An interesting article by Stanley Fish in The New York Times this week about the self-service economy we live in. The article is about getting a cup of coffee - but it  is extremely relevant to those of us working with online software systems. - many of which are self service these days.This is the way we live today - and frankly we all like the control we get from being able to have our hands-on.   But does it always lead to the best solution?  Fish describes the problem:

“A coordination problem (a term of art in economics and management) occurs when you have a task to perform, the task has multiple and shifting components, the time for completion is limited, and your performance is affected by the order and sequence of the actions you take.  And these days, you will face a coordination problem if you want to get a cup of coffee in the United States.“And your real problems begin when you turn, holding your prize, and make your way to where the accessories - things you put in, on and around your coffee - are to be found.  There is a staggering array of them, and the order of their placement seems random in relation to the order of your needs. “And two things add to your pain and trouble. First, it costs a lot, $3 and up. And worst of all, what you’re paying for is the privilege of doing the work that should be done by those who take your money.“The coffee shop experience is just one instance of the growing practice of shifting the burden of labor to the consumer - gas stations, grocery and drug stores, bagel shops (why should I put on my own cream cheese?), airline check-ins, parking lots. It’s insert this, swipe that, choose credit or debit, enter your PIN, push the red button, error, start again.“At least when you go on a “vacation” that involves working on a ranch, the work is something you’ve chosen. But none of us has chosen to take over the jobs of those we pay to serve us.”

It’s an issue we are constantly grappling with for our Clients at MeetMax.  The control and immediacy are what most of them want (and we’ve worked hard to make it happen)…most of the time.   But they do not want it all of the time.For new clients, understaffed clients, rushed clients, clients whose expertise lies away from software systems, clients who do not like administering a software system - then self-service is not the right choice, at that time. We have many clients who want to administer only urgent changes, and the reporting that is important to their event.  They do not want to administer file uploads, graphics - even setting up a new event.  They want us to do it so they can spend their time on menus, signage, facilities, room blocks and the other numerous aspects of a successful event.And it’s hard to argue that’s the wrong decision sometimes.If you want to read the whole article by Stanley Fish

When you are taking registration for an Event that has multiple activities, why not provide more information and more control to your guests as they register. It will save you a lot of time later with follow-up, and provide your guests with a more gratifying experience.

1. Options. Most event registration systems let guests sign up for the spa – but that’s about it. What treatment they get and when exactly is often left for onsite or an off-line conversation. Easier, is to provide all the option during the registration process. First, it saves you time. Second, it keeps all this information in a single place so you can send it to the resort in one email.

2. See who else is participating. How very Web 2.0! We know this doesn’t apply to every activity - which is why it’s an optional setting for each activity – but when I am signing up to a golf tee-time, or deciding which bus trip to go on – it would surely help me to choose if I could see who else had signed up. It will only hit you as a customer service issue later – when guests ask to switch activities to be with their friends – so why not let them manage it themselves upfront and save yourself that time.

3. Private Activities. Here is an exception to transparency. Do you ever have a private dinner that a few guests will be attending but that you do not want to be visible to everyone else? Making a dinner Private allows the administrator to choose discretely who can attend, but the dinner still shows up on personal schedules of those included.

Today, more and more companies organize Analyst Days as a way to provide a deeper perspective to Investors, in contrast to brokerage conferences, where presentation time is limited.

There is no excuse for not using the same sophisticated registration and event management systems as are used by brokerage firms.  Investors expect it.

What are the benefits of using a purpose-built registration tool for your analyst days or AGM? 

• Better Response 
• Save time 
• Survey your Investors at the same time
• Schedule management 1×1s 

A system Investors are familiar with and which saves them time in registering - such as TWSTEvent, which is used for most investment bank conferences - will yield a higher response from Investors.

You save time if all your response data is in one place, along with sign-ups to lunch and other events, and if you can check the data and download it from any PC.

Ask your registrants a few questions as they register, to get some pre-event feedback. Their attitude to the sector, awareness or response to recent announcements, aspects of your company they would like to hear more about. It takes very little time for the registrant, and you get valuable feedback to help design the event.

Do you give attendees an opportunity to meet senior management in 1×1 meetings? Then let the investors indicate their interests when they register.

For many incentive events – a race occurs, on the part of the Invitees, to register as quickly as possible to get the pick of the litter of activities on offer. 

Wise to the fact that activities such as golf will be limited in quantity, the experienced bird arrives early to get one of the 16 worms.

Essentially, many incentive events choose to ration activities through quantity.   There will be a limit on the number of golf slots, and perhaps a limit – expressed in some way – on the number of activities an Invitee can sign up for.  This is a legitimate way to do it – if not always the most fair.  But policing activity limits can sometimes be politically challenging.

A different approach involves room credits.  Each Invitee is allocated an amount as a credit. $300 perhaps, plus $150 for a guest. This credit can be “spent” by the Invitee on activities – with any spending beyond the credit being added to the “extras” account on the room and paid for by the Invitee. Activities are priced explicitly – a round of golf costing $100, club rental $20, spa treatment $125 and a tennis lesson $75, as examples.   The cost is then deducted from the room credit. 

The pricing of activities, and the risk of going over the room credit allowance, act as natural limiters on overindulging on activities.  And hence can be fairer than pure first-come, first-served - and less patronizing than policing arbitrary limits..  

Hotels and Resorts are able to manage the administration of this room credit, and of course return unspent amounts to the meeting host.  So there is no extra cost to the meeting host, merely a more orderly distribution of Activity sign-ups.

MeetMax is used by one of our clients in this manner, and MeetMax’s real-time calculation and display of the room credit balance helps the Invitees find the right mix of activities for their taste.