Another Perspective
For those of you guys who don't know Mark Toye, he's one of the world's good guys, he's an honest man, even tempered, very bright, and knows paintball inside and out, I got a lot of respect for this guy.
He's played at the very top of our sport as a pro in the NPPL and has been on the scene since lord knows when.
Now if this guy (and people like Agge from Ignition) are outraged at what the Millennium guys are doing then something is fundamentally wrong here.
How on earth could the Millennium Board have got it sooo wrong?
This problem has two answers and both are inextricably linked to each other.
Firstly, you guys out there have failed in any shape or form to organize yourselves into any sort of coherent or meaningful body whereby you could make a serious and responsible representation to the Millennium Board.
Even us pros couldn’t be bothered to do it and the
ONLY reason anything ever got changed was because I got soooo pissed off with them in the end that I wouldn’t take it from them anymore and ended up getting myself into a world of sh!t but they changed their minds eventually and they saw common sense.
I temporarily became the focus of the Millennium Board’s hatred (and you wouldn’t believe some of the strokes that were being pulled in the background to get at me) while others in the pro scene sat back and did fukk all but benefited from all the cr@p I had to get into to get things put right.
Most of them didn’t even say thanks for what we got :/
I ain’t mentioning this out of vanity, that I promise you, I am mentioning it because it illustrates the Millennium Board will listen and will change their minds but unless you create a serious voice, you will get steam-rollered every time, and I mean every fukking time.
OK, this is the major reason we have ended up in a place where you have reasonable minded people like Mark and Agge venting their anger at the Millennium Board’s recent mandates but there is another major reason.
And this is one of an abject ignorance of the customer base from the Millennium guys and it is allowed to flourish because nobody on that board ever seems to reference the customer before introducing these type mandates or changes to rules.
You would think that any company providing a service to paying customers would reference those self same customers when it comes to making changes to conditions especially after some of the things that have happened in the past.
It seems our little mate ulrich is referenced quite a lot (and I know this because I have been told by a Millennium member himself) and can you imagine what sort of customer service ethos that prick brings to the table?
Bejeeezus that guy is about as customer friendly as Genghis fakkin Khan.
Sorry - I swear a lot when I get worked up
Anyways, the point is, the Millennium guys have undeniably lost touch with their customers and I mean really lost it, they probably see this little outburst not so much as a series of mistakes on their part but as an unfair and unjust swipe at them, probably with me sticking my nose in and causing trouble for the sake of causing trouble.
How far from the truth they actually are if in fact they do think this
Nevertheless, this is a problem that needs to be solved and it also requires a more permanent resolution with regard to players and teams organizing themselves.
I also ironically believe (coz I know all these Millennium guys reasonably well) that they wanna do the right thing and the ‘us and them’ mentality that seems to be permeating their decision making processes at the moment is only exacerbated by ulrich and certainly by pedro in the past.
These two halfwits have done more to harm customer relations between the Millennium and player / industry than anything else.
pedro has been sidlelined somewhat of late but he still has influence and he needs to be thrown off the board !!!!!
We need to work together on this and I honestly believe if you guys get some representation going then the Millennium guys will listen …. they will have to.
The strategies you guys and the Millennium have to adopt will now run along similar lines because with certain 'rumblings' going on in the background of European paintball, the Millennium will seek to protect their market share and they can only do this by ensuring a healthy dialogue between players and themselves.
The Millennium guys have done a pretty good job in developing paintball in Europe but they really have lost touch with a few basics.
Now, you guys, get your ass sorted and then you can begin to flex the muscles you undoubtedly have because if you don’t…well, you have only had a taste of what they can and will do if you don’t.
And this is a direct message to the Millennium guys, STOP listening to those idiots ulrich and pedro, players are not the fukkin enemy here, your customers are responsible, reasonable and (generally) fair minded people and should be treated as such..... because I tell you this much Steve, Barry, Mannfred and Laurent, unless you begin to adopt a more accountable (and customer friendly) decision making process, you will create a situation whereby you will make it sooooo easy for others to exploit.
Let's work together !!!!!