RECEPTIONIST: Green Business Conference.
This is Jane. What can I do for you today?
MAN: Hello. I’m interested in
attending your conference, and would like to get some more information.
RECEPTIONIST: Are you affiliated with a
specific company or organisation?
MAN: Yes. I’m a business
strategist at Oxford Developers. We mostly deal with commercial development.
RECEPTIONIST: I see. And has your company
ever been represented at one of our conferences before?
MAN: No, I don’t believe so.
RECEPTIONIST: That’s absolutely fine. We
welcome new participants. However, we do require that all businesses sending
representatives to one of our conferences become members of our business
association.
MAN: That shouldn’t be a
problem.
RECEPTIONIST: Great. Then you’ll just
need to register yourself through the conference website by Friday of next week.
MAN: All right. And how much, exactly, does it cost to attend?
RECEPTIONIST: If you want to attend all
three days of the conference, the fee is £250. You also have the choice of
paying for individual days, and the rate for that is £100 per day.
MAN: What if I want to listen to
only certain lectures?
RECEPTIONIST: Unfortunately we don’t have
that option right now, but
all fees for this conference are tax deductible for your company, if that
helps at all.
MAN: OK. And how many lectures
will take place each day?
RECEPTIONIST: Our conference format
includes both lectures and workshops. We have two lectures each morning, at 9
and 11, followed by a lunch break from 12:30 to 2. After lunch, there is one lecture from 2 to 3:30, and a
one-hour workshop at 4. We divide participants into small groups for the
workshop, which gives you a chance to put the information you’ve learned that
day to use.
MAN: That’s a bright idea. So,
how long are the lectures?
RECEPTIONIST: To be honest, it really
depends on the speaker. Some take the full hour and a half, while others take
only an hour and include an extra question and answer time at the end.
MAN: Where can I get a list of
the speakers?
RECEPTIONIST: The speakers and their
topics are posted on our website.
MAN: Would you mind telling me
what else is included in the conference fees besides access to the lectures
and workshops?
RECEPTIONIST: For one, each participant
will be provided with lunch.
MAN: Will there be vegetarian
options? I’ve
recently changed my diet.
RECEPTIONIST: Yes, absolutely. And coffee
will be available throughout the day for purchase in the cafeteria of the
convention centre where the conference will be held.
MAN: What about educational
materials? I assume that we will receive some kind of printed form of the
information that will be covered during the three days.
RECEPTIONIST: There is an informational
brochure that you’ll receive when you check in at the registration desk, but
it is quite basic. After the conference, notes from the lectures as well as videos
of our speakers will be posted to our website, but you will have to pay £20
to access them.
MAN: Even for conference
participants?
RECEPTIONIST: That’s correct. Only
conference sponsors will have free access to the materials. However, we will
be creating an email list of participants and sending out follow-up articles
as supplementary resources.
MAN: OK. What happens if I
register, but then can’t make it due to unforeseen circumstances?
RECEPTIONIST: We have a seven-day cancellation policy. If
you cancel at least seven days in advance, you will receive a full refund.
However, any cancellations within seven days of the event will only be
partially refunded.
MAN: How much, exactly?
RECEPTIONIST: You’d get back fifty percent of the fees you
paid.
MAN: And are there group
discounts available?
RECEPTIONIST: We can offer reduced rates
for groups of ten or
more, but everyone
from the group must work at the same company.
MAN: That won’t really help us,
as our company will only
send six of us. That’s a shame.
RECEPTIONIST: I’ll tell you what... I’ll
talk with my supervisor and see what I can do. Maybe I can work out some sort
of exception for your company, as long as you register each person in the
group for the entire conference.
MAN: Really? Then I’ll talk with
my boss, too. I’m sure he’ll be eager for us to get as much out of the
conference as possible.
RECEPTIONIST: Wonderful. Let me just
write down your name...
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