Unresponsive Ticket Councilor

[CNYScouter 46]

I took WB out of council last September.

The council is about a 2 hour drive from me.

By the end of Dec. I had 3 of my Ticket goals finished.

 

I received an e-mail just after the New Year from my Ticket Councilor saying that he wanted to get together and discuss my progress.

He said that he would be getting in touch in a couple of weeks to set a time when his work schedule slowed down.

I didnt hear from him.

 

I finished the rest of my goals in mid-April.

A couple of weeks later he responded that he would be near me on a certain date asking if I could meet him.

He wants to do a face to face meeting before saying that I have finished my ticket.

After I responded I got no answer for him for where and when.

 

A month later (in June) I received another e-mail from him asking if I could meet him the first week of July.

Again I answered where and when and got no response.

I have since tried to e-mail him 2 more times since then with no response.

(I have said to him I have no problem driving to meet him)

 

I have tried to call him but he never seems to be home and according to him his work schedule is always changing.

 

At this point I have gotten no feedback from him.

As part of our ticket goals we had to write how we were going to verify that we met our goals.

I have no idea if he feels that I have met them or I need to do more work to finish.

He's never even responded that he got anything I have sent him to verify my ticket goals.

 

I know people are busy but it seems that there should have been some time in the last few months where we could have met.

At this point he doesnt seem real interested in meeting with me to finish my ticket.

 

What options do I have at this point?

 

 

 

[Gunny2862 11]

Do you still have contact info for the Course Director(CD) for your session?

 

I'd try my Ticket counselor again and tell him to whom I was going next if I did not hear from him. See if he has an alternate for you or if you need to contact the CD. Give him at least two work days and as long as you think is appropriate I might even let it go a week, plenty of leeway for a busy schedule on e-mail. This gives him a chance to save face(by fixing his problem), pawn you off (to another counselor that may be able to take care of you), or at least be warned that you are going over/around him( and may lead to his embarrassment).

 

I'm thinking there may be a better suggestion than this one. Who's got it?(This message has been edited by Gunny2862)(This message has been edited by Gunny2862)

[John-in-KC 311]

I also went OOC for my course.

 

In my course, the SPL was the CD-designate for the next cycle and the Program Director. He has as much a vested interest as the CD in getting folks completed.

 

Snail mail (certified letter, return receipt, restricted delivery) to your ticket counselor/troop guide (our TG took us all the way through the ticket process) is a good Plan B. Handwrite the letter, but get the point across: Feedback is a gift, and your feedback to him is he's asking for a response, but doesn't check messages to see that you have responded. Gently remind him communication is a two-way street.

 

Fortunately, you are at +11 months into your ticket, you still have a fair bit of time for the coordination. I wouldn't dally though; making sure he contacts you is just a tad on the important side.

 

If you use Gunny's or my advice and he doesn't respond, do what Gunny recommended: Kick it up a level.(This message has been edited by John-in-KC)

[EagleInKY 14]

I think Gunny's on the right track. Tell him that you want to work with him, but understand if his schedule is too busy. Is there someone else that can help? My guess is he'll make the time to meet with you.

 

I had a similar experience trying to set up my beading ceremony with the CD. Turns out I was using an old e-mail address that he hardly used any more. Once we realized the issue, everything was fine. I was a little embarrassed for starting to raise a stink.

[baden 10]

I also went out of council for WB. The Course Director designated the Council Tng. Chair (or his designee) as my Ticket Counselor. My Council Tng. Chair did the job himself and also presented my beads. He is a former Course Director, so I don't know if that made any difference.

[NeilLup 13]

I'm sorry for the problem that you are having. I am counseling one participant right now who had a similar problem. He just finished

 

Only to be friendly, courteous and kind, I would probably first try a phone call or other communication to your course director or to your ASM-Troop Guides, mention your problem briefly and ask if there has been some kind of personal problem with your Ticket Counselor which has made it impossible for them to finish their job. There might be.

 

Ask the CD or ASM-TG how they think you should proceed as you believe you are now finished. Ask if one of them will take the responsibility. Hopefully, they will.

 

Ultimately, however, the responsibility for your ticket counseling rests within your home council. Commonly, ticket counselors are assigned from the staff on a course to out of council people, but it certainly does not have to be that way. You have a certificate of completion of the practical course. If your Council Training Chairman assigns you a local ticket counselor, they can certify your work and the beads are processed through your local council.

 

Again, if you do that, it is courtesy to let the staff of your course know, but you do not have to and they really have no say in the matter.

[kb6jra 10]

oddly enough this sounds a bit familiar. Had this happen to a TG on the last course from my old Council. turns out he could send all the email in the world, but getting it back was an issue. Most of the return email was weeded out by the spam filter of his email program and he didn't even know it. It was unfortunate and caused a lot of ruffled feathers until he figured it out.

 

Try and have another scouter get ahold of your TG. Could be the same problem. If it's not and he's just ignoring you, at least you'll get him to notice your attempts at contacting him and you don't have to "go over his head". I'm always one for giving people the benefit of the doubt, if at all possible. You're not at a critical time yet, so don't get too frustrated, just remember that there are probably 20 other staffers from your course you can turn to if need be.

 

Good luck and work that ticket.