Friday, 8 June 2007

Murphy's Law for Meeting Suppliers: A true Fairytale

This is a little fairytale from meetingsland only that there is no happy end but more of a bitter ending. Meeting Planner who read this will probably have gone through the same ordeal but as it just happened to me very condensed over the last few days I thought I share it with you.

All names, locations and supplier names are of course fictional but who is interested in the real story just contact me.

We take care about a company sales incentive group of 60 of a foreign country. Everything is diligently planned, plans are written, detailed confirmations have been distributed to suppliers, to make it short, nothing can go wrong:

Airport: We see the bus, but it stops way off the pickup bay, we call the driver, the bus is too heavy (28 tons) to stop in the pickup parking bay (only 18 tons allowed), Why such a big bus for only 27 delegates? Not the drivers problem, complain to the dispatcher.
So we talk to the other bus drivers around find one who gives up his parking for a 28 tons bus because his group only arrives in 3 hours... Why did the bus driver not ask?
Problem solved

The 5 star deluxe hotel (which the client booked directly) refused to let us park 20 cars in front of the hotel for a group pickup. We talk to five different managers, we get it in writing that it is NOT possible. The next morning we sit together with the client and the hotel and the hotel agrees to allow the cars to be parked. (don't you love them when they make you look stupid?)
Problem solved

On the return transfer from the dinner the bus does not start, 8 participants push it, it starts, action games free of charge...
Problem solved

The next morning, another bus, same problem, it does not start, only this time we are on a tight schedule but fortunately have two busses, so fill one up, rest in cabs, and order new bus after lunch. It only happens every 15 years that two busses in a row break down, but who cares?
Problem solved

We discover by accident that the boat that we have rented for a canal cruise does no longer leave where it used to leave from 10 days ago! Maintenance on the canal made the location change necessary, but nobody bothered to inform us. Our contact was very sorry. Well, we found out ourselves.
Problem solved

It was planned to access a dinner location we will be using over a terrace, only by chance did we find out that the terrace was no longer existent as the municipal authorities had decided to convert the terrace into a street, fencing in our dinner location. Our contact knew it for days but did not bother to call us. He was sorry. Well, we found out ourselves.
Problem solved

The program will last for another two days so stay tuned for more excitement and my final conclusion to this fairytale.

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