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DaveC · 29-07-2010, 11:55 AM

Quote:I should probably clarify that point about Brooks. I should have said he's not popular with all his staff, rather than not at all popular. I couldn't possibly speak for all of them but I have spoken to one at some length. And he's not a fan.

Point is that Brooks is popular with the punters and I would say that in what is essentially a customer-facing operation this is vital.

Whatever "successes" Povey might achieve - and I have to say that on this I'm certainly in glass half-empty mode - his time at Edgbaston will be coloured by his inability to grasp this.

George - unlike the fourth estate we don't get to spend quality one-to-one time with Povey. So we go on what we see and hear at forums, AGMs and the like. With me first impressions are everything and the "cricket on the cheap" remark he trotted out the first time he eoncountered any of us set me agin him straight away.

I have also heard from resident's representatives that the truculent, stroppy attitude he brought to their regular meetings was in direct contrast to other employees of the club that they dealt with during the pre-development discussions.

And if this season's T20 pricing debacle is an example of the top rank executive thinking now in place at the club then perhaps we should consider replacing them with a couple of traders from the Bull ring.

sweatysock · 29-07-2010, 12:22 PM

Interesting that Dave Brooks has been mentioned - I find his stewardship at Sussex a breath of fresh air - hes open, happy to chat,non-stuffy, will answer a query by e-mail within an hour usually etc - i suspect if some of his staff arent happy it may be because they are resistant to change, but realise that if you area successful businessman like Dave Brooks you are likely to have a ruthless edge to you - probably the most important thing is that i feel the club is safe in his hands

George · 29-07-2010, 12:28 PM

(29-07-2010 11:55 AM)DaveC Wrote:
Quote:I should probably clarify that point about Brooks. I should have said he's not popular with all his staff, rather than not at all popular. I couldn't possibly speak for all of them but I have spoken to one at some length. And he's not a fan.

Point is that Brooks is popular with the punters and I would say that in what is essentially a customer-facing operation this is vital.

Whatever "successes" Povey might achieve - and I have to say that on this I'm certainly in glass half-empty mode - his time at Edgbaston will be coloured by his inability to grasp this.

George - unlike the fourth estate we don't get to spend quality one-to-one time with Povey. So we go on what we see and hear at forums, AGMs and the like. With me first impressions are everything and the "cricket on the cheap" remark he trotted out the first time he eoncountered any of us set me agin him straight away.

I have also heard from resident's representatives that the truculent, stroppy attitude he brought to their regular meetings was in direct contrast to other employees of the club that they dealt with during the pre-development discussions.

And if this season's T20 pricing debacle is an example of the top rank executive thinking now in place at the club then perhaps we should consider replacing them with a couple of traders from the Bull ring.

Yup, some good points there. About T20 prices in partic.

Maybe it's worth booking an appointment and going to see him? I think he'll listen.

I know he's made mistakes. Course he has. I just think the good (which is, basically, the redevelopment) outweighs the bad.

**Paul** · 29-07-2010, 10:38 PM

Do you think he will stick it out after the redevelopment work is complete or will it be job accomplished and move on.

DaveC · 30-07-2010, 10:02 AM

George' Wrote:Maybe it's worth booking an appointment and going to see him? I think he'll listen.

Come on George. I have written to the bloke 3 times on separate issues. Twice I was given the brush-off and the last one didn't even get a reply.

A little tale for you which sums up my view of Mr Povey.

When the Ashes tickets went on sale around this time 2 years ago I attempted to do what I had always done which was to do a multiple booking for myself and about 8 other members over the phone. When I got through I found I was now dealing with Ticketek rather than the directly with the club office. The drone on the other end informed me that the system they had installed for Warwickshire was unable to perform this task and I would have to contact the club direct. This I duly did and they told me I would have to come down personally.

So off I trotted to Edgbaston. Being self-employed this meant I was going to lose money. But no matter – I thought – the prize was probably worth it. When I got to the ground there was a long, stationary queue snaking back from the club offices and on joining the end of it I was informed that the club’s system had crashed and would take a couple of hours to bring back. In the meantime Ticketek’s system was ramped up and allocating tickets left, right and centre. Now, I accept that this specific problem was not Povey’s exact fault and is probably well below his pay grade. However, on 3 occasions he strolled out from his office and walked briskly past the queue without once making eye contact or inquiring as to what the problem was. OK, he might have been busy, he might have been heading to an appointment but to my mind any decent boss would have detected there was a problem with his customers and would have stepped over to at least elicit a few opinions. Not Povey – he strolled on oblivious. Now I know you can’t expect micro-management from a CE but in a customer-facing business where there’s an obvious problem a few sympathetic words can work wonders. There were a couple of hundred people frying in that queue who might just have walked away with a warmer feeling about Povey and the club had he just been bothered to make an effort. The mutterings about him after he appeared and disappeared a third time shows he achieved the exact opposite. And that was, in part, one of the reasons why I couldn’t be bothered to renew my membership in 2009

With regard to the local residents. Just because the club had a poor relationship with them does not mean we had to make it worse. There were ways and means that could have been used to placate some of their concerns and from what I’ve heard other representatives of the club did their best only to have the rug pulled out from beneath them by Povey’s behavior.

I judge as I find also George. I don’t like the man, I don’t like his methods and regardless of the redevelopment I don’t like the damage he’s wrought on the club. We’re going to end up as little more than a notch on his CV and we could be left with a toxic financial legacy that could kill WCCC outright.

Warleybear · 30-07-2010, 11:25 AM

I actually do have time for CP - there are some things that he has pushed forward that do involve risk but did need doing. These are things that others may not have had the ability to do.

HOWEVER - Dave's post above is extremly illustritive of the problems he has not managed well. Indeed I know a guy who was in that very queue - he tells a similar tale. From interacting with the membership to ticket pricing policies and "cricket on the cheap" he has at times let both himself and the club down by missing out on some of the day to day detail. In some ways the whole saga of this years T20 is also illustritive of the point. Allocated tickets (even in the EH stand for members), buying tickets for Guests at £ 22 weeks in advance, ticket s being reduced to £ 10 then the 'Pugwash' offer at £ 5 and then BOGOF's for internationals.

Colin has done some good things - but he does need to listen. I'm not sure he does - well not until the panic sets in?

boltonboy · 02-08-2010, 11:23 AM

Hi George - did you answer the question about supporters both Bears and Pears yet?

Leicester Exile · 02-08-2010, 02:49 PM

DaveC - maybe that was then and things are different now. I wrote to him in November regarding the pricing for JBs. I got a full A4 reply from him - not the reply I was hoping for but at least he went to a lot of trouble to respond. His letter also invited me to make an appointment to see him if I was still not satisfied. I did and we discussed again face to face. I have to say my impression of him has improved greatly over the past year.
I now see that next year JB prices are going back to £25 which is about where they need to be. Maybe that is a coincidence but it may also be that he has listened to me and a few others and looked at membership figures.