Is this acceptable?

[CHRIS]

I would like to know if people think that the reply time is acceptable from a local council? This was not the first time I have had delayed replies but 3 months is just awful.


From: Dobson, Linda [mailto:ldobson@uttlesford.gov.uk]
Sent: Wednesday, July 26, 2006 4:33 PM
To: Casey Gill
Subject: RE: Request for Boxes

Please accept my apologies for the delay in responding to your email. Should you still require the recycling boxes, these can be obtained from the council offices in Saffron Walden or in Great Dunmow.

Kind regards.

Linda Dobson
PA to Executive Managers
Uttlesford District Council
Direct Line: 01799 510616




From: Casey Gill [mailto:CGill@xxxxxx.com]
Sent: 02 May 2006 14:56
To: Recycling
Subject: Request for Boxes
Good afternoon -

I would like to request one green recycling box and one black recycling box for 2 Mill Row, xxxxxxxxxxxx.

My telephone number is xxxxxxxxx should you require further details.

Many thanks in advance for your assistance in recycling.

my best,

C. Gill



nice eh!!!!!! at least the were sorry for the delay.

 

[skier-hughes]

Looked it up for you, I asked for a reply to my questions regarding the proposal of a "park and ride" 10 month two weeks and three days ago............................

Still waiting.

Several emails from me followed, but I've not sent one for a few months, perhaps I ought to start sending them again :roll:

 

[Carol]

Our house front was dented by a reversing lorry in Summer 2004, I notified Highways Dept. and asked for suggestions to prevent it happening again. Still waiting for a reply!

 

[skier-hughes]

:evil:

 

[Mark]

as a suggestion, try asking for information under the freedom of information act.

otherwise stick a complaint in to the local gov ombudsman

 

[Penners]

Chris - here's a suggested reply to her:

Dear Dobson Linda

Thank you for your reply to my grandfather's message about a recycling box. Unfortunately, his computer has now been obselete for many years, so we are unable to recover the text of the original message. Would you be kind enough to let me know what exactly he requested?

Please ask your successor to address their reply to my grandson, and may I wish you a very happy retirement.

 

[Moo]

Penners - that's an absolute gem!
I shall save it on my desktop for future eventualities.

 

[Penners]

Applicable to the majority of local authority events, I venture...

 

[CHRIS]

Penners

You would be pleased with the following!!!

Look at the first email then the last reply from said council!!!!!!! can they read? But it gets better, its says it will take 8 weeks to get us some boxes but in 6 weeks the same said boxes are being collected and replaced with 3 nice wheelie bins and the whole process of boxes is to be ditched - or so a letter from the council told me yesterday.

I am starting to enjoy this.

From: Dobson, Linda [mailto:ldobson@uttlesford.gov.uk]
Sent: Thursday, July 27, 2006 9:15 AM
To: Casey Gill
Subject: RE: Request for Boxes

Hi Casey

If you would like to supply me with your address I can arrange to put you on a list to have these boxes delivered to your home. However, I would warn you that this can take a while to arrive, sometimes up to 8 weeks.

Nevertheless, if you would like for us to deliver them, please let me have your details.

Kind regards.

Linda

From: Casey Gill [mailto:CGill@eBags.com]
Sent: 26 July 2006 22:43
To: Dobson, Linda
Subject: RE: Request for Boxes
Hello Ms. Dobson –

Many thanks for your reply.

As neither my husband or I work in or near Saffron Walden or Dunmow it is difficult for us to go to the council office to pick up these boxes during the Council working hours. I must admit that we’ve become a bit frustrated with the difficulty in trying to obtain these boxes as both my husband and myself have tried on several occasions to try to get further details about them. One representative told us that they could be delivered to our address. Is this true?

If not, do you perhaps have other suggestions on where we can find these outside normal working hours?

We really just want to be able to recycle and would love to have a way to get the boxes. Unfortunately, our attempts to leave recycling in other containers on the designated pick-up days has not been successful and is generally left untouched.

Any advice or suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for your assistance.

Kind regards,

Casey


From: Dobson, Linda [mailto:ldobson@uttlesford.gov.uk]
Sent: Wednesday, July 26, 2006 4:33 PM
To: Casey Gill
Subject: RE: Request for Boxes

Please accept my apologies for the delay in responding to your email. Should you still require the recycling boxes, these can be obtained from the council offices in Saffron Walden or in Great Dunmow.

Kind regards.

Linda Dobson
PA to Executive Managers
Uttlesford District Council
Direct Line: 01799 510616




From: Casey Gill [mailto:CGill@eBags.com]
Sent: 02 May 2006 14:56
To: Recycling
Subject: Request for Boxes
Good afternoon -

I would like to request one green recycling box and one black recycling box for 2 Mill Row, Fishmarket Street, Thaxted, CM6 2PQ.

My telephone number is 07795 692217 should you require further details.

Many thanks in advance for your assistance in recycling.

my best,

C. Gill

 

[Penners]

OK Chris, here's what's going to happen next.

In 6 weeks time you'll get the wheelie bins that will replace the box system. Then in 8 weeks time you'll get a box. Then in 12 weeks time you'll get an email from Dobson, Linda, apologising for the delay in the delivery of your box. Then, about 3 weeks later, you'll receive another box and three more wheelie bins all at once.

After a further 4 weeks, you'll get another email from Dobson, Linda, telling you that they have asked a management consultancy to look into their customer satisfaction rating, and inviting you to fill in an online survey.

Some months later, a free council newsletter will arrive, telling you what a wonderful response they had to the survey, and that 97.8% of people are thrilled and delighted with their service.

Cynical? Me?

 

[CHRIS]

No, what will happen is that I will get no box or wheelie bins, and will go back to bin bags and the foxes and cats, and I will be outside at 0600 picking up stuff from all up and down the street before I go to work!!!!!!!!!

We will get said newsletter in 4 months but the words "targets" and "framework" will be used most often!!!!! I have spoken to the wonderful Linda (she is quite funny - refreshingly) and she has had to deal with many a crazed person RE Wheelie bins in conservation areas or kids pushing them over etc but she did not seem to like it when I said it was character building getting yelled at on the phone!!!!

I will keep you posted

 

[biffvernon]

In days of old... We just had the one metal dusbin that lasted for approximately ever. It was emptied by a binman who would walk round to the back of the house, collect and empty it into the lorry, and bring the bin back to its home by the kitchen door. All things biodegradeable went on the compost heap, there was no junk mail, no plastic packaging and rags and metal went to the rag 'n bone man. (I can't remember him ever collecting bones.)

 

[Penners]

It was emptied by a binman who would walk round to the back of the house, collect and empty it into the lorry...

...provided he'd had his Christmas Box. If not, a trail of it always ended up down the garden path!