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Vale Farm April / May 2004 From:
Paul Burns To: Christine Coppack Cc: Rez Cameron
Dear
Christine, Thank you for your email of 18 May, in response to my email of
the 17th. I am delighted to hear that staff are now instructed to vacuum the
pool every night but regret to inform you that this morning I presented three
sticking plasters from the pool to the life guard. I saw a fourth one but it was
not within reach of my swimming lane. Does your pool vacuum cleaner have some
difficulty picking up these items? I
note that the Vale Farm website page about Harpers this morning still claims: LC reply of May 25 and my response to it. From:
Paul Burns Sent: Monday, May 17, 2004 8:58 AM Dear Rez, I was at Vale Farm at
6.30 this morning. In the pool were pieces of rubbish. I showed the Duty
Manager, Rohan, a tissue, matted hair and a sticking plaster that I found in the
pool. Rohan was unable to say when the pool was last vacuumed. I understand that you have asked
for the pool to be vacuumed four times a week. I would like to know on what
evenings the vacuuming is scheduled to take place.
From: Paul Burns Sent: Saturday, May 15, 2004 8:29 PM Dear
Sue, Thank your letters of 4.5.04
and 6.5.04 in reply to my third and fourth stage two complaint about the
standards at Vale Farm. My primary complaint was about the council’s failure
to manage the contract and ensure that Leisure Connection does what it should.
Among the matters complained of were dirty conditions in changing rooms, litter
in the pool and around it, failure to open due to lack of staff, failure to
notice trip hazards or to deal with them, and uncomfortable temperatures in
showers, pool and changing rooms. You
promise better monitoring and regular meetings with Leisure Connection but these
have been promised before without any overall improvement that I am aware of. In
your reply to my first Stage two complaint in May 2003 you said that you would
ask the Contract Management Officer “to closely monitor cleaning at Vale Farm
to ensure it is of an acceptable standard.” That letter also speaks of regular
meetings with the contractor to review performance. You
now mention that the Council has a new monitoring officer. In addition, several
times in the last month I have noticed Rez at Vale Farm at opening time. His
presence seems to have led to some improvements. The pool and the lockers are
cleaner of late but this morning the men’s wetside changing room floor was
very littered at 8.20 am and not improved when I left the pool at 8.55. I
reported the litter to Jackie, the Duty Manager as I left. I also told her that
one of the swimming lane ropes was so slack it had an S-bend in it at times. At
other times it was so bowed in the middle as to reduce significantly the width
of a swimming lane. Given your new member of staff I will wait a month before deciding whether to escalate the two complaints to Stage 3. Other Recent Items April 2004 saw another round of price increases at Vale Farm. Charges used to go up in May but now start in April. For example, between 2000 and 2004 the Brent Leisure Card zoomed from £17 to £27.50 ( 61%) and an Off Peak swim for card holders went from £1.00 to £1.40 (40%). Inflation over the same period has averaged 2.3% a year. Many users would object less to the increases if they had experienced a decent standard of service. 26.4.04 The last week has seen daily, early morning inspection visits by a Brent As of 4.5.04 I am still waiting for a reply from Brent's Chief Executive. I wrote to him on 8 March asking for a more complete reply to my second Stage 3 complaint. The complaint was sent on 30.11.03 and the CE's reply posted on 1.3.04. Brent claims that "The Chief Executive will normally send you a full written reply within 30 working days". After asking on 20.4.04 when I would get the fuller reply, I was told by one of the CE's complaints staff that "We will reply just as soon as possible". Reply received 5.5.04. See my letter in response Escalated Complaints 8.5.04 Vale Farm opens late. No one would have minded the three minute delay if it was a rare occurrence and if we were allowed to queue inside the lobby rather than out in the wind and rain. The men's wetside changing room floor had much rubbish on it as did the foyer leading to it. This was all seen by Rez, inspecting on behalf of Brent Council so I won't bother to email him. I find a clump of hair in the pool and present it to Rez as further evidence about the quality of pool cleaning. When I get home from swimming there is a reply from Sue Harper, Assistant Director Sports & Leisure to my third, stage two complaint, lodged on 17.3.04. The letter speaks of a new monitoring officer (unnamed) and regular meetings with LC and concludes, " We believe the way forward is to work in partnership with Leisure Connection to improve our services through them." Faith is a great thing but it should be tempered by reality once in a while. How can the council have faith in LC after four years of failings? Other Complaints about Vale Farm Since 15.04.04 -----Original Message----- Dear Rez, My complaint
is about the continuing problem of rubbish in the pool. I am still waiting to
hear how often the pool floor should be vacuumed (20.4.04). Both on Sunday 2rd
and today, Tuesday 4th May, there was debris in the pool, both on the
floor and a lump of hair floating around the half way up the water. I mentioned
this to the Duty Manager this morning. I register the items below as queries. I mentioned to the Duty Manager on leaving today that I had noticed on my last three visits that the sole Lifeguard in the pool hall was often looking down into a red ring binder or, today, an exercise book. I told Rohan that I wondered if they were studying for an exam. Rohan said the thought they were involved in a pool headcount. If it is a headcount I am still concerned. My understanding is that Life Guards are meant to maintain consistent and concentrated monitoring of the environment. The
Men's wetside showers are very warm and clearly one child on Sunday was
uncomfortable with them. They have been like this since at least last Wednesday
morning. On Sunday a woman swimmer told me that the women's showers were cold on
both Saturday and Sunday. There was a sign to warn women about this. I don’t know if the women’s showers were fixed by this
morning. I
was at Vale Farm at opening time this morning and was struck by how few of the
men’s wetside lockers have keys. And even some of those with keys do not work.
I assume Leisure Connection collects the £1 deposits for non-returned keys. If
this is so, should this not cover the cost of replacing at least the key if not
numbers, wristbands other attachment devices. How much money is in the kitty
from deposit coins? The cleaning of the floor of the men’s
changing room and lockers has improved in the last two weeks. Given the
previous, frequent relapses in cleaning standards, it will take some time for me
to be convinced the changes will last. Paul Burns From:
Paul Burns Sent: Tuesday, April 20, 2004 10:41 AM Dear
Rez, Thank you for your reply of 19.4.04. I wish to add the following to my Stage 1 complaint of April 15th. From: Paul Burns Sent: Thursday, April 15, 2004 9:14 AM Dear Rez, I was at Vale Farm this morning for the first time in four
weeks. Again I feel the need to complain about the Council's failure to ensure
that the Centre is properly managed. While the matters listed below deserve
replies from Leisure Connections my primary complaint is about the failure of
the Council over a prolonged period to manage properly its contact with Leisure
Connection.
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