GNAS...Maximum wait to received...

[Furface]

Originally Posted by dell

The problem is that GNAS send the cards to the county, not to the club. It is then up to the county whether they issue individual cards, or issue a block of cards to each club to then handle themselves. Certainly my county does the latter.

Simple question: who completes the affiliation form? Simple answer: the club. Therefore it is the club that should be issuing the temporary numbers to the new members, so that they can be put on the form. I also think it is the most efficient process for GNAS to send the card supply to counties, which are better placed to judge the levels of supply required.
In the current case in question, the problem does seem to be in the interface between the member and the club; the member is on the GNAS database, and has been included in the annual process.

[moo-mop]

Originally Posted by Furface

Therefore it is the club that should be issuing the temporary numbers to the new members, so that they can be put on the form.

At our club though they ran out of temporary cards and getting more (from the county I suppose give the answers) proved rather tricky.

[Flying Whale]

Originally Posted by Furface

Simple question: who completes the affiliation form? Simple answer: the club. Therefore it is the club that should be issuing the temporary numbers to the new members, so that they can be put on the form. I also think it is the most efficient process for GNAS to send the card supply to counties, which are better placed to judge the levels of supply required.
In the current case in question, the problem does seem to be in the interface between the member and the club; the member is on the GNAS database, and has been included in the annual process.

Originally Posted by moo-mop

At our club though they ran out of temporary cards and getting more (from the county I suppose give the answers) proved rather tricky.

I may be wrong, but I believe our county has been trying to get supplies from GNAS for a long time. No wonder the clubs can't get them.

[andrew.paterson]

Originally Posted by dell

The problem is that GNAS send the cards to the county, not to the club. It is then up to the county whether they issue individual cards, or issue a block of cards to each club to then handle themselves. Certainly my county does the latter.

The question of cards, and how to issue them, always makes me laugh. This is because I actually own a card personalisation bureau, and make, personalise, and distribute cards every day of the week.

A csv (or similar) file is sent to us to arrive by 9am, and the card is printed, attached to a letter, and goes out that same day. So the cardholder gets it the next day. To give an idea of price (and this is not an advert, I do not publish my company details on here) we can do all of this including the card (with a photograph on it), letter, envelope and postage for under £1 per cardholder.

One of our clients actualy sends a file by 3pm, and we still get these cards turned around and out of the door by 5pm, they do pay a bit extra for that.

A lot of companies want to have their own card stock in branches, or regional centres, and they always run into distribution problems, or don't get enough stock in some areas etc. etc.

[Thunk]

Perhaps you should be pitching GNAS Andrew! Go on, we want you to!

[dell]

The Scout Association have recently changed to issuing plastic credit card sized appointment cards to every adult involved with Scouting, these cards are sent out once a year, and contain details of all the roles that the adult holds, very similar to what GNAS tries to do with their sticky labels but much more professional. These cards could very easily contain a photograph as well. As a coach, you can be asked to prove your qualifications, particularly if you are working for an external organisation, showing a tatty label that could be faked so easily is a laugh! While we are talking about delays, I passed my County Coach assessment three months ago and still haven't received the certificate or sticky label!