Talking about walking through treacle I must tell you about my brush with SLDC over the last few weeks.
Ford Park wanted to have a rubbish bin moved from the entrance of the park as it was going to be in the way of some new sign-age we're going to put up soon. We thought it could be moved just across the road.
I rang SLDC, on the old number, as the new number is an 0845 number which, as I only use a mobile would have cost me a lot of dosh. The old number, 015395 733333 still works, and is a lot cheaper, but I digress.
I was told by a very bored sounding recorded message that all their operators were busy and I was held in a queue, and then I was played some extremely soporific muzac, seemingly designed to calm me down, I suppose. At that point I started to feel annoyed.
Within a couple of minutes I was through to a "receptionist", and I explained what I wanted to have happen with this bin at Ford Parks entrance. She couldn't put me through to the department that would be responsible but told me that she would put through a work order and somebody to get back to me on this.
Nothing happened for a week, so I decided to call again.
I got through to a different person this time, and insisted to be put through to the appropriate dept. which the lady said may be the dept. responsible for parks. The person I needed to speak to was Tony Naylor, but the call went to his answer machine, so I left a message, asking him to call me back.
Nothing happened for a week so I called again and asked to speak to Tony Naylors' office.
Again, no reply so I left a second message.
Nothing happened for another week, so I called back. This time the phone was answered by Tony Naylor.
I said that I had been trying to reach him for the last two or three weeks. He said that he had been off work with some sort of illness and hadn't got my messages, or the work order. I told him about the bin problem and he said he would tell Mark Hirst in Ulverston to contact me.
Nothing happened, so a week later I called again and asked to speak to Tony Naylors office. The call went to his voicemail, so I left another message.
Nothing happened for another week, I left another, more tetchy message.
The next week I called again and asked to be put through to Tony Naylors' office. The phone was answered by somebody called Chris, he was very helpful, took the details of what I wanted to have done, and that I was waiting to hear from Mark Hirst in Ulverston. Chris said he would get on to it. I asked who he was, he said he was the SLDC tree officer who just happened to be in Tony Naylors office. But he said he would try and move things along.
An hour and a half later Mark Hirst called me. He said that the guy who would do the moving of the bin had been on holiday, but that he would come and meet me next Monday or Tuesday.
An hour later, I was putting out a sign on the field when an SLDC van pulled up, it was Peter, sent by Mark to look at the job we wanted doing. He said that he was responsible for working on SLDC play areas, not exactly bins, but he could do it. Well he could, but this bin may be street furniture, and the place where the bin was to be moved to may belong to Cumbria county council. He would go away and investigate and get back to me.
And so that's where we are, bin still in the same place, not moved. But I'm hopeful that perhaps next week we may get an answer and the bin may, or may not get moved.
It's not easy to get bins moved.
This is a ridiculous tale, just to get a bin moved 10 yards, but it seems to be symptomatic of other stories I have heard of people coming up against the inertia of the officers at our district Council. It is amazing how many of them are off work ill, or on holiday and there is nobody else to do their job, their department just grinds to a halt. The cynic in me even wonders if the ill or holiday excuse is true.
Have you had a similar experience, I would like to hear from you if you have.
Ford Park wanted to have a rubbish bin moved from the entrance of the park as it was going to be in the way of some new sign-age we're going to put up soon. We thought it could be moved just across the road.
I rang SLDC, on the old number, as the new number is an 0845 number which, as I only use a mobile would have cost me a lot of dosh. The old number, 015395 733333 still works, and is a lot cheaper, but I digress.
I was told by a very bored sounding recorded message that all their operators were busy and I was held in a queue, and then I was played some extremely soporific muzac, seemingly designed to calm me down, I suppose. At that point I started to feel annoyed.
Within a couple of minutes I was through to a "receptionist", and I explained what I wanted to have happen with this bin at Ford Parks entrance. She couldn't put me through to the department that would be responsible but told me that she would put through a work order and somebody to get back to me on this.
Nothing happened for a week, so I decided to call again.
I got through to a different person this time, and insisted to be put through to the appropriate dept. which the lady said may be the dept. responsible for parks. The person I needed to speak to was Tony Naylor, but the call went to his answer machine, so I left a message, asking him to call me back.
Nothing happened for a week so I called again and asked to speak to Tony Naylors' office.
Again, no reply so I left a second message.
Nothing happened for another week, so I called back. This time the phone was answered by Tony Naylor.
I said that I had been trying to reach him for the last two or three weeks. He said that he had been off work with some sort of illness and hadn't got my messages, or the work order. I told him about the bin problem and he said he would tell Mark Hirst in Ulverston to contact me.
Nothing happened, so a week later I called again and asked to speak to Tony Naylors office. The call went to his voicemail, so I left another message.
Nothing happened for another week, I left another, more tetchy message.
The next week I called again and asked to be put through to Tony Naylors' office. The phone was answered by somebody called Chris, he was very helpful, took the details of what I wanted to have done, and that I was waiting to hear from Mark Hirst in Ulverston. Chris said he would get on to it. I asked who he was, he said he was the SLDC tree officer who just happened to be in Tony Naylors office. But he said he would try and move things along.
An hour and a half later Mark Hirst called me. He said that the guy who would do the moving of the bin had been on holiday, but that he would come and meet me next Monday or Tuesday.
An hour later, I was putting out a sign on the field when an SLDC van pulled up, it was Peter, sent by Mark to look at the job we wanted doing. He said that he was responsible for working on SLDC play areas, not exactly bins, but he could do it. Well he could, but this bin may be street furniture, and the place where the bin was to be moved to may belong to Cumbria county council. He would go away and investigate and get back to me.
And so that's where we are, bin still in the same place, not moved. But I'm hopeful that perhaps next week we may get an answer and the bin may, or may not get moved.
It's not easy to get bins moved.
This is a ridiculous tale, just to get a bin moved 10 yards, but it seems to be symptomatic of other stories I have heard of people coming up against the inertia of the officers at our district Council. It is amazing how many of them are off work ill, or on holiday and there is nobody else to do their job, their department just grinds to a halt. The cynic in me even wonders if the ill or holiday excuse is true.
Have you had a similar experience, I would like to hear from you if you have.
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