New eTAF and NWHS survey just now posted on line

NW Mailing List nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org
Tue Jul 2 08:19:52 EDT 2013


Mr. Chamberlayne,



Your survey comment referred to "a stupid mandatory answer requirement."
Because you used the word "a" rather than the word "the," and referred to
page one, I didn't go back to the survey to attempt to determine what you
were talking about. I was just asking for you to tell me what question you
were talking about so it could be dealt with. My question would have been
better phrased if I said:



"Perhaps if you said what the mandatory answer requirement question is it
can be fixed."



Since the word "a" implies it might have been one among several you
considered on page one, I didn't want to spend any time trying to determine
what you were talking about, I just thought you could tell us. By the
related responses, I assume you are referring to the first question that
asks: Are you a current member of the Norfolk & Western Historical Society?



If you had written "stupid mandatory answer requirement to question 1,"
there would have been no doubt as to what you were referring to.



While you may consider the question stupid, it is a fairly important
question in understanding where the responses are coming from - members or
non-members. If you had answered the question yes you would have gone to the
survey, if you had answered the question no, you would have been asked have
you ever been a member. At this question you could have answered - yes, no
or no answer.

The importance of this answer is if you were a member and left can we get a
sense from the response how the NWHS failed to meet your expectations. If
you were never a member can we get a sense of what your expectations are of
a historic society.



The survey designers actually spent a lot of time determining how to phrase
questions that elicited a maximum amount of information in a short, simple,
easy to respond to survey. I hope you will help the NWHS be a better
organization by filling out the survey.



Alex Schust











From: nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org
[mailto:nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org] On Behalf Of NW Mailing List
Sent: Monday, July 01, 2013 11:08 PM
To: NW Mailing List
Subject: Re: New eTAF and NWHS survey just now posted on line



Mr. Schust,



Yours is the only response to my comments that do not simply belabor the
obvious. However, I believe that something was missing from your response
that might help me understand what you were saying. Would you care to
expand on your comment, please.



C. Chamberlayne

----- Original Message -----

From: NW Mailing List <mailto:nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

To: 'NW Mailing List' <mailto:nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

Sent: Monday, July 01, 2013 2:26 PM

Subject: RE: New eTAF and NWHS survey just now posted on line



Perhaps if you said what the mandatory answer requirement it can be fixed.



Alex Schust



From: nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org
[mailto:nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org] On Behalf Of NW Mailing List
Sent: Monday, July 01, 2013 11:46 AM
To: NW Mailing List
Subject: Re: New eTAF and NWHS survey just now posted on line



I tried to read the survey on the website but was not allowed to do so
because of a stupid mandatory answer requirement that prevented me from
moving beyond page one. Good design!



I guess I will wait to see the print version.



C. Chamberlayne

----- Original Message -----

From: NW Mailing List <mailto:nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

To: 'NWHS Board of Directors' <mailto:nwhsbod at nwhs.org> ; NW Mailing List
<mailto:nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org> ; 'NW Modeling List'
<mailto:nw-modeling-list at nwhs.org>

Sent: Monday, July 01, 2013 9:27 AM

Subject: New eTAF and NWHS survey just now posted on line





What are Your Interests in the N&W Historical Society?






Any successful organization must meet the needs of its customers. A
volunteer organization such as the NWHS, in order to attract and grow its
membership (especially for a railroad that ceased to exist over 30 years
ago), must ask itself if it is meeting the needs of its membership. A second
part of that question is what do we need to do to attract more members.
Recognizing that we are a diverse group that includes former N&W employees,
N&W railfans, current railroad employees, people interested in railroad
history, people who grew up along the railroad right-of-way and many other
people with different interests, a first step in this process is asking our
members, "What are you interested in?" Another way to think of this question
is to ask, "Why do you belong to the NWHS?" Perhaps it is something as
simple as you like the 10 percent member discount from the commissary, or
maybe it as complex as learning how the N&W treated water for its steam
locomotives. Whatever it is, take the time to tell us.

In order to stimulate your thinking, we are launching a survey with the
print version of TAF. The Board of Directors asks that you fill out the
survey and return it to the NWHS. You can also go online to
http://nwhs.org/Survey2013 and fill out the survey electronically. You will
also find a link to the survey at www.nwhs.org. Please submit your survey by
October 31, 2013.

We have designed the survey to cover a broad array of interests, and we have
left space for you to fill in your own ideas in case we did not think of
them. You will notice that we are trying to find specific information in
some questions, but it is information you can provide by checking a box.

We intend to use the survey to assess how we are meeting the needs of our
members and to identify areas where we need to do more. We can only do this
if you provide your input.

We will share the survey results with you. We will tell you what the survey
told us and what we are doing to respond to the survey results.



NWHS Officers and Board of Directors





You can take the survey electronically and read the July-August-September
eTAF by going to the NWHS homepage at <http://www.nwhs.org> www.nwhs.org.
Don't you want to be the first one to fill out the survey?



Alex Schust


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