West Ham United’s lack of consultation with supporters groups.-Update.
http://hammersunited.com/west-ham-united-lack-of-consultation-with-supporters-groups-and-isc/
We are pleased to report that the ISC rejected the club’s proposal out of hand.
The ISC Interim Chair has drafted preliminary document towards revising the communications and consultation process and asked for feedback from the ISC to start the discussion.We are not aware of responses from any other ISC members but our response as detailed below was sent this morning.
Hi xxxx,
I am confused by your draft proposal, not least because it is my understanding that the ISC has yet to determine what consultation is.
Recently the ISC unanimously rejected the Club’s proposal out of hand. Having looked over your draft proposal I thought perhaps I was missing something so I asked a number of HU committee members to have a look too. They are of the same view as me: You have come up with something that is fundamentally the same as the Club’s rejected proposal.
What I cannot understand is why you would expect the support of my committee for something which would severely compromise our ability to represent our members. Surely as representatives of West Ham United supporters we should be looking at ways to improve our ability to represent our members, not diminish it.
At the moment Hammers United fields complaints from its members directly to the club on a daily basis and has been very successful on their behalf. Why would any fans’ group or fans’ representative vote to change that? Not least as many of the complaints we have resolved have benefitted Hammers United members who, if not already members of other ISC groups, could certainly qualify for membership of every single group currently on the ISC.
Most complaints arise due to some very poor standards of customer service, often but not exclusively in relation to ticketing, which the Club provides to our loyal fans. This ISC might consider pointing out to the club the simple notion that if the level of customer service was improved then the number of complaints would reduce.
Notwithstanding that, Hammers United has the resources to represent West Ham fans quickly and effectively. Andy McConnell and I are virtually ‘ full time’ employees so supporters’ issues are handled without delay. Recently we fielded 30 complaints in one week. Most of these were from supporters let down by the club when applying for Season Ticket Cards. In the last 3 months we have helped around 70 Hammers United members with getting Season Ticket cards issued to them after the Club initially refused and/or ignored their requests. Why would any fans’ group or fans’ representative vote to change that?
If, as your proposal seems to suggest, our members’ issues and complaints would need to be forwarded to the ISC for consideration before any contact with the Club is made, this will lead to unacceptable delays and more unnecessary frustration for West Ham fans. It is a nonsense.
Please enlighten me as to what is driving you in your proposal. Please justify your rationale as I can’t understand why a West Ham fans’ representative, let alone the interim Chair of the ISC, is suggesting something which will compromise the ability of all supporters’ groups on the ISC to represent their members and will in turn have a profoundly negative impact on West Ham United supporters.
To return to, and expand on, my opening paragraph, this ISC needs to determine what consultation is and whether or not the club is adhering to its obligations in this regard. This ISC must also decide on exactly how consultation must work in our relationship with the club. Perhaps considering how the club and the ISC might use their combined experience to anticipate and then plan for regular potential issues around fans’ contact with the club would be a step in the right direction.
To this end Hammers United has requested that you convene an emergency ISC meeting to discuss this and I trust this can be arranged as soon as possible.
It is a great privilege to be elected by our members but we also have a great responsibility to deliver on their expectations too. We must do everything we can to improve our ability to represent their interests effectively and none of us should forget that.
Best regards
Paul
We will keep our members informed.
