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Re: [Killietalk] improving the AKA
John hit it on the nose - sort of ... John travels 140 miles to Dr. Dan's or
Albany NY meetings - I live 60 miles north of him *chuckles*. In all
honesty, if I were a wise person, I'd probably join KilliQuebec which meets
1-2 hours away much of the time, but now the border problems make it a bit
less enjoyable. The truth of the matter, however, is the people. I have
deep ties to UNYKA and its members having been a member since the early
1990s and I consider a couple of members among my closest friends. Travel
time does not matter to me - its the friends that make it worth the travel.
On that note: The next UNYKA meeting will be at Dr. Dan's in New Berlin, NY
on May 5th at noon. Everyone is welcome to attend. SInce the Giants and
Patriots are out of the Superbowl - nothing to worry about in missing the
pre-game shows.
The topic is about "Improving the AKA". I'd really like to hear ideas about
what people feel needs to be improved/fixed and HOW to go about it. It
always seems to move in the direction of more fish in BNL, an auction site
or some similar topic.
In my opinion, there are a multitude of problems with the distribution of
fish through the BNL and several reasons I stopped doing it years ago.
Among the reasons I stopped included ridiculous orders that I got paid
shipping costs, but not for the (in the worst cases - eggs) fish/eggs and
then complaints when I provided free eggs to be nice - that the eggs died
and I HAD to replace them and add more to the order. (one order in
particular for over $100 in eggs and the guy sent me $15 for shipping and
nothing else and that did not cover the shipping overseas, then had the
audacity to say the eggs were all dead when they arrived and I had to
replace them and oh - by the way, here's $5 more and send $40 extra dollars
of eggs on top of it. When I refused to be ripped off, he complained to the
F&E Chairman.) Or another complaint that I did not send eggs that had been
ordered, but I never had a record of the order and when asked for a copy of
the check/money order, he claimed he sent cash through the mail from China
(shrug). Or the phone call complaints that I did not fill an order in a
timely manner for eggs (as if the fish knew the order was coming and shut
off the spigot) - like within a week of the order being mailed to me (not
received by me). Did I occasionally screw up - you betcha - but I always
tried to fix any problems that came from my end.
Anyway - its those type problems which cause a number of people to stop
offering fish and eggs. Most people I have had the privilege to deal with
in either direction are wonderful and most probably more tolerant than I am.
I am considering offering fish again this year, and may actually try the BNL
in March for April delivery - but I am not certain yet - its taken over 10
years for me to even consider it.
The single most important thing I would like fixed in the AKA is
communication. Far too many discussions take place by the BOT which the
membership gets little or no opportunity to comment on or offer valid ideas
on how to accomplish. I do not wish to criticize the BOT - they are
dedicated to bettering the hobby and work hard to do so, I just believe
there is a better way. And since I want answers not just complaints - here
are a couple solid ideas:
First - since a large percentage of hobbyists are Internet capable - I think
a monthly Open (moderated) Chat in an IRC or Java Chat Room should be held.
Second - All topics of discussion for the BOT should be posted in the BNL
and comments requested. I would also like to see the various views of the
BOT members expressed publically in the BNL - not just the Chairman
announcing items that were passed, but also the opposing views.
In all honesty, this would probably require someone to act as a
journalist/reporter to get the information in the BNL, but thats certainly a
viable concept via email and phone calls.
Hmm .. maybe I'll start doing that on KillieNutz.
Gee - I am beginning develop Koranitis - writing full-length books ...
*chuckles*.
Tom Grady
KillieNutz Website - http://www.killienutz.com
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