Most bad exhibit projects were visible during the sales process. The signals were there, they were just easy to read as enthusiasm.
This is the scanning version of our RFP guide: nine things that should slow you down, and the one that matters more than the rest.
The nine
- ✓A quote arrives within an hour of a one-paragraph briefThey are pricing a template. A builder designing for you asks questions first, because they cannot price what they have not understood.
- ✓They will not break out line itemsEither they do not know their own costs or they would rather you could not see where the margin sits. Both are worth knowing before you sign.
- ✓No work at your footprint in the portfolioA shop whose portfolio is all large islands may be excellent and may still treat your 10x20 as filler between real projects.
- ✓No named project leadIf nobody is named, nobody is accountable, and your program lives in a shared inbox.
- ✓Vague answers about who installsAsk who is physically on site and whether they are employees or a labor company. See EAC or general service contractor.
- ✓Nothing in writing about storage and refurbishmentThis is where a program gets expensive quietly. Ask the annual cost, who inspects on return, and who pays for damage.
- ✓A portfolio of renderings with almost no built photographyRenders show intent. Photographs show delivery. A shop that builds what it draws has plenty of the second.
- ✓No references you can actually callAsk for two or three at your scale. Then ask each one what went wrong and how it was handled, because every project has something.
- ✓No answer to "what will I be billed for by someone else"Drayage, labor, electrical, and rigging are billed by companies you did not hire. A partner who has been on that call answers in detail.
The one that outweighs the rest
Ask which parts of the project happen inside their company and which parts they hand to someone else. There is nothing wrong with subcontracting, and plenty of good firms do it. You need to know because every handoff is a place where your approved design gets quietly renegotiated.
The answer tells you how many companies your booth passes through, and how many phone calls you will be making if something goes wrong on move-in morning.
What good actually looks like
They ask you questions before quoting. The quote is itemized and states an estimated crate weight. They name the project lead and the backup. They tell you what the show contractor will bill you for. They file the EAC paperwork and confirm when it clears.
And the number at the bottom of the quote is the number on the final invoice, because everything that could have appeared later was already on the page.
The price you approve is the price you pay.