Are You Serious? A Tradeshow Incident You Won't Believe

Photo Credit: Fungopher.com

Over two decades ago when Clear-Com was exhibiting at an Audio Engineering Society (AES) tradeshow, something out of the ordinary happened. We experienced one of those shocking “Are You Serious?” moments.  Examples of “Are You Serious?” incidents are when someone accidently sets their hair on fire or spills coffee all over their clothes before an interview. Fortunately, none of those happened at Clear-Com. This occurrence was in fact no accident on our part.

After Clear-Com sets up the booth, equipment, and resources, tradeshow attendees will usually visit us asking for product information or demonstrations. One attendee came by our booth and asked one of the Clear-Com employees about our speaker stations.

The conversation went something like this:

Attendee: “Are these speakers durable?”

Clear-Com Support Staff: “Yes” (Gives explanation.)

Attendee: “Are these speakers sturdy?”

Clear-Com Support Staff: "Yes" (Goes on to explain the features of the speaker system.)

Attendee: “Can these speaker stations take a lot of abuse?”

Clear-Com Support Staff: “Of course they are reliable.”

Then, the attendee picks up the speaker station and throws it as hard as he can so that it smashes onto the floor. Without a word, he flees our booth.

Are you serious?