K/BIS 2009 and the future
BY PETER SCHOR
Showroom specialist
A great story unfolded on the way to K/BIS 2009. I was on a flight from Sacramento to Orange County, Calif., to visit my son and his family before I left for the show in Atlanta. As you may know, Orange County is the home of Disneyland and is one of the most expensive places to live in the U.S.
My wife Samantha and I had aisle seats across from each other and the flight was packed. A woman, who did not look affluent in attire, was traveling with her 7-year-old son and asked me if I would give up my aisle seat for a center seat so she could sit with her son. I had much to do in order to prepare for manufacturers and press room interviews — and nobody would ever request a center seat unless sitting next to a family member. I said “yes” and as we deplaned, I had my briefcase open, she turned around, and said, “Thank you” and stuck some money in my slightly open briefcase. I tried to catch up to return the money but the line to get off the plane was backing up and I could not reach her. Upon existing the airplane, I opened by briefcase and there was $200 in cash. I was blown away!
Lesson #1 — Never judge people by how they dress or look but from their inside out, as I did. A simple act of kindness is returned sometimes not through the same person. It is just Good Karma!
Then the fun began for me. Everywhere I went over this weekend trip to visit family, I “Paid it Forward.” I saw a man with an 8-year-old son collecting empty soda and water bottles in a sidewalk, while his wife walked dejectedly 15 yards behind. I got close to him to check to make sure there was no evidence of drugs or alcohol abuse and I gave him five $20 bills ($100). I told him times will get better. I saw a tear in his eye. Next, I picked up some flowers for my daughter-in-law at the supermarket and saw a woman and two young children in the line next to me counting coins and dollars; then she had to put some items back. I thought how humiliating she must feel with the line backed up. I reached in my pocked and gave her the second $100 in $20 bills. She reached out and grabbed me, crying and calling me her angel! I was so enriched from this experience not that I needed the acknowledgment.
Lesson #2 for all of us — In these hard times there are many people struggling to stay afloat. I say “Pay it Forward” in your own means and desires and with kindness. It is the most rewarding thing you can do. It is 10 times better than receiving. How about our customers? Being a better listener, asking them how you and your company can serve them better, and giving those customers in need more in attention and services! This is the time, America, to reach out and help others less fortunate. You will glow from the inside out, as happiness is truly an inside job!
Quick K/BIS 2009 re-cap
I will be writing a “what’s new and hot in products and trends at K/BIS 2009” in the June column along with a 30- to 35-image New Product Showcase including descriptions. I found some great products at K/BIS 2009. One product line was a Body Dryer which will fully dry a body in around 21.2 seconds; this product also has variable customized capabilities in size; has a variable heat setting, and much more. Can you imagine how green the product is and the money to be saved in the hotel laundry by reducing the number of towels? Yes, guests will have to use a towel to get to hard-to-reach areas. I was interested in consulting with them for K&B and hotel, so I asked a senior executive some questions and if they were well funded. He said that we are a Berkshire Hathaway Company which I knew immediately was one of billionaire Warren Buffet’s companies. It seems manufacturing and other related endeavors are replacing money investments in the stock market and real estate.
The attendance was off this year. There were approximately 30,000 people in attendance. The show encompassed two halls instead of three. However, there were many positives at K/BIS from my standpoint. Attendees spoke to manufacturers longer, with eye contact, and lots of serious communication. There was non-existent “scan and run” tactics by attendees trying to reach the next aisle in a marathon fashion. Friday exceeded expectations. Saturday was like a normal Sunday on a good year; and Sunday, we were going to have a 100-yard tag team football games in the center aisles. A great positive: 407 press/media representatives attended K/BIS 2009 as compared to last year’s of 469. I seemed to run into HGTV, CBS Early Morning Show with Danny Lipford, and some other TV stations often. They got my “Must See Exhibitor List” for K/BIS. John Kitchener of Edelman Productions HGTV, said to me — kidding around — “Peter, are you stalking me?” I replied, “No, but I am a little boundary challenged.” We laughed!
Funniest and saddest
The funniest product offering was from “Toastie Tush” (www.ToastieTush.com). They offer a heated synthetic washable pad material attached to the bottom of the toilet seat with electric current, ul approved, seat warm. A defective one with electric current will … I won’t go there! Their P.O.P. was: “You’ll never want ‘to go’....without it” and “New Hardware for your software.”
The saddest: One very well-known bath/plumbing faucet manufacturer, who I will not name, had an enormous booth with the most “ugly and cheap looking” furniture and a few plants provided by the show. They put 10 faucets instead of their usual 200 in the booth. Many attendees walked by and said “What were they thinking of?” or “Is this their going out of business sale?” This negative showing needs to be spun from everyone talking about a company’s poor booth choice into a positive marketing ploy through the use of a good public relations campaign.
K/BIS or other industry events - the future
I believe that it is time to collectively focus on setting a better course of action for the “product sellers” of plumbing wholesale and DPH showrooms. Openly speaking, k/bis is good at highlighting showroom products but offers very little educational value for selling these showroom products. Kitchen and Bath Design News and KBB are great magazines, but their focus is for kitchen and bath dealers, not for selling showroom products. ISH North America has run its course here in the U.S. while ISH is still flourishing in Germany. I’ve heard that some of the buying groups have a pretty good decorative plumbing showroom thrust. The cost versus investment for manufacturers will be closely evaluated by many manufacturers during 2010. Should we have the convention every two years? Can the DPHA and ASA get together for a common cause? Will Nielsen, the show management, with exclusive rights; KBB, who owns the magazine rights to the show; and NKBA, who owns the educational rights of K/BIS, wake up that if they don’t cater to all attending, there is probably going to be a split?
All right, industry readers and leaders, this is your time to email me your views and suggestions on some possible solution to these problems. Please email or write me with your input and I will begin to take action to develop solutions to these problems. I have strong opinions and some objective advice, which I will use to respond with your collective input in my upcoming columns. I will assume a leadership roll in developing the solution, with your help!
Peter Schor, president, Dynamic Results, Inc., is an educator, motivational speaker, consultant, coach and writer in our industry and many diverse others. For the past 17 years, he has conducted 100 educational programs yearly, including 34 industry conventions. Schor has great expertise in the field of showrooms and has won many industry awards. He also works with manufacturers in the field of sales, marketing and public relations. Schor can be reached at 1491 Ivy Arbor, Lincoln, CA 95648, phone 916/408-5346, fax 916/408-5899, by e-mailing pschor@dynamicresultsinc.com or on the web at www.dynamicresultsonline.com.