Your opinion, out of 10

[seaandland]

Since the new year, out of 10 for B/W, and why, how do you see things gearing up for the charity change next year.

[DeanS]

Well..being a new liveaboard...I read a lot about BW on this forum before taking to the waters. I started with a biased opinion because everyone seems to complain a lot. I've been impressed by somethings, namely:

 

The network of places to moor is good.

The waterscape boaters pdf guides are good.

 

I've now formulated my own opinion, giving them a 6 out of 10, mainly because in the past month, these are a few things which I thought they could do better in:

 

1. I tried getting a mooring online for 1 month, but was told I had to buy the mooring for the year. (auction).

 

2. In Leeds, the elec points on the Visitor moorings werent working. When the BW office called the electrician, they said he was going to fix them "next week".

 

3. I got stuck, with kids on board, on a sandbank in a river, and called BW for help. (I was worried the boat would remain stuck in the mud if the river level rose...causing the boat to flood. It was late in the day. The thought of being stuck there all night was worrying. BW told me they didnt have a boat in the area to help me...I should just keep wiggling the boat. I had the wife and teenager holding on to hatch doors...shifting the weight...for an hour...wasnt too impressed with BW's response

 

4. There are a few places with showers and/or elec points but they need prepaid cards....but there doesnt seem to actually buy those cards?

 

 

So, even though I'm amazed at the canal network, I think BW, as an organisation, has room for improvement where it's really needed...at the side of the canal.

[romarni123]

Dean are the showers not free??you just press a button on the BW ones.Good job you dont need a pump out card

[carlt]

 

3. I got stuck, with kids on board, on a sandbank in a river, and called BW for help. (I was worried the boat would remain stuck in the mud if the river level rose...causing the boat to flood.

BW are a transport authority, not a rescue or recovery service.

 

I once reversed my Land Rover down a ditch, on the public highway. It didn't occur to me to ring the County Council (the Highway Authority). I rang my recovery service.

 

If I was worried about my, or my family's, safety, on river, canal or road, I would ring the emergency services.

[WotEver]

BW are a transport authority, not a rescue or recovery service.

 

I once reversed my Land Rover down a ditch, on the public highway. It didn't occur to me to ring the County Council (the Highway Authority). I rang my recovery service.

 

If I was worried about my, or my family's, safety, on river, canal or road, I would ring the emergency services.

Yep, got to agree with Carl on this one.

 

Tony

[Allan(nb Albert)]

 

I once reversed my Land Rover down a ditch, on the public highway. It didn't occur to me to ring the County Council (the Highway Authority). I rang my recovery service.

 

 

You should have used your winch!

[Travis]

Strange but true! I agree with Carl.

[carlt]

You should have used your winch!

No winch on that occasion.

 

I wasn't intending to go off-road.

[muddywaters]

Will give BW a 7 based on hire trips and here is why.

There are only a few things I can judge them on, mainly staff on the ground ie locks keepers and such.

Have always found BW staff on the gtound to be friendly and helpful so am giving them a 7 based on that mainly.

What I would mark them down on is maintanace at times, anyone who has been on the Rochdale will know what I mean.

[DeanS]

BW are a transport authority, not a rescue or recovery service.

 

I once reversed my Land Rover down a ditch, on the public highway. It didn't occur to me to ring the County Council (the Highway Authority). I rang my recovery service.

 

If I was worried about my, or my family's, safety, on river, canal or road, I would ring the emergency services.

 

In retrospect, I may agree, however:

 

Why have an emergency number if they aren't there for boating emergencies?

Why have a call centre, based centrally, who after listening to your request, dont say "we aren't a rescue service". Instead they say, "can you give us your exact location so we can get the local team to call you." I did, they never called. I called again. The local team called. I told them the same story. They didn't say, we aren't a rescue service...they said..."we dont have a boat." In all the time it took, I could have been under water. When they got off the phone with me, they had helped a total of zero. It would have been more helpful for them to say up front.."you called the wrong people mate". It was a good lesson and I'm glad I had the experience

 

Do they have an emergency number because someone might need a pump out fixed urgently?

[sociable_hermit]

The emergency number relates to failures of BW equipment or other infrastructure-related crises, for example breaches. If a lock gate falls off or the canal suddenly drains without warning, it's a BW emergency, to a lesser or greater extent.

 

I'd agree that defining how serious it needs to be to constitute an emergency is rather tricky. However in my experience they're generally quite happy to listen. Indeed I've had help sent out before when I didn't really need it and was just phoning to let BW know that something was amiss.

 

Ok so Dean rang the wrong people, but I agree with him that a straighter answer would have been more helpful in the long run.

[Biggles]

Strange but true! I agree with Carl.

 

 

Me too. Can't believe I just said that

 

Biggles

Edited May 13, 2011 by Biggles

[DeanS]

The emergency number relates to failures of BW equipment or other infrastructure-related crises, for example breaches. If a lock gate falls off or the canal suddenly drains without warning, it's a BW emergency, to a lesser or greater extent.

 

I'd agree that defining how serious it needs to be to constitute an emergency is rather tricky. However in my experience they're generally quite happy to listen. Indeed I've had help sent out before when I didn't really need it and was just phoning to let BW know that something was amiss.

 

Ok so Dean rang the wrong people, but I agree with him that a straighter answer would have been more helpful in the long run.

 

In their defence, the local guy did at least re-assure me that the river WOULD NOT rise overnight.. I didnt mind being stuck at all. I was purely worried about a post on this forum where someones boat didnt release from the mud once the canal level rose..to the point they flooded...so in my mind I was facing a possibly extremely serious situation....being new to boating:) I'll raise my mark to 7 then It was a little humurous when the call centre asked me where I was, and I said...I'm on the river between Castleford and Leeds, and they said....we dont actually know that stretch....( I would have thought the canal network would be something they erm...might have known intimately I'll exit this thread now. My final mark is 7

[carlt]

 

Do they have an emergency number because someone might need a pump out fixed urgently?

No, they have an emergency number if there is an emergency regarding the transport network they are responsible for, not the users of that network.

 

When I was Highways Engineer, for a County Council, we had an emergency number and it was used when there was an emergency.

 

When I attended that emergency then my job wasn't to assist the road users embroiled in the incident, it was to make sure the road was reopened as quickly as possible.

 

The emergency services did the important stuff, I just made sure the road wasn't broke and, if it was, got it fixed.

[sociable_hermit]

I've had similar - we phoned up once because there was a cable drum blocking a lock gate on the T&M near Stoke. It was too heavy to lift out and bore evidence of being roped up with that nasty blue string BW use. They'd obviously 'fixed' the problem by tying it up, except it had broken away again.

 

No big deal, except the girl on the phone wouldn't take the lock name as a reference point. "Can you give me a bridge number?"... That was after I said "We're on the T&M" and she said "Ooh, where's that then?".

 

And that's not her fault, that's a combination of poor training and rubbish systems asking for inappropriate information. And that's BW all over.

 

The regional teams seem competent, but they aren't given the autonomy they need. There's no delegation, no trust. The staff on the ground are good people in the main, but they've got little job satisfaction because they're not trusted to think for themselves, and their opinion isn't valued. One or two are real jobsworths, but again is that just the way they are, or as a result of the way they're treated?

 

The higher you go, the greater the bullshit factor. Ever seen the letters pages in the magazines where BW dismiss complaints by claiming the 'majority representation' card? It's irrelevant. Even if 1000 people are happy, one is still unhappy, and you need to be addressing their concerns.

 

I have little faith in the move towards charitable status all the time the BW exec treat it as an 'add on' measure. For example they now have a Director for Volunteers (that's not the title, but you get the idea). Why? You shouldn't need a Director for Volunteers because volunteering should be built into the bones of every department in the organisation. It shouldn't be a hasty coat of gloss over rotten wood.

 

I have argued before that, in principle at least, volunteering can work. I know it can. But it requires a fundamental cultural shift that starts with leadership by example. There's no sign of that, so I give BW as a whole 6/10, despite the senior management who I give 2/10.

[CanalWalker]

How does BW compare to the operators of non-BW waters?

[sociable_hermit]

How does BW compare to the operators of non-BW waters?

I used to boat on the Avon when it was LANT and UANT and it was fantastic. 9/10 for the Avon.

 

I hope it's just as good now?

[cotswoldsman]

No, they have an emergency number if there is an emergency regarding the transport network they are responsible for, not the users of that network.

 

When I was Highways Engineer, for a County Council, we had an emergency number and it was used when there was an emergency.

 

When I attended that emergency then my job wasn't to assist the road users embroiled in the incident, it was to make sure the road was reopened as quickly as possible.

 

The emergency services did the important stuff, I just made sure the road wasn't broke and, if it was, got it fixed.

 

Well people do call Emergency for some strange reasons

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DC3uaeJVGcA

 

[Timx]

I have found stuck means she doesnt have to tie the ropes while im in the pub..

[sueb]

How does BW compare to the operators of non-BW waters?

BW is the worst of the lot. How often do you see the others criticised compared with BW? Why do you think there was opposition to BW taking over EA. Pity BW isn't being taken over by EA

Sue

[carlt]

BW is the worst of the lot. How often do you see the others criticised compared with BW? Why do you think there was opposition to BW taking over EA. Pity BW isn't being taken over by EA

Sue

Couldn't agree more.

[cotswoldsman]

BW is the worst of the lot. How often do you see the others criticised compared with BW? Why do you think there was opposition to BW taking over EA. Pity BW isn't being taken over by EA

Sue

 

Surely that is like saying Tesco get criticised more than my local shop. With 2,000 miles of waterways I would expect BW to get more.