A Tampa sales seminar hosted this month by InfoUSA Inc. drew dozens of takers . . . and a couple of complaints.
One grumble came from Flash Data Inc. of St. Petersburg. Sales manager Ray Noyes was miffed not only that the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce co-hosted the event - after all, InfoUSA has its headquarters in Omaha, Neb. - but that membership vice president Robin DeLaVergne said InfoUSA has no local competition. Both companies sell residential and business databases to telemarketers and direct mailers.
Joe Pacheco, broker/owner of Mortgage Central Corp. in Clearwater, had a different grouse: He's tired of telemarketer calls and wants InfoUSA to drop his one-man company from its business database. He also accused InfoUSA verifiers of calling him and quickly hanging up, perhaps to determine if his work number was still connected.
Spokeswoman Ann Pedersen Gleeson said she was surprised to hear about the hangups, because InfoUSA verifiers update more than just a business' phone number. But she said she'd be happy to drop Mortgage Central from its database.
Noyes' beef with the Chamber drew less sympathy. DeLaVergne, the membership vice president, pointed out that Flash Point has never been a dues-paying member. By contrast, InfoUSA recently resumed its membership after letting it lapse.
"I had never heard of his company," she said of Noyes' Flash Point, "because he had never marketed it to me."
