----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [ql-users] QL2004
> > That's pretty sad - both that you are leaving the QL World, and that you should feel > such a relief in doing so! > > You will be missed! > > Care to enlighten us about your reasons? > > Wolfgang > As promised, some detailed reasons. It is a long piece, about 1,700 words, so I have done it as an attachment. It is in four sections, which can each be read separately. One of the sections is positive. Geoff Wicks
I am a proactive person. When I look back on my work life, I am proud of the two years that I sat on the National Executive of my trade union/professional association. Although I was not a nationally known figure, I increased membership in my region by 20% - 30% at a time when the union was in severe financial difficulties. I am proud of the number of times in my work life I transformed non-functioning committees into working bodies. It goes without saying that I would relish the challenge to transform the QL scene. The QL is in serious decline, but I am confident it could remain viable for some years yet. QUANTA has over 300 members. Most of us know about 50 to 100 of them. They are the "usual suspects" who attend shows. This means there are 200 - 250 QUANTA members about whom we know little. They are remain loyal to their QLs and continue to subscribe to QUANTA. Strange because PCs are now dirt cheap and, if you are not an active member, QUANTA is frankly a waste of money. The survival of the QL means getting these people back into the main stream. It means having shows that are more than a room, coffee and tea. A person on the peripherals of the QL community does not travel 10, 20, 30, or whatever, miles to come to a show and drink a cup of tea. He will come if he wants to buy something from a trader. He might come if there is a program to interest him. People act differently in a group than in one to one contacts. Activities, talks and demonstrations get people reacting as a group. Ideas breed ideas and ideas generate enthusiasm. Over the last few weeks, I have initiated a discussion on QL shows that some may think has been too provocative. The main benefit of this discussion is the clarity it has given about what QL-ers in the UK expect from shows. Tony Firshman gave the game away (and this is not intended as a criticism of Tony) when he said the best show he has ever attended was last year in Ireland when just 6 people were present. I think Tony echoed what the majority of UK-QL-ers want. I am now convinced the lack of activity at shows is not negligence; not laziness; and not a lack of skill in running shows. It is what most UK QL-ers actively want. This goes against all my instincts as someone who enjoys reviving moribund bodies, but I find it quite understandable, particularly when I look at the present state of QL businesses. Probably no QL trader now makes a profit. What I suspect has now happened is that a point of equilibrium has been reached in which the businesses tick over and the losses remain sufficiently constant to be absorbed in the other activities of each trader. Anything that upsets this equilibrium is a threat, not just a perceived threat, but a material threat. A threat that genuinely could spell the final death of the QL. There are many signs that this is an accurate analysis. Scarcely any traders' adverts change from month to month. The UK has the largest QL community in the world, but, apart from D & D systems, nothing exciting has come out of the UK for about 5 years. I am satisfied that I am so out of tune with the rest of the UK QL community that my continued presence would also upset that equilibrium. ------------------------------------------------------------- Many of the people with whom you have to do business as a QL Trader are unreliable. This is not just my opinion, but that of other traders. In volume 7 issue 3 of QL Today Jochen wrote of his difficulty in getting replies to emails from some QL traders. He gave as an example cases where he had placed orders with third parties on behalf of customers. If that third party did not react to emails or failed to send the goods promptly, then his (i.e. Jochen's) reputation as a trader was at stake. Does he then tell the client he cannot get the goods because "the company is too unreliable". Jochen referred to Tony Firshman having similar problems. About three years ago, Tony invested hours of his time in building up an electronic database of QL members, which has been to the benefit of every QL trader. It saves the expense of sending flyers by snail mail, and is a form of free advertising for traders who cannot make it to shows. Some traders never reply to his first request for copy, and he usually has to send two more emails to get the copy in. His anger and frustration are clear from the text of the second and third emails. A few months ago a QL trader lost an order from me worth about `600 because he did not reply to an email. Just Words! makes a loss of about `100 a year. I estimate I could cut that deficit by about 50% if all QL traders were reliable. Most of Just Words! problems with other traders come after they have failed to deal with a customer's problem adequately. One trader told me he had bent over backwards to help a client, but gave up because he was 80 years old and gaga. I discovered the client's two problems. He was using an old version of a program and for some reason had missed out on the free upgrade that had corrected a bug. He was also using a Trump Card to format HD disks and these were unreadable on other systems. A man approached the QL community for help in transferring his father's old QL files. Although his only computing experience was Windows, he was brusquely told to use "qltools". He had the distinct impression that the trader inferred that if he did not know how to use qltools, then he should not be using a computer at all. Another man bought a QL system with software. The trader had installed this, but did not explain the software adequately. The client had never used the pointer environment before, and when strange things started to happen on his screen he thought it was my program that did not work. When I realised this, it took me about five minutes to get him using his system. It disturbs me that so many of these people are so humble, apologetic and self-derogatory when they contact me. I could be be forgiven for thinking they were seeking a personal appointment with God. Many are amazed to hear they have a right to a good after-sales service. I wonder just what happens in their contact with some other traders. Helping people who have had a bad experience with another trader takes up much of my time. It may also cost me money. Do I charge this to the client, or do I waive charges for the greater good of the QL community? ---------------------------------------------------------------- Dealing with QUANTA in the pre-Bruce Nicholl's days, was a major headache. I lost count of the number of times I sent software for review that disappeared without trace. Scarcely anything I sent appeared in the QUANTA Magazine, not even a request for reviewers, although they were constantly short of copy. Once a review did appear. It was a brilliant and thorough review, but, alas, of the wrong program. I had sent a new pointer version for review, but Quanta reviewed the old non-pointer version. When I queried this I was told the reviewer did not possess the pointer environment and was asked why it was such an important point. There were the times that adverts I had ordered and paid for did not appear, and other times that adverts I had not ordered and not paid for mysteriously appeared. I gave up on that one because it was working in my favour, although it meant I could never do a concerted advertising campaign over several issues. QUANTA once approached me for help in sending the magazine copy electronically to the printer. I wrote a customised version of QL-2-PC Transfer free of charge to cater for the magazine's specific needs. The editor never used it, because when I told him electronic transmission could mean the printer making some final decisions on design and possibly paging, he was frightened of losing control. Finally, there was the time I was asked at one week's notice to write the Christmas competition and to provide the prize. I not only did this, but also negotiated an alternative prize from another trader. As a condition I made agreements over the presentation of the competition to give it maximum impact. Every agreement I made was broken with the result that the competition became impossibly difficult, the fun element disappeared and there was only one, inaccurate, entry. Many people will be critical of me for writing this, because the person concerned is no longer able to defend himself. I accept that as a fair criticism. I have included this because dealing with QUANTA was a strain and stress that lessened my Just Words! pleasure. It also illustrates something about "goodies" and "baddies". This man was no baddie. He was one of the most honourable, trustworthy and gentlemanly people I have ever met in life. In spite of everything I still remember him with respect and affection. It was his overzealous determination to do a good job, a job that no one else would do, that got him into some terrible muddles. If he had been a baddie, it would have been so much easier to tackle the problems. ------------------------------------------------------------------ The Just Words! deficit is about `100 per year. The Just Words! QL-Today advertising bill is about `90 per year. There was a good way of eliminating the Just Words! deficit at a single stroke that I did not use. Jochen has never let me down. Dilwyn has let me down only once, and that was because someone else had let him down. It has been a pleasure to do business with QL-Today. There was potentially a better way for the QL.
