From the New York Post:

“The Jets were unable to book a hotel for the team in downtown Indianapolis for their game because there’s a Star Trek convention in town and every room is booked.”

Maybe they could borrow a transporter and beam themselves in for the game?

Another weird one: An unmarried couple in Bangladesh were forced to marry after getting caught registering for a motel room. “Couples are expected to be married when checking into hotels in conservative Bangladesh.”

And another: Some people will do anything for a buck: a blue tutu-wearing, logo-bearing “Canadian spectator plunged into a swimming pool during a diving competition in what appeared to be a publicity stunt for an online casino.” Not surprisingly, Olympics organizers have increased security at all sports venues.

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Another interesting article about trust and customers from Direct magazine. While it’s written for the direct marketer and the retail end of things, I think the results of the Yankelovich study are important for anyone who markets anything–including meetings.

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According to Catalog Age, there’s a lot you can learn from the eBay model, regardless of what “product” you’re selling–including, I would argue, meetings, booth space, sponsorships, and hotel rooms.

For example, begin with an acknowledgement that people, including the customer (attendee, exhibitor, etc.), “are basically good,” says Debra Ellis of Barnardsville, NC-based Wilson & Ellis Consulting. “If you want customers and prospects to trust you, you need to trust them.” This sounds a lot like what I mentioned yesterday in response to Katherine Stone’s Fast Company blog about creating a community mentality by showing your clients you care about them by giving them space to connect both with your organization and with each other. Ellis says eBay excels at this with its forums, meetings, and chat rooms. “All participants are members, part of the ‘in’ group, instead of customers.”

The article continues, “Encourage feedback and–assuming you offer stellar service–post it for all to see. ‘The eBay community is training folks to look for feedback,’ says Ellis, but ‘it must be realistic to have credibility.’” I’m guessing this means going beyond the usual testimonials by creating a place where people could go online and give feedback on the various parts of your programs or facility–individual breakouts, general sessions, expos, guest rooms, meeting space, etc.–for all to see. Yeah, it’s a scary thought (there’s always those folks who hate everything), but think of the trust you’d create if you were willing to be totally transparent in your evaluation process, just like eBay or Amazon, or this blog, where you can comment for everyone to see if you think I’m totally full of it.

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