LBS - thank God its the last time at Earls Court

[MartinGPerry]

I visited the Boat Show at Earls Court yesterday, it was worse than ever before.

It was like visiting a third world show - the place is dirty, there is nowhere in the hall to sit, the food and drink is even more grossly overpriced than last year and there is no way to find a stand without buying a catalogue. For a £12 entry fee this is just not acceptable.

Why don't the organisers post show plans with exhibitor list and stand numbers like they do at most other shows? They don't even have that basic information on the show web site!! Even when you do manage to get a stand number its almost impossible to locate it because many of the stands do not display numbers.

At lunch time people are having to sit on the carpets around the snack bars and on nearby stands eating and drinking - this is the 21st Century - is it beyond the wit of the organisers to arrange for additional seating - there is room around the perimeter - and what are the exhibitors doing about this, do they really want their customers to be treated like that?

Have the organisers never visited a big American or German show and seen how a show should be run? – There it's the norm to lay carpet throughout the show – makes a huge difference to aching feet and encourages visitors to stay for longer. Is it any wonder there are so few overseas visitors at LBS - those that do come must be appalled at what they find.

Let’s hope that 2004 at Excel in Docklands will be better, it really cannot be any worse!

Disgusted of Aylesbury

 

[tony_brighton]

Totally agree - I've never really liked Earl's Court. The only benefit for it has been its slot in the calendar. I much prefer Southampton (more boats anyway) and I live in London. I hope the Excel show addresses all these points. On the plus side (for visitors) the volume of people seemed down this year - could actually walk in a straight line for 5 meters and got onto several 'appointment only' boats.

 

[dickh]

Agree with all you say - the continentals do shows much better. All stands have to have the stand no displayed on the corners and all ailses ? carpeted.
We went last sunday and we were pleasantly surprised at how few people there were around. Did get crowded by the time we left though. All the stands seemed to have a little fold out thing that I thought was a map and exhibitor lists etc but all it was was how to get to Earls Court!!
Roll on Excel.

dickh
I'd rather be sailing... /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

 

[tr7v8]

Ummm, admittedly I went on preview day but I thought the food and drink was reasonably priced. The wife and I had a Pizza each from Pizza Express which with a contour coke each was £ 12 ish. Two cups of tea later cost me £ 3 and were huge, much bigger than say cafe size would normally be. Sawe site was doing chips and a dog or chicken nuggets for £ 4.95 which in the middle of London is OK. Pret-a-manger prices were the same as in their shops in London.

As regards the layout, virtually all the mags before the show had a stuck on guide and I remembered to take one, this gave an alpha listing of stands and the layout.
Although I didn;t look I'm sure they'd have had a few on one of the IPC stands.

Seating has always been an issue although we did find some just down from Sunseeker which had a Ice cream stall on. Once the wifes legs gave up and boredom set in we ended up opposite the Wellcraft ski boat stand and had no probs, apart from the c*&p Elvis impressions.

In general for a London exhibition I thought it was OK.

Jim
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[omega2]

I went once, cannot remember when, never again.

J HAMER

 

[deckham]

I went yesterday too in the morning. I have not been for a few years. I agree about the seating problem. You see middle -aged -and -over people squatting on the floor- nowhere to sit, they must be uncomfortable and must carry away negative experiences. The stand guide at £4.50 ? is TOO MUCH. The most annoying thing for me was the poor signing to exits and entrances, and the different floors. More use could be made of colour-coding surely? The general population has aged, and I`m sure the age of sailors has gone up with it. More consideration for our comfort is needed. I bought a jacket and some food and looked at the smaller yachts and sailing boats. enquired about sailing holidays.
Perhaps the time has come to do away with all those `exclusive lounges`

 

[mtb]

Having been the other side of the fence re exhibiting products , I agree .
The best places I have found in this part of Europe are Belgium and Germany but then it always depends on the actual venue.
The emergency exits have to be kept clear , so unless your rich enough to pay for normally well over priced and average food in Earls Court then your stuffed, cos seating don't earn money.

The organiser is only there to make money , yours mine and the exhibitors. So no point in expecting any thing to change with a new venue, they will cram em in and rob em , then expect customers like you and I to pay far to much to suffer the usual .

Countless times I have heard an organiser trying to justifie poor lay out and no customers turning up and spending money, claiming it cost's a fortune to run a show , but as a rule they make a massive profit so bullshit like that tells you what their about.

I actually like LBS where it is , I know what to expect and accept it for what it is, mind you years ago there were a lot more manufacturing company's this year I was disappointed .

Cheers
Mick

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://homepage.ntlworld.com/boats/>http://homepage.ntlworld.com/boats/</A>

 

[Davo_e]

SWMBO and I went to LBS on Wednesday. Last year we went on a Sunday which was far too crowded. This year, I thought that Earls Court had been evacuated! Maybe the snow put people off? £12.00 is maybe too much to pay for admission, but what exhibition these days charges any less? Add to that the £30 train fare to get into the smoke and some food and we spent £65 even before buying anything.

As for sitting to eat, I suppose any area with seats is not earning money for the organiser, so sitting next to the emergency exits is just as good, or buy some sandwiches at Pret a Manger (same prices and quality as London) and take it upstairs to sit down and eat! And when we did find a seated area to have some tea, virtually everyone sitting there was a smoker, completely ignoring the no-smoking signs above their heads!

As for guides, we didnt buy a programme, but used the PBO guide which was free last month. Marked on it everything I wanted to see, and avoided the dross!

Nice to see the sales reps still size you up when you approach a stand, and if you are not wearing a blazer and cravat/Club tie, really cant be bothered to help you very much! But I did think the sales reps on the Jeanneau stand were extremely helpful. On the other hand, the Hanse rep I spoke to really couldnt be bothered.........Maybe my jeans and fleece were too down market?

All in all, I thought it was OK. Not as good as Southampton, but OK. Maybe Excel will be better, but believe me, as someone who used to work in Silvertown, make sure your cars are well locked and alarmed when you park them! The local crims are very good at car theft!

 

[tr7v8]

We were lucky, Gllingham Marina ran a coach from the Marina for £24 each for Preview day, which as tickets were £ 20 each I thought qute good. Everyone
was very fresh so we didn't get the cold shoulder from anyone. Guys on the Bayliner stand were more interested in chatting to theirselves but otherwise OK. Fell in love with the young lady on the Windy stand and had a long chat about our Draco, (Windy took over Draco a few years ago). Found out that factory hold spares and records on most Dracos.

Jim
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[max_power]

Earl\'s Crutch

Yes - I think the place is played out and tired.

Needs something new like the move to Excel, it has nothing to lose.

Always had the feeling that the show is mainly for the trade - bit of a junket for them really - fair enough.

But what else are us punters to do this time of the year ?

 

[kimhollamby]

Re: LBS - thank God its the last time at Earls Cou

In terms of info, we have built a searchable database at:

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.ybw-directory.com/london/splash.jsp?display=welcome&tem=ybw>http://www.ybw-directory.com/london/splash.jsp?display=welcome&tem=ybw</A>

and we'll leave it live for some time after the show, so that visitors can back search on stands that they visited or for ones that they missed.

In terms of ExCel we have outline plans to hold a moderated forum in the not too distant future with National Boat Shows - that will provide opportunities for forum users to post questions and make comments about their wants and wishes.



kim_hollamby@ipcmedia.com

 

[bedouin]

Re: LBS - thank God its the last time at Earls Cou

The show did seem to be very flat this year - Earl's court is not the best of venues anyway, but this year it seems particularly dull.

It doesn't seem realistic to put this down entirely to the "last year at Earls Court" - I wonder whether the fact that it is a week early means that the festive hangovers are still arround. Either that or the marine industry is in a much worse state than we are led to believe

 

[JasonB]

Coming over from Ireland on the first Friday of the show I have to say that I thought that the show was spectacular (it was my first time over to the show). Then again all I have to compare it to is the Dublin Show........... It's all we've got!

Carpeting? What surprised me was that the show had Carpeting.... am I missing something.

Obviously I brought the show plan from the front of PBO! I found my way around with no difficulty and had lunch in the Terrace Restaurant, which compared to what was in the RDS in Dublin the last time..... well, once again, it's all we've got!

I had no problem talking to anyone on any of the stands that I needed to, and no, I don't have a Club tie! Far from it! I look like I've just finished in Secondary school and I was wearing Jeans!

Come on people! Have you been spoiled before??? If you think things are expensive at the Boat show I suggest you try buying anything over this side of the Irish sea.

Anyway I thought it was great and if that was it at it's worst I can't wait to see it next year - I for one will be back!,

J.

 

[snowleopard]

can\'t blame it all on the venue

the most annoying thing for me was wanting some information about a product and the only person on the stand is having a long chat on the mobile with his mate. it happened 3 times.

 

[charisma]

What is the point of the boat show? They are only trying to sell us stuff. They should be paying us!
Graham, miserable bu****

 

[LadyInBed]

It’s really a question of expectation and familiarity, you always expect something to be better than it was last time and for the layout to improve. When it doesn’t meet your expectations you end up disappointed.
If you think LBS is good, try and make it to the Southampton show, its loads better (IMHO of course).

 

[AOWYN]

FREEDOM

What makes you think EXCEL can't be worse. they didn't build the place to undercut the rapacious operator at Earls Court, so it will be just as expensive but much more difficult to get to.

The exhibitors, who pay a bloody fortune to be there, will be annoyed about the lack of accomodation for their staff, and if you think food and drink is expensive within earls Court (which it is) then wait and see what you can buy within a twenty minute walk from EXCEL!

BUT, this dishonest, thieving government has not yet forced us to go to Boat Shows, nor yet forbidden us, (but using the Docklands Light Railway might be just as effective!), so we can all make our own choice.

For me the fewer people who go, the fewer people who buy big boats and drive up the price of moorings the better.

 

[Guest]

Not Acceptable

It must have been acceptable, you went, you paid, you moaned.

Sounds to me like you accepted it.

 

[MartinGPerry]

Re: Not Acceptable

I went, I paid, I moaned.

> Sounds to me like you accepted it.

Wrong - I do not accept that the Boat Show has to be such a mess

Would the American or German public put up with such a disaster? - I think not.
Its not the content of the show that I dislike, it's the Earls Court environment - dirty, overcrowded and with poor yet expensive facilities

Why do people think that it is acceptable to have to sit on the floor to eat and drink and that when you have paid £12 to get in you still have to buy a yachting mag or a catalogue to find out an exhibitors stand number or position?

Shows don't have to be like this - if visitors complain then things may change - if everyone accepts a second rate solution (its a British disease) then the organisers will have no incentive to make it better. make a fuss, whinge, moan, complain to exhibitors, write to the yachting mags and sponsors, if enough people make themselves heard then it may improve in the future.

Martin

ps One feature of this years show that I do hope they keep for next year, was the free beer and snacks in the Turkish village - that was a welcome addition! How many of you found that gem?