Osprey Publishing faced its greatest crisis in its forty-one year history today, a crisis that meant the very real prospect of the end of such series as Men-at-Arms, Campaign and Duel. Staff arrived at the Botley offices this morning to discover that overnight a disaster had occurred that would jeopardise the continuing publication and distribution of titles. Mike Ramalho in Marketing explains why:
‘It was set to be a normal day at the Osprey office. I had some PR to do on Petersburg 1864-5 and Niagara 1814 but when I arrived there was pandemonium. Crisis talks were occurring in Production and Design, Editorial had immediately halted all work on the new Raid series and Finance had completely forgotten to work out our expenses from our successful trip to Salute at the weekend. I had to quickly make an assessment of the problem and take action’.
Phil Smith in Editorial takes up the story:
‘I was looking forward to today. The new Field of Glory Companion Swifter than Eagles is out this month and I was interested to get the latest feedback. But no-one was talking about that when I arrived. Instead the mood was one of barely concealed panic. I quickly took charge.’
Joe McCullough, Marketing Coordinator sheds more light on the crisis:
‘It was horrible. Normally we react so calmly to these situations. Like when the Osprey Men-at-Arms Celebration was delayed. Everyone was cool, calm and collected and got the book back into stock. This was something entirely different. It was lucky I was there to calm things down and offer solutions’.
Diane Hurdley, Office Manager has a different take on the events of this morning:
‘The kettle broke and it took me a few minutes to buy a new one. It wasn’t that big a deal. Anyone would think that the new World War II Axis Booby Traps and Sabotage Tactics had been delayed. I’ve never seen so many caffeine addicts suffering withdrawal so badly all at the same time. Thankfully the new kettle is working fine.’