Anyone joined MERG recently, just wondering how long it takes from paying up to getting a membership number?
Any ideas?
There have been some comments about this on the MERG forum, it would seem there has been a change over to a new system recently which has delayed some applications. I think mine took 3-4 weeks
Oh dear, I was hoping 3-4 days
There have been several changes to their system in recent months which has resulted in a slowing up of things. The membership sec has been receiving increasing numbers of requests.
The new membership system is not up and running fully yet according to the latest journal. Add to that the AGM is due this month (14th Sept) and it has been a busy month for the guys. Remember this is a voluntary organisation and so progress is sometimes a little slow
If you are in desperate need to get your membership sorted, it may be worthwhile sending a extra email to the Mem Sec or depending on your area I will find the relevant contact for you if you like and pass on their details
Colin
An e-mail to Paul Howes will be very promptly responded to. I sent him one yesterday concerning my renewal and he responded within 24 hours.
Thanks guys, I'll chase up to see if they can help me.
I applied to join Merg 9 days ago and have not received acknowledgement of my payment, seems to me they have not sorted there system out.
Yeah, it's not as if it's a busy time of year for anyone, is it ::)
Hi
It should also be remembered that they are all volunteers.
Cheers
Paul
Quote from: MikeDunn on December 29, 2013, 01:17:56 PM
Yeah, it's not as if it's a busy time of year for anyone, is it ::)
Agree with you to a certain point Mike (and Pauls' later comment) however, if you intend to run an organisation with a worldwide audience you should either keep your customers informed of any delays or advise them that there will be a period where replies to correspondence will not be available for a certain period.
This forum is also run by volunteers but is monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, irrespective of the time of year. The appalling lack of customer care and customer service is exactly why my NGS and MERG memberships were not renewed, you can not expect people to constantly pay for such poor service, volunteers or not.
You are so correct Lawrence, if only they stated on there web site there could be a long delay over the holiday period that would of been fine, we are not mind readers and I am just wondering if I have done the right thing in trying to join, I did receive an email after filling the form in that it could take 1 to 7 days but that has gone over now so in my mind it is though no one cares, in which is really sad.
I am a patient person so I will wait to see what happens and when it gets to 20 days I will contact Paypal to get my funds returned.
It seems as though some people have completely unrealistic views as to what is possible for small hobby organisations to provide both in terms of turn around and coverage.
Phrases like a lack of customer care and service etc seem to be judging these organisations as professional organisations where you pay for a service provided by employees - this is clearly not realistic or fair!
Generally these types of organisation are reliant on one (or two) volunteers to provide a particular service - if that person is away for work (not always predictable) for a few days then has a back log to deal with then it could easily mean a delay of days stretching into a few weeks (afterall most people have normal life to deal with as well). Easy to say there should be systems in place to deal with that, but that is rarely easy or possible for small organisations.
Frankly expecting swift service over the Christmas - New Year period is asking to be disappointed!
Although it may be frustrating waiting, I really doubt anyone is out to scam you. If you are really getting nowhere then check they have actually received your application!
Cheers, Mike
I think any delay is down to the Holidays, it took two weeks to receive my membership DVD ect and another couple of weeks to actually log on. What a revelation MERG is a true gold mine of information. Their journal alone is worth the subscription fee. Well worth waiting for send the an email after New year is my advice.
.....and for those of us not in the loop - what exactly is MERG?? ;)
Quote from: KTM on December 30, 2013, 08:05:47 AM
.....and for those of us not in the loop - what exactly is MERG?? ;)
Hi
www.merg.org.uk (http://www.merg.org.uk)
Cheers
Paul
There's someone raising a similar concern on the MERG forum, to which the membership secretary has replied asking for further details in case it has got lost on the way. I've posted a link to this topic there.
I'd never heard of MERG until looking at this topic, at first it looked like a Soviet
organisation trying to kill 007! However I looked at the site mentioned previously
and there are some very good downloadable presentations on basic electronics , soldering etc, easy to read and well explained for numpties like me.
Glad it wasn't just me :)
Thanks for the link Paul
Quote from: Lawrence on December 29, 2013, 09:38:45 PM
This forum is also run by volunteers but is monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, irrespective of the time of year. The appalling lack of customer care and customer service is exactly why my NGS and MERG memberships were not renewed, you can not expect people to constantly pay for such poor service, volunteers or not.
I'm sorry you've had such a bad experience. I suspect moderation of this forum is done jointly by several people, whereas there is only (and can only be) one membership secretary for MERG.
Paul has struggled to keep pace recently because his mother was ill, and he had a long round trip to visit her. Furthermore he is still in full time work.
As well as dealing with new members, Paul actually writes the new member's DVD himself. He has also been working on the new on-line membership; when this becomes live it will ease his burden as well as help alleviate some of the problems mentioned here.
The best advice is to email the membership secretary rather than complain here - especially as Paul is not an N gauge modeller and hence is unlikely to see this forum. Although I am an N gauge modeller I did not see this topic until it was referenced on the MERG forum - for which I thank edwin_m.
Howard Watkins (MERG Exhibition manager, exhibitions@merg.info )
Quote from: HowardWatkins on December 30, 2013, 05:43:01 PM
Quote from: Lawrence on December 29, 2013, 09:38:45 PM
This forum is also run by volunteers but is monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, irrespective of the time of year. The appalling lack of customer care and customer service is exactly why my NGS and MERG memberships were not renewed, you can not expect people to constantly pay for such poor service, volunteers or not.
I'm sorry you've had such a bad experience. I suspect moderation of this forum is done jointly by several people, whereas there is only (and can only be) one membership secretary for MERG.
Paul has struggled to keep pace recently because his mother was ill, and he had a long round trip to visit her. Furthermore he is still in full time work.
As well as dealing with new members, Paul actually writes the new member's DVD himself. He has also been working on the new on-line membership; when this becomes live it will ease his burden as well as help alleviate some of the problems mentioned here.
The best advice is to email the membership secretary rather than complain here - especially as Paul is not an N gauge modeller and hence is unlikely to see this forum. Although I am an N gauge modeller I did not see this topic until it was referenced on the MERG forum - for which I thank Edwin_m.
Howard Watkins (MERG Exhibition manager, exhibitions@merg.info )
Howard thanks for your reply and now I understand, I shall let things take there time, its only when I never received an email for the payment I had paid, never thought only one person did most of the work, so I shall respect how long it will take.
Quote from: HowardWatkins on December 30, 2013, 05:43:01 PM
Quote from: Lawrence on December 29, 2013, 09:38:45 PM
This forum is also run by volunteers but is monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, irrespective of the time of year. The appalling lack of customer care and customer service is exactly why my NGS and MERG memberships were not renewed, you can not expect people to constantly pay for such poor service, volunteers or not.
I'm sorry you've had such a bad experience. I suspect moderation of this forum is done jointly by several people, whereas there is only (and can only be) one membership secretary for MERG.
Paul has struggled to keep pace recently because his mother was ill, and he had a long round trip to visit her. Furthermore he is still in full time work.
As well as dealing with new members, Paul actually writes the new member's DVD himself. He has also been working on the new on-line membership; when this becomes live it will ease his burden as well as help alleviate some of the problems mentioned here.
The best advice is to email the membership secretary rather than complain here - especially as Paul is not an N gauge modeller and hence is unlikely to see this forum. Although I am an N gauge modeller I did not see this topic until it was referenced on the MERG forum - for which I thank Edwin_m.
Howard Watkins (MERG Exhibition manager, exhibitions@merg.info )
Howard, I am grateful for your response and thank you for taking the time to explain it. It would seem that this kind of information would be best circulated to new members via the MERG website or as an auto response to membership applications or communication via email. I do not wish to appear heartless, but if Paul was having trouble juggling his private life and his duties with MERG then why not ask the membership for help.
Yes this forum is run by volunteers, and there is now several of them, when Tank started it, he was on his own for a month or two, then I joined him and as the forum grew into several hundreds more moderators were invited on board to assist. After a couple of years I was able to step aside as there was a strong enough team behind Tank for me to return to 'normal' life. I do not mention this for some self serving reason, merely to show that, as this forum grew, as did the team of volunteers behind it all supporting each other across a variety of roles. Perhaps this is something MERG might consider as it moves forward and continues to expand, a strong team of volunteers all capable of backing each other up. Most important though is keeping current and new members informed of anything that may have an effect on them.
I hope that I have clarified my previous comments and merely wish my comments to be constructive criticisms.
Hi Howard
Thanks for your reply. It was me that posted the query on the MERG forum. Geoff was a little concerned and other people that I have recommended also mention that it seemed to take a long while for action even though the initial response says approx 7 days. Maybe with modern systems we have become too accustomed to "immediate" answers. Life in Aussie land is a bit more laid back - 7 days is nothing.
As a current MERG member (3303) I am aware of the recent problems of delay, many of these being due to improvements etc in the system. However I thought that maybe a short message on the forum may alert others to the issue and it was not a "dig" or complaint in any form about the way MERG has performed over the years. The volunteers do a sterling job from producing the newsletter down to the "elves" that pack kits, and I know how much time committee work takes,been on too many.
Regards Colin