[Talk Host]

If anybody has anything more to say about this subject, they are welcome to do it.

[zcaveman]

Originally Posted by Talk Host

If anybody has anything more to say about this subject, they are welcome to do it.

I like to check in occasionally to see how far it is going to go.

[GatbTester]

You all miss the point........the point of Village Watch, is just that..........to watch!

[784caroline]

The services now provided are a good service BUT I predict it is only a matter of time..and that time being once the developer turns things over to the homeowners ....and certain budgetary decisions have to be made such as are the gate guards and villlage watch people worth $1 -2 million a year that we the homeowners pay. This will be especialy true for the snow birds who are here3-6 months a year and paying the full tilt.

[Bogie Shooter]

Anybody know who pays for VW? Which budget is it in?

[Donna2]

Originally Posted by 784caroline

The services now provided are a good service BUT I predict it is only a matter of time..and that time being once the developer turns things over to the homeowners ....and certain budgetary decisions have to be made such as are the gate guards and villlage watch people worth $1 -2 million a year that we the homeowners pay. This will be especialy true for the snow birds who are here3-6 months a year and paying the full tilt.

Oh my. I was thinking it was voluntary. Guess I still have a few things to learn.

[NJblue]

Community Watch is paid by the CDD and hence comes from our amenity fees. It is not paid for by the developer, nor do they work for the developer. Because it comes from the amenity fees and because the amenity fees are contractually tied to the inflation rate, elimination of CW is not likely to reduce the fees. However, the money could be spent on other amenities which we may get better use of.

[chelsea24]

I've only had one experience with CW, although that was 2 1/2 years ago. We had just moved in a few months and our neighbors mentioned they were leaving for a few weeks. Well, I didn't notice because I never went out that day, but their garage door was left open.

The CW must have noticed it during the night, then at about 6am the next day, they knocked on our door (after knocking on theirs to no response) and asked if we knew if they were out of town. I did, and so, we all surmised they had left and simply forgot to put their garage door down. It happens. The one man then went inside and hit the button and quickly ran out. Safe and sound.

Well, I have to say, I was impressed. We live on a kind of hidden cul-de-sac and I was amazed that they actually drove around and noticed this situation. After all, coming from a big city, where you could literally be lying in the street and some may step over you, I found this to be very surprising.

I agree with Barefoot's earlier post, in that they do give somewhat a sense of security. However, I would think that part of their duties would be to stop and ask someone if they are all right, if they are obviously broken down in a golf cart or car -- especially if they are alone at night like Red was.

All in all, I'm still happy they're around.

[graciegirl]

I would guess that the Village Watch has a clearly defined job description. It is likely that they are not supposed to offer jumps because if you do not do it correctly you can hurt the cars electrical system. Now I know it doesn't take all that much experience to do it right but it can happen.

Back to the clearly defined job description, that probably would clearly state that they are not supposed to try to fix anything. I say this because it appears to me that the powers that be are really good at defining what their help can and cannot do.

I realized pretty quick(ly) that the Villages Watch was NOT like a patrol car and that we do NOT have a police force employed by TV. I am not sure about the fire department, they have fire stations throughout TV.

I even suppose that closing that garage door had it's rules and regulations. They contacted a neighbor first and that neighbor observed them entering the garage for the purpose of closing the door. If they went in without someone knowing exactly what they were doing then confusion and questions could follow about the Village Watch going into someones garage.

Now this is all guessing on my part, because I can see that almost every little detail is thought out around here.

Now we know that you cannot call the Villages watch to get a jump.

And you can't borrow their ice scraper either.

[memason]

My perception is that people are people. I believe its just like when you go to one of the restaurants and complain about the wait staff. Some waiters/waitresses are good, enjoy their job, are friendly to everyone; some are not.

I suspect its the same issue with CW. If you have a really friendly, outgoing person working CW, they are much more likely to stop when they encounter someone having trouble to see if they need help. I hope it's 10% or less that have the bad attitude.... In my experience, you find that 5 to 10% of the people working in any company should be fired...sometimes at the executive level

I would expect CW has "rules" about jumping cars, entering houses, towing carts, etc. That's understandable; bad attitude isn't.

[Talk Host]

I'm afraid the entire point of the original post is being missed. The poster ranted that he was told that help (specific help) was on the way. Turns out that help did not arrived.

An organization is only as good as its word.

[memason]

Originally Posted by Talk Host

I'm afraid the entire point of the original post is being missed. The poster ranted that he was told that help (specific help) was on the way. Turns out that help did not arrived.

An organization is only as good as its word.

TH.... That is my point [maybe not expressed very well]. An organization is nothing more than a group of people, called employees. You're only as good as your weakest link.

[JohnN]

Talk Host - that's my point exactly. I didn't exactly know the rules, I asked if they could help, the guy on the phone asked someone there and they said "sure we can give a jump, help's on the way" and then, when CW arrived, they said, no jumper cables.

I am not a great supporter of the Community Watch but feel there are a couple of points which should be considered. First: The rules which the CW employees are to follow are set by the Management and the employee should not be faulted for the errors of management. It is a good guess that the employee's have been given a very narrow set of rules which they are to follow and like the employee's in the Rec Centers or Country Clubs risk their jobs if they make any decisions. It appears that management does not delegate any descretion to the employees and therefore they are not the fault. Second: I personally like the idea of looking at the various Villages to ensure they do not start to let things run down, that they maintain good standards and we don't end up living in the "hood".
I think most employee's do their best. Of course there are a few who try to slip by but that is in any large group and one apple should not be the one that sets the reputation for the whole barrell.

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by JohnN

Does Community Watch actually do anything constructive? If so, I'd feel a lot better about my mini-rant.

Hey JohnN ... I betcha when you started this thread you didn't think you'd generate 75 posts. It turns out that Village Watch is almost as controversial as roundabouts and dog doo.

And I do wear rubber boots when I venture into political.