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Red-tape and lack of initiative hit a new low

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  1. #1

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    Red-tape and lack of initiative hit a new low

    This is a copy of an email I just sent to AFCD. (Thats the people who run the country parks, for those who don't know).

    ****

    This morning I was leading a group from the Hong Kong Hiking Meetup Group to do a "cleanup" of the Maclehose trail Stage 9 as part of our official volunteer activities for Oxfam. We had been told by Oxfam that we could easily take a taxi from the Jockey Club in Tai Tong (finish of the Oxfam Trailwalker event) to the junction of stage 9/10 and then do our cleanup from there - one group moving towards route twisk and the other back towards Tai Tong. Further, the taxi's would then be used to transport other Oxfam volunteers from CP 9 back to Tai Tong.

    However, when we reached the barrier gate to the park, the woman manning the barrier would not let us in because we did not have the right paperwork. This was despite us explaining what we were doing; having our official T-shirts; despite us showing her our official badges Oxfam support badges etc. She would not even speak to the Oxfam person we got on the phone in case she did not understand us (although we know she did: we did have fluent Cantonese speakers with us who are quite senior with Oxfam too). Several other AFCD staff were present and did not help.

    The purpose of the exercise was to CLEAN UP AFCD TRAILS. We were trying to HELP you.

    It rather highlighted in a very depressing way the paradoxes of the Oxfam Trailwalker event: On the one hand, people come together to face adversity and raise money for charity; but that a majority of HK society is rule-bound; rude and inconsiderate to others. Your staff member being in the latter category. I found it extremely depressing and upsetting and it did make we wonder why we try so hard to give back when so many others just don't care at all.

    I run a business here in HK, and if a member of my staff treated anyone like that I would fire them. Not just because of the appalling lack of initiative and way their rudeness reflects on your organization, but because anyone so petty and vindictive is clearly unhappy in their job and should be released to find a career that is more fulfilling. I can provide a photo if you need help to identify this individual.

    I hope you will improve your staff training so that such an occurrence is not repeated. I would like a reply to this email.

    ****

    As I said in my email, I found the incident a hugely depressing reminder of some of the downsides of living here.

    Reply from AFCD

    Dear xxxxxxxxxxx,

    Thank you for your e-mail dated 17.11.2013.

    Please be advised that application of vehicle permit from this department prior to the event for vehicle using in Country Parks is required. And driver who driving within Country Parks must need to produce the relevant permit upon requested by our staff (including contractor staff manned the barrier gate) for inspection. As such, it is necessary for the security guard at Tai Tong barrier gate to check the permit in advance before allowing the vehicle to go into the Tai Lam Country Park. For your information, we have issued a set of vehicle permits for the organizer to perform post event cleanup.

    Nonetheless, we shall deeply appreciate all the volunteering activities within Country Parks. We will keep communication with the organizers for better understanding of this department's policy.


    Regards,
    F.L.LI
    AFCD
    jayinhongkong likes this.

  2. #2

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    And I think before posting this on here you should have waited for their reply.....

    Hope you post their reply on here.

    Btw, you really think telling Hk people that a majority of them is rude is going to help you?

    You need to re read your emails before sending them.

    Last edited by Mat; 17-11-2013 at 02:55 PM.

  3. #3

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    Well she's not wrong is she?

    kimwy66, Cwbguy and cookie09 like this.

  4. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by jayinhongkong:
    Well she's not wrong is she?
    One side of the story, give the AFDC the chance to reply...before posting on an open forum.

    As the owner of a business I am sure she would like unhappy customers to raise her issues to her first before they send them all over the net.

    I would be fully on her side if AFCD were to not revert properly to her....but shooting them down before they have anytime to revert?

    (And trust me, as an avid trail runner I am not a fan AT ALL of the AFCD....I just dislike big time this habit of Moving to always name and shame on here)
    Last edited by Mat; 17-11-2013 at 03:59 PM.
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  5. #5

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mat:
    And I think before posting this on here you should have waited for their reply.....

    Hope you post their reply on here.

    Btw, you really think telling Hk people that a majority of them is rude is going to help you?

    You need to re read your emails before sending them.
    If I get a reply I will indeed post on here.

    I re-read my emails carefully before hitting send, and other than the typo, am quite happy with what I said. I realize it is not everyone's style to say what they feel or to be honest in public; it is mine and I prefer to be true to myself than popular.

    My point in posting the email was more to highlight the idiocy of red-tape in HK rather than target AFCD directly, something often debated on these forums. This one was just particularly daft, since it was them we were helping (as well as Oxfam).
    Last edited by MovingIn07; 17-11-2013 at 06:29 PM.

  6. #6

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    Couldn't the person just be doing their job? Perhaps under instruction to keep people away from the site until government clean-up workers get there to avoid well intentioned armatures making a bigger mess than already existed

    Last edited by East_coast; 17-11-2013 at 07:08 PM.
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  7. #7

    Smile, move on. Kudos to Moving for at least trying to clean the mess in the country parks.


  8. #8

    Many thanks for taking the effect to clean up HK physically. I can only image how frustrating it must have been when you were not allowed to do so. I am also somewhat sorry for that poor women manning the barrier who (probably according to the guidelines given to her) did not feel it was within her power to grant access in the absence of an explicit authorisation (from her chain of command rather than from Oxfam).


  9. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by East_coast:
    Couldn't the person just be doing their job? Perhaps under instruction to keep people away from the site until government clean-up workers get there to avoid well intentioned armatures making a bigger mess than already existed
    We WERE the official clean-up crew! We had proof from Oxfam to this effect, just not the "right" form. I've done this after OTW for the last four years. We cut down the pink signs, collect the rubbish, collect any of the numbered gel-packs that are given out free at the start and note down their numbers and make a note of any really big rubbish issues that are too large for us so AFCD can get to them. THAT was the idiocy of the situation.

  10. #10

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    The AFCD has proven time and again to be incompetent... This is the same organization that can't keep grass on the Hong Kong Stadium field..


    Edit: I take that back, correction. it is the LCSD that can't grow grass on Hong Kong Stadium.

    Last edited by closedcasket; 17-11-2013 at 07:56 PM.

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