Safety vs. sensibility
As a massive winter storm slammed across the Midwest last week, hundreds of people attending the National RV Show wondered if they could get home safely, if at all, Thursday night. But, rather than close the event early to give people a head start in their travels, show officials instead opted to comb the show floor with clipboards in hand itching to issue “citations” to any exhibitor who dared pack up a brochure 20 minutes before the show’s official end.
By noon Thursday, most RV dealers had already seen the weather maps on the Internet or on any of a dozen television stations broadcasting warnings about the impending storm. Not being the type to mince words, the dealers uttered a collective “damn, we’re outta here” and skedaddled before the first traces of freezing rain drizzled onto the Interstate highways. Fortunately for the dealers, nobody was around to threaten them with all sorts of sanctions to keep them locked into near-empty show floors.
The rest of the industry didn’t fare as well. Which begs the question: At the National RV Show, who is the customer? Is it the dealers who left hours before the show closed, if not Wednesday night? Is it the manufacturers that pay enormous sums of money to participate in the show so their staff members can play football in the exhibit halls on Day Three? Is it the suppliers – who pay even more money per square foot for space than manufacturers do – so their staff members can twiddle their thumbs and engage each other in conversation about football, fly fishing and, of course, the weather? Or is RVIA the customer who sets the rules, establishes prices and coordinates the logistical details of the show? Once the “customer” is determined, we’d be in a better position to understand who is supposed to be serving whom at the show.
As employers, RV manufacturers and suppliers have a legal responsibility to ensure the safety of their staff. They also have a fiduciary responsibility to protect their company’s equipment and assets. It’s hard to do both either in white-out conditions or on ice-laden highways. But, one thing is certain. When a major winter storm is descending upon the area, the last thing exhibitors concerned about safety need are threats of financial sanctions or punishment next year with booth placement in outer Siberia or Hall 900, whichever is furthest from the action.
In the future, when winter storms threaten the show, we hope the RVIA Show Committee will meet in emergency session and do the right thing by closing the event early. It’s hard to imagine that anyone would object – especially on Day Three.
December 8th, 2006 at 10:03 am
I don’t agree with your position and especially don’t agree with the negative attitude that it is written.
How do you predict and measure what is unsafe? Is 2″ of snow safe but 3″ unsafe? Is a weather predication, and we all know how accurate those are, something to make a major decisions on? How many hours in advance of the weather does the decision need to be made to be able to get employees and product out…a lot and weather predictions are not that accurate.
It is not RVIA responsibility to keep the manufacturers employees safe. If the roads were bad, the manufactures who are affected, should of delayed employees from traveling until they were clear, not RVIA.
December 6th, 2006 at 11:50 am
Greg:
I read your articles all the time. You seem to have such a negative take on everything. Obviously you are not from the retail sector. If your hours are 8-5 then you are expected to be there. As far as safety for the dealers and manufacturers most were leaving the following day anyway. Those who had people traveling north into the storm that day should have been excused and keep just a skeleton crew. If the show was nearly empty of attendee’s then I agree the show should have closed down. Some dealers come for the last two days and spend a lot of money to bring their personnel to view and purchase product. Are they to be ignored. They should be cared for same as a retail customer.
December 5th, 2006 at 8:32 pm
How can we expect anything more? There aren’t even any safety standards for the products the entire industry is built on. Have you ever talked to a customer that has towed a travel trailer and rolled it on the interstate due to the product swaying out of control? I have that conversation daily.
December 5th, 2006 at 6:31 pm
I was very happy to leave on Thursday. Fortunately, I had other folks who were flying out Friday to the east coast so they were not as concerned as I was. I was glad to wake up safe and sound on Friday in my home and look out my window and not even be able to see my neighbor 100′ across the street. It was that bad in Nothern Illinois.
December 5th, 2006 at 5:03 pm
Greg:
I wholeheartedly concur. RVIA should have done the logical, safe and sane thing and closed the show down Thursday after lunch at the latest. Our booth was located on the main floor and we talked to only two dealers on Thursday morning and then to each other for the balance of the day. We did, however, see three RVIA show booth police in the waning hours of the show.
December 5th, 2006 at 4:59 pm
Greg, the same thing holds true for RVIA as with the issues you have with the way the RV Industry as a whole is managed and run. What more can you expect? There are very few professionals in the crowd and those that are, are grossly out numbered.