Exercising My Travel Muscles for PSA TEC

Last week I had the pleasure of attending and presenting at PSA TEC 2021. It was great to get back out into the world and actually see people face-to-face again. Pre-COVID, I spent more than a third of the year traveling – in 2019, alone, I logged about 130,000 miles – and while I was happy to be home with my family, there was a part of me that missed traveling during our year-plus lockdown.  

But, as I was preparing to head out to Denver I quickly realized my travel muscles had atrophied. It’s like when you used to work out, then you go back to the gym for the first time in a while. I discovered I was sore in places I didn’t even know existed.

Working Out the Travel Kinks

For starters, I used to have a travel bag packed and ready, with things like my airport parking card, Apple watch charger, and wireless phone charger. Over the past year, I’ve gradually pillaged everything out of that bag and hadn’t put it back, so the travel item scavenger hunt took some time. And, in my dopp kit, my travel-sized deodorant was in crumbles; the toothpaste, all dried up. Consequently, just getting out the door took a lot longer than it should have. And I still forgot a thing or two.

And, apparently, I’m not alone. It’s as though people have forgotten how to travel … how to go through security, walk through the airport, and board their planes, not to mention, deplane upon landing. Everyone is working out the kinks. I spoke with more than one person who found their suitcase still packed from their last trip over a year ago. They had been wondering what had happened to “that shirt” – at least their mystery is solved. 

Final confession: I screwed up my flight home, accidently booking a connecting flight out of Dallas to Austin that required an overnight stay. Luckily American Airlines came to my rescue and was able to fix it for only a $4 change. I’ll be happy if they never reinstate change fees.  

PSA TEC

There were about 275 people at the opening reception. It was the biggest crowd I’d been in in a very long time. Everyone wore a colored lanyard, signifying their comfort level in the crowd: Green meant they were okay with handshakes and about 90 percent of attendees wore green lanyards. The remaining 10 percent had on yellow lanyards, suggesting they were still figuring things out. I didn’t see anyone donning a red lanyard, which basically indicated a strong preference to be socially distanced.

The conference itself was really great. Particularly at PSA TEC, people know each other. It’s a small group within a small industry. There was a lot of personal sharing – this is a group that’s used to seeing each other four, five times a year and they haven’t seen anyone in 16 months. People were catching up, and that emotional connection was so much more real than on a phone call or in a virtual meeting.

Eagle Eye had a presence on the exhibit floor where we conducted demos and caught up with folks. This face-to-face interaction is so much more beneficial for everyone. We can really see if people understand what we’re sharing, and whether or not they’re distracted or confused. The 7-38-55 Rule certainly applies here: Words account for 7 percent of the message’s meaning, while tone of voice is 38 percent and body language is 55 percent. That just doesn’t translate well over Zoom.

Going Forward

Our next stop is ISC West, July 19 through 21, in Las Vegas. We’ll have a booth, we’ll be meeting with customers, and we’re currently exploring other avenues to participate. In addition, we’re expanding our in-person regional certification training, so stay tuned for more.

A couple pieces of advice from someone who felt like a newbie to business travel, all over again. Give yourself time (and grace) packing and getting out of the house. Gradually begin exercising your travel muscles, and only do what makes you comfortable. If you’re on the fence, try it. I was pleasantly surprised by how many people at PSA TEC were comfortable and confident. Even many of those wearing yellow lanyards were shaking hands by the conference’s end.