Blog posts tagged with 'schools'

The year continues to fly by; it seems like July was just yesterday but it’s already the middle of August. The days are getting shorter and cooler, but there’s still a lot of fun to be had on patios and on decks across the nation. Soon though, students will be heading back to school to start a new year of learning.

Life is a series of teachable moments.

Of course, learning doesn’t just have to happen in a school. Any room can be a classroom, if there is a desire to learn. Sometimes learning starts with the phrase, "Here, hold my beer and watch this," and sometimes it is a little more formal. To help facilitate more formal learning, National Event Supply offers our NES Reliable Plastic Folding Training Tables and our NES Wood Folding Training Table. Both of these tables are perfect for temporary or permanent classroom settings, featuring reduced widths, sturdy construction, and easy set-up. If you’re interested in facilitating more informal learning, National Event Supply offers beer glasses in our Eclisse Line.

Interested in a Wood Training Tables?

NES Wood Training Tables are 96 inches (8-feet) long, 18 inches wide, and 29.5 inches tall. They’re made of ¾ inch plywood that is 13 layers thick and has been clear-coated. They also feature grey, powder-coated legs and support rails that are bolted through the tabletop for additional strength. We currently stock these tables with black PVC vinyl edging, but they are also available on a special-order basis with aluminum bull-nosed edging. They are currently available in our Toronto warehouse and are part of our buy 10 get 1 free promotion.

Have you thought about Plastic Training Tables?

NES Reliable Plastic Folding Training Tables are 71 inches long, 19.5 inches wide, and 29.25 inches tall. Being just under 6-feet long, they are perfect for narrower rooms, and feature an additional 1.5 inches for people using the table. They also feature grey powder-coated legs and have an off-white plastic top like our NES Reliable Round Folding Tables and our NES Reliable Rectangular Folding Tables. Unlike our plastic folding tables and our wood folding tables, they have a perfectly smooth top that is ideal for writing or drawing on. They are currently available in our Toronto warehouse and are also part of our buy 10 get 1 free promotion.

Day 14—June 22, 2013

It has been two weeks since we began our outdoor durability test with the 4-ft NES Reliable Rectangular Plastic Folding Table and the 4-ft NES Wood Folding Table. I have checked on the tables three or four times in the two week time, generally after a storm or heavy rain to make sure that they have not been blown over. While I realize most people will dry off the tables after it rains (since they need to use them) I decided for this test that it is best to leave them alone. If you are in Toronto you will know that the past two weeks has brought lots of rain (at least every other day) and temperatures that are in the high teens to low 20's. As a result the tables have gone through several cycles where they get wet and the water will evaporate in just the past two week.

June 22 Plastic and Wood Table Durability Test	June 22 Wood Table Bubbling

Despite the wet weather the tables are holding up quite well. The 4-ft NES Reliable Plastic Folding Table is in great shape, it doesn't show any signs of wear at all! The 4-ft NES Wood Folding Table is also holding up quite well despite the rain but this week it started showing some signs of wear. Close to the middle of the table, the top ply is starting to bubble a little bit towards the edge of the table. So far this has not compromised the structure of the table at all but it of course has affected the table visually. Going forward it will be interesting to see how quickly this spreads, especially because this week is supposed to be very hot and humid with temperatures in the high 20's to low 30's and humidity making it feel like mid 30's to low 40's. I will give another update in a few weeks to let you know if there has been any change in the 4-ft Rectangle Plywood Folding Table.

We introduced our NES Reliable Plastic Folding Tables in Toronto more than 6 years ago and the response we have been getting from our customers has been truly amazing. While we have always known our tables are of substantially better quality than you will find with Canadian Tire folding tables or Walmart folding tables, we have never really done a good job of communicating this to our customers.

I realized that we needed to do a better job explaining why our tables are better than those you'd get at a big box store when I received a call from a prospective customer asking for some detailed information about our 3ft square plastic folding card tables. This gentleman insisted that the legs for our 3ft square plastic folding card table should NOT have legs that fold in pairs. He said he had purchased a Canadian Tire Folding Card table that had legs that fold in pairs and he said "the table was crap." Knowing that our NES Reliable Plastic folding tables were not the same 'crappy' quality as you might find at Canadian Tire, I proceeded to try to explain over the phone just how great our folding card table is. Needless to say, this gentleman never bought and I decided we had to do a better job of showing the strength and capabilities of our 3ft Square Folding Card tables. We did this when I tried to break our 3ft Square Folding card table by loading it with more than 1,100lbs of salt on top of the table.

We have done this and other stress tests to show what it takes to break our plastic folding tables. In each of the tests that we have done, we have never indicated what the weight rating was for the tables. When we realised this, we decided it was time we put together a list of the weight ratings that we have for all of our plastic folding tables.

We believe the capabilities of our NES Reliable line of plastic folding tables are comparable to the commercial quality of Lifetime folding tables and better than Costco folding tables but have not done any of our own in-house tests yet. Stay tuned over the coming weeks and months as we start to do some stress tests on Lifetime folding tables, Costco folding tables, and of course Canadian Tire and Walmart folding tables.

May has been a busy month for National Event Supply, increasing our product lines further in dinnerware with 6 new pieces of porcelain. Check out the articles below we’ve been reading to catch up on the industry during the evenings.

Social media can be a great way for events to raise attendee energy and increase the buzz associated with the event. But what happens when confidentiality concerns trump social sharing? Check out this article entitled "Antisocial Behavior: When Event Professionals Have to Block Social Media" to hear special event experts explain how they shut down social media postings when necessary.

Photo by Austin ImageWorks

New trends are emerging that are doing away with the traditional weddings of days past. Special Events magazine wrote an article about the new modern trends popping up and the portions of the wedding trends going bigger and smaller than their mother’s event. Check out the article "Wedding Trends: What's Going Big/What's Going Small" to learn more.

The biggest question in hiring and maintaining a sales workforce often is how to pay them. The answer, however, is that there is no one right answer. While there isn't a universal prescription for sales compensation out there, there are several ideas about what can be done. Check out this article from Rental Management magazine, "Sales Relationships" to hear how other rental companies are dealing with sales compensation.

Success in the restaurant business can be elusive. What's more, success means different things to different people. Regardless of one's definition of success, the basics in the restaurant industry never change. Check out restaurantcentral.ca's article on the top 20 factors for success in the restaurant business.

Shelley Provost, a columnist for Inc Magazine, wrote an article on what she believes is 4 unique working styles: Doing, Leading, Loving, and Learning. The best teams have a balance of all four styles. And the best organizations have many well-balanced teams who are confident in their working style and understand the necessity of divergent types or work. So, what's your style? Check out this article "4 Unique Working Styles: What's Yours?" to learn more.

How has everyone’s March been? It looks like we’re finally getting into Spring weather in Toronto after what feels like a very long winter. Here at National Event Supply we’ve been kicking it into high gear bringing in a wider range of wood folding tables, new amuse bouche spoons and forks, launched a new website that added smartphone capabilities, French translations, and easier access for event and party rental planners on the go, celebrated 100 blog posts, and exhibited at 3 tradeshows including the CRFA Show, the 2013 CRA Prairie Regional Trade Show and the 2013 Quebexpo. We’re not the only ones getting ready for summer—it looks like the blogosphere and event publications are also gearing up for the summer months. So let’s check some of the best posts out.

Special Events Magazine polled some of the top furniture rental companies across the United States to learn more about the types of furniture styles that seem to be flying out of rental warehouses today. To learn more, check out the article Top Trends in Event Furniture Rental.

The CRFA polled 350 professional chefs to identify what’s hot in the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association’s fourth annual Canadian Chef Survey. The full survey results detail the top 10 up and comer menu items for 2013, and the top 10 menu trends consumers will see in restaurants this year. To see the entire results document and view the top 10s, read CFRA’s 2013 Chef Survey Shows Variety is the Trend in Canada’s Restaurants.

Getting more Facebook likes is definitely something you should be striving for, but getting Facebook shares is even better—because a share means your content is being passed around social networks and creating buzz for your business. Facebook marketing expert Mari Smith, along with Shortstack created an infographic on the 14 ways to boost your content’s visibility and viral sharing on Facebook. Get all the tips by viewing the infographic.

RestaurantCentral.ca published a wonderful article on how even the best corporate strategy can and will fall short of its objectives if management poorly implements operational activities. To learn more about how the battle for competitive advantage can be won in the trenches, not the boardroom, check out the article Achieving a Competitive Edge Through Outstanding Operations.

With hiring new staff members on one of the many responsibilities business owners have, Inc Magazine reminds us of the 3 common red flags on resumes that we should be looking for when reviewing a potential hire. Check out the article to learn what those red flags are—3 Common Red Flags on Resumes.