RECEPTIONIST(American): Green Business
Conference. This is Jane. What can I do for you today?
MAN(British): 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...