I was backing the original poster but unfortunately his beef-anger in his most recent post seems to suggest this has more to do with 2 non-compatible characters who could BOTH do with a little CRM training....

Come on folks.... snotty lady AND snotty man, please grow up and find a way to not let the steam build up inside your respective otherwise undoubtedly beautiful pressure cookers....

Go flying!

True.

The childish comments and personal attacks on other posters have spoilt what could have been a good discussion about the airfield's extraordinary attitude towards customer feedback.

Speed-reading this thread, the only salient points that have caught my eye are:

a) the extremely charming young ladies running operations at Compton Abbas.

and

b) mud-wrestling.

Was there anything else of merit I've missed? - if not, I'll just continue to stare wistfully out of the window thinking about (a) and (b).

Compton Abbas is a lovely airfield. As I recall from the years I spent as a regular there, people's feelings towards the owner and his (adult) children who I gather now do much of the day-to-day management were often polarised, but the vast majority of people were happy. The airfield's response to the criticism offered as part of a (balanced) feedback report does seem over the top. There's long-standing bad feeling between Compton Abbas and Henstridge.

I'll be there tomorrow (CA) and will be sure to look out for snotty people :)

Quote:

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Henstridge is just down the road (not sure about the organic food there though).

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Apart from the merits and demerits of the argument, I think that the implied criticism of Henstridge by the Compton Abbas management is unprofessional.

Henstridge doesn't pretend to be a gastronome's airfield.

And the implication that Henstridge will simply take anybody who's booted out of Compton Abbas is demeaning and unprofessional - the implication being that Henstridge is begging for customers and Compton Abbas is beating them off with a big stick.

I am not impressed by that particular implication by CA's management.

For the record: Henstridge has hangarage, a maintenance firm, food, a hard runway, the Yak display team, the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance and is very friendly without having delusions of grandeur. Fuel price is reasonably OK as well.

I am not based at EGHS and just fly in now and again.

No doubt Compton Abbas is in a more beautiful location than Henstridge and has great views and cafe, but Henstridge is a much better airfield now. It has a hard runway for a start, new taxyways, new hangars at a decent rate, fuel in line with CA & Dunkerswell, an EASA145 maintenance firm as well as FAA IA on site, the air ambulance etc...True the clubhouse is a bit run down, but things are in the pipeline to improve that - in fact the whole airfield is steadily being improved and shortly flight training will start as well as various other things.

The main reason CA is so anti-Henstridge AFAIAW is the fact that the Yak display team relocated to EGHS as they were offered better facilities at EGHS. Allegedly this was handled in a very childish mannner and I have heard stories that some people from EGHS have actually been BANNED from CA due to the fact that they are based at EGHS...for no other reason.

So to summarize, CA is a beautiful little airfield with good food, but the runway could do with some improvements and so could the management, which is ok and friendly to most visitors but can be somewhat aggressive towards others...?

Perhaps if it's a club, there will be an AGM where the comment, the response to the comment and the attitude of the management in general can be discussed.....

I'd love to be a fly on the wall.....

:E
:ok:

Hang on...the runway and management could do with improvements? how does that figure when they have managed to create such a successful business? If the management wasn't good, this lovely airfield that the majority of us love to visit, would have gone down the pan like lots of others during this recession. Instead, every time I visit it's busier and nicer than the last time! Compton's got something unique and very special about it, and no one can take that away from them.

Also, I assume Compton is probably glad they don't have those noisy yaks buzzing around their ATZ and creating angry neighbours anymore!

From reading this thread I think there are indeed some deficiencies in "management". The correct response is to take all criticism seriously, and then either reject it politely with no "tone" or accept that you need to understand the other POV.

A better response to the OP might be along the lines of:
"We are glad you enjoyed using our facilities and thank you for suggesting some improvements. We are working hard to make CA the best GA field possible and will certainly think about the car parking problem. Organic food is of course more expensive and we try to supply food that is both reasonably priced and acceptable to the majority. We may trial an organic dish in the future to see if that is a popular option. At this time we do not consider pressure washers to be a good way to clean aircraft (preferring handwashing) as it (1) removes rust inhibitors and lubricants from key components, is (2) more likely to lead to water in tanks via vents and imperfect filler caps (etc) (3) can lead to water entering cabins and (4) are not without risk to the operator. However we will bring this idea up at the next club AGM. Please feel free to offer further constructive suggestions."

WRT other observations, children climb on fences all the time (to get a better look), but they may know that that climbing _over_ the fence is verboten. I let my children climb on fences but also limit how far they go. I think tannoys should be used with the realization that not all people want that background noise. In my experience people who use a tannoy when a personal contact to politely point out the risks and and limits to the operational area etc. (maybe ask another pilot if you are too busy) really don't know that if you put an idiot on a tannoy you get a loud idiot whom everyone will identify.

my 2c. Cheers

Friendliest airfield
 

More Flaps has very succinctly summarised the whole purpose of this thread and offers a very honorable way to finalise it all. It seems a pity that such sense had to originate from the other side of the globe (NZ)!
Let's hope that 1) CA's owners have read it 2) They will put a short statement to the effect that they are striving hard to improve their customer relations. 3) They wish he would apply for a job at the airfield. 4) The Tannoy is in future going to be used as sparingly as possible and solely for urgent aeronautical communications and 5) They have hidden the man in the hat's hat.
Job done.

If Compton Abbas want to run their airfield the way they do then let them. Grievances and opinions will certainly be of interest to them but the way they have been put forward here will hardly be listened to, mainly due to the circus type approach they have been delivered with.

Perhaps more important is the fact that the revenue created for Compton Abbas by visiting pilots is only a small fraction of their overall revenue. Whereas the majority of airfields actually rely on their pilots for their income, CA does not. The restaurant there mostly feeds the hoards of visitors by car, motorbike and coach and it would not survive it it had to rely on the bacon sandwiches and coffee that pilots buy. In essence, the real money-generating visitors come to see the aircraft who are there mainly as a spectacle only. What revenue is created by pilots is minimal and for that reason you can shout as loud as you want but they won't change!!! As long as the aircraft are there for their customers to watch they will keep making a good profit.

no pilots = no aeroplanes = no spectacle = no visitors = no revenue = no airfield = no pilots ....

we're all cogs in the bigger machine

Ha ha, I've just found this thread. Brilliant. I wonder if other professions get so wound up over diddley squit?

FWIW the girls of CA are some of the most strikingly beautiful I have met at an airfield and always charming. If only I wasn't married. And very, very old.

The airfield has its quirks it's true, but with a deep enough pocket I'd buy it tomorrow so stunning are the views.

As for the food not changing, well whether thats right or wrong, I find my pallet hasn't changed much either and a good meal there is always a good meal.

They have a very useful little simulator.

The runway is a good one. Not as billiard ball smooth as Old Sarum I accept, but hell any runway is a good one these days. Maybe pilots would do well to brush up their grass runway techniques and speed control at, say, Compton???

There's always a good trail of non-flying visitors turn up, some pleasant eye candy and if you stay long enough it seems most of HM forces also pitch up at some point in something sort of airworthy.

As for the parking and the out of hours services: well, the hours are something you should sort out before you pay the hangarage fee I'd have thought and the car, well, if a 40k car is SO so precious then you either need to buy a more easily affordable car or get a life. Its just a car.

No, all in all, CA is a nice place to visit and I'd heartily recommend it.

D

CA. One of the crappiest grass runways around. Period. The food isnt THAT good and organic it aint. The planes moved to Henstridge because they are not welcome at CA.CA would rather the aircraft didnt interfere with the cafe activities in any way!

The original poster did not do himself a favor by using the same derogatory style which he blamed the CA manager who replied to his mail from using

The management of CA should not invite comments if they reply to them the way they did

Some find the runway crap, others don't seem to mind

Some find the food good others not

There are stunning views all around and the caf is visited by many people

The management did not come here in self defense and the original poster did not bother coming back to redeem himself, I guess he felt "job done"

Anything else?

SoCal App
 

Organic claim by implication I would suggest-





From the first post of this thread.

I'll get my coat:ouch:

This is one of the most un-objective and un-balanced threads I've ever read!

For what its worth, I'm up there regularly. I respect those (as I do) who run small businesses in tough economic times. The staff are definately the nicest and certainly the best looking in the industry. OK I think they made a mistake this time but we all do make them. Sounds like this whole thing is blown out of all proportion.

I've had my business talked about on a yachting forum (I do stuff for the marine business amongst others) and forums can be a very one sided place. One customer publicly slandered me within 5 minutes of sending his first email to me when the piece of kit he bought didnt work (AND it was his fault!). I quickly rectified the issue and still no apology. What's more he'd bought it 2nd hand on ebay so wasnt entitled to anything.. You have to take what you read online with a pinch of salt...

With regards to the runway at CA, like many other fields that have their idiosyncracies, the landings can be tricky due to the ski jump and rotor in southerly winds - but it keeps my skills sharp..! CA should definately be in everyones log books.

People keep mentioning this. Really, who cares what the staff look like?

Perhaps the best looking staff is the reason people come for non-organinc meals?

Do they have a Hooters bar at CA? I should visit!

:D