I own a fishing lodge business in Alaska, and part of my marketing plan is to exhibit at travel and sportsman's shows in the US and Europe. ISE organizes five shows in the Western US and I thought it would be a good idea to book space at their show in Sacramento in 2009.
I contacted their sales staff who told me there was room for me to exhibit, I filled out their application, and faxed it to their office. I didn't receive any confirmation, left repeated messages for the next five days, and was totally blown off. I finally caught one of their salesmen by phone and was shocked at what he told me.
He said that they had changed their policy recently, and that if I wanted to exhibit at their show in Sacramento, I would have to book a show at one of their other cities as well! They would not budge on this policy, even when I went to the top of their company.
I think this "bait & switch" tactic to boost their exhibitor attendance at their less attended shows is extremely rancid and poor business practice. I had already booked a flight to Sacramento, booked a hotel room, and made arrangements for my exhibit to be delivered to the site.
My schedule would not allow me to attend any of their other shows even if I was willing to bend over and pay the ransom. So, I refused to play their scummy game, and had to cancel my travel plans and pay the penalty with the airline.
If you are an exhibitor, attendee, or sponsor, wash your hands of this company because if they can do that to me, they will eventually stick it to you.
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