It appears to me, and I'm not alone, that the ATr has a CEO that takes no notice of what anglers want or need, even the Board is disregarded ... just ask why so many Directors resigned over the first 18 months. Even some of the 'magnificent seven' gave up trying! One said to me he will no longer support the ATr publicly, so just what is happening?
For those who did not read Martin Reads 'Last Word' in the Angling Star last month its copied below. I know that Martin, as a Director of the ATr, fought hard for what he believed but he just gave up banging his head and getting nowhere. I know from the e-mails I've received from the CEO he is totally dismissive of what I beleive the Trust should be doing with regards to Specimen/Specialist angling/anglers, even to the point of being arrogant.
Please remember these are not my words and were published for all to read
LAST WORD : October 10
The ink had hardly dried on my last month’s column about the Angling Trust when I received a call from someone close to their heart who told me something that leads me to believe that the organisation has finally lost all sense of reason.
But before I go into detail let me ask you a couple of questions, the replies to which will confirm if my thinking is sensible or if I’ve completely misread the current economic situation and how ordinary anglers and clubs think.
Imagine for a moment that you run a small business. Things are not too good, the economic outlook is poor and you’re in an era of financial constraint, if that’s not an understatement. As a result people are wondering if they will remain in employment, let alone get a pay rise, and your sales to individual customers, who are the so called basis of your business, are going down, other than to those who cannot go elsewhere to purchase your goods. In addition other small businesses, who are keeping your business afloat to a great degree, are suffering too, both as a result of people spending less and because of increasing competition from commercial operations.
It is a difficult time, but to avoid going under some decisions have to be made.
Do you, hold prices and have an all out effort to increase membership across the board, including seeking new customers from a different sector? Or do you put up prices, almost across the board, tell your customers you know what’s best for them, and then also do a deal with one small sector of a market you ought to be breaking into despite it almost certainly upsetting the rest of that sector, with the result that new business from the remainder is not only unlikely but near on impossible?
Now just for a moment imagine the company needing to take decisions is the Angling Trust.
That all those individual customers are anglers, worried about jobs, money etc, and those small businesses angling clubs, being squeezed by commercials, while the potential new market consists of small tackle shops who in turn are under pressure from larger mail order companies.
Whatever the scenario the phrase ‘no-brainer’ springs to mind to me. But obviously not to the Angling Trust, or their Chief Executive Mark Lloyd, who recently announced that the Trust has decided to increase individual membership fees from £20 to £25, a mere 25% increase! Contrast this with the Environment Agency who recently decided that an increase in the price of a rod licence was not a good idea the moment, or the BBC who have pegged T.V. licence fees while cutting salaries for their executives. Does the Trust seriously think that in today’s climate, with individual membership falling, that that is the right thing to do, or are they happy to screw another £5 out of match anglers just wanting to fish the National or Fish’O’Mania?
In addition Mark Lloyd also announced that the fees for member clubs will also be increased, but will in future include the cost of belonging to Fish Legal and paying club insurance. In principle this means that clubs that are already paying their insurance through the Trust and are members of Fish Legal will have a saving, albeit small in some cases. But, that clubs who do either only one or neither of these options, which is probably more than half the clubs who are currently members, will face some staggering increases, in cases of up to 400%! (that club increase is now withdrawn but we do not as yet know its replacement JH)
Now it’s true that the deal that the Trust offer on insurance is a good one, but not necessarily the best. I know a number of clubs with better deals who will resent the Trust telling them what they must or must not do.
Similarly I’ve heard the arguments about supporting the good work that Fish Legal does on everyone’s behalf many times before, but Fish Legal already receive £9, or 45% of the current £20 individual membership fee. A secret that most members who think their £20 goes to the Trust have been kept unaware of until quite recently. And in view of this latest move one has to ask if the Angling Trust isn’t simply becoming a cash cow for Fish Legal?
And then to cap it off there was a further announcement that the Trust has done a deal with a major tackle store that specialises in mail order, to offer between 15 and 20% discount to AT members on the basis that members will, when they purchase goods, soon recoup their individual increases. At face value this seems like a real kick in the whatsits for local shops and flies in the face of previous policy which was to encourage local tackle shops to join AT and to sell membership to customers. As such it will positively deter the smaller tackle shops, upon whom we all depend for bait, bits and pieces etc, from saying anything good at all about AT. And AT obviously fail to realise that most shops will match discounts for loyal customers anyway.
Finding these ideas somewhat unbelievable I contacted the Trust to ascertain the situation. My first contact was unable to comment, other than saying the AT Board had been sworn to secrecy and suggesting I contact Mark Lloyd, who was on holiday, for comment. Instead I e-mailed the Chairman Mike Heylin who responded by stating, ‘I can't confirm the prices for next year as the board is still discussing various proposals. I will add your comments into the mix in the debate on the future’. Other board members have made similar comments.
Despite this, Mark Lloyd told a meeting in the Midlands that an explanatory letter setting out the benefits was to be sent to members this month, October. One wonders who is running the Angling Trust, the Board or the Chief Executive?
Whoever it is can I seek a plea for sanity? Not for the first time I believe your business plan is seriously flawed. Please, please, think very carefully before implementing these price increases. You are in grave danger of alienating both your individual and club customers, especially the larger ones, many of whom don’t want or need your insurance deal, and believe that Fish Legal should stand alone, being paid for the work it does for A.T. rather than being subsidised.
And there is another dimension, losing members, especially clubs, could have a major effect not only on income but also on competitions and the Angling Development Board’s work on club development.
