wow... Yeah, I just have to post in this thread. This is definitely trade show learning curve and this particular dinner rings special to me.
I was in the lobby at the hotel in LA hanging out with Shane and Jim from COHF and then before I knew it we were outside with the great folks from GTS waiting to go out for dinner. I was excited, any chance to take clients out to dinner and spend some quality time is awesome. I didn't organize this by any stretch of the imagination and didn't make my intentions to pay for everyone known because thats just something I like to do near the end and suprise people. Any opportunity to even be in a small group of even people I don't know, non clients, is also fantastic, I always jump at them because they are a chance for some quality conversation and to get to know new people. I've never gone along for a free ride, I feel especially after six years that giving back to people that may have taken me out when I was new is important.
So Rhonda from New Sensations, a special MojoHost client, is also outside with a colleague of hers that I wanted to meet and talk to. Simultaneously, I am thinking in my head now how can I introduce her to the other clients so that they might all do some business. So, I invite the two ladies to join us for dinner thinking this is a win-win-win.
Well, maybe 20 minutes go by and now there is this crowd of seemingly 20+ people and they all get on the free shuttle taking us over to the restaraunt. We get there and it seems I'm the last to the table... they sat us inside, and there was one open seat by COHF and GTS - cool for me - but open seats for the two I invited are at the ass end of the table.. topping this off, I'm noting that my guests, myself and several others are all smokers and would have preferred a table outside in the nice mild evening with a view of the electronic bull.
I'm not even half in my seat and I'm staring around with a couple realizations. First, this isn't the intimate dinner I thought it was going to be. It's going to be loud, I don't know one whole half of the table.. And the two I had invited were not yet sat, still outside having a cigarette and visiting with another table of people they knew before making their way in. And then my 6th sense kicks in about the bill. I assess the situation and decide it's FUBAR. I'm not going to be able to interact with everyone I want and as I'm looking around the table I get a feeling that I'm going to have to pick up the whole thing because the only people I knew would pony up would be GTS and COHF, of which I never would have let that happen.
So, I'm not even completely in my seat and the waitstaff comes around and takes my drink order for a RedBull and Vodka and I'm seeing the futility of what is about to transpire and stressing that the other two I brought along won't be seated proper when they come in, let alone having the ability to get them engaged with all the guys that I know would be able to potentially do business with them. Now I am forseeing that I will not meet any of my goals here and additionally be stuck with a thousand dollar bill. I'd wine and dine those that were my clients at any expense, but it is an irritant to me when you end up with a large group and "all the other people" just get up and bolt or don't even make an "acting" attempt to reach for their wallet and I just knew this was going to happen. I think quick and cancel my drink order.
Long story short... I apologized to Jim and Shane and told them I was going to dine outside with Rhonda and her friend. It was a hard choice to make but the reality of the situation is that I regularly get the pleasure of seeing these buddies all the time and maybe once a year get to see NSCash. Tought, but I made the call and just went with it.
We had a fantastic dinner, I had huge Texas french toast for dinner and loved it. So great, in fact, that I did get to appreciate an established client plus garnered a significant new one. This is what I travel for, this is what those of us that are serious travel for - new opportunities and appreciating and developing established ones.
At some point while eating outside, later, I saw a huge group pile out of the restaraunt - but not the whole group. I didn't think anything of it then but later on Jim was telling me that 3/4 of the table bolted just as soon as the check was put down. How very dissapointing. I felt a bit remorseful that I wasn't able to be in two places at once. I am sure those involved made mental notes of who abandoned and didn't offer to contribute... I know that I do, that most of 'check payers' normally do.
That's just my
Much love to GTS and COHF!
Brad