Communication

[Robert]

Maybe but if it was my name given as the SLO, even if the job was delegated to someone else I’d want to know what e-mails were coming in and also that they were being dealt with promptly and professionally.

The club should have targets for dealing with correspondence and monitor how they perform against those targets. That’s what customer focussed businesses do. 

[old caley girl]

Just now, Robert said:

Maybe but if it was my name given as the SLO, even if the job was delegated to someone else I’d want to know what e-mails were coming in and also that they were being dealt with promptly and professionally.

The club should have targets for dealing with correspondence and monitor how they perform against those targets. That’s what customer focussed businesses do. 

Totally agree Robert 

[Jaggernaut]

I remember several seasons ago there was a meeting up in the function suite, with John Robertson and Chairman Rae where all supporters who wanted to attend could come and listen to what their plans were for the coming season, and supporters could ask any questions or topics that were concerning them. Maybe that's what's needed again, a reset between club and supporters?

[highlandexile]

1 hour ago, old caley girl said:

I don't think it's Gordys fault. I suspect he's just a name put forward to fulfill our licencing requirements. I have no idea who reads the SLO emails though 

I think this sums up exactly what the club thinks about the fans and their issues.

If Gordy is only a name on a bit of paper for a tick box exercise and not an actual active SLO we really are never going to get any sort of fan engagement.

 

[bdu98196]

59 minutes ago, Jaggernaut said:

I remember several seasons ago there was a meeting up in the function suite, with John Robertson and Chairman Rae where all supporters who wanted to attend could come and listen to what their plans were for the coming season, and supporters could ask any questions or topics that were concerning them. Maybe that's what's needed again, a reset between club and supporters?

Maybe you need an invite to Gordon Terrace these days for an audience.

[Duke of Inverness]

1 hour ago, Jaggernaut said:

I remember several seasons ago there was a meeting up in the function suite, with John Robertson and Chairman Rae where all supporters who wanted to attend could come and listen to what their plans were for the coming season, and supporters could ask any questions or topics that were concerning them. Maybe that's what's needed again, a reset between club and supporters?

They also did that at the start of the 16/17 season when Foran got to layout his plans. More attacking style football as he said. Funnily enough he didn't plan for relegation and our ever increasing spiral downwards and becoming County's feeder club!!

Edited July 1, 2023 by Duke of Inverness

[lizi]

Chairman Rae was an exceptional Chairman - always friendly, spoke to fans and held a few open meetings with fans if I remember correctly.  He replied to my emails, invited me to Boardroom, and to this day acknowledges and chats to fans whenever he’s around.   Our CEO would do well to do the same.  

[Douglas Mackenzie]

Thanks for all contributions to this thread.We as fans think communication is key.Whilst I don't think it would be right to lay down here what the conversation with the Chairman was yesterday,I can say I suggested they were in a bubble and disconnected,which he disagreed with.I worked out that SLO was Supporters Liaison Officer myself and he is listed as this on the Web site with his own Email.I had to look up the role of SLO to see whst it was about and to let one aspect of my chat with the Chair slip,he was up front and said he wasn't aware Gordon's role was listed as SLO.and he asked what a SLO was.

He told me that Gordon had never heard from me or received an Email from me,yet after I sent the first one outlining I had sorted my online problem, but felt compelled to highlight the poor communication,a named lady from the club Emailed and said Gordon had asked her to get in touch.

It is my personal opinion only,however I am convinced after these few weeks and conversations had,that the board are further disconnected than I thought.

On hindsight my mistake was actually going to the Chair when I should have contacted the CEO as he has day to day governance but again I tried a few Emails using @itfc and I never got a response.

Maybe the SLO will phone before 4pm on Monday when the early bird season tickets stop.

If not I'm off.

Edited July 1, 2023 by Douglas Mackenzie

[STFU]

49 minutes ago, lizi said:

Chairman Rae was an exceptional Chairman - always friendly, spoke to fans and held a few open meetings with fans if I remember correctly.  He replied to my emails, invited me to Boardroom, and to this day acknowledges and chats to fans whenever he’s around.   Our CEO would do well to do the same.  

He definitely had charm, but that was the only thing that set him apart from the current incumbent.

Let's not forget that it was he and the rest of Muirfield Mills who started the club on the descent it currently finds itself on.

[+Fraz]

So just to be clear the Chairman didn't know what an Supporters Liaison Officer is or is supposed to do, nor that GF is advertised publicly as such. Yet doesn't agree that there's any kind of disconnect between fans and the club's senior management? 

[STFU]

It's beyond promises of change and doing things differently for me.  We've had over 5 years of that and nothing has improved, quite the opposite.

We're at the point where we need to see action from the club.  That's too late for me this season as I've already decided not to renew my season ticket, and I get the feeling it's the same for many others.

The damage is done and the best we, and the club, can hope for is repairing it for future.

I still want the best for the team on the park and will cheer them in from afar, but it's impossible to separate any financial support for the team from also financially supporting those who have become a cancer to ICTFC and I refuse to spend a penny with them.  I'm even giving consideration to extending that personal boycott to sponsors and advertisers as well in the hope that in some small way that will encourage them to pursue an end to this madness.

[STFU]

3 minutes ago, Fraz said:

So just to be clear the Chairman didn't know what an Supporters Liaison Officer is or is supposed to do, nor that GF is advertised publicly as such. Yet doesn't agree that there's any kind of disconnect between fans and the club's senior management? 

This the same chairman who publicly stated he knew nothing about running a football club, which is why he brought in Gardiner.  It should be no surprise to anyone.

[Yngwie]

It’s good that we are a club with a chairman willing to pick up the phone to a concerned fan - but it really shouldn’t have come to that if the basic communication and customer service processes were at the level they should be.

[Douglas Mackenzie]

For clarity,I hate sounding so negative about the club and the way it is run,but all I and most of you are trying to do is sort out the issues off the park.I don't  believe in moaning and not proposing or producing solutions so I sent 6 or 7 to the Chairman and we talked them through.

I am not sure that any of them look at our social media posts,so they are missing a trick on picking up quick wins.Mind you I thought the SLO would be across all such media to get a feel of things from the engine room. Then he and the management team could act on it.

[Duke of Inverness]

Yes, no season ticket renewal for me. My current feeling is that I will support the team from afar and not attend any matches. 

The current Chairman, CEO, SLO, etc contempt for supporters and 'Let them eat cake' attitude is disgusting and not an establishment I want to have anything to do with. 

[Satan]

10 minutes ago, Duke of Inverness said:

Yes, no season ticket renewal for me. My current feeling is that I will support the team from afar and not attend any matches. 

The current Chairman, CEO, SLO, etc contempt for supporters and 'Let them eat cake' attitude is disgusting and not an establishment I want to have anything to do with. 

If everyone was to adopt this attitude, then what you would be 'supporting from afar' would be even less of a team than they are currently, with cash flow drying up completely and debt burden increasing. 

Is this the path you wish to see us on?

Just wondering like.

[Satan]

1 hour ago, STFU said:

This the same chairman who publicly stated he knew nothing about running a football club, which is why he brought in Gardiner.  It should be no surprise to anyone.

Are we forgetting that the chair and ceo are only there at the behest of the board and shareholders...apart from some throwaway 'insider rumours' which rarely resemble accurate depiction of events, it seems those with real power & influence are content with the status quo.

[STFU]

59 minutes ago, Satan said:

If everyone was to adopt this attitude, then what you would be 'supporting from afar' would be even less of a team than they are currently, with cash flow drying up completely and debt burden increasing. 

Is this the path you wish to see us on?

Just wondering like.

That is exactly the path we are on and we just had our worst league finish in over 20 years, with eye-watering financial losses.  That is entirely down to mismanagement of things off the park.

You can take a 'keep paying and praying ' approach if you like, but I won't be.

[STFU]

1 hour ago, Satan said:

Are we forgetting that the chair and ceo are only there at the behest of the board and shareholders...apart from some throwaway 'insider rumours' which rarely resemble accurate depiction of events, it seems those with real power & influence are content with the status quo.

None of the current board were elected and the CEO and Chairman are board appointed.

We've already seen from DM that the Chairman doesn't have a clue what's going on, and it follows that the board are just as much in the dark, or denial.

It's the CEO's job to report in to them what's going on, so you have to question what he's telling them.  I imagine he's hiding behind injury crisis and cost of living excuses for declines on and off the pitch, with promises of filling the financial hole with concerts and battery farm schemes, and then blaming others when these don't pan out.

[Duke of Inverness]

1 hour ago, Satan said:

If everyone was to adopt this attitude, then what you would be 'supporting from afar' would be even less of a team than they are currently, with cash flow drying up completely and debt burden increasing. 

Is this the path you wish to see us on?

Just wondering like.

No. But we are so far down that path with those living in their ivory towers that I won't fund it anymore. 

[Satan]

5 hours ago, STFU said:

That is exactly the path we are on and we just had our worst league finish in over 20 years, with eye-watering financial losses.  That is entirely down to mismanagement of things off the park.

You can take a 'keep paying and praying ' approach if you like, but I won't be.

Our worst league finish in however many years is irrelevant as a couple points more and we were in the play offs with exactly the same 'brand' of hit or miss hoofball. The 20 year stat is a better headline grabber though.

Can't really say the eye-watering losses are entirely down to mismanagement,  sure things could have been done better, or some not at all, but trying to compete at this level with dwindling attendances plays a fundamental part in the overall situation. 

And the attendances were dropping before we were.

Paying and praying?

Maybe I'll just wring my hands & pray for a miracle, seems to be the trend.

[Scotty]

9 hours ago, lizi said:

Chairman Rae was an exceptional Chairman - always friendly, spoke to fans and held a few open meetings with fans if I remember correctly.  He replied to my emails, invited me to Boardroom, and to this day acknowledges and chats to fans whenever he’s around.   Our CEO would do well to do the same.  

not my experience with Mr. Rae.

 

[STFU]

11 hours ago, Satan said:

Our worst league finish in however many years is irrelevant as a couple points more and we were in the play offs with exactly the same 'brand' of hit or miss hoofball. The 20 year stat is a better headline grabber though.

Can't really say the eye-watering losses are entirely down to mismanagement,  sure things could have been done better, or some not at all, but trying to compete at this level with dwindling attendances plays a fundamental part in the overall situation. 

And the attendances were dropping before we were.

Paying and praying?

Maybe I'll just wring my hands & pray for a miracle, seems to be the trend.

We were relegated in 2017 by 2 points and that season bore many resemblances to last season with us having injury issues, fan discontent at the style of football and claims that the board lacked ambition and weren't listening.

Were you shouting in defence of the manager and board back then?

 

[dougal]

When a franchise is created being that a business or a football club communication diminishes or completely disappears. 

Fans groups or trusts etc are wasting their time trying to work alongside folk that DON’T WANT to work with normal working class punters. 

Fans groups have historically failed miserably to attract decent numbers to join up because the majority of sane minded fans know it’s futile. 
 

Unless there is a complete rethink and direction change at board level communication will continue in its current form.

The so called guardians of this club present and part are not interested in the fans we are just going round in circles discussing the same p1sh

Dougal 
 

 

 

 

 

 

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

What p!sh