Plymouth v Kent 5th

[Halifaxtiger]

18 hours ago, Mike0310 said:

You crack me up you really do,the blokes business is constantly being savaged on a national forum,and finally after so much provocation the promoter says he doesn’t want him entering his track ,the track was so much better than it’s been for months as numerous people have said bob says he spoke to one rider in perks and he wasn’t happy but the other riders were. Leicester’s manager was,but not good old bob c if you can’t see why the promoter has had enough you must be more daft than I think. The work that had been put into the track in the last week was blatantly obvious but if your. So blinkered anyway your never going to change your mind.

'Numerous people' actually includes Bob & I.

This is what he said :

'I chatted to Ellis Perks after his second win. He asked is the track always like this?  I replied that this was the best its been for a couple of months. His reply?  'The track is sh.t. Dont know why you guys pay to watch this, Id be asking for my money back'. When someone close by asked if he felt quick, he said 'not really as theres no dirt on the track. Its far too slick' 

By that alone, wouldn't you agree that it should be Ellis Perks that should be barred from the track as it was his view ? 

My view (on the Plymouth-Leicester thread) was 'huge step up from last week'.

Which of us is never going to change our mind ?

What you really can't grasp is that everyone - and I think it is everyone - who is critical has the best interests of Plymouth Speedway at heart.  As I have said before they don't want it to fold, they want it to change and change for the better. They are met with a blank wall of denial that anything is wrong, yet clearly it is. 

To my knowledge 5 people have been barred from Plymouth Speedway, all of the them long term committed fans, sponsors and track workers. At say £15 proceeds from each one over a 14 match season,  I make just over £1,000 income a season that would be lost. That doesn't count any that might have walked out because they believe that is wrong (I planned to come on Friday, but won't be now).

For a promotion reportedly losing a shed load of money, they seem hell bent on losing more. 

As to resolving the situation, here's what you do :

1 Apologise for past failings, say that every effort will be made to put them right.

2 Drop any barring from the forum and the track and say that those who have been barred will be welcome back without any repercussion..

3 Plymouth used to have a very capable track curator, bloke called (if memory serves me correctly) Nigel Prynne. Get him back. 

4 Get advice from Barry Bishop on PR. 

Since there's more chance of my tabby cat growing wings and allowing me to fly on his back to the south west, I won't hold my breath. 

18 hours ago, mikebv said:

In my work life I have ran several shops around the country, and over the past decade or so always joined any local community face book groups that exist. Not in an official capacity, just as me..

The reason being we, as often the biggest supermarket and employer in the town, will often get mentioned...

And, as is often the way, we get mentioned in a not too positive way as people will moan publicly often, but praise much less so..

However, for me, it is great (if sometimes uncomfortable) to see such issues as I at least have a chance to correct them..

What I would never do is say "you're wrong" as perception is 100% the truth for that individual making the comments..

What I would do is agree for them to meet me to discuss their gripes and fix them if I can but explain why I can't if that is the outcome..

Listening to your customers (both the good bits, but more importantly, the bad bits) seems to work..

Looks like some should try it..

 

With respect to your experienced opinion, this really isn't difficult.

Truth is, they are absolutely determined not to listen to anyone. They are right and that's it. Read any of the views on the Plymouth Speedway Forum and it will tell you that there is absolutely nothing wrong so there is nothing to put right (if you are wondering why there is no criticism, its because they have all been barred). 

Consequently, any view otherwise would be dismissed out of hand.

There are some that will post negative statements on here (or to you in your business) out of spite. Bob C most certainly isn't one of them, and nor am I.  

 

Edited August 5, 2019 by Halifaxtiger

[mikebv]

35 minutes ago, Halifaxtiger said:

'Numerous people' actually includes Bob & I.

This is what he said :

'I chatted to Ellis Perks after his second win. He asked is the track always like this?  I replied that this was the best its been for a couple of months. His reply?  'The track is sh.t. Dont know why you guys pay to watch this, Id be asking for my money back'. When someone close by asked if he felt quick, he said 'not really as theres no dirt on the track. Its far too slick' 

By that alone, wouldn't you agree that it should be Ellis Perks that should be barred from the track as it was his view ? 

My view (on the Plymouth-Leicester thread) was 'huge step up from last week'.

Which of us is never going to change our mind ?

To my knowledge 5 people have been barred from Plymouth Speedway, all of the them long term committed fans, sponsors and track workers. At say £15 proceeds from each one over a 14 match season,  I make just over £1,000 income a season that would be lost. That doesn't count any that might have walked out because they believe that is wrong.

For a promotion reportedly losing a shed load of money, they seem hell bent on losing more. 

As to resolving the situation, here's what you do :

1 Apologise for past failings, say that every effort will be made to put them right.

2 Drop any barring from the forum and the track and say that those who have been barred will be welcome back without any repercussion..

3 Plymouth used to have a very capable track curator, bloke called (if memory serves me correctly) Nigel Prynne. Get him back. 

4 Get advice from Barry Bishop on PR. 

Since there's more chance of my tabby cat growing wings and allowing me to fly on his back to the south west, I won't hold my breath. 

With respect to your experienced opinion, this really isn't difficult.

Truth is, they are absolutely determined not to listen to anyone. They are right and that's it. Read any of the views on the Plymouth Speedway Forum and it will tell you that there is absolutely nothing wrong so there is nothing to put right (if you are wondering why there is no criticism, its because they have all been barred). 

Consequently, any view otherwise would be dismissed out of hand.

There are some that will post negative statements on here (or to you in your business) out of spite. Bob C most certainly isn't one of them, and nor am I.  

 

"If you dont like it, then dont come" seldom seems to work...

Yet it seems to have been the mantra of quite a few promoters over the years..

"We are right, and you are wrong" being an often pervading view..

A funny way to run a business, by people who seem to (outside Speedway), often run businesses so well they can bank roll the very Speedway team they tell people not to come an watch..

Very strange...

Edited August 4, 2019 by mikebv

[IronScorpion]

 

5 hours ago, Halifaxtiger said:

I don't agree, up to a point anyway.

Track preparation should first and foremost be to suit you and I, the paying spectator. Plymouth is a very good example : in trying to set a track up for the home team, the racing is rubbish and Bob C is not going to go any more. Believe me, he's not alone for that very same reason. 

Any business that puts the needs of paid employees above paying customers is surely asking for disaster. 

The great Ivan Mauger once said to riders : 'A track's a track. Ride it'. Providing it is not dangerous, he was right.

Finally, - and I have said this elsewhere - its no coincidence that Belle Vue is our best racing track and it has little home advantage. 

Similarly, as do I but the forum is very opinionated.

Track preparation should be similar at all meetings, bit of dirt & dampness giving grip on inside & riding the dirt mid meeting. Also, the weather can play its part. As I have posted before, some riders are defeated before they have turned a wheel. Edinburgh is a technical track which makes it difficult for some, then to make it grippy leads to some riders & not just novices but experienced riders, struggling to turn. Then you get tracks like Berwick & Stoke with long straights & tight turns. Track shapes can unusually be altered, but some have tried this last few years to make the racing better, like Glasgow, Ipswich & Leicester. It does not always work, though.

Belle Vue had a couple of millions thrown at it & it is a brilliant stadium & track & it showed what is possible, with the conditions pre meeting Thursday then the on track action from young lads having a go.

Edited August 4, 2019 by IronScorpion
Oops. wrong day

[Halifaxtiger]

On ‎8‎/‎3‎/‎2019 at 11:44 PM, Markplymouth said:

Obviously BobC you are not getting your value for money in visiting Plymouth this year, you do not appear to be happy with anything that Plymouth are doing . Please stop wasting your time and money visiting,  not even for “perhaps one more”  I do not think your presence will be missed by many Supporters. I do believe you will miss Plymouth more than Plymouth will miss you.

I think he will miss Plymouth Speedway. So will I and many others. As I have said many times, it was one of my favourite tracks and I visited 21 times 2011-16. That's a lot given that I live 350 miles away. 

But very few of us who no longer attend will miss Plymouth Speedway as it is at the moment, and Plymouth Speedway at the moment will soon start missing us.

As I have pointed out, barring 5 regular fans will lose the promotion around £1,000 a season. As they already apparently losing money hand over fist, I would have thought that every single paying customer would be valued.

On ‎8‎/‎4‎/‎2019 at 10:37 AM, Frenchie said:

Yet Mark is probably losing more than that by people being put off going from his constant criticism. People should make their own opinions by going themselves. He had every right to bar people who are threatening his business.

Criticism does damage a business, no doubt of that. Some are critical precisely for that purpose.

Most, however, (and I count my friends from Plymouth, Bob C and I in this category) are critical because they are unhappy with what they see and want things to change. All of my pals and Bob continued to go - despite the criticism - right up to the point that they were barred. 

The worst kind - and there are a couple here - are those that tell the promotion that everything is fine when clearly it isn't. When it comes down to it, their views are far more damaging than a paying fan who wants things to change.

Let's look at the 4TT. The referee turns up, sees the track and orders that work is undertaken because it was unfit for racing. That is done, but after three races and a couple of injuries its still not fit. Some of the riders refuse to ride and two teams want the meeting cancelled (of one  of the others, Isle of Wight's team manager Kevin Shepherd very discreetly said that conditions were 'difficult' but his team were 'determined to finish the meeting'. That's hardly complimentary).The referee then orders further track work that took best part of an hour, and circumstances are apparently now to be subject to an SCB investigation (almost certainly as a result of the referee's report).

If someone went to that meeting for the first time, how likely are they to come back ? 

My pals have been critical of track preparation for weeks, so they unquestionably had a point. Their criticism has been ignored and, indeed, dismissed. Had their views been heeded things could have been very different, and woe betide any business that fails to take account of its customers views.

The Plymouth promotion view of that meeting - expressed in Speedy Star by Matt Bates - was that it was 'good' for speedway. He is - to quote Edmund Blackadder - either 'lying, blind or mad'. It does sum up, though, that however bad things might be and however justified criticism is they are not changing one bit. 

That will be their downfall, not the views of people on the pages of this or any other obscure forum.

Edited August 10, 2019 by Halifaxtiger

[Frenchie]

Halifax Tiger with respect we have all given our opinions on what has happened over the last few weeks. You are not bringing anything new to this thread just repeating things that have already been said. 

[Bagpuss]

None so blind as those who don’t wish to see. 

[CountyGround]

I was @ the Leicester meeting, what I saw of Ellis Perks was a rider loving the track & conditions so much he was showboating, this was why in one heat he did a 360...........     What Plymouth (& 90% OF OTHER TRACKS) do need is an affordable supplier of quality shale for the track. This is something that has to be addressed collectively by the SCB/ BSPA.   One thing you cannot do is knock the Plymouth promotion for effort & Bob C & others if I was retired & living in the Plymouth area I would be offering my services not knocking their hard work. 

[Falcons50]

3 hours ago, Frenchie said:

Halifax Tiger with respect we have all given our opinions on what has happened over the last few weeks. You are not bringing anything new to this thread just repeating things that have already been said. 

Totally agree Frenchie....it's time this thread ended !!!