Concessions by the Numbers Kathy Ross, CCE, NICA Director Recently I had the pleasure to be invited on Marla by the Numbers, the podcast hosted by Marla Calico, CFE, IAFE President and CEO, where we discussed “Five Things to Know About the Mobile Concession Business.” She introduced me by saying, “You’ve been a great advocate about the importance of having a great working relationship between our Concessionaires and our Fairs. We want to focus today on five key things that will help us have better communication, because we are all in this together!”
Communication Any successful relationship starts with communication. If we can’t communicate freely and openly and share our thoughts and concerns, then success is not going to be there. When you take the number of experienced years on your grounds, you have hundreds of years of Fair experience. We are very willing to share our experiences, positives, negatives, “have you tried,” and “maybe we can!” It’s funny, I just had a conversation with a new Fair Manager and we helped to solve two problems. Just that simply. “Well, have you tried this?” You may get so used to seeing your Fair as the way it is, but we see it differently. Are there small changes that you think aren’t going to impact anybody, like moving a Senior’s Day from one day to another? Whether it is a labor or supply issue, those small changes really do impact us and we need to know those things. Marla asked, “So what have you seen in the Fairs that keep those lines of communication open?” Communication Committees. The thought process is that you take some trusted Concessionaires-—your Commercial Exhibits and your Food Concessions—possibly your grounds guy, your electrician, and your Concession Manager. Gather, wherever that may be, whether it is a picnic table, an office, offsite, or a Zoom meeting. Just have an open conversation about what the concerns are: your concerns for us and our concerns for you. Continued on next page
Kathy Ross Ross Concessions IAFE Director at Large From Associate Members NICA Director Past President
Summer 2022/55
