Date: Sun, 12 Sep 2004 00:54:59 -0400
To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>
From: Elspeth Kovar <ekovar at worldnet.att.net>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Do we have an account with Acteva.com ?
Cc: leeandalexis at hotmail.com
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>

At 05:20 PM 9/10/04, Keith F. Lynch wrote:
>A message from "Samuel" of Acteva.com, who has a strong Indian accent,
>was left on my answering machine this morning, regarding their account
>with Capclave.  He left the (toll-free) phone number 877-933-4730 #405.
>I've tried returning the call several times, at least once each hour,
>but I keep getting his answering machine.
>
>I see no point in leaving a message on his answering machine, since at
>best it would lead to him leaving another content-free message on mine.
>
>Their website implies that they are in the business of publicizing
>conventions.  Do we have a contract with them?  Or was he illegally
>cold-calling my phone number, which is on the national do-not-call
>registry, and lying about having an account with us?  Thanks.

Keith, he wasn't cold calling Keith Lynch.  He's a sales rep legitimately
calling an event coordinator.

As the person handling the WSFA website you've chosen to list yourself as
the contact person for a number of conventions.  That makes you the point
of contact and thus a business, not a private individual.  It doesn't
matter that you've only given a name and email address: because of the
choices you've made the national do-not-call registry doesn't apply.

If you continue there's a good chance that you're going to get more
contacts such as this unless we adjust some things.  I'm sorry, and I know
that there are nuances, but that's the way that things work.  You can't
imagine the amount of electronic and regular mail that I get because I'm a
meeting planner.  Neither my ISP nor my mailman are happy about it, and I
don't like having to slog through it.  But some of it is useful.  And while
I may not agree with their methods I put up with it and I'd rather we not
get into a legal discussion with them instead of using them to our best
advantage.

These are people in the community of meeting planners and, even if we don't
need Acteva per se, can have an impact on our reputation and on that of any
events we choose to work with or host.  A quick look at Acteva's website
shows them to be an event marketing firm, which isn't something that those
of us in the SMERFS market usually use but is by no means an uncommon and
is an entirely legitimate business.  Looking into them further, they have a
solid reputation.

By standing back from it you've handled this one well but any contact with
the larger world of meeting professionals is something that I'd like to
keep an eye on.  Might it be possible to pass such along to me if you trust
me or, if we can work it out, anyone whom WSFA designates?  (Please,
really, someone else follow all the trade publications and the professional
conferences and such and take this on!)  Or, despite the WSFAn habit of
being lax about such things, not putting up websites until you have gotten
contact information from them so that you're not on the hot seat and at
least each con has to deal with it on their own?

Some of these folks deserve to be cold-cocked but some of them are quite
useful, if only for their contacts and what they might pass along to other
people.  In this case we don't need them, but I'd like to establish a
contact with them.  At the very least while this guy is probably low-level
I'd like for him to remember WSFA as an organization he's thinks well of.

Elspeth, stepping down from a soap box