By the Exhibition Stall Design editorial team · Updated 1 October 2026 · 13 min read
Short answer
Ask a flooring & carpeting vendor where the work is produced and who supervises it, which lines the quote excludes, what drawings you sign before cutting starts, who lodges the organiser paperwork and by when, what each payment milestone releases against, who is on the floor during show hours, and what happens to the stand after the show. Then grade the answers on specificity, because that is what predicts delivery.
Key takeaways
- Ask what happens after the show. Dismantle, clearing and storage are where unpriced costs hide.
- Ask what the vendor would change about your brief. A supplier with no opinion is not reading it.
- Get the project manager's name, the crew size and the build-up shift hours in writing.
- Grade answers on specificity: a name, a date, a document or a number beats any amount of reassurance.
- Ask what your area can physically hold — at 36 sq.m the honest answer is about 11 visitors and 4 staff.
- Insist on approving dimensioned drawings rather than a render before fabrication starts.
How this interview works
The hard part was never the questions. Any vendor will tell you the work is in-house, the price is all-inclusive and their team will be there. What you need is a way of hearing the difference between a sentence that commits to something and a sentence that merely sounds right.
That is why each question carries two notes: the answer that should settle it, and the answer that should worry you. The underlying test never changes. Specifics can be checked; reassurance cannot, and a flooring & carpeting vendor who offers only the second has told you something useful anyway.
Sequence matters more than it looks. Ask about price before the brief is settled and you get a figure the vendor is then committed to defending; ask about build-up after you have signed and you get an answer shaped by what is now convenient. The stages below put each question where its answer is still honest.
Stage 1 — before you shortlist (questions 1 to 4)
Use this stage to cut a long list down to three. Everything here is about the company rather than your stand, which is exactly why it works early: before a brief exists, there is nothing for the answers to be shaped around.
Notice that they circle one issue: ownership of the work. For exhibitors, procurement teams and agencies who need a stall built on time, to drawing, and safely at the venue, that is the single fact most likely to be discovered too late, and it is also the easiest to establish early if you simply ask directly.
01
1. Who physically does this work — your own team, or a sub-contractor?
A good answer is honest about the split, because every firm buys something in: print, AV hire, furniture, freight. You want to hear which trades are owned and which are bought, followed by an address. A bad answer is either a vague "we have a partner network" or a flat claim that everything is in-house with no site you can visit — the second is usually the same as the first, with less candour.
02
2. Can I visit the workshop or studio this week?
A good answer is a day and an address. A bad answer is any version of "later" — nearer the show, after the order, once the design is approved. The request is routine for anyone buying something fabricated, so reluctance to host it is itself the finding, and you get that finding before spending a rupee.
03
3. Can I see photographs of finished projects at my size, from a show you can name?
A good answer brings on-site photographs with the show, the city, the stall area and the year attached, including shots of the stand occupied by staff and visitors rather than empty at handover. A bad answer is renders only. A render proves somebody can design; only a photograph proves somebody can build, and the gap between the two is where most disappointment lives.
04
4. What were the largest and the smallest stands you delivered last season?
A good answer is two areas and two shows, and it brackets your own stand somewhere in between. A bad answer is a range so wide it must be aspirational. Capability is size-specific: a firm that turns out neat small system booths may never have engineered a structure, and a pavilion specialist will price your small stand like a pavilion.
At quoting stage: questions 5 to 8
At this point the brief is out and the quotes are coming back. Everything below exists to stop you comparing two different stands by their totals. None of it is hostile; the supplier who itemises properly is the supplier who will not be arguing with you in March.
Nothing about flooring & carpeting pricing is mysterious; the drivers are listed below. Per sq.m by finish. What you are testing is whether the vendor can put them in order for your brief specifically. If they cannot, the quote is an estimate wearing a number's clothes.
- Stall area in square metres and number of open sides
- Finish level (laminate, paint, veneer, acrylic, metal)
- Height, hanging structures and double-decker elements
- LED walls, lighting and raised flooring
- Distance from the workshop to the venue and build-up hours
01
5. Is GST included, and what is the pre-tax total?
A good answer gives both figures without being chased, because that is the only way two quotes can be compared on the same basis. A bad answer is ambiguity, or a total that quietly changes basis between the proposal and the invoice. Ask also which organiser or venue charges will be billed through the vendor rather than directly to you.
02
6. What materials and finishes are you quoting, exactly?
A good answer names board thickness, the laminate or paint finish, and the fire treatment. A bad answer is "premium quality" or "imported finish". Specification is what the organiser's safety check examines, and it is also the only way to tell whether a cheaper quote reflects a better rate or a thinner board.
03
7. Are transport both ways, installation, electrical fittings and dismantle inside this figure?
A good answer goes line by line, yes or no, without hedging. A bad answer is a general "yes, everything's included" — which is the reply this question always draws, and the reason to put it as four separate questions. These are the four scopes most often missing, none of them is optional, and all of them get bought at show-week rates when they surface late.
04
8. How many light fittings, and where exactly?
A good answer is a count and a set of positions — spots on the brand wall, track over the product, a backlit panel at the entrance. A bad answer is "lighting included". Hall lighting is designed for the aisles rather than for your stand, which makes the lighting count the line most responsible for whether the stand reads as funded or forgotten.
Third stage — turning a conversation into a contract (questions 9 to 12)
This is the stage that decides whether you have a contract or an understanding. Each gap left open here is one you will meet again in the hall, at a moment when you have no leverage and no time.
Note that none of these is about design or price. They are about documents, dates and authority — the three things that determine whether a stand gets built as agreed or as improvised.
01
9. Will you dry-build the stand in the workshop before dispatch, and can I see proof?
A good answer is yes, with photographs or a video, panels numbered and circuits tested. A bad answer treats it as unnecessary. Where the first assembly happens decides whether build-up is assembly or problem-solving, and problem-solving in a hall costs hours you have not got.
02
10. What are the payment milestones, and what does each one release against?
A good answer attaches every instalment to something inspectable: a signed scope, approved drawings, the submission acknowledgement, a workshop dry build, handover of a working stand. A bad answer is a schedule of bare dates, or most of the money up front. Keep a meaningful balance payable after handover — it is what keeps a crew on the stand on show morning.
03
11. What drawings will I approve, and by when, before anything is cut?
A good answer names dimensioned plans and elevations with finishes and lighting positions marked, and gives you a date for sign-off. A bad answer is "you've approved the render". A render is an impression; a drawing is an instruction. If what you signed has no dimensions on it, "this is not what we approved" is an argument you cannot win.
04
12. What happens if you are late?
A good answer is uncomfortable but specific: here is the slack in the schedule, here is who we call, here is what we would do. A bad answer is that it has never happened. You are not really looking for a penalty clause — you are looking for evidence that somebody has thought about the failure case before being inside it.
Stage 4 — before build-up (questions 13 to 15)
Save these for the fortnight before the show. By then production is finished and everything that can still go wrong is logistical. It is also the stage buyers most often skip, which is precisely why asking gets you an unpolished answer.
The outcome you paid for is a stall layout with a clear entry, a working demo counter, storage that keeps the floor clean, and a closed meeting area for serious buyers — and it is won or lost in the last twenty-four hours before doors open. That is the window these questions are about.
01
13. Who dismantles and clears the stand, and what happens to the reusable elements?
A good answer is the same crew, inside the organiser's dismantle window, with the reusable frames and graphics named and a storage arrangement stated. A bad answer is silence, because dismantle was never priced. This is where deposits are forfeited, penalties are charged, and assets you paid to fabricate quietly go to landfill.
02
14. What are you bringing as spares?
A good answer is a short, specific list: laminate offcuts, spare lamps, a reprint of the main graphic, basic tools. A bad answer is that spares will not be needed. Transport damage is routine rather than exceptional, and a crew that travels with the fix turns a two-hour problem into a ten-minute one.
03
15. What is the build-up plan — arrival slot, crew size and working hours?
A good answer is a time, a number of people, a shift pattern, and the hour by which the stand will be finished and cleaned before doors open. A bad answer is "we'll be there from day one". Build-up windows are short and shared with every other exhibitor in the hall, so a vendor without a scheduled slot is planning to queue for the loading bay.
Exhibiting soon? Let's build your stall.
Question, good answer, warning sign
The table below compresses the questions where the answer most often misleads. Each row is the same test: does the reply contain a verifiable specific, or does it contain comfort? Keep it open on the call rather than reading it afterwards.
| The question | What a real answer contains | What should make you pause |
|---|---|---|
| What are the payment milestones | Each instalment tied to something you can inspect | A schedule of dates, with most of it up front |
| What happens after the show | Dismantle inside the organiser's window, elements into storage | No answer, because dismantle was never priced |
| What would make it cheaper | A scope trade — simpler finish, fewer panels, a reused frame | A flat discount with no change to the scope |
| What materials are quoted | Board thickness, finish and fire treatment, named | Premium quality, with no specification |
| What do you need from me | A dated list of inputs | Nothing, we'll handle it |
| Can I see finished work | Photographs from a named show, with the stall area and the year | Renders only, or images with nothing attached to them |
| Who submits to the organiser | The documents, the person and the deadline | The organiser will let you know |
Notice the pattern: real answers are brief and checkable, evasive ones are long and warm. When a simple question produces a paragraph, the paragraph is standing in for a fact.
What can your area actually hold?
There is one more question worth adding, and it is the quickest way to tell whether a flooring & carpeting vendor designs for a show or just quotes for square metres: ask what your area can physically hold. The arithmetic is simple enough that a vague answer is a choice rather than a limitation.
The sums are these: 10% of the area to storage up to 18 sq.m and 15% beyond it, 5% to a meeting corner — 20% if meetings are the point of attending — and the rest to display. Display divided by 2.5 gives simultaneous visitors; total area divided by 9 gives staff on duty.
The reason to ask is that nobody else will. Marketing sets a footfall target, procurement books the area, and the two numbers are rarely held up against each other until the aisle is blocked. Finding the mismatch while the brief is open costs nothing.
| Size booked | Usable display | Storage taken | Staff | Visitors it holds | Lead time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 sq.m | 7.6 sq.m | 0.9 sq.m | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| 24 sq.m | 19.2 sq.m | 3.6 sq.m | 3 | 7 | 4 |
| 36 sq.m | 28.8 sq.m | 5.4 sq.m | 4 | 11 | 4 |
| 54 sq.m | 43.2 sq.m | 8.1 sq.m | 6 | 17 | 5 |
| 100 sq.m | 80 sq.m | 15 sq.m | 12 | 32 | 5 |
Staff = area ÷ 9, minimum 2. Build weeks are 3 as a base, plus 1 from 24 sq.m and plus 2 from 54 sq.m, with a further 2 weeks for a premium finish and 2 for a double-decker.
Answers that should end the conversation
Some replies are not warning signs to weigh up — they are conclusions. The first group below are the failure modes specific to flooring & carpeting; if a vendor's answers point at any of them, you have learned what you needed to learn and the next call is to the second name on your list.
- Sub-contracted builds with no quality control
- Non fire-retardant materials rejected at the venue
- Late arrival on site that eats into build-up time
- Hidden extras for electrical, carpet or dismantling
- Fabrication offered without drawings for you to approve first
- A refusal to name the workshop or studio, or a visit that is always possible next month
- No answer at all on dismantle, clearing or storage
- A delivery week offered in place of a dated production schedule
- A material specification that says premium and names nothing
- Reference images that cannot be tied to a show, a size or a year
- No one able to say who will be standing on your stand on build-up morning
The questions are easy to find. Reading the answers is the skill.
After the interview
Write the answers down as you receive them, in the same order, for every vendor. Three columns on one page does more for the decision than any amount of discussion, because a missing answer looks exactly like a missing answer once it sits next to two filled cells.
Finally, judge the whole set rather than the individual replies. The stand is a means to a result, and a supplier who is flawless on logistics but blank on what the show is for will build exactly what you specify — including your mistakes.
- What the vendor needs from you, and by when
- Who submits the organiser paperwork, and the deadline
- The material specification, including the fire treatment
- What the quote excludes, in writing and signed
- The payment milestones and the deliverable behind each one
- The build-up arrival slot, crew size and shift hours
- The date on which you will approve dimensioned drawings
The next step
Send all three vendors the same brief and the same questions: show name, city, dates, stall area, number of open sides, budget band, and two or three reference images with a line on what you liked about each. Identical inputs are what make the replies comparable, and how quickly and precisely a vendor answers before you have paid anything is the best available preview of how they will answer during build-up week.
We are happy to be interviewed this way — written answers, every question. Design free with a confirmed fabrication order, production in our own workshops, organiser submissions handled, and one named project manager accountable from brief through dismantle.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if my stand is the right size?+
Ask the vendor what it can hold. At 36 sq.m the arithmetic gives about 28.8 sq.m of display, room for roughly 11 visitors at a time and 4 staff on duty. If your footfall expectation is far above that, the constraint is the stand rather than the campaign.
Which question matters most?+
Who physically does the work. It decides who controls quality and who controls the date, and every other answer — pricing, drawings, site crew, backup plans — depends on it.
What should I ask about the venue's rules?+
Ask for the height limit, whether rigging is permitted, the fire certification the organiser requires, and the date drawings must be submitted. Specific knowledge of one hall beats a claim to work in every city.
Should the answers be in writing?+
Yes. Scope, inclusions, exclusions, drawing dates, milestones and the named site contact all belong in the quote or the contract. A verbal answer is a recollection, not a commitment.
How many vendors should I put these questions to?+
Three, with the same brief. Two gives you nothing to calibrate an outlier answer against, and five is more work than the comparison repays.
What if a vendor refuses to itemise the quote?+
Treat the refusal as the answer. Without line items you cannot compare two quotes, remove scope you do not need, or tell the difference between a cheaper vendor and a smaller scope.
How long should this take?+
About a thirty-minute call for the first stage, then one document request each at quoting and signing. Set against a build that needs 3 weeks or more, it is the cheapest hour in the whole project.
Is it reasonable to ask to visit the workshop?+
Entirely. It is a routine request for anyone buying a fabricated product, and the reaction to the question is informative even before the visit happens.
Flooring & Carpeting near you
Our crews deliver flooring & carpeting in every major Indian city.