Hello all,
in the comments section of Richard Lomas' blog there is another lively discussion about volunteer and visitor relations: http://tramways.blogspot.com/2010/09/please-help.html
On there some opinions are raised which I believe are far from the objective truth. So here are my comments:
1. "The place is infested with too many self important tin pot Hitlers." (Pete, 20/9/10 14:55)
No, it is not. Actually, there is just a small, but noticeable, group of people who would like to run the place as they, and they alone, wish, ideally with people selected by themselves. Strictly speaking even those few are too many, but in my eyes they do not justify the term "infested".
2. "I challenge you to find one who actually cares about something other than their own interests." (The Editor - no online contact, 21/9/10 21:11)
Looking into the museum a bit closer you will find that at ground level people do care about something other than their own interests. If fact, they care about other members and the museum in general. Our own restoration of our driving licences proves the point. Many people bent over backwards to ensure we could come back. And we were difficult!
On the other hand, there are many people who will not live with a compromise and who do not appear to tolerate opinions other than their own. But, and this is important to note, they are on both sides of the arguments. There is no good and bad, rather bad and bad.
Staying with that topic, as we all volunteer we are by definition there because of our own interest, the manifestations of which do differ. I used to walk the track after closing time to collect litter. (H&S shock horror!) That was my own interest, I wanted to see it disappear. But it still benefitted the museum, I believe.
3. "Who is to blame? I know the answer to this - the board." (The Editor - no online contact, 21/9/10 21:11)
This is tricky as it seems to imply that there is something like a monolithic block called "The Board". In reality it seems to be more of a parliament with various parties present which have diverging opinions and get together in various and varying coalitions, which of course leads to:
4. "With good management none of the pointed out problems would be a problem." (The Editor - no online contact, 21/9/10 21:11)
This, however can not be challenged. It believe its true and important. Equally important is that comment:
5. "If the board doesn't function properly it is the membership who can (and should) boot them. If that doesn't happen, than the problem lies clearly with us as members. It is easy to blame someone else, but what have we done as members? " (Wim Beukenkamp, 22/9/10 8:54)
The board is elected and we elected the people. And yes, in the past we always had a choice and used it to some extend. Only the membership seems to be as divided as the board itself.
6. "It is frowned upon to criticise the all powerful board which is why I did not renew my membership several years ago" (Anonymous, 22/9/10 16:33)
This may have been true at the time when you decided not to renew your membership. Now with many people serving on the Board who probably were not on there when you left, this is no longer the case which highlights one problem: Much criticism comes from events which took place a comparatively long time ago and this criticism may no longer be justified, but due to a lack of first-hand experience people still criticise using an invalid base for criticism. One example would appear to be the attitudes of driving instructors where my wife and myself had the first ever friendly encounter with a driving instructor acting in that capacity this year.
7. "On each occasion I visit Crich (...)I inevitably end up virtually having a row with somebody because they feel the need to impart their opinion about other museums and Tramways (and of course they have to be right)." (Anonymous, 22/9/10 16:33)
You seem to be in the unfortunate position to encounter the same small band of people again and again. Yes, there are people who turned their enthusiasm about Crich and their pride in our achievements into unbearable intolerance and arrogance. Again they are a minority, even among leading volunteers, but they are prominent and usually long standing members.
Looking at matters objectively there are vast scopes for improvement, usually with other similar museums showing the way. My favourites are: Changing rooms with lockers, toilets and showers, mainly for workshop staff but also for tramcrews to save you from driving home for many miles in uniform but there are other areas.
8. "Oh, and a final thought - if Crich is better than anywhere else, why are 2, 167 and 273 currently sat in Rigby Road having rolled over and died?" (Anonymous, 22/9/10 16:33)
Actually, from reliable reports I get the impression that the reasons for the current status of said vehicles could not entirely be controlled by us but are rather a combination of circumstances some of which were beyond our control. This does not mean that Crich really is always better than anywhere else. To my knowledge in the most recent similar big events with guest vehicles, Amsterdam 2006 and Brussels 2010, the visiting vehicles all performed faultlessly.
You many reply if you wish, and remember, there is no need to register or reveal your name. Your reply will be visible immediately but you will not be able to edit it once it has been posted.
Christoph