There was literally one person in front of me. It appeared as if he had finished his order and was chit-chatting with the clerk. I didn't want to come off obnoxious so I was willing to wait until their conversation ended. Before that happened, an older gentlemen (probably 80+ years) jumped ahead of me in line. The clerk ended her conversation. Even though she made eye contact with me...even gestured that she would be 1 second while talking to other person, she proceeded to help their older gentlemen who so rudely stepped in line in front of me.

I obviously was frustrated and decided to abandon the line. Was the turkey really that important to me or my daughter? Not really...good customer service is more important to me at the end of the day.

Should I blame the first customer for engaging in a conversation well past the customary service time? Should I fault the older gentlemen for jumping in line in front of me? Should we blame the clerk for pretty much everything?

I think at the end of the day I won't blame any of the three, but I will think twice before going back to the deli counter again. In the world of software performance, an experience such as this can be incredibly frustrating. Waiting for an assessment to load or a gradebook to render is no different then my example of waiting at the deli counter.

The key point is that every transaction matters. I kid around that I might not go back to the deli counter. I'm on half-joking. I seriously will have reservations about going back. If I see the same clerk, or see there's a line chances are I will be unlikely to get in line. I might even be unlikely to go the grocery store entirely if my first thought or memory when I have to go grocery shopping, is of this tainted experience. You might laugh, but cognitively speaking this is a realistic thought and one that could have a high probability of turning out.

The real question is why should this matter to the grocery store? Well, I am somewhat of a connector when it comes to grocery shopping. I like to talk about my experiences with my friends...especially friends who live near me and share a lot of the same experiences. I'm not suggesting that I will cause a Tipping Point of sorts with the deli counter at the Safeway, but I will go as far as to say that grocery stores are afraid of people like me just for this reason.

Does it make sense yet? It might not...but essentially what I am saying is that the transaction matters at the end of the day for two reasons. The first is that we don't want to impair the perception (as well as support) of our users to the point that they question whether they will come back to the use case or much worst, the system. Second, we have to be incredibly mindful (somewhat fearful) that those users who are affected are not capable of influencing other users to abandon use cases or the system as a whole. At the end of the day, our performance credibility is how we rest our laurels.

EA's approach to the game for '08 obviously is quite different from that of Konami.  

In that they have tried to recreate the actual pace and rhythm of real life football and adjusting from the frenetic, barely catch your breath action of PES was going to be a shock for new FIFA players like myself.   In real life it can take players a second or two to react and move and EA has made that part of the game.

FIFA is a football SIMULATION where the pace is much slower and you can get bogged down at times in midfield (as in real life) and it takes hard work and battling through the frustration (again, as in real life) just to keep possession of the ball and try to carve out scoring chances.

Football is not an easy game and neither is FIFA 08, that’s what I really like about FIFA.  

I will pose a question, which I discussed with a couple of mates, who like me are massive football fans.  Isn't it better to have a game that you CAN'T dominate completely and that you CAN'T simply do what you want to do?  Football is and never should be like that.

ATTACKING

I also cant agree with those who say wing play is the only option to score goals.  I have found a variety of ways to score.  Yes, it takes hard work, patience, but I prefer this, rather than waltzing through the opposition at will.  Yes, it can be frustrating, but that’s football.  I am having varying degrees of success with -  

• the use of wing play and whipping in a variety of crosses
• one twos around the penalty box 
• through balls for strikers, this took me a long time to get success with 
• working  the defence out of position by keeping possession, at times you have to pass for passing sake, it work’s though

You can do almost anything you want, it has took me a while.  Anything worthwhile in life takes time and any activity requiring repetitive action (such as sport and yes, video-games) demands practice and lot’s of it. 

DEFENCE

I spend as much time thinking defensively as I do offensively.  I have eased off the sprint button, I allow the CPU to play in front of me, I hold my players position and then I wait for an opportune moment to apply pressure and then nick the ball with the player I am in control of.  I don’

t defend too high up the pitch, eliminating the space out wide and in behind, then when I get a chance, I know I have to take them (which is the most difficult aspect, for me).  Its hard and can be frustrating but its ultimately rewarding.

RESPONSIVENESS

The responsiveness of players (or lack of) which I read constantly on forums.  I have my own take on this, it frustrated me at first.  In real life it can take players a second or two to react and move and EA has made that part of the game.  I would rather find a way to overcome it, in which I have, I play on the PS3, I hold down the L2 button when playing and receiving a pass, your player will be in more control of ball and ease of the sprint button.

Looking back at the 7 weeks I have been playing FIFA since the switch from PES, my major problem was that I was continually using the sprint button, as you do in PES whilst being in control all the time.  

It doesn’t work in FIFA, you CANNOT hold the sprint button ALL the time, I now only use it when in some space, I am now having no problems with controlling the ball.

IT HAS MADE A HUGE DIFFERENCE to my game, I now keep the ball for longer periods now, which has created more space for my players to run into.  Instead of coming up against the BRICK WALL, which was the CPU defence in the early weeks.

FIFA at times plays like PES but without the players being able to do everything perfectly, which in my opinion, EA are definitely on the right track.  The fact that your player has momentum and needs to take a touch, or adjust to turn is a challenging way to play, because it teaches you to think ahead to your next move. Example, when I have Jan Vennegoor Of Hesselink up front, I have to usually hold the ball until I have support from midfielders / attackers, because he isn’t fast enough to go it alone, nor has he the dribbling ability just like in real life. 

You really have to learn how to play the game, which has added to the enjoyment for me. 

I have never had this much fun with a game for a long time. I have really learned how to play good football in FIFA 08.  I now don’t get the feeling that the CPU cheats anymore, I’

m in much more control now and the reaction of my players seem a lot faster, I'm loving it.  I guess you just have to learn how to play the Fifa way.

FINAL THOUGHTS

• NO game is perfect (or probably ever will be) I try to enjoy it for what it is, which is a brilliant attempt at a football simulation.
• FIFA 08 is challenging to play for many different reasons.  FIFA 08 which I like immensely and one of main reasons is that it is so very challenging and demands hard work and effort to reap success.
• There is something about the game that just wants me to play it more and more.  I want to get really good at it. 
• I have to concentrate to win matches and any game that does that, like PES used to do is well worth it.

Being a mature gamer and lover of football, FIFA suits what I am now looking for in a football game and gives me few hours entertainment each day when time or the Mrs permits.

Sometimes it’s beautiful, sometimes it’s ugly, sometimes it’s a bit slow and sometimes you hate it –sounds like football to me.

Maybe you called for a price quote and no one returned your call. Maybe you’re supposed to get medical test results on Tuesday morning and by Tuesday afternoon you still haven’t received a call. Maybe your car replacement part is on backorder and a month goes by without an update.  How do you feel about a company that leaves you hanging? 

I was recently working on a project, when  I needed information from the person in charge.  I sent an email and two days went by with no reply.  I thought perhaps it didn’t go through, so I left a phone message. Another day went by and still no response. Several days later, I called and had a candid conversation to find out why.  She said, “I don’t have an answer for you yet. I need more time to think. I often find that if I don’t respond right away the problem goes away.”  She might be right but I wonder how many customers go away right along with those problems.  

Today I interviewed a customer service superstar, Chris Ulrich from ISCO Industries, who will be featured in our upcoming book.  He shared many helpful stories about the specifics that set his company’s service apart. One element that Chris believes is critical to excellent customer service is responsiveness.  He feels that customer loyalty comes not only from the big things but also from the small, seemingly inconsequential details. If Chris gets a request by phone or email, and he has an answer, he responds. If he doesn’t have an answer, he still responds, just to confirm that he got the message and is working on the solution.  

He knows that when you leave a customer hanging, they don't know why you’re not responding. They don’t know that you’re waiting for a price or working on the problem unless you tell them.  With every minute they wait, they are losing trust in your company.  Maybe you would rather wait to have a solid answer before calling back, but what would your customer prefer? It may put a strain on the relationship to leave them wondering why it's taking so long.  A simple response to let them know you received their message will help to establish trust.

Reflection:  What is one thing you can do to improve your customer responsiveness?  

written by Marilyn Suttle on www.lovethemup.com

A manager is similiar with the added responsibility of ensuring personnel coordination, time lines are met, morale is positive within the group, overseeing and applying the necessary resource to the project. The overall scope and responsibility lies with the manager. Understanding the employee as an individual, each person tends to have a different catalyst for motivation.
The most important trait is RESPONSIVENESS, far to many times have I seen the lack of response from a co-worker, boss, vendor etc. turn the issue into a speculation game. People will start to come to their own conclusions and this could negatively affect the company. Again Identifying one's strengths and Responsiveness are important actions to apply.

An article in Business Week says :

"Business leaders are often compared to performing artists. Both are on stage a great deal and are expected to sway audiences. The best leaders and performers often rely on dramatic flair to ensure that what they say is memorable and moves others to action."

Either way learning and growing should be constant.

Earlier this week, I submitted an email enquiry to Multichoice about whether subscribing to just MNet was still a possibility. Despite a growing array of DStv bouquets, there's no mention of good old fashioned MNet (and the 'Buy MNet' link on the MNet website is just a link to the DStv site). This is actually the second email I've sent (I sent a similar query some time ago, but didn't follow up).

Multichoice might ask why I didn't follow up with a phone call if I didn't get a response. It's not a particular priority of mine to subscribe - even less so, after experiencing their non-responsiveness - but, more to the point, I'd refer them to the first line of this post. Why set up an email address for enquiries or webform if you don't have the capacity or the system to respond to those queries?

The DA's approach

I don't pretend that the DA is perfect in this regard, but we do have a system in place to try and ensure that every email receives a prompt response.

First, if you fill in a webform on the DA website, you get the automated response pictured to the left. Okay, it's automated, I hear you cry; but it is still reassuring to get that instantaneous response. It also offers two additional avenues for staying informed about the DA's work. And it's more than multichoice offers.

Second, the person administering the webmail identifies the appropriate person to respond to the query and fires it off to them. She also generally replies to the email to say that it has been forwarded to the relevant spokesperson for a response, and inviting a follow-up email if they do not receive that response timeously (our user generated monitoring system :) ).

The third response, which sometimes takes a little more time, is the answer to the query from the relevant spokesperson.

It's not perfect but, even if an MP is tardy in responding to a query, the person who submitted the question shouldn't feel ignored. The DA values its supporters, and we want to turn undecided voters into supporters. Why would we ignore them when they initiate a conversation with us.

I'm not sure Multichoice is as concerned with turning me into a subscriber (or keeping me as a subscriber, if I was one)

A marketing opportunity

In my email, I not only asked about subscribing to MNet; I also asked whether Multichoice would be making an MNet equivalent bouquet (including the programming broadcast on CSN) available on DStv.

I suggested that, besides growing their market share in the middle income market, it made sense to get current MNet Subscribers (I'm sure there are still quite a number) to switch to the DStv system at a nominal increase in subscription fees, because it offered the scope to market add-ons to them. As long as they remain on the obsolete technology, there's no potential for growing income through value added.

Considering Multichoice are a couple of months away from competition from other pay TV providers, you'd think they'd pay more attention to their potential customers.

A quick Update - 16 April 2008

Yesterday, I finally received a reply to my webform query from Multichoice - a month after I submitted it. They apologised for the "delayed response" but offered no explanation. They're also not planning to move MNet Subscribers across to the DStv system (unless they sign up for the full bouquet at nearly twice the price). I think it's a missed opportunity to add value and grow their customer base.

It's a pity they're still the only choice on offer.

Found in many business articles, economics journals and textbooks Price Elasticity of Demand affects us everyday, properly understanding it can help us make better decisions with our money.

Price Elasticity of Demand; is a measure of responsiveness of demand to a change in price. It is a unit free measure calculated by dividing the percentage change in quantity demanded by the percentage change in price.

Answers are between zero and infinity, this figure can provide us with a measure of responsiveness.

Perfectly Inelastic demand = Zero  (demand does not change when prices change)

Perfectly Elastic demand = Infinity (demand is EXTREMELY responsive to price changes)

In practice we get numbers between 0 and 4.

Goods and services that are inelastic tend to be more important then elastic goods. Consider Gasoline, industrial chemicals and food. These products are crucial to firms and people and changes in the price, up or down, will not likely change the demand. However, there are some factors that may influence goods given elasticity such as, the closeness of substitutes, time elapsed since the last price change and the amount spent on the good relative to all other expenses. Changes in these factors as well as the importance we place on a commodity will alter the elasticity.

Price Elasticity of Demand is only one aspect of the term Elasticity. The term can be paired with other economic principles such as, Supply, Income and Revenue. The idea remains the same however as we consider our responsiveness to change.

Purpose: This study assessed the psychometric properties of instruments used to measure constructs similar to stuttering-specific health-related quality of life. In the stuttering literature, most such instruments were originally intended to measure speakers' attitudes about, or reactions to, their stuttering.

Method: Seventeen instruments were identified through a comprehensive literature search. Based on specific criteria from previous publications, 10 were selected for complete review and evaluated using 15 measurement standards related to conceptual model, reliability, validity, responsiveness, interpretability (norms), burden (respondent and administrative), depth, and versatility.

Results: None of the available instruments met more than 8 of the 15 measurement standards assessed.

Conclusions: Available instruments do not satisfy psychometric criteria for use in individual or group-level decision making, either as measures of their originally intended constructs or as measures of health-related quality of life. Problems with the conceptual model, reliability, validity, and responsiveness of available instruments, as well as the lack of comprehensive normative data, combine to suggest the need for development and validation of a stuttering-specific health-related quality of life measure.

Purpose: This study assessed the psychometric properties of instruments used to measure constructs similar to stuttering-specific health-related quality of life. In the stuttering literature, most such instruments were originally intended to measure speakers' attitudes about, or reactions to, their stuttering.

Method: Seventeen instruments were identified through a comprehensive literature search. Based on specific criteria from previous publications, 10 were selected for complete review and evaluated using 15 measurement standards related to conceptual model, reliability, validity, responsiveness, interpretability (norms), burden (respondent and administrative), depth, and versatility.

Results: None of the available instruments met more than 8 of the 15 measurement standards assessed.

Conclusions: Available instruments do not satisfy psychometric criteria for use in individual or group-level decision making, either as measures of their originally intended constructs or as measures of health-related quality of life. Problems with the conceptual model, reliability, validity, and responsiveness of available instruments, as well as the lack of comprehensive normative data, combine to suggest the need for development and validation of a stuttering-specific health-related quality of life measure.

Starting next Monday January 21st the Laborfair.com marketplace will unpublish temporarily those FREE profiles not responding to their exclusive and direct customer requests. This feature will further improve your customer experience and lead them to generate more service requests for those of you available for them.

We recognize that your availability is pretty dynamic. So, if your availability has changed and you cannot respond to your leads for some time, please follow these simple guidelines to prevent expired leads and keep your good, responsive reputation intact for your customers. As always, we encourage you to be responsive to your customers. They have taken the time to screen through the marketplace and generate an exclusive and direct lead for you in your Laborfair profile. Give back with your professional response by accepting or declining your leads. Your FREE profile will remain always published as long as you accept or decline your leads. 

Can I publish my profile back if I could not respond to a lead?  Yes, you can come back to your account to republish your FREE profile if it was unpublished by your expired lead.  At Laborfair, we believe that both you deserve fair-paying jobs and your customers deserve the responsive, quality service they are looking for. We together can realize these beliefs through a trusted marketplace where you and your customers thrive.

Be responsive! Decline! Accept!

The Laborfair Team

2. Update your profile description with the details of your current weekly availability. Putting a few words in your profile that describe in detail your availability communicates to your customers you are in top of things, you are an active provider and care of their time. You will leave a professional impression in your customers regardless of whether they drop a lead at this time. Go ahead! Go to your account to drop a few words in your profile description and keep it tuned with your current, weekly availability.

What if you forgot to update your profile and you got a lead you cannot act upon? Simply decline the lead promptly so your customers can come back to post to other available, published providers interested in that job.

By following these simple guidelines you will help your customers and your peers at Laborfair enjoy a better experience. Your peers will get that lead you would otherwise decline or ignore, and potentially land a fair-paying job. Your customers will get the responsive, quality help they deserve. Everybody will be happy!
The Laborfair Team

Image: Mashup from photographs by wrestlingentropy and lifeontheedge.

One of the innovations we are introducing very soon is a new rating system and a new default sorting for profile placement on Laborfair.com we call Responsiveness. Responsiveness is defined by the percent of leads accepted or declined up to the last 10 leads received. That is:

• If you have received 10 leads so far and have accepted or declined 8 leads and let expire 2 of them, then your responsiveness rating will be 80%. Out of 5 possible stars, your profile will have 4.
• If you have only received 2 leads so far, and you declined 1 and accepted 1, then your responsiveness rating will be 100%
• Your new star rating will be in your control, the better your response, the higher your star rating will be. And you will always be able to improve it with your last 10 leads.

Thus, be responsive now and get your profile ready for a better placement on Laborfair.com!

Wait! But... what will happen to the current review's star rating? Good question! Reviews are critical for your customers as well. Among the most responsive, customers also look for the well-reviewed profiles. We have also plans to revolutionize the way reviews are generated and displayed. It will be easier for your customers and better for your reputation online and your placement at Laborfair.com! Stay tuned for more news!

Remember! Early birds get the worm. Be responsive now and get ready for the New Responsiveness Rating!

The Laborfair Team

Image: Mashup from photographs by wrestlingentropy and lifeontheedge.

Laborfair.com customers want and NEED prompt responses from you for their job requests. Do NOT ignore them. You can ACCEPT (pay $5 or subscribe for unlimited for$25 monthly) or DECLINE but please do not ignore them--it hurts your profile by affecting your rating and hurts our service by making customers feel angry and unloved! Who wants to feel unloved?

We understand paying for a job lead that might not turn into a job is hard. At Laborfair, we LIMIT the number of job requests per area and category that a customer can send to 3. If you get a personal lead, most probably you were the only one selected or at worst, one of 3. That dramatically improves your chances of getting the work. We don't sell leads many times over. That wouldn't be FAIR.

When you accept or decline, you must log-in to your Laborfair.net account.  Why is this important? It affects your rank.  Laborfair.com offers 4 sorting options to those customers searching for help on Laborfair.com. Last Login, Ratings, Rates and Photo. Here's info on how "Last Login" works:

"Last Login" displays the member who most recently logged in at laborfair.net. If you were the last person to log in at Laborfair.net then you are the first profile to show up in Laborfair.com. That's it! "Last Login" is also the default sorting for Laborfair.com too. So, Login when you get a lead, accept or decline it and be at the top of the list.

Our "Last Login" criteria serves as an approximation to your level of interest and your responsiveness to customers. This is why "Last Login" is currently used as the default sorting criteria and acts as our pay for placement equivalent, except that you don't have to pay. Nice, no?So, if you get a job lead in your personal email box, log in to Laborfair by clicking through and accept or decline it immediately. It takes only 10 seconds and keeps your listing up near the top for all to see, improving your placement, and getting you leads.

The Laborfair Team

Cada vez más peña enganchada a los móviles dice sentir vibraciones cuando no las hay o sentir como si llevaran el móvil, cuando no lo llevan. ¿Habrá que mirárselo con el psicólogo de cabecera? El ciceroniano o tempora, o mores. No mientas y, digas que no te ha pasado nunca. Cosas más raras con el "otro mundo" te suceden de vez en cuando y sin llevar túnica ni colgantes varios, así que no mientas. E incluso esas vibraciones fantasmas pueden convertirse en llamadas o tonitos fantasmas. Eso para los adictos (mobile junkies). E imagínate en aquellos casos en los que sean profesionales del móvil: los que utilizan el móvil como herrameinta indispensable para su trabajo diario o el Blackberry, chequeando el email en cualquier lugar y hora o que tienen que estar permanentemente informados o conectados a algo sin parar (on the go). Lo que a su vez provoca otro mogollón de trabajo, entonces, ¿no sería mejor apagar los aparatitos durante una semana y a ver si nos las arreglamos/sobrevivimos?

Parece ser que sí, que el infausto modo vibratorio en vez de venir de la parte alta del muslo (móvil) o la cintura (BlackBerry), viene de tu cabeza. Sientes la vibración en tu costado, metes la mano para pillar el móvil y ¡alehop!, pero si no hay móvil. Pero a la mayoría de estos adictos al BlackBerry (al móvil igual, sólo que el Berry es más profesional, con email móvil para el trabajo), -tipo dejándolo cerquita cuando duermen, que lo chequean si se despiertan en mitad de la noche o que se despiertan siempre con la alarma del móvil-, no parece importarles. Un usuario: "Mientras no sea un tumor que me crezca en la pierna por mi Berry..., lo tengo asumido, como gajes del oficio. Hay peña que dice tener un reloj biológico, bien, pues yo tengo 1 Berry biológico, ¿qué pasa?".

Otros usuarios lo comparan a sentir un miembro fantasma (phantom limb: según el Webster´s de medicina: una sensación dolorosa frecuente sentida por aquel que siente la falta de 1 miembro que ha sido amputado). De aquí a Las Manos De Orlac hay un paso. ¡Cómo está la peña! No, si no extraña nada que la "egregia" ministra de sanidad lo próximo con que nos amenace (al final no llegó a prohibir el café y el chocolate, ¿no?) sea con la prohibición de los móviles... Otro usuario: "Aunque no lo lleve encima físicamente, [chungo, cuando ahora hay que escribir un término como éste, cuando antes sobraba simplemente o se sobreentendía perfectamente], me descubro corrigiendo mi postura cada vez que me siento para acomodarlo. También me río de mí mismo cuando voy a sacarlo (juro que lo llevo encima) y descubro que ni siquiera lo llevo".

Hasta el momento, hay pocos estudios serios sobre el tema pero sí muchas teorías, hasta el punto, de que se le han acuñado los siguientes términos: ringxiety ("ringsiedad") y fauxcellarm (propongo "fantasmovilarma"). B. J. Fogg, director de investigación y diseño del Laboratorio de Tecnología Persuasiva de la Universidad de Stanford: "Pruebas anecdóticas indican que la peña asume que el móvil es una parte integrante de ellos mismos y que no se sienten completos sin los móviles, porque les conectan al mundo. Como seres humanos, estamos tan imbricados en nuestra comunidad, receptivos a lo que sucede continuamente, tan amoldados a la amenaza de la soledad y el rechazo, que, sencillamente, preferimos cometer un error (hacer el pajas, en román paladino) que perder una llamada. Nuestro cerebro está constantemente ojeando para ver si tenemos que responder socialmente a alguien".

En ciertos círculos la ring angst (las vibraciones fantasmas) son causa de orgullo. Un tío: "Por supuesto que las tengo y desde hace 10 años, desde que empecé a usar el proto-BlackBerry tipo busca". Para otros en cambio, es otro más de los fastidios tecnológicos (tech irritations) "hasta el punto que llaman automáticamente solos desde el bolsillo, siempre al mismo (o, imagina, te llaman y oyes un chop, chop, el que te llama está caminando y roza el teléfono) o producen falsas alarmas regulares. La peña que se lo cambia de lugar, digamos del cinturón al bolsillo de la chaqueta, por ejemplo, lo sigue sintiendo en el sitio anterior durante un tiempo, en plan "réplicas". O, por ejemplo, lo que dice el del blog dilbert.com, "que siente las vibraciones fantasmas como unas 10 veces al día. Siempre creo que serán buenas noticias, pero las únicas así son que parece que mi bolsillo vibra, y espero a ver si se extiende al resto de mis pantalones".

Hay otra peña (de los nervios) que dice que presiente las llamadas. "Lo siento, le miro (al móvil). No vibra. Y, de repente, vibra. Soy uno con mi móvil". [sí, mira el Plotino éste]. Otros dicen, sin caérseles la cara de vergüenza (la peña, que son como críos): "Es como si mi móvil debiera estar sonando. Son vibraciones anticipatorias". ¿Patologías modernas, la nueva peli de Cronenberg o tecnología para críos? Tú mismo.

Pigs at the Trough

Notwithstanding the fact that the election writ hasn't been dropped and this is therefore legal, I find it distasteful that London-Fanshawe Liberal MPP Khalil Ramal's office just sent out a full-colour glossy 5.5" x 8.5" PR postcard.

The justification from politicians for these things (and politicians of EVERY political stripe do it) is that it's to keep their constituents updated about what's going on. But, come on... how informative are they, ever? Truth is, these things are mainly taxpayer-funded PR pieces. The intent is to raise the politician's name recognition, the biggest single factor in electoral success.

What I find most objectionable about this mailout, is the attempt to portray Ramal as somebody who is responsive to his constituents because he was "moved" by a purportedly oxycontin-influenced double-suicide and thereafter "introduced a private member's bill to monitor the prescription of drugs like this one."

Tugs at your heart strings, doesn't it? I'm sure that it's meant to.

Well, I'm another one of Ramal's constituents. How responsive has he been to me?

To begin with, he didn't demonstrate any respect for my democratic rights when I tried to contest the last municipal election and ran into a roadblock by ODSP and asked him for assistance. Apparently, that didn't bother him at all.

Ask yourself this question... If Mr. Ramal doesn't have any respect for the democratic rights of other citizens (and the right to participate in the democratic process is about as fundamental as it gets), then does Mr. Ramal have any moral right to hold public office himself?

Another example. I've been very active trying to promote pedestrian rights and speaking out about pedestrian safety issues. I was instrumental in having London police do a study about the intersection at Commissioners/Pond Mills, which is in the riding that Mr. Ramal represents. It's one of those "channelized" intersections which are becoming increasingly popular with city engineers, and they're characterized by rounded corners and pedestrian "islands." In the study, London police confirm that this design is dangerous to pedestrians. Has Mr. Ramal shown any concern about this? Has he discussed the situation with the city? According to my recent Freedom of Information appeal, the answer is NO. Has he responded to me? The answer is NO.

I'll give him credit for this though... he doesn't seem to miss very many photo op's.

Links:

pedestrian safety
http://www.londontopic.ca/article.php?artid=4798

http://www.altlondon.org/article.php?story=20070904084207978