contacting those on the waiting list

[elvis2003]

hi folks,its the time of year when those who have struggled with their plots this year,or simply havnt bothered with em,are admitting defeat and reducing the size of their plot or giving them up.as a concequence of this,i have 4 half plots to re let.the top names on the waiting list have been on there for 2.5 years now,and im finding it a job getting hold of them...letters/calls and texts arent being replied to,i dont have email for them as the previous sec didnt include them.
my question is,how long would fellow secs wait for a reply without moving on to the next name?at this time of year i dont want to be backwards and forwards to the plot given the weather and that at the mo the car is off the road,so wanted to see all 4 this sunday

[elvis2003]

[Squash64]

If there hasn't been any contact with them since they put their names on the WL, and you have tried your best to contact them, I would think a week from the last attempt would be fair enough.

I am always impressed when people on the WL either visit us, or phone me to see if they have moved up the list.  It shows they are keen.

[elvis2003]

id agree with that betty.course,it doesnt help that a few of the numbers ive tried are clearly now out of use,esp those that only gave mobile numbers.
i think its good when people make contact to see where they sit on the WL,apart from one couple who visited FOUR times within their first 3 months on the list,on the last visit,the boyfriend became quite shirty,nearly aggressive in fact, saying but weve been waiting for ages. i had,of course,explained they would prob have at least 3 years to wait when i first met em. i wasnt impressed this couple had managed to pee me off before even becoming plotholders!

[Squash64]

i wasnt impressed this couple had managed to pee me off before even becoming plotholders!

:D :D
Have they got a plot now?

[elvis2003]

nope,they are probably at least 2.5 years off getting one

[mummybunny]

I was so lucky didn't wait long for a plot at all  ;D even after 3 months i had rang a few times to see how things were going i got mine because people on the waiting list had refused to take it on. No idea why was in really good shape not much to do to get it all sorted  :D

I was soooo excited when i got the phone call couldn't wait to go and see it  :P

Not much you can do if the phone numbers are no longer in use!! How long ago did you post the letters? Maybe some of them haven't received them yet or on hols? They may have even moved away and not thought about letting you know.

What a pain must be hard to make the right decision especially when there is such a long waiting list.

[elvis2003]

mummybunny,i was the same,i rang back straight away as soon as i heard the message,could hardly breathe i was so excited! maybe other people just arent as bothered? i guess they couldve moved/got a plot elsewhere/got an ill relative/died and had far more important people to contact but me,which  understand,just dont want them to miss out!

[mummybunny]

I know would be awful if you did offer the plot to someone else then they called you and you had to inform them it had been re offered to someone else.

Not to much pressure hey   ::)

Take it there is nothing stating how long you would need to wait before re offering it in the allotment rules then? Think it mentions in mine if the person in question hasn't responded within 2 weeks it would be offered to the next person on the list.

[elvis2003]

nope,nothing like that in our rules. if someone did respond after i had offered the plot to someone else,i would still keep them at the top of the list,so they would get the next available plot,cant be fairer than that really

[Digeroo]

I really think that if people are serious about having allotments they should ensure their contact details are kept up to date.

On the other hand I think if I had waited more than 2 years I would be gutted to find 'my' allotment had been allocated to someone else.

But you can only do your best.

[Trevor_D]

I normally use e-mail or phone as first point of contact, because it's usually quicker (and most people have an answer-phone or voice-mail). If I don't get through first go, I would normally try several times more over a week or two, using different ways of contacting. Letter is generally last resort for me, as it takes such an age - and it's more expensive. But I'm with Betty on this one: if there's no reply, leave it a week then contact the next one on the list. And I'd leave them in position and perhaps try again in another week or two.

I've just started e-mailing the waiting list from time to time, just to re-assure them that we haven't forgotten them; I normally attach a copy of our latest Newsletter. But it's always a problem - and our waiting list is only 6 or 8 months long!

[elvis2003]

im gutted ive had to send letters,for all the above reasons,but only did when i had no choice,ggrr!

[lavenderlux]

When we have a plot available our field secretary will initially try to contact the person by landline phone (we don't phone mobiles), if they are not in he'll leave a message asking them to get back to him about an allotment plot 'prior to xx' and give them about 48 hours.
If we don't have a phone number we would either contact by email (if we have an email address) or by letter, asking them to contact us 'prior to xx' but we don't give them more three or four days.
If we don't get a response from this type of contact, we go to the next on the list without delay.
Where people on our waiting list give us an email address we include them in the circulation of our quarterly newsletter and we also invite them to the occasional 'coffee mornings' we have at our field shed so we can keep in touch.   
 

[1066]

Lavenderlux - what happens if they are on holiday  ???

[Squash64]

Lavenderlux - what happens if they are on holiday  ???

We had a man on our WL recently who was so worried that a plot might come up for him while he was on holiday that he told another plotholder to come and tell me that he would be away on certain dates.  That impressed me.

Funnily enough, a plot did become available while he was away and he came to see it the day after he got back.

[1066]

that impresses me too Squash! I just don't think I would have thought about it like that when I was on the waiting list.

[kt.]

I log and document every phonecall made and received regarding allotment issues.  I telephone the numbers and leave messages where possible. Prospective tenants have 10 days to return my call before the plot is reallocated.  A letter is then sent to the property explaining the plot has been reallocated due to a nil reply.  They then have a further 7 days to get in touch and inform me they still want a plot. (They would then be allocated the next available one).  If there is no reply, they are removed from the waiting list.  

[elvis2003]

that sounds like a good system KT,what would you do if someone got in touch after that,say they had been on hols,or in hospital for example?

[kt.]

that sounds like a good system KT,what would you do if someone got in touch after that,say they had been on hols,or in hospital for example?

They are offered the next available plot.

[Squashman]

I send a letter giving 14 days as a response time, I also check with the local Town Clerk to see whether the person is on the electoral roll. If they are not on the roll they are not entitled to a plot.
I manage several sites, and helped set up quite a few both council and private.
Squashman