Allegro Club International

[Stephen bramwell]

Further to my posting in
spares pages.
Now George is handing over
to someone else, perhaps
the club shoul provide an
assistant? Employed on min
wage 4 hours per week
would take some of the
strain. Order despatch,
invoicing, E_MAIL REPLIES
and such.
I also dont think it was
wise to snatch the service
from the Derby group
(who could provide a
quick dependable service
within times listed in
Cat) when evidently the
newer location is unable
to achieve much of use
to those outside the
SE area who can collect from
the spares open days.

[Richie G]

Hi Stephen,
I can understand where you are coming from as it maybe difficult for people living up north to get to spares days but the only time you might need to come down south would be to collect panels as most of the other spares i would imagine could be sent to you?
I have to say though mate that George works very very hard doing the spares service and it is very time consuming and involves a lot of time and effort and paperwork to keep on top of!
George has done the spares service for over 5 years now and in my honest opinion he has worked very hard to get it up and running and does a very good job indeed!,he doesn't get paid for it and he works long hours at his paying job
Most of the spares days that have happened have always been successful and raised over £1000 for the club which is quite a lot of money for a days work
I can completely understand why he would like to stand down from this position as it a very hard job to do .
I don't want to speak out of turn mate or cause a row because i am not like that but i think your post could be taken as a little harsh mate
take care
Richie g
_________________
We own 7 allegros !

[ruSSell]

Any Dealings i have had with George have been first class, he does a fantastic job and one which is far more demanding in terms of effort and time than most people would imagine.

Kind Regards

Russell.

[crippsacars]

The idea of a paid assistant may well take some of the strain off our spares sec but would mean higher spares prices would it not? Would the membership be willing to pay more for the parts as the cost would quite considerable of employing someone.

There is always the option of selling the spares off as a job lot and hope whoever buys them keeps the service going - unfortunatly the carparc of allegros just dosn't create the revenue to allow a service like morris minor/MG owners enjoy - there just isn't enough money in it.

The spares service was i believe moved quite some years ago due a complete breakdown in its operation - i also believe it was only taken on by the current team as no one else was able to take it. Had that not happened then the service would not have continued and some very important spares would have been lost for good.

Complaining is easy but taking on any major unpaid job within a club is NOT easy and i think we all need to consider what WE are prepared to do before we moan too much!
_________________
"If you think an allegro is intresting you are criminally insane" Said the man in the 12mpg Range Rover sport as it depreciated another £100 in the time it took to write this!

[Roger Feist]

STEPHEN I SUGGEST YOU GET ALL YOUR FACTS RIGHT

The spares were taken away because it was providing a crap service not because the London area wanted it
The year before George took it over the spares income was approx £500 & last year the spares income was just under £5000 so a slight diference. There were also a whole years worth of letters unopened when he took it over. also the volume of stock has increased so its not just selling the items its buying aswell.

The Derby lot were also given chances to sort the service out i remember the Chairman sitting with Nick at one of the BL/BMC shows

George also offered to do the paperwork for them so all they had to do was to send stock out,but communication broke down that end even though the club brought them a new computer.

The Chairman then wanted this sorted out so it was a choice sell the stock or move it, it was decided that it should be moved George offered to find storage for a tempary time of 6 months. 5 years down the line he is still doing it.( the longest serving spares controller)but now due to work he can no longer provide a good service & thats why he is giving it up.

ARE YOU OFFERING TO TAKE OVER !!!
If so contact the chairman his details are in Quartic
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It's always better with the roof down ! It's the crayford's way !!

[Ian Cole]

In agreement with you there Roger.

The spares service provided now is far superior to the way it was being provided towards the end of its life in Derby. Countless attempts were made to help the running of the service but nothing came through.

In the end the number of complaints from members was enoumous, so that ended with George volunteering and doing a fantastic job.

Having owned classic cars for all of my driving career, one thing I feel very strongly about is; that if you own a classic car it is always going to be harder to keep it on the road and source spares, unless you drive an MG or Morris Minor. SO with old car ownership comes a sense of responsibilty for you to source spares your self and not rely on volunteers within a car club and expect the same kind of service you get from driving a modern car. All the classics that I have owned I have sourced spares to keep them on the road.

Rant over.

Ian
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Why no Allegro at moment?

[Stephen bramwell]

Well ,I gave it a while
longer & still no reply
to any e mails to George.
The order (For sending)
I sent form for end
March, reply inJune & sent
cheque by return-never
heard anymore! Yes Ian I
can & do get spares elsewhere, & shall now do
so with this order as
I ve cancelled it ,I was
told I would add to club
funds if I got parts from
spares service, thats why
I didnt get elsewhere.
No Roger I do not have time
to take over spares either
as like george I have my
business to run. I still say
a paid helper would be good.
In anycase, with £5 p/a
turnover £3k of which is
on x2 spares days I hear,
that leaves bal;£2k by 52
weks = around £40 p/week
at average £20 per order=
just Two orders per week
to be sent out (mine was
£6 So 3or4 hours work
by a paid helper would
leave them plenty of time
to pack/send/do emails &
stock control!

[Jenny Thurston]

Stephen -

You are probably correct in saying that the income from the Spares Service would be enough to employ an assistant in the way you describe. The trouble is that this overlooks the fact that Spares income is already tied up in keeping the club afloat! Spares and membership fees are, I think, the club's two main income sources, so we may find it difficult if such a large proportion of the income from Spares is diverted elsewhere.

Jenny