Have they never heard of a phone so that the crew cold have been informed and possibly arrived early to try and minimise any delays.
With all due respect, and given the impression you have created of the previous day of disruption, there is every likelihood that the crews would have been on minimum rest for their next day check-in anyway. It is not as simple as asking the crew to report earlier. Sometimes CAA limits state that this is not an option. A crewmember must have adequate rest before starting their next duty to ensure your safety!
Returning Manchester yesterday was 3+ due to an equipment change that MAN had not been told about!
I am stunned if a flight took a 3hr delay due to this!. MAN get Q400 and 146's on a regular basis on the SOU run, this should not have caused such a lengthy delay. If they weren't advised, then they should have been but disruptive days make this very difficult. It looks as though Flybe just had a bad few days, every airline gets 'em