Another pointless CRT survey

[Midnight]

Recived an email link today from CRT asking me to complete another survey, not the census survey but a satisfaction survey. I suggest anyone who isn't satisfied ticks totally disatisfied as I suspect all other answers will be interpreted as 'satisfied'. Shame they don't spend the money on fixing paddles or cutting back willows. Warning the link appears to include an ID code. 

[Phil.]

16 minutes ago, Midnight said:

Recived an email link today from CRT asking me to complete another survey, not the census survey but a satisfaction survey. I suggest anyone who isn't satisfied ticks totally disatisfied as I suspect all other answers will be interpreted as 'satisfied'. Shame they don't spend the money on fixing paddles or cutting back willows. Warning the link appears to include an ID code. 

Oh that’s good then. When I answered mine, and in the final comment box stated I would be much happier if they spent their money on dredging, instead of pointless surveys, they will know exactly who it’s come from.

[Midnight]

15 minutes ago, Phil. said:

Oh that’s good then. When I answered mine, and in the final comment box stated I would be much happier if they spent their money on dredging, instead of pointless surveys, they will know exactly who it’s come from.

I suggested similar plus they should sack  Richard Parry. 😆

[LadyG]

In the boater census they said they felt they needed / wanted to know more about boaters, not heard anything from that survey. In the interest of transparency we should see those results first. If it of interest to CRT management, would it not be of interest to boaters?

 

I don't suppose it costs a lot to send out a survey . It's probably the waste of time discussing results, and then interpreting results to meet desired results.

PS could someone with English O level please spend ten minutes proof reading Damian's Boater Update.

Edited September 12, 2022 by LadyG

[Alan de Enfield]

5 minutes ago, LadyG said:

Is there any reason given for this one?

 

It is a legal requirement that C&RT undertake every year - it is a condtion of retaining the £50m DEFRA grant.

 

They are required to submit the findings to DEFRA - unfortunately for C&RT the satisfaction levels are falling year on year.

 

 

 

Edited September 12, 2022 by Alan de Enfield

[Allan(nb Albert)]

31 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

It is a legal requirement that C&RT undertake every year - it is a condtion of retaining the £50m DEFRA grant.

 

They are required to submit the findings to DEFRA - unfortunately for C&RT the satisfaction levels are falling year on year.

 

 

 

There is some confusion here. Under the grant agreement with DEFRA, CRT must make public certain information by July 1 each year. This information goes by the catchy title of "publication data". Publication data does not include survey results.

 

Under the agreement, CRT's chair must write to the Secretary of State if it fails to publish. CRT have failed to publish for 2021/22 but I don't know if Leighton has written to the minister explaining why.

 

In addition to compulsory publication data, CRT provides a range of other discretionary key performance indicators (KPI's). Boater satisfaction and visitor satisfaction are discretionary KPI's. Trustees agree each year what these KPI's are and monitor bi monthly against agreed targets.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Cheshire cat]

1 hour ago, LadyG said:

In the boater census they said they felt they needed / wanted to know more about boaters, not heard anything from that survey. In the interest of transparency we should see those results first. If it of interest to CRT management, would it not be of interest to boaters?

 

I don't suppose it costs a lot to send out a survey . It's probably the waste of time discussing results, and then interpreting results to meet desired results.

PS could someone with English O level please spend ten minutes proof reading Damian's Boater Update.

 

The survey you refer to is still ongoing. We only received ours on Thursday. Our family name is towards the end of the alphabet which may have some bearing.

[ditchcrawler]

3 hours ago, LadyG said:

In the boater census they said they felt they needed / wanted to know more about boaters, not heard anything from that survey. In the interest of transparency we should see those results first. If it of interest to CRT management, would it not be of interest to boaters?

 

I don't suppose it costs a lot to send out a survey . It's probably the waste of time discussing results, and then interpreting results to meet desired results.

PS could someone with English O level please spend ten minutes proof reading Damian's Boater Update.

They don't have the results of the census as not all the forms are in, I had a reminder the other day.

 

Why should CRT tell you what other boaters think etc.

Edited September 12, 2022 by ditchcrawler
I did it again

[Allan(nb Albert)]

2 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

They don't have the results of the census as not all the forms are in, I had a reminder the other day

 

3 hours ago, LadyG said:

 

PS could someone with English O level please spend ten minutes proof reading Damian's Boater Update.

Damian's Facebook page - Canal & River Trust Boaters - has not received a post since 12 August. I can not find his latest Boaters Update either. Do you have a link to Boaters Update 9 September or are you refering to an earlier one.

[LadyG]

1 minute ago, Allan(nb Albert) said:

 

Damian's Facebook page - Canal & River Trust Boaters - has not received a post since 12 August. I can not find his latest Boaters Update either. Do you have a link to Boaters Update 9 September or are you refering to an earlier one.

Latest one, look in spam, theysometi es go there.

I can't post links on my phone, sry

13 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

They don't have the results of the census as not all the forms are in, I had a reminder the other day.

 

Why should CRT tell you what other boaters think etc.

It's of interest to me, and I expect other boaters, it's not as if there was any extremely personal data.

[ditchcrawler]

3 minutes ago, Allan(nb Albert) said:

 

Damian's Facebook page - Canal & River Trust Boaters - has not received a post since 12 August. I can not find his latest Boaters Update either. Do you have a link to Boaters Update 9 September or are you refering to an earlier one.

Boaters' Update - 9 September (mailchi.mp)   It was in my bin with the rest of them, unread

Edited September 12, 2022 by ditchcrawler

[Allan(nb Albert)]

28 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

Boaters' Update - 9 September (mailchi.mp)   It was in my bin with the rest of them, unread

Thanks.

Very much abrieviated without the usual links to it on the CRT's facebook page and website blog.

I wonder if Damian is still employed by CRT or just on holiday.

[ditchcrawler]

5 minutes ago, Allan(nb Albert) said:

Thanks.

Very much abrieviated without the usual links to it on the CRT's facebook page and website blog.

I wonder if Damian is still employed by CRT or just on holiday.

Can't answer any of that, they go straight into the junk bin, that is how I knew where to find it so fast

[Allan(nb Albert)]

2 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

Can't answer any of that, they go straight into the junk bin, that is how I knew where to find it so fast

You may wish to unsubscribe ...

 

CRT normally provides a link via its blogs page and Boaters Facebook page.

[ditchcrawler]

1 minute ago, Allan(nb Albert) said:

You may wish to unsubscribe ...

 

Its the fear of missing something else 

[Nightwatch]

18 hours ago, Midnight said:

Recived an email link today from CRT asking me to complete another survey, not the census survey but a satisfaction survey. I suggest anyone who isn't satisfied ticks totally disatisfied as I suspect all other answers will be interpreted as 'satisfied'. Shame they don't spend the money on fixing paddles or cutting back willows. Warning the link appears to include an ID code. 

They could of course empty waste compounds. There’s a wheelie bin in there somewhere.

[Ex Brummie]

I am (un)fortunate enough to have to undergo regular medical treatment, and each time I am presented with a 'satisfaction request form'

I am asked if I would recommend the hospital to friends and family , as if there is an alternative.

I only complete the 'other comments' box to the effect that the cost could be spent on treatment, and the personnel employed on this pointless activity could be better directed to patient care. The C&RT surveys are much the same as this, except it seems that there is probably a department that only commissions , sorry 'outsources' the pointless exercises, thus adding to the cost unnecessarily.

[Jerra]

3 minutes ago, Ex Brummie said:

I am (un)fortunate enough to have to undergo regular medical treatment, and each time I am presented with a 'satisfaction request form'

I am asked if I would recommend the hospital to friends and family , as if there is an alternative.

I only complete the 'other comments' box to the effect that the cost could be spent on treatment, and the personnel employed on this pointless activity could be better directed to patient care. The C&RT surveys are much the same as this, except it seems that there is probably a department that only commissions , sorry 'outsources' the pointless exercises, thus adding to the cost unnecessarily.

There is.  When I had my hip replaced I was asked which hospital I wanted to be treated at and chose one in a neighbouring country further away than either of the county hospitals.   My Cousin-in-law (I suspect I have just made up that term) travels about 120-139 miles for treatment to his knee and a friend went all the way to Cornwall for an ankle op.

[Creaking Gate]

2 hours ago, Nightwatch said:

They could of course empty waste compounds. There’s a wheelie bin in there somewhere.

 

...or totally shocker, people could find another bin instead of throwing the bag over the side, leaving and never thinking about again.  Out of sight out of mind that looks like to me.    

 

[LadyG]

3 hours ago, Jerra said:

There is.  When I had my hip replaced I was asked which hospital I wanted to be treated at and chose one in a neighbouring country further away than either of the county hospitals.   My Cousin-in-law (I suspect I have just made up that term) travels

about 120-139 miles for treatment to his knee and a friend went all the way to Cornwall for an ankle op.

I was asked if I wanted to choose, so I asked for the surgeon who did the footballer's cruciate ligament operations..

This did not happen, but I got referred to a different hospital when I explained I was not happy with anyone who just looked at my knee , no x-rays, no flexing, and suggested surgery (see above). He also told me my knee would never bend or straighten normally. It was about thirty degrees to normal, and that I needed to bend it more I did so, on the bus home, and it went in to spasm. Almost hitting the roof!

The new lady surgeon put me through a rigorous test and declared I would not need surgery, and she was correct. By this time (six weeks) my knee had straightened. 

I got a physio who gave me a series of exercises which strengthened everything up.

 

Edited September 13, 2022 by LadyG

[Midnight]

3 hours ago, Creaking Gate said:

 

...or totally shocker, people could find another bin instead of throwing the bag over the side, leaving and never thinking about again.  Out of sight out of mind that looks like to me.    

 

I think that is Skipton where lots of boats are probably stuck. I cant think where they could find alternative bins. ... or totally shocker CRT could realise boats are stuck and manage the bin collections accordingly. 

Edited September 13, 2022 by Midnight

[ditchcrawler]

6 hours ago, Nightwatch said:

They could of course empty waste compounds. There’s a wheelie bin in there somewhere.

CRT will empty it, because the contractors wont.

[Nightwatch]

6 hours ago, Midnight said:

I think that is Skipton where lots of boats are probably stuck. I cant think where they could find alternative bins. ... or totally shocker CRT could realise boats are stuck and manage the bin collections accordingly. 

 

I wrote a long piece explaining a recent account of the history of the waste compound with the picture of the full wheelie bin. That text seems to have gone astray.

Edited September 13, 2022 by Nightwatch

[Mike Todd]

It seems popular (populist?) to decry opinion surveys. On the other hand, if is also commonplace to expect policies to be evidence based. In the context of determining policies where one measure of their success is customer satisfaction then evidence of consumer opinion is rightly important.

 

Surveys are not in the same category as physics experiments fir objective rigour, say, but there is a lot of theoretical basis if the choice is made to use it. In almost any context, such a choice exists and several strands of politics have sought to diminish expert knowledge (not opinion, note). Covid added to such prejudice. Sadly the same voice may simultaneously rejoice at science that produces safe treatments whilst also undermining evuddnce, say, on epidemiology. 

 

Of course, surveys can nit only be well designed buf they can be badly constructed, either negligently or maliciously.  More often it is the former but occasionally the latter.  If is also easy to undermine the integrity of a survey if you do not like its results.

 

I would much rather have a set of policies (or strategies) that have made some attempt at being evidence based rather than ones that derivdcentuerly from someone's prior prejudices.  Recent announcements regarding public health initiatives are a good example. 

 

Good surveys that yield reliable and justifiable results are not easy and may be more expensive than the 'owners' are prepared to pay.  Too often a cheaper buf meaningless alternative is adopted without the underlying expertise. Ond adverse consequence of computers and internet us that it has made 'experts of all of us. Desk top publishing has led to some awful documents!

 

 By all means seek scrutiny of the way in which CaRT seeks to measure the opinions if all of its customers but please do so in an objective, not pre judged way. I have felt that CaRT have been at times a bit opaque but that is what boater reps should be addressing. In running a business, knowing your market is at least as important,   sometimes even more so, then the quality of maintenance.

 

It is of little use having a perfect canal system if no one is prepared to pay for it.

[Creaking Gate]

19 hours ago, Midnight said:

I think that is Skipton where lots of boats are probably stuck. I cant think where they could find alternative bins. ... or totally shocker CRT could realise boats are stuck and manage the bin collections accordingly. 

 

And if they are already by doing weekly collections,   What do you think proper collections would be....daily...?   You're happy to divert funding to that... 

 

People need to take more responsibility and instead of sitting there and just throwing it over, consider where it might go. Its annoying no doubt - but throwing it over like that is laziness at best.   Rats will be next.   

Edited September 14, 2022 by Creaking Gate