Sunday's Bridal show

The show on Sunday was a huge success! Vendors are happy, the boutiques are happy and the guests are happy. For the most part, I am as well. My staff and I put in a lot of hard work to ensure a successful show. We had long tireless hours, months of preparation and lots of personalities to deal with. We kept ourselves above reproach, treated all as fairly as possible, and sought to do the very best that we could for everyone involved.
So it does upset me to learn that a certain someone (I will refrain from naming for professional courtesy) from a shady new business (yes, I can say shady because I have a former worker working for me now and know the horror stories!) showed up at the show, solicting vendors and passing out her new bridal planner book. Her bridal planner book at a show I have put over months of work into! Just a bit tacky don't you think? Especially when she had to lie and cheat to get it done!
There are certain courtesies to extend when attending someone else's show. Yes I have gone to several bridal shows to see what the competition is doing. There are some great shows in Des Moines and I would be stupid not to go see what they are doing well. Learning from successful professionals is always a smart move. However, I am there as a guest! I may stop to talk to a vendor, take a business card, and call on them later, but not on the other person's time. They have worked hard just like I do; extending the same courtesy just makes good business sense!
But apparently not all business owners have read the same play book. This particular individual comes in with her worker before the show (didn't pay the admission fee), tells everyone that she is there on behalf of the Botanical Center (she wasn't---I checked!), and proceeds to lie to my workers about needing to put her publication on the Botanical Center's table. They didn't have a table, the whole Dome is their domain! When she was told that they didn't have a specific table, she handed them out to waiting brides and placed her books on my registration tables.
I have to hand it to her--a sneaky plan, but not a good thing to do. A very good friend put it this way, "...like sneaking under the fence to a ballgame!" Only this person is not 9 years old, is supposed to be a professional business person and should know better. I guess she doesn't play by the rules!
This is not the way to conduct your business! Lying and cheating to get ahead, will only bite you in the end. My mother gave me wise words to live by and they have governed much of my life: "What goes around comes around!"
The lesson I have learned? I guess I will have to hire security guards for the next show just to keep the riff-raff out!