On Thurs, 17 Oct 1996, [log in to unmask] wrote:
 
>Just as an aside, (in the general case). When examining claims such as
>those above, it is probably good for potential clients of consulting
>firms to request documentation of such claims, extensive multiple
>references, and to examine business practices of firms, particularly as
>it relates to integrity and honesty.
 
>To this end, perhaps the poster could supply, privately or publicly a
>list of past clients that I might contact?
 
I think the advice is good - get references whenever purchasing
a service, particularly if it is a service about which you
don't know much.  But, if the above respondent is sending this
message for the purpose of hiring the origional sender's
services, I would ask that you please request the client list
privately, for two reasons:
 
        1. I am not, at the moment, interested in hiring her,
           so it would just be another message I would have to
           open and delete.
 
        2. I think it is a lot to ask a practicioner to publish
           their client list on a forum as open as the
           internet.  Potential mis-use of such as list seems a
           bit of a severe penalty for simply stating a
           professional opinion.
 
                                     Barbara Anderson
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