I am on the plane heading home from High Point market and was making some notes on my trip. It is always good to be around my friends in the industry, swap stories, and learn what is or is not working out there. I could not help but notice that the hallways were a little thin with people. Not saying the crowd was anemic, but there were no attendance records broken – I can tell you that. Hell, I even had the elevator all to myself on one trip to the 11^th floor.

Every time I go to a market where traffic is slow, I read the Furniture Today article that follows, which quotes industry leaders saying things like, “Our traffic was great” or “We were even with last year” or “We were a little slow but the quality of our customer visits was great.” This is where I call BS! Not that some didn’t squeak out an increase, but let’s be honest, shall we? Just about everybody I talked to said that traffic was bad, so let’s call it what it is, people! Wouldn’t it be refreshing for someone to come out and just speak the truth? How great would it be to read a quote from a top manufacturer who said, “Traffic sucked for us so I went home early”? We can’t do that, though, because everyone else is spinning the truth so they don’t look like the only guy in the crowd that didn’t do well.

So be on the lookout for that article that is sure to come and remember that you read this blog. Come back to it and forward it to those you see quoted and see what you get back. Oh yes, and to the people that run the market who will be giving a quote, it is okay to say that traffic was down a little; you will be surprised at how well an honest report will be received.

I do have some good news, however. Our space at Leggett & Platt was crazy busy with a very good quality of customer visits…or so I am told.