Feeling sorry for Richard?
THERE are times when I actually feel sorry for Richard Parry. He can't have imagined when he took on the job, the shambles he was taking over' writes Ralph Freeman.
However, such sympathy is short lived when, on the one hand CaRT is saying it's short of funds, but then the said CEO is ready to increase overheads by in the region of £500,000 per year on extra staff that are not needed in the first place!
Not 'lean & mean'
Surely, Richard, you should be looking to cut out the 'dead wood' and reduce CaRT's excessive office staff/overheads not increase them? After all no one could describe CaRT as 'lean & mean'; bloated is more appropriate methinks?
In the private sector, workers understand the 'customer is king'. Why? Because ultimately they pay your wages, that's why. If you hack off your customers they will go elsewhere, revenue will dry up and you'll soon find yourself out of a job. Simple!
Of course this doesn't apply to CaRT's ex civil service employees who presumably think they have a job for life and customer relations is the responsibility of the 'customer relations department' and nothing to do with them! You only have to look at the opening times of the Fazeley office to see an example of this attitude in action. The office only opens from 10am to 2pm despite staff being on site from around 9am to 5pm! Perhaps changing this attitude is Richard Parry's biggest challenge?
Unbelievable
A boater I know tried to pay his licence at the Fazeley office (where Central Shires and West Midlands are based) only to be told they were closed; (at 3pm!) and he would have to come back the next day when they were open. Can you believe that? Turning away someone who is about to 'donate' £800+ to the Trust!
I wonder if I am correct in my assumption that if we have all these new Customer Relations managers we will be assured of a better quality of bullshit when we complain? Big deal! Why not cut to the chase Richard and remove the causes of the complaints in the first place?
Have you been listening?
I know Richard, you have been getting out and about but have you been listening? Employing more Ecologists and managers when boaters are being told that the Trust cannot afford much needed lock keepers/lengthsmen is a slap in the face for the boating community, that's for sure. So there is an example of poor customer relations which is very close to home!
The last thing boaters need is more CaRT office wallahs wasting money. These days we have pounds over-topping because no one is available to clear the spills and by-washes when it matters. Apparently the significance of a spell of calm weather in autumn followed by a windy day is lost on the Trust. On the other hand boaters know it means overhanging trees are likely to dump two weeks worth of leaves into the cut in a few hours!
Tell me Richard; are your new employees going to fix this problem of blocked spills and by-washes or just apologise and make up 'wrong sort of weather' excuses?
Boaters last in line
The lock landing below Barton Turn Lock on the Trent & Mersey collapsed almost a year ago now. So for the whole of last season boaters using the lock had to compete for mooring bollards with those already moored on the water point filling their water tanks. Not good. So why has this major pain in the derrière for boaters on this busy stretch of canal not been fixed?
Just to add insult to injury, a flight of steps has been constructed instead for the benefit of towpath users (see above photo). I can only assume someone in CaRT is 'having a laugh'?
Let it fail
Maybe it's too early for Richard's 're-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic' tactics to have resulted in any tangible changes on the Trent & Mersey , but I would suggest if you want customer relations with boaters to improve Richard, don't treat boaters like idiots. Propaganda will get you nowhere. Just fix problems promptly and better still, do some preventative maintenance and prevent the problems occurring in the first place. That, in my view, will help improve relationships with your 'revenue' serving customers, more than employing more managers.
It is ironic in the extreme that the one policy introduced that is working like a charm is the 'Don't repair until it fails' policy. As a boat owner I can tell you Richard that is not the cheapest or most efficient way to run any system. It doesn't do much for your customer relations either!
End of season summary
British Waterways tended to be thought of as inefficient, but generally benign. I suggest that is no longer the case; benign has been replaced by 'shifty and vindictive'. Finally a question: Does anyone trust the Trust these days?