for dinner at some posh restaurant which I was asked to pay for on expenses. The big boss was flying in, but had already eaten so we met up with him afterwards. The food was decent enough, perhaps overpriced for what it was, and of course I left a nice tip on the $180 bill. I have been an avid reader of waiter rantand made sure I did not let the team down.
We got together the next morning for breakfast with a press guy – really good personality and southern humour. The meeting was to discuss what they could do for us, and how much we would have to pay for the pleasure of them doing it all for us. In the end, both sides left the meeting happy with the outcome. We then headed to the show, met up with the boss and other colleague, and also with some partners at the show.
The day went quickly enough, with lots of visitors, and hopefully some good business. I was talking with one guy and it took me about 3 or 4 minutes until I realized I had a microphone under my nose. Damn, my brain suddenly went in to overdrive, thinking did I say anything wrong? Have I said something that will be printed but should remain out of the public domain?
I met up with one of the organizers of the show – a guy I had met the last time I was in NY. He had gone the last 3 years owing me beer, and he paid up finally. We drank a couple of cold ones together, joking around like we had not seen each other since the day before, the kind of patois that you don’t get with everyone!
As the day came to a close we decided to meet up in the bar of the hotel, which was most excellent. We headed in to the bar area, one of the guys chatting up the server, an attractive lass who lapped it all up of course, and was no doubt used to hearing the same thing from punter after punter. We ordered drinks. The girl took the piss out me ordering a mojito. I told her, if you don’t like making the drinks perhaps you should take it off the drinks menu. It was not a bad mojito, but nothing like as good as the mango mojitos I had in Miami, the last time I visited the US.
As we were talking a message came in to one colleague’s phone. He opened it, and showed me the message. It was the interview on the main industry magazine. Front page. Leading Story! Oh crap. I decided not to read it – but instead asked how it was. The smile on the guy’s face told me I had done a decent job, and our company got the level of media attention we were looking for. Perfect.
The next day, the show was slow. In truth the whole thing could have finished after one day, but after the show ended, we packed up and loaded out, then went out for Indian dinner. Now that was a good meal! Loved it.
We walked back via Time Square. Sorry, why do people rave about it? Crappy, boring place. Then I headed to the Swarovski shop, bought my woman a nice gift from the US of A, and headed back to the hotel – time to sleep to make sure I woke up on time to get to the airport.
I took public transport to the airport. Took me 2 and a half hours to get there, but still made it on time for the flight. The security there was nowhere near as tight as I think it should have been. Perhaps a little complacency setting in to the Americans again… not sure. But perhaps.
After a sandwich and a drink in the waiting room it was time to board, and time to come back home. Despite being away for less than a week, I missed Taiwan. And when you have to leave the country you love for a place that you despise, and realize that in the 3 years you were away, it did not improve, then you know – it’s a place you have no desire to return to.
Certainly not for the pizza!
