Today, April 2, 2015, I got up early and was snooping around the Internet and landed upon AARP.org for some reason after a Google search. Interestingly, an event was happening in my home town Seattle. A banner alert at the top of every page said: “Help Decide the Future of Aging. Join the White House’s Live Stream Today From Seattle.”
This event is co-sponsored by AARP.
I clicked on the link and went to a page that purported to be about the event. The page did not say:
— what time the stream would start
— how long the stream or conference would last
— who the speakers are
— the location of the event.
I was curious, so I called AARP to get time and location. Five phone calls and one hour later, I still did not have the information. The event folks at AARP did not have it in their system.
However, a supervisor said the number to customer service was 877-731-xxxx. No answer. Another supervisor told me this number was in fact not for customer service, but a phone number for participants to call during an event.
On the fifth phone call a representative told me the event was really April 9, 2015. A supervisor confirmed the date. During the conversation with the supervisor, I started the stream. I saw my own county executive speaking. I called his office to learn the location.
What are the lessons from this:
— Staff should know about it’s organization’s events
— Fundamental information should be included on an event page, such as time and location
— It is a sad state of affairs when a co-sponsor of an event can’t give you time and location, and ultimately gives you the wrong date.
AARP needs to bring some maturity to the way it delivers information to seniors.