NEC Rant

[Captain Colonial]

Just finished an exhibition at the NEC tonight, absolutely shattered. Setup on Saturday and Monday, followed by three days of hard work and two nights of heavily delayed trips home. So when the exhibition closed this afternoon and we were breaking down the stand, humour and patience were at a minimum - well, zero actually.

I had a two wheel trolley to move things outside, which I began doing without issue. I then tried getting back in to the hall when the security nazi (a word I do not use lightly) stopped me.

"You can't bring that in."

"Why not? I just took it out!"

"It's not allowed."

"Are you insane? How is it going out fully loaded allowed and not allowed back in empty 2 minutes later?"

"Those are the rules."

"My stuff is in there. My car keys are in there. What the fark am I supposed to do?"

"Not my problem."

"It's a farking two-wheel trolley, not an artic! What's your farking issue, jobsworth?"

"I'm only following the rules."

"Well Einstein, I'm not moving and will block this exit until I get in with my trolley. Any ideas?"

"You can carry it in."

"You are joking."

"Nope."

So I picked it up, carried it in six foot, and set it back down and started wheeling it again. Now another nazi comes near me to tell me off. He starts to tell me off and I lose it. "Don't you say a farking thing to me, jobsworth, NOT A FARKING THING. I'm exhausted and I'm heading out towards a different exit and collecting my stuff on the way out, so I'm following your idiotic, stupid, pointless rules, you hi-vis robot, and don't you DARE try to stop me."

He didn't.

I collected my stuff and went out the same exit. When I got there, I stopped, took the stuff off the trolley, took it outside and left it, came back in, picked up my trolley and carried it six foot out the door and set it back down, then turned and gave the security nazi my pass and a V-sign and invited him to report me. I hope he does, but the stupid git probably won't so I won't the get the satisfaction of ripping his boss a new one.

[Geoffrey Carter (Buttercup)]

Nice to see that tact and diplomacy reigned supreme.

 

Some people really don't have a clue do they.... Wonder if he was an agency worker.

[Rhett Turner - Black Country AO]

It would be interesting to see the actual rule you were supposed to be breaking and the rational behind it. 

 

It would probably be as assuming if not more than the conversation you just had with Mr Jobsworth. 

[KugaWestie]

Was the trolley chrome or carbon

[bigals]

[Captain Colonial]

As a follow up, all three nights when I tried to leave the overpriced £12 per visit car park, the pay stations were closed so I couldn't pay. Nothing for it, so on the first night I drove to the exit barrier to pay.

"Ticket please."

"I wasn't able to pay, the pay station is closed."

"We only take cash."

"I've only got a debit card - any suggestions?"

"Go get some cash."

"How? There isn't a cash point within a mile of here."

Deep thought.

"On your way then, you can pay tomorrow."

Needless to say, I saved myself £36 in car parking charges. What great organisation.

[DamperMan]

I've had all the trolley carrying fun also. One kind chap told me I was driving like a mad man and I was banned from site!!!! That's warning!

A ploy to get on site with the van in the morning to escape quick in the evening was to say I had to drop my college of at the main entrance because he had a compound fracture of the cocklea. While my passenger would dribble and start to fit. It worked for years one security man said it was nasty he'd had it!! It seams the guys in the gates have no discression any more so won't let you past unless you have the right colour paper.

The thing you have to do is to simply keep playing the game and getting one over. Free parking is nice. The ex British leyland folk finish at 5.59 on the dot.

[Hemsley]

Scott, for a laid-back and mellow chap it mush have been a tough exhibition to stimulate that sort of response... or are you moonlighting as a speech writer for the US Presidential elections?

 

Are you insane?

What's your farking issue?

Don't you say a farking thing to me, jobsworth, NOT A FARKING THING

gave the security nazi my pass and a V-sign

stupid git

ripping his boss a new one

[Nick Algar - Competition Secretary]

Ah, the NEC, an exhibition centre that could be so excellent if only it wasn't run by muppets !!!. 

 

Like the brilliant idea of running the buses and cars on the same roads ? Let alone Scott's story which is so commonplace. As to the Fees charged, just incredible. Daylight robbery isn't strong enough to describe it.

 

You only have to go to Germany or Holland to realise just what a missed opportunity it is.

[tisme]

We've stopped going to anything at the NEC due to the horrendous car parking charges (not to mention the entrance fees and sky high food prices) - not only that but I'm sure they deliberately plan the parking so that you're the furthest away from the event you want to go to.....

 

Muppets all of them 

[Sparkymart]

I haven't paid parking at the NEC for the last 5 times I've been just Park the car and head straight to the halls without paying and by the time the show has finished and a slow walk back to the car the ticket collectors have normally gone if not I use I've lost my ticket "and hand then my debit card at which point they just let you out

[Captain Colonial]

I would emphasise I used the word "fark", not "f***", so no actual swear words were used, but my anger still got through.  As Martin said, I am a pretty mellow and laid-back person 99.999% of the time and I rarely lose my rag, but when it comes to the utterly preposterous and unhelpful, I can snap.  (I have no idea how an empty two-wheel trolley going inwards is so much more dangerous than a full two-wheel trolley going out.)  If he had just said "You need to carry that please, sorry, safety regs" to start with instead of being an obnoxious nunney, he could probably have avoided upsetting me.

 

A few more tales:

 

Monday build up:

 

> No air conditioning, no ventilation.  The place was like an oven.

 

> £600 for 2 x 1kw single plug sockets + 1 x 3kw plug socket for a kettle and a fridge supplied by the stand builders which technically we aren't allowed to use as it helps deprive vendors of business.  Outlets all installed in the wrong place, so we had to use extension cables with four-plug sockets, which again we aren't technically allowed to use.  The 3kw socket looks the same as the 2 x 1kw sockets and none of them are labelled, so we have to plug in the kettle and run it until it trips an unlabelled circuit breaker and we can identify which is the right socket for the illicit kettle.  This is because we waited three hours for an electrician to tell us which was which, and he never showed up.  Good job we didn't need the services of a forklift - that starts at £150 per 15 minutes for loads under 500kgs, and only they can move it for you on site.

 

Tuesday post-show:

 

> Thunderstorm hits just when the show closes, flooding the perimeter road and bringing traffic on the NEC site to a grinding halt - at least the exit closest to the M42.  The other exit north of that one, which leads to the A452 and the M6, is unaffected by the flooding but firmly closed - they won't open it.  I get home at 8 PM when I should have been home by 6:30 if they had opened the second exit.

 

Wednesday post-show:

 

> Two major smashes on the M6 result in gridlock on the M42 and the M6.  Because the NEC decides to let everyone leave the car parks, the perimeter road is gridlocked and the buses can't go to the car parks in their normal route.  However, it would be perfectly feasible to send the buses to the east car parks and back, and to the south car parks and back, rather than to both car parks in one hit.  Nope.  All buses are stopped, forcing you to walk about a mile to your car.

 

> As the roads around the NEC are now gridlocked and at a standstill, I decide I'll go back inside to wait it out at the pub inside and grab a bite to eat because I haven't eaten all day.  As it's 6 PM, the pub has no food to serve - it's all been put away for the day and the cook has gone home (or presumably is trapped in his car).  I go to the Subway a few metres away, whose lights are on and doors open...and who are also no longer serving.

 

Thursday:

 

> 3 PM and the show is dead as it closes at 4 PM and all the visitors are gone.  I have saved a treat for everyone, a lovely variety of cakes, just to say thanks and celebrate getting through it all.  We're eating the cakes on the stand when a show nazi comes over and asks where we got the cakes.  I tell him from a shop near my home.  He tells me we're not allowed to eat food brought in from outside on the stand or he'll give us a fine.  I tell everyone to bring their cakes and follow me into the large stand cupboard, and once we're inside, I slam the door in the show nazi's face - we're eating on the stand, but he can't see us.

 

And all this fun, fun, fun only cost the company £50,000 - what a bargain.

 

Is it any wonder exhibitions are dying out? 

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

Yep, priced and regulated into oblivion by deals and hook ups with sponsors and promotors.

[Nick Algar - Competition Secretary]

What is so sad about this is what a wonderful opportunity has been missed.   

 

The place could be a showcase to the world and buzzing all the time, but is so full of restrictive practices that got chucked out of the rest of industry in the 80's, very sad.

[Red Flash]

Certainly felt your anger Scott.  Felt myself brewing as I was reading your story, visualised every word and gesture.  There are some absolute kn*beds. Power crazy idiots, without an ounce of common sense between their ears!!