"Industry Best Practices": Ideas for SCAA

I just received an invitation from SCAA to attend the annual event on a “Press Pass.” So, almost a third of the story I was going to write about is taken care of. Though, I still want to share some thoughts with the SCAA based on my recent experience with them.

Early this year and after a long hesitation, I wanted to attend the 19th SCAA Annual Conference and Exhibition in Long Beach California and registered online for what they call “complementary press pass.” In case I attend the event, I wanted to make sure that I would have the freedom to record interviews and take pictures as I find it necessary, thus the need for a press pass.

I registered on March 11, 2007 and almost immediately received the auto generated confirmation email from SCAA Conference Registration Desk:

From SCAA Conference Registration Desk registration@scaa.org
to poorfarmer@gmail.com
date Mar 11, 2007 5:05 AM
subject Your SCAA Conference Press Registration

Thank you for your registration to the 19th Annual SCAA Conference and Exhibition.

To verify and approve your complimentary press registration, we will contact you shortly at: Coffee Politics (Poorfarmer.blogspot.com)…

If you have any questions, please contact press@scaa.org.

I was not contacted as promised. Days have passed with no correspondence with SCAA.

These days, most organizations and companies respond to written requests within a reasonable period, usually less than seven days. I make exceptions to the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) and USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Services) as they tend to take longer than seven days to resolve any issues. But even these government bodies do their best to keep the communication alive by sending out letters stating the expected time it might take them to process requests. For instance, the USCIS typically sets the expectation to 90 days but they ask you to call a toll-free number if after 90 days, the case is not settled.

True, things do not always go as smooth and I understand if the SCAA does not contact me as I had wished. But as clearly stated on the following conditions listed on the web page, registration is not guaranteed until an SCAA staff confirms so:

* Press should pre-register for the conference via our Online Registration for press (below).
* We will contact you to verify credentials and to confirm press registration. Registration is not official until you have been notified by SCAA marketing and public relations staff.
* You will be included on a press list distributed to exhibitors so that they may contact you about their company news.
* Once approved, press badges may only be picked up in the press room at the show, Room 104 Foyer. Please bypass the main registration lines. The press room will have exhibit press kits for your use, as well as SCAA representatives to assist you, if needed.

Much to my surprise, on March 18th, 17 days after I filed the online registration form and before SCAA confirmed by registration, exhibitors started contacting me with information on their products and services – an indication that my information has been included on the press list, which is being distributed to exhibitors. Some of these emails are mass-mailed while others are direct. I have replied, with many thanks, to most of the people who sent me a direct email. Any way, I was perplexed that SCAA would let exhibitors use my contact information before they even confirmed to me whether my registration was accepted or not.
So I wrote a follow-up email, this time not to the registration desk but to the press organizers’ mailbox:

from Coffee Politics
to press@scaa.org
date Mar 31, 2007 1:01 AM
subject Re: Your SCAA Conference Press Registration

Hello,

This is a follow-up to my request for registration to the 19th Annual SCAA Conference and Exhibition. Would you kindly confirm whether the complementary press registration is approved?

Thank you,

No response to date - 46 days and still counting. Well, this may not be a big deal but wouldn’t it be nice if SCAA let me know that they are distributing my contact information to their clients? Ideally, I would also expect them to send me a list of the exhibitors whom the SCAA is going to distribute the press list to.

I thought this was an interesting experience and wanted to write about it.

Thankfully, I received a nice invitation from an SCAA executive only minutes after I posted this comment. The email reads, “If you decide to attend SCAA Long Beach, please accept my invitation to do so on a press pass… [name] SCAA”

This is great and I am grateful for the invitation. I trust this is also a confirmation of my previous registration.

My experience may not represent SCAA’s services but it does indicate an area of improvement. As a leading association in the coffee industry, I believe SCAA has a comparative advantage in setting service standards for its members to follow.

I suggest that SCAA first commit itself for an exceptional service delivery and, second, promote this among its members. If it is not already in place, SCAA can introduce an industry-wide communication regarding improved, creative, and appealing service standards including but not limited to timely and accurate processing of requests and complaints.

One recommendation, again if it is not being practiced, would be an introduction of a voluntary survey of SCAA members’ service standards and launch an Industry Best Practices standards. The demonstrational effect will encourage member companies to excel in their services. These practices should be revisited as frequently as warranted to ensure the public’s satisfaction because, in the coffee business, this is by far more important than self-serving.