Seriously, stop with the booth babes • Hacker News Board

Re: Seriously, stop with the booth babes

#41

Post by dmor » Tue, Sep 06, 2011, 4:34 AM UTC

prodigal_erik wrote: post #27

dmor wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for making the main point clear, I want to chime in here as a woman and someone who has represented my company from very early on at trade shows (and does to this day). In the telecom industry in particular these booth babes run rampant, they literally provide you with a form when you register to exhibit asking if you want to hire models. At one event a couple years ago, a guy came over to talk with our CTO (a…

Apart from the brain-dead flirting efforts, that heels-and-skirt-suit effect doesn't sound any different than my reaction to men in suits. If I want to find a clue, I look past the guy whose job involves showing up in a costume chosen in hopes I'm easily manipulated. But then I don't frequent trade shows, so I don't know how many nerds have enough clout to show up dressed normally but not enough to just stay home.

I wear a suit because it shows I give a damn, and occasionally to look a little older.

Many people in startups wear costumes too, just a different sort for a different purpose.

I realize that people in tech generally avoid "suits", but there is a time and place for dressing up and there are certain industries where you need to wear the uniform to play the game. Maybe it works to show up in flip flops as the founder of Facebook, but if you're trying to sell someone a mission critical product and they're going to spend tens of thousands of dollars...

...oh man, I digress, this thinking deserves a blog post of its own.

Re: Seriously, stop with the booth babes

#42

Post by bragh » Tue, Sep 06, 2011, 4:36 AM UTC

lawnchair_larry wrote: post #33

burgerbrain wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seriously, lets get some perspective. If women with tight clothing are the best reason you can think of to not purchase a product, that is a pretty damned good endorsement of that product... Your objectivity is compromised if that is how you make your decisions.

Seriously, lets get some perspective. If women with tight clothing are the best way you can think of to sell your product, that's pretty telling of the technical merits of your product. It's safe to assume you've given up at that point, and you don't have anything else worthwhile to see.

You're holding the wrong end of the rifle at the moment - women in tight clothing and other stuff meant to draw attention are not 'the best way to sell your product', they're just advertising. Only when one has become interested in something can you sell him a product thanks to technical merits.

Re: Seriously, stop with the booth babes

#43

Post by Ihavenoname » Tue, Sep 06, 2011, 4:42 AM UTC

dmor wrote: post #20

blahedo wrote: post #15

I'm getting the impression from reading the other comments that most of the commenters just skimmed the article (or perhaps didn't read it at all, and drew assumptions from the title). If you need a tl;dr, or if you read it quickly, this is the most important line in the post: > What you end up with is the situation where you, as a conference goer, walk up to a booth and, because you’re no stranger to how this works,…

Thanks for making the main point clear, I want to chime in here as a woman and someone who has represented my company from very early on at trade shows (and does to this day). In the telecom industry in particular these booth babes run rampant, they literally provide you with a form when you register to exhibit asking if you want to hire models. At one event a couple years ago, a guy came over to talk with our CTO (a…

Working as a male in a female dominated profession it is painfully obvious that this kind of behavior is not unique to men. I find it ironic that people want women somehow exempt from this unconscious behavior. It is not hard to spot the people male or female that dress to be taken seriously. I avoid the likely coulees sales rep irrigardless of gender and how they dress is a huge part of how I determine who needs to be avoided so i will not waste my time. If you are dressed like a salesmen or eye candy you have lost half the battle irrigardless of sex.

The only issue I see is how do you avoid forcing the ligitamate women into a second class uniform of sorts ie geek girl so they can be taken seriously.

Re: Seriously, stop with the booth babes

#44

Post by count » Tue, Sep 06, 2011, 5:03 AM UTC

lawnchair_larry wrote: post #36

dmor wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for making the main point clear, I want to chime in here as a woman and someone who has represented my company from very early on at trade shows (and does to this day). In the telecom industry in particular these booth babes run rampant, they literally provide you with a form when you register to exhibit asking if you want to hire models. At one event a couple years ago, a guy came over to talk with our CTO (a…

It's hard to believe that booth babes actually work in sales. I assume everyone knows that they are not going to get her number. She can't answer any questions obviously. Am I in the minority for feeling that hired fake flirty girls are insulting my intelligence with such a shallow attempt to manipulate me? This actually made me wonder if they occasionally do get picked up. There must be some reason that guys think t…

They're not for you. They're for the huge majority of bozos, who, unlike you, are only at the conference because it's a junket and some free time away from work. Eye candy is a huge plus.

Re: Seriously, stop with the booth babes

#45

Post by count » Tue, Sep 06, 2011, 5:05 AM UTC

dmor wrote: post #23

mgkimsal wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Take gender out of it, I'm surprised when anyone who is related to a 'sales' dept at a conference booth is "intelligent, informed, competent". It's better at tech conferences, but still not a 100% given.

That's really quite sad when you think of it. Maybe my experience is some crazy outlier, but the sales people I've worked with both in shipping and in tech have been some of the smartest people I've known. Maybe these companies are sending the bottom of the barrel to conferences... I'm taking a note not to do that with my company.

Conference booths are to collect leads, in general. Not to 'close'. I'd expect the bottom of the barrel there - they only need to get your name/swipe your card, and then you get turned over to the top notch sales people.

Re: Seriously, stop with the booth babes

#46

Post by gavanwoolery » Tue, Sep 06, 2011, 5:14 AM UTC

Let's speculate.

Let us say that we were to end all booth babe jobs tomorrow.

Result: 1000s of women lose a job that brings them some extra (and perhaps needed) cash. But we all get to feel better about ourselves. Except for the women, because they have one less source of income.

Alternative: we embrace the fact that we are sexual beings. Maybe sex appeal does not work on everyone, but it is a tried and true form of advertising. I do not think it is demeaning to women - I think it is empowering. What is demeaning is treating women like they should not have the choice to take these jobs.

Re: Seriously, stop with the booth babes

#47

Post by ScottBurson » Tue, Sep 06, 2011, 5:24 AM UTC

prodigal_erik wrote: post #27

dmor wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for making the main point clear, I want to chime in here as a woman and someone who has represented my company from very early on at trade shows (and does to this day). In the telecom industry in particular these booth babes run rampant, they literally provide you with a form when you register to exhibit asking if you want to hire models. At one event a couple years ago, a guy came over to talk with our CTO (a…

Apart from the brain-dead flirting efforts, that heels-and-skirt-suit effect doesn't sound any different than my reaction to men in suits. If I want to find a clue, I look past the guy whose job involves showing up in a costume chosen in hopes I'm easily manipulated. But then I don't frequent trade shows, so I don't know how many nerds have enough clout to show up dressed normally but not enough to just stay home.

Some years ago I had a brief consulting gig. I showed up in my standard t-shirt and jeans. There was another consultant there, whom I hadn't previously met, in a suit. When he sat down at the computer, I had to stifle an impulse to offer him assistance. Then I had to laugh at myself.

Since then I have tried to be more aware of my assumptions and less swayed by appearances, but I haven't always succeeded. Heh, I recall another incident where I roundly ignored an attractive woman at an entrepreneurship meeting, only to find she was a CEO and one of the panel speakers.

Re: Seriously, stop with the booth babes

#48

Post by joshfraser » Tue, Sep 06, 2011, 6:04 AM UTC

From my experience, "booth babes" are often just the girls from the marketing department. They're usually not clueless, but you do get handed off quickly to sales or tech.

Re: Seriously, stop with the booth babes

#49

Post by wehriam » Tue, Sep 06, 2011, 6:21 AM UTC

As the only representative of my company in the region I hired "booth babes" to assist me at PyCon. It was a logistical necessity as we used several thousand dollars of computer equipment at the display. I requested they wear suits.

While I wouldn't characterize myself as shy, they were an order of magnitude better at engaging the attendees.

They combed the floors to make introductions. They brought me lunch so I could spend more time speaking with developers. They helped me identify potential candidates and kept the people who were apparently bored at bay.

> Ask questions regarding the technology. Ask about planned life cycles of the software, on use counts, and other things. Treat them exactly as you would an equal.

Not bad advice.

Re: Seriously, stop with the booth babes

#50

Post by prodigal_erik » Tue, Sep 06, 2011, 6:59 AM UTC

dmor wrote: post #41

prodigal_erik wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apart from the brain-dead flirting efforts, that heels-and-skirt-suit effect doesn't sound any different than my reaction to men in suits. If I want to find a clue, I look past the guy whose job involves showing up in a costume chosen in hopes I'm easily manipulated. But then I don't frequent trade shows, so I don't know how many nerds have enough clout to show up dressed normally but not enough to just stay home.

I wear a suit because it shows I give a damn, and occasionally to look a little older. Many people in startups wear costumes too, just a different sort for a different purpose. I realize that people in tech generally avoid "suits", but there is a time and place for dressing up and there are certain industries where you need to wear the uniform to play the game. Maybe it works to show up in flip flops as the founder o…

Sounds like it'd be worth a read. I found an example I remembered from The Big Short, finance rather than tech: "Their clothes told you a lot, too. The guys who ran money dressed as if they were going to a Yankees game. Their financial performance was supposed to be all that mattered about them, and so it caused suspicion if they dressed too well. If you saw a buy-side guy in a suit, it usually meant he was in trouble, or schedule to meet with someone who had given him money, or both. Beyond that, it was hard to tell much about a buy-side person from what he was wearing. The sell side, on the other hand, might as well have been wearing their business cards: The guy in the blazer and khakis was a broker at a second-tier firm; the guy in the three-thousand-dollar suit and the hair just so was an investment banker at J.P. Morgan or someplace like that."