gjh.org.uk

About Gareth

So who am I?

Hmm now there's a question! 

Where to begin...

I'm thirty something and live in Kent. It's only just Kent mind. It's actually a part of the sprawling place called London. In common with most other Londoners I have the whole love/hate London thing going on. It's an amazing city.

I work for a company called Jonathan Myall Music as Operations Manager. My main responsibilities are general operations matters, the computer system, the telephone system, our e-commerce Web site, complying with the law (!) and accounts. There's some payroll lobbed in there too. In reality it's a general manager role without the people management bit.
In recent years vast amounts of Government money has been thrown at music in education and I've landed some major contracts to supply local authorities. It's provided a welcome distraction from the normal day-to-day stuff but also provided several headaches. We've made hay whilst there's hay to be made... I've worked there since 1994 and it constantly amazes me that I'm not yet bored of it! 

I used to live in Reigate, Surrey until I purchased a property with my wife, Ash, in London in 1999.

I've been online since 1993. First with Compuserve, then AOL and then Netdirect who became ISION, who became Energis ISION. Energis then went into administration and the company was subject to a management buyout and they became NDO.

NDO were taken over in 2005 by Namesco who, in all honesty, were a complete fucking shambles. I've seem some lousy customer service over the years - Namesco took it one stage further! They've since been taken over by DADA (never heard of them either). 

I ditched them in 2007 and went to O2. It works and doesn't go wrong that often. I don't expect more than that.

A friend, Sam Hill (he's the guy who owns the server this Web site lives on), was involved with NDO (he was a director when they reversed out of Energis...) since, oooh, 1995 I think. He made NDO rather unique in the ISP world using a special mix of friendliness/approachability/reliability/decent support/honesty. I don't think you find those qualities in companies very often any more.

I started school at Lower Kingswood Primary. After that, I went to Tadworth First & Middle School for a couple of terms, before obtaining a Choral Scholarship to St. Michael's College (in Tenbury Wells, Worcestershire). Yes, I was a chorister :) St Michael's was a boarding school. Unfortunately, the school closed in 1985 due to lack of pupils/the recession/its location and various other factors.

I then went to Reigate St Mary's Preparatory & Choir School (again on a choral scholarship). Not long after joining (aged 12 or so) my voice broke, so that was the end of my "boy treble" singing career! I then went to The Ashcome School (Dorking, Surrey). I completed my GCSEs (albeit with not great results) and then embarked on some A-Level studies. I soon became disillusioned with that and decided it wasn't for me. I left sixth form and got a job with my now current employer as a Sales Assistant.

A year after that, I got itchy feet and decided it was time to move on. I enrolled on a YTS (Youth Training Scheme) called 'Theatre Electrics' at City of Westminster College, London. Just to confuse the issue it wasn't 'Theatre' as such as I was on placement with a lighting company called Midnight Design (now called PRG Europe). Midnight specialised in corporate event, conference and exhibition lighting. They also had an extremely talented R&D department who specialised in custom lighting, effects and control development (amongst other things). I look back on my Midnight days with mixed feelings. The college part of the training was studying for City & Guilds 236 pt 1 (Electrical Installation). I sat my exams in 1993 and achieved 3 distinctions and 3 pass *s (pass* = highest possible result). Midnight then took me on a full time contract and I embarked on a further training course called "Film & TV Electrics". I spent a further year on this course, during which time there were some massive changes in senior management at Midnight Design which left me a little un-settled. This coupled with the fact the Director of R&D, the Sales Director and the Sales Manager (all of whom I worked under) were also talking of moving on! As it turned out, they left Midnight not that long after I did and started Navigator Systems.

After much thought, I again decided it was time to move on. Midnight were based in Battersea (London) and I was living in Tadworth and then Reigate at the time which meant a 6:30am start every day and not getting home until 8:00pm. There were also some bizarre 'shifts' whereby you could sometimes end up working 72 hours with no sleep! As chance would have it, my old employer (Jonathan Myall), had a position become available, so I decided to return to the music business. I returned there in 1995 as a Sales Assistant. After a year or two, it was decided that my strengths lie in areas other than sales and dealing with the general public. It was at that stage that I 'moved' department and became responsible for 'marketing' and 'computers'.

My job has kinda evolved from that really and I'm now what you might call (and others do) a 'king pin'. I 'pull' various different departments and things together and keep things running along smoothly. I have one brother, Chris, who's older than me and married with three lovely kids (two of which I am godfather to). There's also my mum who's supported me for all these years.

I'm very lucky to have several really close friends. They never judge me and are always there for me if I need them. Even if I screw up they don't judge me for it. They've all known me a long time. I don't trust people easily; I can count the number of people I do trust implicitly on one hand.   

Lastly, but certainly by no means least, there's Ash. Ash turned my life around (I was at a really low stage when we met).

One thing I'm "reknowned" for is complaining. Now this isn't because I'm an argumentative sod (much) but more it really gets under my skin when a company (or organisation) acts in an irresponsible manner. There's no excuse for treating your customers badly. I've tackled the following companies over the years and in pretty much all cases "won".

Companies I've "taken on" include:-

Freeholders of our previous property. I sued them after them suggested I was making "idle threats". There was one hearing to discuss an application they made to the Court as some sort of delaying tactic. It never got as far as the final hearing as the settled including all costs.
Someone who self-appointed himself as a surveyor in a dispute which never existed and tried to exert his authority on me.  
HSBC (totally unbelievable organisation).
Croydon Tramlink
Abbey National plc (atrocious customer service and charging excessive fees)
The solicitors we used to purchase our first property. They had me one their case twice; Shortly after we purchased and shortly after we sold. Both times a failure to advise...
Beneficial/HFC Bank plc
Royal Mail
BT (British Telecommunications) AOL
Telewest
Croydon Council
Scottish Power
Fidelity Electronics
Abbey National plc (failed to send money on the agreed date)
Natwest Bank plc
Perhaps each letter I write should be accompanied by a link to this Web site!

My solicitor acts on the basis he doesn't want me to sue him and described me as being like a dog with a bone! My boss refers to me as "the pirahna". The woman who was my best bird when I got married laughs whenever I relay stories of my dealings with individuals or companies. Usually it's along the lines of: "They so shouldn't have written that!"

Any companies wishing to experience the "Gareth Factor", feel free to provide a bad service or poor customer service and I'll show you exactly what I mean.

That's all there is to know really...