[stuartex]

mm

am with barret and feckwits , britain is balls when it comes to doing anything with our money , but there good at giving it away to the rich ones in the banks

[AdamB]

Originally Posted by stuartex

am with barret and feckwits , britain is balls when it comes to doing anything with our money , but there good at giving it away to the rich ones in the banks

Or foreigners, dole scroungers, people claiming asylum, The European Union, immigrants whose only hobby is breeding (and scrounging). Your right, money is not allocated correctly at all.

[stuartex]

ha ha tell em how it is mate am with you

[Snowball]

Hasn't it always been the case, that those who tell us how we must be thrifty are themselves the ones who enjoy the most outrageous spending sprees; but not with their own money, of course? :(:(:(

[ficklejade]

We recently had a single width junction dug up by one of the utilities and they supposedly filled it in. It is now a trough across the road - unavoidable and on a nasty corner and the depth varies from 2inches to a staggering 6inches below the road surface. I've complained to my local cllr and have been advised that it will be done next week (ha! ha!) when the Council repairs the next section of that road (including a near two deep 3 foot long depression on the outside of the road over a high angle drop. Why is the Council paying for the utility companies' botched job, I asked? Will you be getting our money back from them? Don't know was the reply! I politely asked him if he would find out and sent an email to that effect! One wonders just what is going on!:confused:

[Rolebama]

I have noticed a distinct 'non-confrontational' policy being adopted by my local Council. This goes right across the board, from dealing with members of the public, to dealing with utility companies. Apparently, it is again down to the compensation culture where Council workers have three years off sick and claim compensation for stress if someone shouts at them.

[ficklejade]

Originally Posted by Rolebama

I have noticed a distinct 'non-confrontational' policy being adopted by my local Council. This goes right across the board, from dealing with members of the public, to dealing with utility companies. Apparently, it is again down to the compensation culture where Council workers have three years off sick and claim compensation for stress if someone shouts at them.

Don't think that's totally fair though I know it can happen but frontline Council staff can have a lot to put up with, often because them upstairs won't come down and face the consequences to the fellow staff of their decisions and actions (like stalling on decisions, ignoring correspondence, etc.), sometimes on cases with extremely serious implications for the complainant - raw sewage leaking into Council houses? The complaintants weren't unreasonable at first, but no-one acted on it for two weeks in house!

[iancrick]

I have also seen some stupid things councils do LOL

In Hartlepool there was a mini (well slightly bigger) roundabout at the junction of stockton Road, park road and huckelhoven way (Think I spelt it correct) and one day they where replacing all the black and white chevron bricks which took a few days and two weeks after this they started ripping the roundabout out and in installed traffic lights. Why waste money on repairs only to rip the work up.

The other thing is at Middleborough there is a double roundabout just of the A19 and another roundabout near the newport bridge. Both have been worked on to many time to think of, with extras added or traffic lights fitted which will cause more accidents than they'll stop.

The double roundabout has got that many lane changes and traffic lights it like blackpool illuminations and a railway shunting yard put together.

Now they are doing the same to the other roundabout and moved the A66 slip-road. I have see numerous near-misses on both of these, which hardly ever happended before.

Drivers struggle to drive the car, watch the road, change lanes, watch traffic lights and mostly watch for drivers cutting them up. I am 40 now and I can remember reading that roundabouts where designed to help the flow of traffic at junctions, while traffic lights could cause flow problems at times.

So can someone please tell me why councils are placing lights on roundabouts. They should have one or the other, but should not be mixing the two.

Also I have a ***** N95 8Gb mobile phone with built-in satnav. This also has traffic alarts and can re-route you around roadworks if needed. We have had major roadworks in Hartlepool this year and the roadworks at Middlesborough have been going on for months and I have never had any warnings or been diverted around these as yet. I know others having a simular problem.
Are the councils and any utility companies obliged to inform a central location, so these can be on these updates and if not why not.

Ian

[smudger]

Originally Posted by Rolebama

I have noticed a distinct 'non-confrontational' policy being adopted by my local Council. This goes right across the board, from dealing with members of the public, to dealing with utility companies. Apparently, it is again down to the compensation culture where Council workers have three years off sick and claim compensation for stress if someone shouts at them.

Yea! and the attitude some of these council staff just makes you want to shout at them, they are so rude! I had to go and hand in my blue badge renewal recently, and the bloke behind the counter was really trying to wind me up, it was like he wanted an argument, but I managed to keep my composure and remained calm.
He did manage to upset the preson behind me in the queue, as I heard raised voices as I left the building?

[AdamB]

Originally Posted by smudger879n

Yea! and the attitude some of these council staff just makes you want to shout at them, they are so rude! I had to go and hand in my blue badge renewal recently, and the bloke behind the counter was really trying to wind me up, it was like he wanted an argument, but I managed to keep my composure and remained calm.
He did manage to upset the preson behind me in the queue, as I heard raised voices as I left the building?

A common mis-conception is that we public sector workers actually enjoy telling people no, or that they cannot have certian things done etc etc. It however doesnt give the public a green light to shout at you just because you dont get your own way. I have had to take over a telephone call that one of our girls had taken becuase the bloke at the other end of the phone had reduced her to tears, just because we would go round there at the drop of a hat to empty a drain.

Most members of the public i talk to think its perfectly acceptable to talk to you like **** or go on about how they pay their taxes and i work for them etc etc.

The attitude soon changes when i (politley) suggest that we meet face to face to discuss the issues. Most people soon change theyre tune as they havent got the balls to talk to you like **** face to face but are quite brave via email or on the phone.

[AdamB]

Originally Posted by ficklejade

We recently had a single width junction dug up by one of the utilities and they supposedly filled it in. It is now a trough across the road - unavoidable and on a nasty corner and the depth varies from 2inches to a staggering 6inches below the road surface. I've complained to my local cllr and have been advised that it will be done next week (ha! ha!) when the Council repairs the next section of that road (including a near two deep 3 foot long depression on the outside of the road over a high angle drop. Why is the Council paying for the utility companies' botched job, I asked? Will you be getting our money back from them? Don't know was the reply! I politely asked him if he would find out and sent an email to that effect! One wonders just what is going on!:confused:

Firstly, let me dispel a myth about complaining to your councillors actually generates action. When you complain to your councillor about an issue, all he/she does is pass it to the relevant head of service and who in turn passes it down the line to the people that deal with the issue in question. (in this case it would be street works co-ordinators) in turn a response is written by the individual who emails it back to the head of service, who copies and pastes it into an email and sends it to the councillor who copies and pastes it into an email back to you. I know this as I do it on an almost daily basis.

With regards to the issue you are talking about, the re-instatement of the trench should be guaranteed by the utility company for a minimum of 2 years as part of the opening notice (part of the new roads & Street works Act 1991) the utility company should be sent a defect notice by the L.A. Street Works Co-ordinator and the works rectified at they’re expense, inclusive of a FPN as the TMA 2007 is now in force which allows LA’s to issue FPN’s for such reasons.

Adam B
Highways Engineer

[AdamB]

Originally Posted by Rolebama

I have noticed a distinct 'non-confrontational' policy being adopted by my local Council. This goes right across the board, from dealing with members of the public, to dealing with utility companies. Apparently, it is again down to the compensation culture where Council workers have three years off sick and claim compensation for stress if someone shouts at them.

Quite rightly so in my book. Why SHOULD we be spoken to like ****? we are human beings too. What gives people the right to square up to me at roadworks just because they have been held up? Why SHOULD my staff have bottles of urine thrown at them for the same reason?
I have receieved an email this morning with someone telling me that i talk ******** because he hasnt got his own way regarding some drainage works. So, i have binned the email and placed him on the PVP (potentially violent persons) register and we wont be corresponding to him again. Sorry, dont get paid or come to work to take that. Dont expect my staff to either.

Adam B
Highways Engineer

[ficklejade]

Originally Posted by AdamB

Firstly, let me dispel a myth about complaining to your councillors actually generates action. When you complain to your councillor about an issue, all he/she does is pass it to the relevant head of service and who in turn passes it down the line to the people that deal with the issue in question. (in this case it would be street works co-ordinators) in turn a response is written by the individual who emails it back to the head of service, who copies and pastes it into an email and sends it to the councillor who copies and pastes it into an email back to you. I know this as I do it on an almost daily basis.

With regards to the issue you are talking about, the re-instatement of the trench should be guaranteed by the utility company for a minimum of 2 years as part of the opening notice (part of the new roads & Street works Act 1991) the utility company should be sent a defect notice by the L.A. Street Works Co-ordinator and the works rectified at they’re expense, inclusive of a FPN as the TMA 2007 is now in force which allows LA’s to issue FPN’s for such reasons.

Adam B
Highways Engineer

Adam B, I have absolutely no doubt that your first para is the norm, but I can tell you right here and now, if our local cllrs get a complaint about potholes, it gets down to action within 2/3 days - two complaints I've made recently have been dealt with inside of 24 hours! I don't make complaints about baby potholes either, just the car breakers or ones that are so dangerous they can actually chuck you off the road (particularly when full of water and don't know they're there). OK, doesn't help where the road surface is so rotten that they have to re-surface and possibly strengthen but the Council has upped its schedule and diverted money to the island because we're getting to the state of grinding to a halt! In other words, after years of neglect, our protestations have resulted in some serious action being taken.

Second para interesting - does this apply in Scotland also?

P.S. We never shout at our roadmen - they're very popular and a nice set of guys too.

[ficklejade]

Originally Posted by AdamB

Quite rightly so in my book. Why SHOULD we be spoken to like ****? we are human beings too. What gives people the right to square up to me at roadworks just because they have been held up? Why SHOULD my staff have bottles of urine thrown at them for the same reason?
I have receieved an email this morning with someone telling me that i talk Bol lox because he hasnt got his own way regarding some drainage works. So, i have binned the email and placed him on the PVP (potentially violent persons) register and we wont be corresponding to him again. Sorry, dont get paid or come to work to take that. Dont expect my staff to either.

Adam B
Highways Engineer

I sometimes think we as individuals forget (and yes, I've done it too :o - call centres with folks that can't speak English are my bete noire I'm afraid) that frontline staff are getting abuse and sometimes worse all the time, day in/day out. The individual simply wants his/her issue sorted and doesn't think about all the other people who are also shouting about getting their problems fixed.

And before anyone mentions heat and kitchen and exit - if these people, many of whom who suffer the worst flak, didn't do it, who would?

[AdamB]

Originally Posted by ficklejade

Adam B, I have absolutely no doubt that your first para is the norm, but I can tell you right here and now, if our local cllrs get a complaint about potholes, it gets down to action within 2/3 days - two complaints I've made recently have been dealt with inside of 24 hours! I don't make complaints about baby potholes either, just the car breakers or ones that are so dangerous they can actually chuck you off the road (particularly when full of water and don't know they're there). OK, doesn't help where the road surface is so rotten that they have to re-surface and possibly strengthen but the Council has upped its schedule and diverted money to the island because we're getting to the state of grinding to a halt! In other words, after years of neglect, our protestations have resulted in some serious action being taken.

Second para interesting - does this apply in Scotland also?

P.S. We never shout at our roadmen - they're very popular and a nice set of guys too.

Not saying that it never generates action, the norm is that a knee-jerk reaction cos of a councillor complaint happens and your maintenance gangs go off in a scatter gun approach as opposed to planned routine sheduled works. We try hard to fend off councillors requests for IMMEDIATE action but ALWAYS send a highway inspector to verify the complaint.

Hmm, Scotland,I quote from my New Roads & Street works act 1991 book here: 'an act to ammend the law relating to roads so as to enable new roads to be provided by new means; to make new provision with respect to street works and, in Scotland, road works; and for connected purposes.
So i would PRESUME, (as i've never worked in Scotland) that it does apply there too.

[AdamB]

Originally Posted by ficklejade

I sometimes think we as individuals forget (and yes, I've done it too :o - call centres with folks that can't speak English are my bete noire I'm afraid) that frontline staff are getting abuse and sometimes worse all the time, day in/day out. The individual simply wants his/her issue sorted and doesn't think about all the other people who are also shouting about getting their problems fixed.

And before anyone mentions heat and kitchen and exit - if these people, many of whom who suffer the worst flak, didn't do it, who would?

Its also worth noting that call center staff (well here in the UK anyway!!!) are on a very low pay rate also.

[Rolebama]

AdamB: I agree entirely with you about confrontation, I worked for the AA for a number of years at night, as well as for the local Borough for a time. I also worked as Workshop Receptionist for car and motorcycle workshops, so I have met my fair share of 'upset' customers. Being a big lad, I never had a problem with telling those I felt would benefit that I would retaliate to any physical threat, but my actual forte was in talking to them, finding the real problem, then doing my utmost to deflate their anger by finding the solution. (During my time with the AA, I was chosen to attend some breakdowns where the member was 'upset'.)
So please do not get the impression that I condone any form of threatening behaviour or actions.

[wagolynn]

Originally Posted by ficklejade

I sometimes think we as individuals forget (and yes, I've done it too :o - call centres with folks that can't speak English are my bete noire I'm afraid) that frontline staff are getting abuse and sometimes worse all the time, day in/day out. The individual simply wants his/her issue sorted and doesn't think about all the other people who are also shouting about getting their problems fixed.

And before anyone mentions heat and kitchen and exit - if these people, many of whom who suffer the worst flak, didn't do it, who would?

Did anyone catch the program on BBC radio 4 a while ago about Call Centres (half hour program on business). They journalist was suggesting to the owner of a call centre that they must have to work closely with their customers to pass on customers complaints. The owner laughed st this and said that he was actually selling that, passing on customer complaints, as a new service. He went on to explain that a call centres function was in fact to block customer complaints, the companies that bought call centre services normally are trying to protect themselves from complaining customers. Now this puts a whole different complexion on everyone’s interaction with call centres, no wonder it’s frustrating it’s intended to be. In the light of that, I have sympathy with the call centre operatives. I also read about some research that concluded that Europeans find Asian English the hardest to understand due to speed, pitch and accent. So we have, blocking complaints, staffed in the main, by operatives we cannot understand, there is a sort of logic.;)

[GORDONZZR]

poor receptionists

I have empathy for anyone who has to deal with complaints of any nature or for any organisation.
There is absolutly no need for people to be rude when making such a call.we do need however understand that the people recieving such calls are at that time the representative of that firm/organisation for whom they work and that many people making such calls often find it dificult to express themselves in a way that is effective and polite especially when its not the first time of calling.Patients and politeness on both sides is a must.
Get the persons name and any reference number that may help followup communication.
Be persistant ie;keep calling or writting,but allways be polite and to the point,theres nothing worse to loose the gist of the complaint than some long winded storey that becomes irrelevant to the facts.

[wagolynn]

Originally Posted by AdamB

Quite rightly so in my book. Why SHOULD we be spoken to like ****? we are human beings too. What gives people the right to square up to me at roadworks just because they have been held up? Why SHOULD my staff have bottles of urine thrown at them for the same reason?
I have receieved an email this morning with someone telling me that i talk ******** because he hasnt got his own way regarding some drainage works. So, i have binned the email and placed him on the PVP (potentially violent persons) register and we wont be corresponding to him again. Sorry, dont get paid or come to work to take that. Dont expect my staff to either.

Adam B
Highways Engineer

I agree about your staff.

Do you not think that the current state of affairs is due to the ‘take no prisoners’ trend in legislation, CCTV and speed cameras? The average citizen feels boxed in, there is no escape. Any sense of citizenship has long gone, now the feeling is it’s about us v authority. A long served policeman friend bemoans the advent of cameras, he says as they came in cooperation with the police and authority went out.

In the 1940s authority expected respect, since 1945ish the picture has changed, authority has to earn respect, which in the main it has failed to do chiefly because it sees no need, it/they think more legislation will enforce respect.

[smudger]

What really winds me up is when we call them so called Help Line call centres, is when the person you are speaking to does not listen to what you are saying, they just keep repeating what ever they are reading from their screens!

They must think, that by doing that we will eventually get fed up and hang up? The worst ones that I have come across, are Virgin and Sky, and its very rare to come off the phone with the original problem solved!
Its the same with their Emails, you get a page full of information, but nothing relating to your original problem:confused:
Cheers, Smudger.

[GORDONZZR]

I hate cctv and more traffic police needed

I hate CCTV cameras if I want to pick my nose I dont want the world and his wife watching,however Id be the first to shout did you get it on camera if I was mugeged in the high street.
We need more traffic police and less speed cameras to catch all the idiots who dont signal.use Mble phones and have unroadworthy or untax/insured cars.
They say speed is the main reason for accidents I have to dissagree speed is cotrovercial as what is the definition of speed once you start moving from the cerb you are going at some speed, yes people travel too fast for conditions or abilities but there is usually wrong judgements made by the driver and often total disregard for other road users,breaking last min,overtaking at hills or bends
pulling out in front of other vehicles poor standard of maintainance.(sorry mate I didnt see you)

[ficklejade]

In case, as I suspect some of you might, you think I'm paranoid about the parlous condition of our roads in Argyll & Bute and particularly the islands, you might like to look at the link below:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle5976266.ece

Keep scrolling down! :eek:

If the link doesn't work - it did just now - this article gives a table of roads needing maintenance by Council area. The worst are:

Eilean Siar

47.3



Stirling

47.5



East Renfrewshire

48.1



East Dunbartonshire

48.6



Argyll & Bute

57.4

[ficklejade]

Argyll & Bute may have the lousiest roads in Scotland but how's this for service? Reported huge deep pothole that couldn't be avoided due to parked cars (my car's 17" wheel went in it!) Saturday pm - email this am from Council to say will get it repaired immediately and they're doing it right now!

[wagolynn]

Originally Posted by ficklejade

Argyll & Bute may have the lousiest roads in Scotland but how's this for service? Reported huge deep pothole that couldn't be avoided due to parked cars (my car's 17" wheel went in it!) Saturday pm - email this am from Council to say will get it repaired immediately and they're doing it right now!

I am sure it’s your charm fj.:)

[Hometune]

There is a stretch of road in the next town with an appalling surface. Potholes, dropped drain covers, you name it.
Anyway the nice highways men came out and up went the temporary traffic lights. Good, we thought, at long last the road is being repaired. But no. The nice men have spent a couple of weeks inconveniencing everyone in their desire to lay some extremely ferocious speed humps along the entire 3/4 mile road.
So now there are speed humps PLUS potholes. :eek: Definitely no chance of speeding now. Better find another route I thought.
But no! The nice men have come back again. And they have taken up the brand new speed humps and repaired the surface where they were. Another council ****-up which no doubt cost a fortune and a complete waste of the highways budget. :mad:
The story does not end there though. The nice men have returned yet again, installed more humps and instead of 3 humps across the road, there are now 2 at some of the previous sites. So they have dug up the brand new repairs! Unbelievable. Then the white lining lorry came and painted all their lines on the potholed road. :eek: With only 2 humps, you can easily drive between them and speed quite happily if you want. :p
Today, more temporary traffic lights on this road. The planing machine and countless lorries are there taking up the WHOLE road. That includes the brand new speed humps and the brand new white lines......

[ficklejade]

Originally Posted by wagolynn

i am sure it’s your charm fj.:)

cheeky! :) :)

[wagolynn]

If everything comes in by ferry, it must be quite a job to get tarmac over and down before, it is too cold. Unless they reheat it?

[ficklejade]

Originally Posted by wagolynn

If everything comes in by ferry, it must be quite a job to get tarmac over and down before, it is too cold. Unless they reheat it?

If they're going to do a major job (three done so far this year and two to do), they hike some massive gear over from the mainland and set up in one of the quarries. Ordinary potholes just get filled and thumped down until the next downpour starts eroding them again. We are trying to get our own tar plants - the commercial rates on ferry are horrendous!

[wagolynn]

Originally Posted by ficklejade

If they're going to do a major job (three done so far this year and two to do), they hike some massive gear over from the mainland and set up in one of the quarries. Ordinary potholes just get filled and thumped down until the next downpour starts eroding them again. We are trying to get our own tar plants - the commercial rates on ferry are horrendous!

From what little I know of tarmac, using it cold is just a waste of time.
I am not sure if there is a legitimate additive to keep it soft but a naughty one is diesel oil.
I remember re-heating batches up in a steel wheel barrow, for spot repairs, with a flame gun. It worked until I forgot and used my bare hands to wheel the barrow, ouch...

Are the roads without kerbs, the edges tend to break very easily?

I doubt there would be sufficient work to justify a tar plant, apart from capital cost, plant of that type will not take kindly to standing idle.