Hoovering cheap freebies
For all the guys who've boasted about grabbing pens, t-shirts, mugs etc. at trade shows, we can see you coming a mile off! I work in the IT industry for a large manufacturer and have had to do stand duty at various events (the boring aspect of the job, but the socialising in the evenings more than makes up for it). You can spot the numpties who are only there to grab freebies as they're the ones who look like they were dressed by their colour blind mum and have a bulging plastic bag in their sweaty little hands. They'll come up and try to grab whatever's on the stand and wander off excited that they've managed to add another squidgy ball to their collection. Whoop dee doo.

Guess what? The crap stuff is out on show, the better freebies are hidden behind/under the stand. If you had the brains to speak to the people on the stand and it was clear you knew what you were talking about then that's when the worthwhile freebies appear. Anything left over at the end of the event is swapped with other companies at the show. I've come away with flat panel monitors, printers, laptops and various other *useful* stuff over the years.
( SteamedCleaner, Tue 13 Nov 2007, 4:38, 2 replies)

Ooh... very cool!
Will remember this for my next trade show. Just ask for the good stuff. Check.
( jim_bob can herd cats., Tue 13 Nov 2007, 5:51, closed)

Always check under the table
At a computer show once, a (rather attractive) lady was demonstrating a new computer's fancy sound system. A large amount of bass was apparently emanating from two small speakers. "Aye, very good. Where's the subwoofer?" I said, and, smiling, lifted up the cover from the front of the table to reveal a large black box booming away on the floor.

She was impressed, although slightly disappointed, that I'd sussed (not exactly difficult!) but I didn't get the subwoofer as a prize. Boo.
( K2k6 has a proper job these days, Tue 13 Nov 2007, 9:36, closed)