Communication

[Douglas Mackenzie]

Why are ICT board and club so poor at the very basics.A club will not exist without a fan base.They are the very assets every Club needs, so you have to ensure you protect your assets and build on them.

Those at ICT rarely answer the phones as Highlighted by many of us.They have seven extentions and the seventh one has not existed for some time.

Prior to cup final it took me six days to get a response from anyone about an online problem I had and then I got a response because I tried every extension and got someone at the Academy who was most apologetic about the clubs comms.

It took me 10 days of trying to make contact about ICT posting my tickets to me.

I rarely complain,but I wrote to the Chairman and the fans rep on the board highlighting the poor club communication and to date I have not had a response from either. 

 

 

 

Edited June 23, 2023 by Douglas Mackenzie

[Yngwie]

I’d class those issues you’ve listed as very poor “Customer Service” rather than “Communication” which to me is more about the club providing fans with relevant information. Communication in that regard has also been a failing of course - although I would say it has been noticeably better in the last few months albeit from a point where it couldn’t have been much worse.

On the Customer Service failings, obviously this was a busy period and they struggled to cope, but you are absolutely right to make the club aware of how bad it was.

[Douglas Mackenzie]

You may be right Yngwie,but I kept the post short rather than bore people with all the details.In my letter to the Chairman I highlighted the poor communication issue and the disconnect between the captain of the ship as it were, his bridge and those of us in the engine room.

In all my different employment  and management roles I learned the key to a good team and working relationship was communication.Those at board level know this so why not try and improve it.

Have a section on Web site called ICT news in brief and have a printed version for those without computers. 

Have quarterly 'meet the board'meetings.

Have fans representation at key meetings.

Have suggestion boxes at the stadium.All these kind of measures would make a difference.

The Director for fans representation and I believe comms, has not answered any of the Emails I sent him on this very topic.A Journalist and PR Specialist. 

So bottom line,poor comms,poor customer service and no respect shown for genuine fans.

Edited June 23, 2023 by Douglas Mackenzie

[STFU]

We get flurries of communication every now and then, but it often tells us nothing and is just noise.

Proper fan engagement, unless you're a pet podcaster or kindergarten 94, is non existent, and the fan experience is the worst it has ever been.

Where's the kids meet and greets, the big game they were promised, the xmas party, end of season awards night?  These are the very basics.

Customer service is also poor, as already documented by others.

They rely too much on fan loyalty, but everyone is losing patience and that is diminishing.

Complain and you get the 'poor us' we're a small team and doing our best.  We have more employees than we ever had, and are somehow struggling to a greater extent?

 

[big cherly]

On 6/23/2023 at 2:15 PM, Douglas Mackenzie said:

You may be right Yngwie,but I kept the post short rather than bore people with all the details.In my letter to the Chairman I highlighted the poor communication issue and the disconnect between the captain of the ship as it were, his bridge and those of us in the engine room.

In all my different employment  and management roles I learned the key to a good team and working relationship was communication.Those at board level know this so why not try and improve it.

Have a section on Web site called ICT news in brief and have a printed version for those without computers. 

Have quarterly 'meet the board'meetings.

Have fans representation at key meetings.

Have suggestion boxes at the stadium.All these kind of measures would make a difference.

The Director for fans representation and I believe comms, has not answered any of the Emails I sent him on this very topic.A Journalist and PR Specialist. 

So bottom line,poor comms,poor customer service and no respect shown for genuine fans.

Pile of people align with your views and frustration Douglas. It’s not went unnoticed how much you resisted publishing your views as you were at pains to not denigrate the club and make simple but practical, easily adoptable, suggestions that would go a long way to engage the fan base better.

I sincerely hope your message doesn’t fall on deaf ears. Sometimes however the gap is too wide, time will tell. For me it’s leopards and spots. Need some new cats.

 

 

Edited June 24, 2023 by big cherly

[Douglas Mackenzie]

Could not agree more big Cherly.Why is there not a cross section of people with direct access to the board.What about our young fans and their views, what about input from the disabled.Are there any females on the board,or is it made up of middle aged and old men in suits.

A better cross section of people with their varied views would allow the club to reap the benefits and more than likely increase the fan base because people would want to come and enjoy the matchday experience which this cross section of fans would likely instigate.

As it is,those in charge are happy to continue to offer mediocre in everything.

There are probably plenty out there with the initiative and skill set but the vlub don't tap into them.

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Apologies for being so out of date but what exactly is the fan representation on the board and is there any form of communication from the Board to the actual fan base ?

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Perhaps we need a fan based episode on the Wyness Shuffle where the end product could be a list of issues to present to the Board.

[RedCard]

55 minutes ago, IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER said:

Perhaps we need a fan based episode on the Wyness Shuffle where the end product could be a list of issues to present to the Board.

Johndo we’ve had pods asking fans for questions to put to SG and although we had a few there wasn’t that many as I’d have liked. 
 

Folk love to moan online and that includes me but when I comes to actually asking a question or getting their point across a lot of folk choose to stay silent which doesn’t help matters. 
 

if there’s enough interest and volume of questions/opinions I’m sure we could send them on because we aren’t the voice of the fans! The supporters trust need to be more visible and take these questions/comments to the board. 

Edited June 26, 2023 by RedCard

[Douglas Mackenzie]

Excuse my ignorance,but I have never really heard from the Supporters Trust who surely are asking all the right questions,so why are they not updating all the fans whether they be in the Trust or other forums.

I thought the business of a Supporters Trust was to give fans a collective voice in influencing the activities of the club they support ?

If that's the case what has happened,or do the club not communicate with them either.

As previously stated, I wrote to the Chairman asking questions about the clubs communication or lack thereof and 27 days later and still no acknowledgement or reply.

[old caley girl]

33 minutes ago, Douglas Mackenzie said:

Excuse my ignorance,but I have never really heard from the Supporters Trust who surely are asking all the right questions,so why are they not updating all the fans whether they be in the Trust or other forums.

I thought the business of a Supporters Trust was to give fans a collective voice in influencing the activities of the club they support ?

If that's the case what has happened,or do the club not communicate with them either.

As previously stated, I wrote to the Chairman asking questions about the clubs communication or lack thereof and 27 days later and still no acknowledgement or reply.

Are you a member of the Supporters Trust? 

[Douglas Mackenzie]

No I'm not and to be honest I don't know much about them.I am happy with all the chat on this forum but will update members if the Chairman ever gets back to me.

[old caley girl]

7 minutes ago, Douglas Mackenzie said:

No I'm not and to be honest I don't know much about them.I am happy with all the chat on this forum but will update members if the Chairman ever gets back to me.

That's fine. Its just as a member of the trust I get regular newsletters which I assume only members get? The more members the Trust has the louder the voice. 

[+DoofersDad]

10 hours ago, RedCard said:

The supporters trust need to be more visible and take these questions/comments to the board. 

Which is exactly what the Supporters Trust is doing with the Matchday Experience Survey.  There will be a lot of comments, questions and ideas heading the Club's way, and all supported by hard data from the survey findings.  I'm hopeful the survey report will be out next month but we're not quite at the stage where we can give a target date for releasing the report.

[STFU]

13 hours ago, old caley girl said:

That's fine. Its just as a member of the trust I get regular newsletters which I assume only members get? The more members the Trust has the louder the voice. 

How does it encourage new members if they don't tell anyone outside the organisation what they're doing?

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

So - how to you join ? And everybody on this site can enlist.

[+DoofersDad]

You can join by clicking here!

[big cherly]

1 hour ago, IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER said:

So - how to you join ? And everybody on this site can enlist.

Forgive my scepticism IHE but I have grown to be somewhat guarded about ‘clubs’, ‘trusts’ and ‘fraternity associations’ and whose interests they actually represent. Do the representatives selected (they are rarely votes in), truly act on the undiluted views of the fans, or is it a filter to present a set of guidelines their masters want them to work within!  
 

So whilst it’s not for me, I wish any new applicants well in maybe getting a better representation of the fans views across (as the trust’s image to date has in ways of communication between the fans-board somewhat compliant. Bc

Edited June 27, 2023 by big cherly

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Well I suppose that I know some of the representatives and I am in no doubt that they have the club fully at heart and are not toeing the party line. I suspect that they are as frustrated as many of us are that the feedback from above is not as prompt, clear and informative as wished for. That places the "blame" on the higher echelons. As you will note the club also denegrates the Trust due to its lack of numbers and deems it not to be truly representative of the support. Put your fiver per annum into the pot and lets start firing questions at them.

And WHEN you have joined then stick what you want feedback about on this thread and lets see what the true fans really want to know about or pass comment on - negative or positive.

[Scotty]

1 hour ago, big cherly said:

Do the representatives selected (they are rarely votes in), truly act on the undiluted views of the fans, or is it a filter to present a set of guidelines their masters want them to work within!  

Having been involved in the committee of the Supporters Club 20 years ago, and probably involved to this day in something other than just the website if I still lived in Inverness, I can say that if enough people came forward to want to be involved, then the supporters club/trust (or whatever name it went under) would typically relish the idea of having actual elections. The reality is you get a handful of people, mostly the same people, stepping up to get involved in these ventures. These are typically folk that do have the interests of supporters at the heart of things and are dedicated ICT fans so also try to do what's in the interests of the club. Over the course of a few years they do get questioned about motives and in some cases cant win - being regarded a certain way by both club and supporters alike. 

I understand when some of these folks get jaded as you can only bang your head against a brick wall for so long, but they keep doing it because no-one else is coming forward. Would be great to see some representation from all parts of the ground and all age groups. I too have been lax in throwing my fiver in, but perhaps I should. 

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Perhaps the issues were not as important when the fare on view was enjoyable and either in the Prem or at the top of the Championship. When you haven't been in that situation for a few seasons it is easy to look for all the faults and negatives.

[bdu98196]

On 6/26/2023 at 1:04 PM, RedCard said:

Johndo we’ve had pods asking fans for questions to put to SG and although we had a few there wasn’t that many as I’d have liked.

Its not about how many, its the quality and probing nature that's needed then the conviction to put the board on the spot to challenge them. Unfortunately (no offence) but we know the pods done wont 'bite the hands that feeds them' and call out the board as liars or weak

 

[Douglas Mackenzie]

3 hours ago, bdu98196 said:

Its not about how many, its the quality and probing nature that's needed then the conviction to put the board on the spot to challenge them. Unfortunately (no offence) but we know the pods done wont 'bite the hands that feeds them' and call out the board as liars or weak

 

Could not agree more.Its one thing asking straight forward multiple questions and getting bland answers,but another to ask and demand responses to evidenced and detailed questions which are set up to elicit honest and valid answers.

We can have all the Trusts and Forums we want,but if the board don't acknowledge their important role and show the fans the respect they deserve, the club is not going to progress, grow the fan base and be a truely local community asset.We need to become a club that exists to support each other,learn, inspire, develop and create a sense of belonging and fellowship.

The disconnect that currently exists prevents all that.

[RedCard]

3 hours ago, bdu98196 said:

Its not about how many, its the quality and probing nature that's needed then the conviction to put the board on the spot to challenge them. Unfortunately (no offence) but we know the pods done wont 'bite the hands that feeds them' and call out the board as liars or weak

 

No offence taken. We fielded all the questions to SG that were submitted by fans. 
 

This is where the trust should step in and from what I’ve read above they are planning on engaging with the board soon so let’s see what happens to that. 
 

[big cherly]

6 hours ago, IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER said:

Perhaps the issues were not as important when the fare on view was enjoyable and either in the Prem or at the top of the Championship. When you haven't been in that situation for a few seasons it is easy to look for all the faults and negatives.

I respect your stance and challenge IHE, but it’s simply not for me. I’m past it in ways of busting a gut and spending energy on attempting to persuade the people in charge to recognise the clubs fans better (too many good people here have used the ‘head against a brick wall’ term). My experience is, it simply comes down to Money and willing and that in my view won’t be forthcoming willingly based on their past track record or attitude.

It is a long haul campaign needed here and I couldn’t provide that. 
 

My compliments to those that can rise to the quest and implement positive change.   
Bc

Edited June 27, 2023 by big cherly