@SteveSoCal wrote:
Nothing changes much with that situation.
@Flash wrote:
Do leopards change their spots? Is anyone truly surprised?
@SteveSoCal wrote:
Who involved with the IMSC has not see that behavior since it's inception?
@ColoKate63 wrote:
Direct quote from a conversation we had:
ColoKate63: “Why are you always siding with the companies? Aren’t you supposed to be an organization for the shoppers?”
IMSC Pam: “The shoppers don’t have any money. Most of them can barely afford the conferences. I don’t do this for free. The companies have money. You should see some of the checks I’ve seen. I should open up my own company, but I don’t want the problems.”
@Jack in CO wrote:
that's really unethical to keep payments from a cancelled conference.
@Jack in CO wrote:
Convinced one of the company's she does edit work to drop the shop fee from $65 to $60 so that she can input the shop results. But with the new system from the MSC, the shopper takes more time with the report then before. So, she took ~$5/shop from shoppers right into her pocket.
@ColoKate63 wrote:
IMSC Pam: “The shoppers don’t have any money. Most of them can barely afford the conferences. I don’t do this for free. The companies have money. You should see some of the checks I’ve seen. I should open up my own company, but I don’t want the problems.”
@bgriffin wrote:
I agree takes longer now, wasn't aware that was the reason they went from $65 to $60.
That was the specific reason they gave for dropping the fee when they announced it.
@SteveSoCal wrote:
I read the title of the thread and gelt obligated to brew a pot of coffee before opening it....I'm avoiding popcorn.
Nothing changes much with that situation. Prepare for 50% of the forum to arrive on the defense and this thread to devolve into chaos, then be deleted before the quarantine comes an end!
@CravingCakes wrote:
Pam refused to refund my money from her conference, only giving me the ability to rebook for a future date for a conference in a state I couldn't possibly make it to, so how she has the nerve to steal my money and demand that you refund money for a product past it's refundable date is ironic. This industry is full of theives.
@wauserfriendly wrote:
It's very hard for any of us to decide who is correct or not in general. But if the circumstances are true, you have a case for either libel or slander. A letter from an attorney may have your membership reinstated and prevent her from doing this in the future. But both of you should realize lawsuits are costly. It may not be worth it for you to follow through, and it might be intelligent for her to settle or do what you've asked out of fear of the protracted suit.
|@Jack in CO wrote:
@ColoKate63 wrote:
Direct quote from a conversation we had:
ColoKate63: “Why are you always siding with the companies? Aren’t you supposed to be an organization for the shoppers?”
IMSC Pam: “The shoppers don’t have any money. Most of them can barely afford the conferences. I don’t do this for free. The companies have money. You should see some of the checks I’ve seen. I should open up my own company, but I don’t want the problems.”
Yea, she'll screw over a shopper at any time she can make money. She created her own editing company. Convinced one of the company's she does edit work to drop the shop fee from $65 to $60 so that she can input the shop results. But with the new system from the MSC, the shopper takes more time with the report then before. So, she took ~$5/shop from shoppers right into her pocket.
@tobiz777 wrote:
PART ONE
Here is a very interesting true story. A shopper purchases one of my camera kits 4 months ago and now wants to return it because she has decided that video shopping is not for her. She claims she tried to return it early but that was untrue as she instead had purchased additional accessories for the kit. Since it is way beyond any refund period she goes crying the high & mighty President of the IMSC, Pamela O. I get a call from her and her royal highness demands I refund the money. If I don't she will throw me out of the organization. I had agreed on refunding half the money only if it was returned under certain conditions and she emails me back that NO gives her the money and IMSC will give her the other half. The product arrives back to me and is totally unusable and I take pictures of it and send it to Judge Pamela. She could care less as Judge Jury & Executioner. She then contacts my clients and begins to discredit me. I refuse to give the refund and I am removed from the IMSC! So why am I telling you this because when she just canceled her April Conference she told everyone that the IMSC does not issue refunds! Give me a break! Pamela O you need to be removed and your organization shut down! You cannot dictate to people and not review all the facts! You cannot hold people's money when there is a pandemic and everyone that you gave deposits is giving back money! You can't be an editor for companies and then try to be an advocate when those companies are putting money in your pocket! You can't just decide that there will only allow one company to sell video equipment when that company is also the company that you edit for! You are a walking contradiction! You can't strong-arm shoppers and tell them you will blackball them and report them to your paid sponsors or strong-arm small businesses like mine into doing what you want! Your training videos are useless! Your Facebook groups are redundant at best. If shoppers want to know what shops are available they can log onto any MSP's site and if schedulers need shoppers they know how to bulk email or text previous shoppers! She provides absolutely nothing to anyone and if you have an issue with an MSP then deal with it yourself! We don't need her dictatorship mentality in our industry! So get out of the IMSC and save your money! Who wants a conference that is stacked with paid people from rent a crowd company! Need a conference that bad then we can plan our own party as she provided no benefits other than to line her own pockets with your hard-earned money! Get out of IMSC now!
FYI - I have all the emails to prove what I am claiming about her demanding me to give a refund!
PART TWO
UPDATE- I have done some research into IMSC canceled conference that you may want to pass along. As well I am attaching the contract details. If you happen to have read any of Pam's rebuttals well here at the facts. 1. She claimed the hotel was generous enough not to charge her for all the rooms - BS! The hotel has a 21 day cancellation period and the worse would have been losing her deposit. 2. Under the current situation, I believe that she did not push for a refund and instead floated that refund to a future date as she would still be holding the conference. I have been unable to tell from the policy if a deposit was required and normally on 24 rooms (1 free for the organizer) would be $500 and the event rooms are based on what food and beverage were being offered so I am saying another $500 for a total of maybe $1000 out of pocket. Under the current conditions the, if the event did go on the hotel, would be unable to host the event due to the restrictions in place to due no group meetings hence a full refund would be offered. Pam did not need to cancel the hotel would have! She lost nothing! When planning events, the organizer must have the minimum amount of funds available to them to pay for deposits. Any funds collected by customers should be set aside in a special account and not touched until 14 days prior to the event when final payments are due. The money in the special account is not the organizers until 14 days prior to the event. That is the correct way to be financially responsible. After being in tour & travel for over 25 years, I think I have learned that much! In any event, when you plan an event you the organizer takes the risk that they will have enough people attend to cover the expenses and if not any the event is canceled that is on them and not the attendee. She nows claims that this has caused her undue stress, well that was self-inflicted by decisions she made. After all the messages I got from my initial post, one thing is clear, shoppers are afraid to stand up to her as she will discredit them to MSC's. Just let her try and that is called slander and a sueable offense. Also worth noting is the amount of MSC's that contact me and have not renewed into her organization or have limited contact with her. It is time to get this bad apple out of our industry. Lastly, this may not seem to be the time to be doing this with our world in such turmoil but we are strong people and we will recover. Let's take lemons and make lemonade but correcting this wrong during our downtime.
More to come as she does not frighten me and I will uncover more information as this is just not right!
PART THREE - HOTEL CONTRACT
As part of her conference, she blocked book rooms, that is how you get discounted or free meeting rooms and only pay for the food & beverage that is served by the hotel.
Group Booking (Guest Rooms Only)
Terms and Conditions
Key Points about your Group Event Contract:
• A valid credit card is required to reserve your room block. Your
credit card will NOT be charged at this time.
• Each guest room in your block must be confirmed by the Cut-Off
Date.
• The “Cut-Off Date” is 12:00 a.m. (midnight, hotel time) on the day
that is twenty-one (21) days before the first arrival day of your room
block.
• A guest room is confirmed when you or a guest attending your
event secures the room with a valid credit card.
• Rooms in your block that are NOT confirmed by the Cut-Off
Date will then be released for sale to others.
• To cancel your event, you must contact the hotel directly. If you
cancel your event (or any rooms within your block) after the Cut-Off
Date, your credit card may be charged the room rate plus applicable
taxes for the first night of each canceled room.
@tobiz777 wrote:
Hilton Atlanta Northeast - as a major hotel I would think they would offer a refund but as I mentioned she may have floated the deposit to another date or maybe she got the refund and used to to help remodel that house she's fixing up to move into?
@LisaSTL wrote:
Hilton is definitely one of the chains who announced they were waiving cancellation fees.
@bgriffin wrote:
@tobiz777 wrote:
There is no Moretti it is Rosetti, Joe Rosetti
Sorry, I keep getting him mixed up with the shitty Italian beer.
@JASFLALMT wrote:
Edited: I didn't mean for their to be smiley faces there.