The Cage: What Worked, Didn't Work?

[Animal]

Thanks for everyone who dropped by The Cage. It was a great success. While the memories are still fresh, tell us what worked well and what didn't. We're always looking to improve what we do and your feedback is important. Did we drop the ball somewhere? Did we do something well? Tell us so that we can begin planning next year's event. And please be honest. We are looking for real insights, even if they are less than positive. We want to improve.

[Razor]

Just a couple observations:

1) Great idea having the samples in a separate area! But i noticed they kept falling off the tables especially when people were grabbing them. Maybe bins or something?
2) Hat display. Manequin heads to display all the hats would be my first though on how to improve that. Got asked numerous times what the hats looked like, etc.
3) Shirts on display definitely worked just hung on the sides!
4) Loved the 2 microwaves idea
5) Water jugs for the shop. We had to go into the Cage to get water when it was crowded beyond belief.

[C.Coronato]

- More than one Credit Card Machine
- More room for us to walk behind the counter.
- Better display for other clothes. Try to some how get them up higher so people can see.
- Need some more shelves, not as many lockers

[Standing_Guard]

I think the shop was done very well, maybe a entrance and exit sign might help, but I no qualms about directing people. We had a great team this year. Sorry to Evan's wife who I unknowingly stopped from entering lol

[C.Coronato]

I think the shop was done very well, maybe a entrance and exit sign might help, but I no qualms about directing people. We had a great team this year. Sorry to Evan's wife who I unknowingly stopped from entering lol

Agreed. People a little confusing, and the line was pretty long. Not sure if that was good or bad.

Evans wife, Erika, is good people. I'm sure she understood!

[J Wong]

The bleachers were a great idea. At first the cage looked like it would have been too small, but I think it worked out pretty damn well even when it got too crowded. I know the cage being crowded can seem like a pain in the ass, but having all of those people in there and outside of it really has a positive effect on the atmosphere for the lifting.

[TheMachine]

No complaints this year. the line to get into the shop was ran smoothly and loved the bleachers idea. only thing would be adding more bleachers if possible

[smoothballer]

- Credit Cards Payment was great. Maybe bring 2 machines next time to speed things up a little more.
- Love the Tri-blend shirts.
- I like the Flexfit brand hats better, but that's obviously a personal preference of fitting.
- I was skeptical about the racks of clothes but people that I sold to really liked being able to size the clothing. Like Razor mentioned, find a way to display the hats but obviously make sure they don't walk away.
- Cage itself got a little smaller. Find a way to expand it back to the size it was. Maybe do some the clothes racks and shrink that area a little. Or maybe the Cage doesn't need the power rack and just set up the mono, bench, and deadlift area. And obviously a storage rack for the bars since that is part of the rack.
- The entrance and exit of the Shop worked well for crowd control with interns (and Standing_Guard) bouncing.
- More signage for the shop and bleachers. (Enter, Exit, Clothing For Sizing - Leave on Rack, No Climbing on Back of Bleachers, Price on the shirts hanging up high on the fence)
- I have to admit I was bummed when I first heard about not having the VIP box, but once we were allowed in the entrance area to the Cage we could see the events and not be fighting to get a seat in the bleachers or up front on the fence. I couldn't get near the bleachers all weekend. Area was packed.
- I like the location of the booth. Much cooler and line for the shop didn't really bog down the expo aisels.
- Have Beau Moore back every damn year. No one pumps the crowd up like him. Whoooooooooo!!!

[npcdusty]

Overall I think it was the best yet. The shop and the cage was on point! I spent most of the weekend in the shop working samples with Shane C and we got a lot of questions about clothing, and supps. Some confusion on the shop process but no real complaints. I did have some request or ideas from others however.

Protein Sales in big jugs was a big one
What was going on in the cage while people were waiting for the shop, Maybe a small monitor over the shop back wall. I know i would like to have seen some while we worked as well! but i'm not complaining.
I loved the shop area, it gave people a chance to get out of a line for a min, try things on and well we talked a lot of them in to buying more that way!
Def exit, Enter sign! But we covered that pretty well without them I think and was able to help with returns having one turn people away and allow people to exchange when needed at the same time!
Water for the shop, however I don't mind running to the cage for anyone at anytime.
Signs on the rack to let people know to feel free to try on and leave on rack to purchase at counter.
I know forum members missed the VIP this year but I also think the bleachers were really cool and helped as well.

The lines moved fast and we had so many people thank us for such a cool experience in the shop. Animal had a line for 3 days just to buy things and even though I have a special place in my heart for the company, I def can see why. The new shirts, hats, etc were def the coolest in the event and it showed. Those that bought on Friday wore the new shirt the next day or even put them on right then.

Oh and if Animal ever makes a damn Sleeveless Hoodie, I fucking scream bloody murder!!! lol

Cant wait till next year brothers, it was a true honor to work with such an amazing team!

[Razor]

- More than one Credit Card Machine
- More room for us to walk behind the counter.
- Better display for other clothes. Try to some how get them up higher so people can see.
- Need some more shelves, not as many lockers

Yes all of these!

[ganderson]

The Cage experience was great this year...so much different, but I think it definitely paid off in the end. At the start of the weekend, it was really hectic, but as everything got going and time went on, it was a well oiled machine and it was moving!

- More displays for sure, whether it be for hats and/or more shirts. Making them easier for the customers to see too.
- I agree with all of the signs ideas. The intentions of the clothing racks and the outline of the Shop seemed to be misinterpreted, even after explaining everything. This would make The Cage run even smoother!
- I know there was more gear than any other year, but I got a TON of requests about buying Animal Whey and specifically, Flex too.
- Not gonna lie, at first I was bummed out about there being no VIP because it was always a place for us FORVM members to gather and hang. But it was real nice that the interns and other members were able to be inside the Cage without it being too much of an issue.
- The bleachers seemed to workout well. Looking at them jam packed with people from the inside of the Cage was a sight to see!
- Taking credit cards seemed to be huge. I talked to a lot of relieved customers regarding taking CC this year.
- Lastly, what also DID work was introducing the ladies to the Cage. Seriously, it was a great performance by them...my fiancee couldn't get enough of that event. I also did notice that there were a lot of females standing in line, coming through the shop and buying gear. I think having the ladies lift in the Cage was great for expanding the name and what we do...I also did get many requests about female specific clothing.

In the end, pushing aside the pros and cons, this weekend was one I'll never forget. I would do everything, if not more, all over again. Looking forward to next year already, can't wait.

[Shanec]

Overall I think it was the best yet. The shop and the cage was on point! I spent most of the weekend in the shop working samples with Shane C and we got a lot of questions about clothing, and supps. Some confusion on the shop process but no real complaints. I did have some request or ideas from others however.

Protein Sales in big jugs was a big one
What was going on in the cage while people were waiting for the shop, Maybe a small monitor over the shop back wall. I know i would like to have seen some while we worked as well! but i'm not complaining.
I loved the shop area, it gave people a chance to get out of a line for a min, try things on and well we talked a lot of them in to buying more that way!
Def exit, Enter sign! But we covered that pretty well without them I think and was able to help with returns having one turn people away and allow people to exchange when needed at the same time!
Water for the shop, however I don't mind running to the cage for anyone at anytime.
Signs on the rack to let people know to feel free to try on and leave on rack to purchase at counter.
I know forum members missed the VIP this year but I also think the bleachers were really cool and helped as well.

The lines moved fast and we had so many people thank us for such a cool experience in the shop. Animal had a line for 3 days just to buy things and even though I have a special place in my heart for the company, I def can see why. The new shirts, hats, etc were def the coolest in the event and it showed. Those that bought on Friday wore the new shirt the next day or even put them on right then.

Oh and if Animal ever makes a damn Sleeveless Hoodie, I fucking scream bloody murder!!! lol

Cant wait till next year brothers, it was a true honor to work with such an amazing team!

I thought overall it was laid out great ! What a great experience !! The couple things i could think of has been mentioned in the previous post but here goes...... the showroom in the shop worked great for everyone to try on the clothes and see how they would fit... The biggest obstacle was getting to the ones we could to let them know that all the sizes were up at the counter and that they dont have to take the ones on hangers up front with them. Also As the weekend went on they would just come in and browse the racks to see what we had in their size and would start to leave.. We caught the ones we could and told them that the clothes hanging were just to show you examples and that they have all your sizes up front and most of them went back up and bought something.... so a sign placed on the racks stating that would be a great idea..

Overall this weekend was an awesome experience and having the chance to do what i could to help out was an honor ! Everyone that i met over the weekend was so welcoming and friendly ! It really is like a family at animal and I appreciated everything and cant wait until next year !!

[knotahumanbeing]

I thought the layout of the cage was awesome. The stadium seating was a great addition to keep the hoards of random people out of the gym so staff and athletes had room. I thought the shop layout was very efficient, however I was kinda skeptical and watching for possible shoplifters (guess that's law enforcement side of me).

[Firefist]

I thought the shop layout was very efficient, however I was kinda skeptical and watching for possible shoplifters (guess that's law enforcement side of me).

I was super concerned about this too. I saw some guys looking around like they were gonna walk out with things.

[jhenry]

-entrance and exit signs
-display only signs for the racks
-a lot of people asked if we had any protein for sale
-Agree with possibly getting the shirts displayed higher or elsewhere
-maybe try a sold out sticker etc when a shirt is gone, noticed some people waited in line for the blue shirt on Sunday and when they got to the front had to tell them we were sold out

Overall I believe the entrance worked great, allowing a few in at a time kept it orderly and allowed people to browse.
Only worked the front gate of the shop so this is all I really noticed for possible improvements.
If we were to keep the same layout then canceling out the power rack if not need would be a huge space improvement

The bleachers were a hit( maybe a no climbing sign for next year)

[ghost]

One thing that would make things a lot faster is a cut through between the shop and the cage for employees/interns
Definitely two credit card machines.
Flexfit caps need to come back.


More later

[Razor]

-entrance and exit signs
-display only signs for the racks
-a lot of people asked if we had any protein for sale
-Agree with possibly getting the shirts displayed higher or elsewhere

I definitely agree with the displays. If you notice towards the end of the expo we started putting them on display in the shop. It was just difficult to do it with the small space we had.

As for the Whey, since BB.com had a booth and Whey is exclusive to them i could understand why we didn't have any to sell.

[Razor]

One thing that would make things a lot faster is a cut through between the shop and the cage for employees/interns
Definitely two credit card machines.
Flexfit caps need to come back.


More later

haha yeah definitely more credit card machines!

[smoothballer]

I definitely agree with the displays. If you notice towards the end of the expo we started putting them on display in the shop. It was just difficult to do it with the small space we had.

As for the Whey, since BB.com had a booth and Whey is exclusive to them i could understand why we didn't have any to sell.

BB.com wasn't there this year

[Razor]

BB.com wasn't there this year

Hmmm was told they were by someone who i won't name...