SO many views above mine that echo my thoughts today, but especially one highlighting an issue that I've been harping on about for more than just the last 2 seasons .
Communication issues...or rather the lack of such.
When they DO appear, the information "given" is often misleading/unclear and sometimes even incorrect ! I don't need to trawl through the annals but I'm sure most on here know where I'm coming from. Proof reading seems to be a thing of the past at our club too.
Such misinformation /lack of clarity will have one of two responses from those who read it.
Shrug shoulders, muttering " What a waste of time " whilst deleting with haste.
Or, muttering ( again) " What the feck? ", grabbing their phone or consulting the OS for the relevant number to make a complaint or send a strongly worded email....
But who to contact ? And can you get through to someone who will take responsibility for said issue ?
The fact that a Lifer had to ask who is Head of Comms earlier says it all.
When TS was in charge ( or thought he was ...) the contact details on the relevant OS page were reduced to a mere handful, presumably because his tight knit ship ( consisting of him & his partner) didn't want the phone ringing or emails received to potentially be answered.
It appears to me that this is still the case.
Regardless of the platitudes from the club, IMO, the communication between staff & supporters is an afterthought. And lack of this essential component played a huge part in what came to pass last Saturday. NO-ONE will put their name to anything - that's a fact.
Back in the "good old days" of decent relationships between fans and staff who cared ( such as Ravi, Olly Groome & Alan Telfer ) it was a pleasure to deal with them because you knew they wouldn't talk down to you & would deal with any issues brought to their attention.
Not so these days in my experience....The club requests that fans should contact other fans, such as CAST, members of the Advisory Board, Fan Advocates, Supporter Liaison Officer, Fans' Group representatives at Bi-annual Supporter Forums . I have the pleasure of knowing several of the fans who give their time to be part of this network but to be able to address a member of the SMT directly or via their deputy on certain matters was always a valuable way of gaining a satisfactory outcome of a problem.
Currently, no names appear on the link to "Staff" on the Club section of the website. And it follows that responses to emails regarding the Millwall match will not be "signed ".
We know that Gavin Carter made it his job to ensure that G & G stepped up to the plate "big time" following complaints around the catering/bars after the Watford match and as a result , improvements were made ( although menus are still MIA re matchday food in Crossbars...)
But there is a limit as to what we should expect our Directors to deal with - surely these kind of issues should be the remit of the SMT ?
If only we knew who they are ...
Rant over.
I'd actually flip that point.
The safety of supporters in the ground goes way above catering in importance. Once that distressing footage started to emerge on social media of what went on with the gate incident in the SE corner of the ground, as a fan himself with significant clout, I (wrongly), expected Gavin to be all over this issue and on the front foot with some comms going out on the club website on Sunday morning. What's actually prevailed (the slow, lazy and deflective response from the club, followed by the awful post match survey) is on his watch I'm afraid.
So whilst it would appear that only issues that directly affect profit on match days (such as catering) go up to his level, either way he has gone down massively in my estimation this week.
I think also the club are making a massive mistake thinking just because fans haven't written to club that it doesn't mean 20K fans who attended aren't angry at what had happened. Most fans would have been furious that as Home fans they were treated this way & that Millwall fans were given special treatment to leave rather than be held back like 91 other clubs would do till streets were clear, as we are as away fans at The Den. The violence in East Stand-Landsdown rd exit would have been witnessed by 100-150 Charlton fans, so of course vast majority didn't see it & also haven't seen it on social media as they weren't looking for it. I found it easily enough but as I was very close to fan who was kicked & punched lying on the staircase by 5-6 Millwall & even closer to our fan who was trying to passively and reason with Millwall fans and then punched, so i've been vocal on here, written to club, survey etc. The Club's SMT & Comms of course knew all this but took a calculated decision to not highlight arrangements before or during the match so to downplay it and likewise the violence in East Stand, hoping that it would go away. Thankfully Lifers have been universally vocal & it seems a number have written to the club & expressed their views on the Mickey mouse survey... so lets wait with baited breath for some cynical statement from the club passing the buck. It just a real shame as this whole debacle has undone a lot of good work, as its clear the club's SMT don't care and for all tannoy annoucements thanking fans for getting behind the team, social media posts ramping up attendances, videos of Nathan pumping his fists to travelling supporters & Covered End. When it mattered with 20,000 fans safety and violence against our fans within the ground the SMT & Comms have gone AWOL. The club will have seen responses via emails and survey that the fans aren't happy, so lets see on Friday morning if someone finally within the club has the balls and intelligence to say right "we messed up'..... lets put out a proper statement and explain ourselves. Its not too late for the club to do this, but I'm not holding my breath this will happen. Well done to the clubs SMT & Comms for scoring an own goal just when things were going so well .....
Comments
The safety of supporters in the ground goes way above catering in importance. Once that distressing footage started to emerge on social media of what went on with the gate incident in the SE corner of the ground, as a fan himself with significant clout, I (wrongly), expected Gavin to be all over this issue and on the front foot with some comms going out on the club website on Sunday morning. What's actually prevailed (the slow, lazy and deflective response from the club, followed by the awful post match survey) is on his watch I'm afraid.
So whilst it would appear that only issues that directly affect profit on match days (such as catering) go up to his level, either way he has gone down massively in my estimation this week.
The violence in East Stand-Landsdown rd exit would have been witnessed by 100-150 Charlton fans, so of course vast majority didn't see it & also haven't seen it on social media as they weren't looking for it. I found it easily enough but as I was very close to fan who was kicked & punched lying on the staircase by 5-6 Millwall & even closer to our fan who was trying to passively and reason with Millwall fans and then punched, so i've been vocal on here, written to club, survey etc.
The Club's SMT & Comms of course knew all this but took a calculated decision to not highlight arrangements before or during the match so to downplay it and likewise the violence in East Stand, hoping that it would go away. Thankfully Lifers have been universally vocal & it seems a number have written to the club & expressed their views on the Mickey mouse survey... so lets wait with baited breath for some cynical statement from the club passing the buck.
It just a real shame as this whole debacle has undone a lot of good work, as its clear the club's SMT don't care and for all tannoy annoucements thanking fans for getting behind the team, social media posts ramping up attendances, videos of Nathan pumping his fists to travelling supporters & Covered End. When it mattered with 20,000 fans safety and violence against our fans within the ground the SMT & Comms have gone AWOL. The club will have seen responses via emails and survey that the fans aren't happy, so lets see on Friday morning if someone finally within the club has the balls and intelligence to say right "we messed up'..... lets put out a proper statement and explain ourselves. Its not too late for the club to do this, but I'm not holding my breath this will happen.
Well done to the clubs SMT & Comms for scoring an own goal just when things were going so well .....