Whew! We made it through the week!

What a crazy week in Denver pedicab world! This week, Denver hosted its largest conference and expo ever, the Custom Electronics Design and Installation Association (CEDIA) -- 30,000 people; $56 million revenue into the city. Every hotel downtown was booked 100%. Greg pedalled 10 hours a day for 3 days for our client, Snap AV (with a broken big toe, I might add). They are a smaller player in the industry (compared to Sony, Bose, and JBL), so their demo room was set up in a hotel several blocks from the Convention Center. Their inovative marketing director thought they could hire a pedicab to move people back and forth between the two locations. (Great idea!) Here are their comments from an email following the event:

"I just wanted to send you a quick note to thank you for the stellar service that we received from your company during three days of our trade show in Denver. Having decided to have a demonstration room off-site from the convention center, we were uncertain as to how best to get customers to the room. Your Pedicab service solved the problem and also provided even more incentive to visit the room, considering the novelty of the Pedicab ride. Our customers arrived refreshed and happy. Furthermore, by having our Snap AV sign on the back of the Pedicab, we received a lot of exposure that we definitely would not have received otherwise. We were also impressed with the quality of your drivers. They were very clean-cut, accommodating and punctual. We’ll definitely be using your services again!" --Todd Akins, Snap AV

On top of the Expo, Greg had booked a wedding Saturday morning and a special event in Broomfield, one of the Denver suburbs. One of our other drivers rode for Snap AV while Greg headed off for the wedding. That was after we delivered 4 pedicabs and 2 drivers to Broomfield at 8:00 a.m. for a parade and outdoor event known as Broomfield Days. Greg took over downtown from 1:00-6:00. Things got more complicated when the wind picked up with gusts of 40-70 mph in the afternoon.

We followed up the conference with a Broncos football game on Sunday - a major event for pedicabs in Denver. Greg didn't pedal this one and leased his cab out to the driver who helped cover him with Snap AV on Saturday. Every pedicab was out with another 5 drivers on the waiting list. Greg and I went to breakfast, then headed downtown at 11:00 a.m. We got all the cabs out before kickoff at 2:15. We had pizza and sodas waiting for the drivers when they rode in around 6:30. Our day finally ended when we arrived home at 9:45 last night. What a long day!

We learned a lot through the week. The experience at the conference was great, and we have lots of ideas when they return to Denver next year as well as for other conferences coming up. We'll share our experiences with the folks in our next Pedicab Operators Weekend Intensive training class.

Although the Broomfield Days event was challenging, we got some great feedback that will help us continue to learn and grow. We probably overextended ourselves through the weekend, and we need to learn to say "no" a little more often. Picking and choosing which events to do is always difficult, but you can't do everything even though you might want to.

One thing we realized is what a great group of drivers we have now. After the game, it was fun to stand around eating pizza and chatting with the drivers, and watching them interact with each other. Most of them finished the day tired and sore, but with a smile on their faces and money in their pockets. It's a good feeling when you know you're offering people and opportunity they couldn't get from anyone else - a job that generally pays well and is fun and entertaining.