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Club answers beer pricing/disabled fans travelling

NickG

By NickG,
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Wes Tender

Wes Tender

Posted
Posted

What an archaic situation that beer pourage contract is. It has already lasted 9/10 years, so when is it going to end? They invested a considerable sum of money in us so have been upping their prices to recoup their investment? So the obvious result is that many fans have no real choice of beer, resent the high pricing and drink outside of the ground instead. What commercial sense does that make? Anyway, why is it the case that when the club went into administration, the contract wasn't void? Surely that contract was with the PLC, not the current owners.

 

Anyway, as you say Alpine, how refreshing it is to have a board that addresses fans' concerns quickly and efficiently. With the other lot, it was all window dressing. I often contacted Lowe on "Tell Rupert" and urged him to resign, but he never obliged. ;)

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John B

John B

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Posted (edited)
I am astounded and exceptionally pleased that it seems that the people at the helm are listening and acting upon the desires and wishes of the fans in such a swift manner.

A real breath of fresh air.And long may it continue.

Perhaps we are no longer just 'customers'

 

I think we are being treated as customer because nothing has been done to rectify the concerns.

 

Just a bit of PR at the moment it seems but can only hope that fans concerns are acted upon in the future

Edited by John B
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Wes Tender

Wes Tender

Posted
Posted
but the answers were

 

no

 

and

 

no

 

No they weren't.

 

1) They were that we were strapped into this lousy contract agreed by the former regime but that when that contract is finished something better would be put in place that offered greater choice and price benefits to the fans.

 

2) Arrangements would be made to reserve spaces on coaches for disabled people in wheelchairs and a helpful explanation of a new national scheme enabling disabled people to park close to grounds if they could not negotiate public transport.

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Foxstone

Foxstone

Posted
Posted
What an archaic situation that beer pourage contract is. It has already lasted 9/10 years, so when is it going to end? They invested a considerable sum of money in us so have been upping their prices to recoup their investment? So the obvious result is that many fans have no real choice of beer, resent the high pricing and drink outside of the ground instead. What commercial sense does that make? Anyway, why is it the case that when the club went into administration, the contract wasn't void? Surely that contract was with the PLC, not the current owners.

 

Anyway, as you say Alpine, how refreshing it is to have a board that addresses fans' concerns quickly and efficiently. With the other lot, it was all window dressing. I often contacted Lowe on "Tell Rupert" and urged him to resign, but he never obliged. ;)

 

Ah - But he went to the business school that taught the old fashioned approach - " The customer is never right" ! ;)

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Clapham Saint

Clapham Saint

Posted
Posted
What an archaic situation that beer pourage contract is. It has already lasted 9/10 years, so when is it going to end? They invested a considerable sum of money in us so have been upping their prices to recoup their investment? So the obvious result is that many fans have no real choice of beer, resent the high pricing and drink outside of the ground instead. What commercial sense does that make? Anyway, why is it the case that when the club went into administration, the contract wasn't void? Surely that contract was with the PLC, not the current owners.

 

Anyway, as you say Alpine, how refreshing it is to have a board that addresses fans' concerns quickly and efficiently. With the other lot, it was all window dressing. I often contacted Lowe on "Tell Rupert" and urged him to resign, but he never obliged. ;)

 

Given that the plc claimed to be "only a holding company" I doubt it.

 

Does seem like a long contract though.

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Wes Tender

Wes Tender

Posted
Posted
I suspect it was a 5 year contract which was renewed for a further 5. Hopefully up for tender at the end of this season.

 

If it was a 5 year contract renewed, was there additional investment put in by the brewers? Had the prices crept up before or since the re-signing? If before, did it not occur to the board that an increase in prices woud mean that more fans would drink outside of the ground?

 

The whole thing has been badly managed, typical of those on the board who could not run a whelk stall.

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krissyboy31

krissyboy31

Posted
Posted
If it was a 5 year contract renewed, was there additional investment put in by the brewers? Had the prices crept up before or since the re-signing? If before, did it not occur to the board that an increase in prices woud mean that more fans would drink outside of the ground?

 

The whole thing has been badly managed, typical of those on the board who could not run a whelk stall.

 

TBF It's not much different in other new stadia around the country. Certain brewers (Carlsberg/Tetley in our case) bid to be 'partners' in the project and they fit out the bars areas etc at their cost, in return for exclusivity of drink supplies and long-term franchise contract. I would be surprised that the original contract was as long as 10 years but presumably the longer the contract, the more Carlsberg/Tetley paid the club (and by the club, in this case, I suspect it would come under SMS Ltd.). I don't think the club would have much say in what CT charge for their 'refreshments' and only a small percentage would actually go into the clubs coffers.

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Nineteen Canteen

Nineteen Canteen

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Posted

 

Impressive and not surprised by the pricing of beer, they should slap on another 70p for the temerity of asking the question. As I understand Guinnes is only sold in the corporate/hospitality suites the price of a pint is hardly an issue if it is come and join the rest of us under the stands.

 

Disappointing out of a fleet of away coaches they cannot provide one coach with disabled facilities so fans can enjoy the matchday experience as any able bodied fan. The answer is the longest no I have read for a while and is a cop out IMO probably along the lines of the reality that we only have 1 or 2 who would use it so it's not worth the extra cost. The number is irrelevent and I'm sure if it meant adding a small amount to the cost of away travel I'm sure most fans would be happy to pay that bit extra to make the group more inclusive.

 

Don't care about the price of beer in Corporate and they should be lucky it's not a fiver a pint, privileges come at a cost accept it. Disappionted that the club could not take a lead on the disabled access on coaches and I wonder if the person who asked the question on Monday has examples of what other clubs do to help fan's with similar issues. I wouldn't leave it at that and worth making further investigations, unaccpetable IMO, and a missed opportunity by the club.

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Nineteen Canteen

Nineteen Canteen

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Posted
No they weren't.

 

1) They were that we were strapped into this lousy contract agreed by the former regime but that when that contract is finished something better would be put in place that offered greater choice and price benefits to the fans.

 

2) Arrangements would be made to reserve spaces on coaches for disabled people in wheelchairs and a helpful explanation of a new national scheme enabling disabled people to park close to grounds if they could not negotiate public transport.

 

2) The question I think was to allow disabled fans to travel unaided. Would you like the indignity of being enabled onto a coach? The answer was no.

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twopintsnilnil

twopintsnilnil

Posted
Posted
I am astounded and exceptionally pleased that it seems that the people at the helm are listening and acting upon the desires and wishes of the fans in such a swift manner.

A real breath of fresh air.And long may it continue.

Perhaps we are no longer just 'customers'

 

I believe these issues were raised at the fan's forum, in what was a very public and widely reported event. To not respond and to not be seen to respond to issues raised in such a way would constitute a PR mistake of ludicrous proportions.

 

I have no reason to doubt that the administration will always be as responsive as they have been on this occasion. However - as happy as we all feel about our change in fortunes - I don't think we should be carried away by such small acts of what can't really be described as anything other than basic normal customer service, no matter how much that contrasts with what has gone before.

 

The real test will be when complaints, suggestions and every day queries are dealt with as efficiently and openly members of staff who recognise that they are all SFC employees and as such they all represent the club at all times when they are at work. In my experience, contrary to the assertion, on too many occasions we are not treated as customers at all.

 

There are still many staff who are not able to understand their wider responsibilities beyond the task that they happen to be undertaking at a particular time. No reasonable person would expect every member of staff to be able to resolve every issue to everyone's satisfaction every time, but a basic understanding of how to deal with customers' complaints and queries would go a long way.

 

Oh, and I have no problem with being both a fan and a customer. I'm still here after 40 years, which I think qualifies me as a fan, and I hand over several hundred pounds to the club every year - which makes me a customer.

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dubai_phil

dubai_phil

Posted
Posted

Ah, what a difference. Professional Corporate PR, as opposed to "spinning what the boss tells you to say".

 

All takes time. Shame the pourage contract couldn't have been "canned" in admin, but then I guess if one contract gets cancelled then others like players or whatever may go the same way...

 

Let us HOPE that for the next round of negotiations the "up front investment" (ie CASH NOW) gets scrapped and we go for "A Corporate Social Responsibility Decision" that balances the customer needs with a healthy regular income stream.

 

ie - Let a local smaller independent brewery jv with a local caterer to provide a service and BEER that we would want to buy AND are ABLE to buy and let them pay the club week by week rather than in one large "up front" outlay. The amount the club makes will be the same, just spread over time

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Jesus Reigned

Jesus Reigned

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Posted
I'm very encouraged to see these points addressed; how often do you hear the phrase "we'll get back to you", and nothing is ever heard again?!

 

not sure how often I hear it, will let you know

 

It's just management speak drivel isn't it; has cropped up in numerous meetings I've attended over the years....

 

:)

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offix

offix

Posted
Posted
Impressed at the organisiation from an institution that hasnt been renowned for its organisation over the past 10 years.

 

Yup. What a refreshing new attitude from the club. Even inane questions like the beer thing are answered promptly, adequately and seriously

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Neil

Neil

Posted
Posted

The only thing that matters is that the Carlsberg-Tetley contract is binned at the first opportunity, and some decent locally-brewed beer is delivered for each game, according to approximate demand. Cost is always a factor, but I think you'd get more people drinking some decent beer anyway, especially before games when most people at the moment are in the boozer.

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hamster

hamster

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Posted

Could it be possible, that during negotiations for the takeove, the new owner felt duty bound to not shaft anyone who was owed money or had any agreements with the old Plc? That would be so refreshing wouldn't it.

 

On the bus thing, I appreciate that the current coaches can stow wheelchairs, but that still alienates those who need to use a powered chair or who can't manage steps.

The club has a good relationship with their disabled supporters and they should rightly be applaudede for it. Disability awareness still has a long way to go, but the biggest hurdle is often acknowledging that improvements can be made.

 

Re-introducing a disabled fans co-ordinator would be a big step in the right direction. Shauna taylor was immense.

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John Boy Saint

John Boy Saint

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Posted

Shame the pourage contract didn't get lost in the administration.

 

It would be very nice to have a free house, although the bar staff test would have to be passed as the vacant look you would get when buying a round and asking for a pint of Hobgoblin, Spitfire, Regatta, Doom Bar, Timothy Taylor and a bottle of Sprite would see spontaneous combustion before your eyes.............. Asking for a Pasty and a Coffee makes you wonder if you pronounced coffee correctly.

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Nineteen Canteen

Nineteen Canteen

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I would not mind paying £5 per pint if I were to be served in seconds; hell someone else could even get a round in too during half time. I would rather have a tin or plastic bottle than a plastic pint glass of draft thats been sat there for 20 minutes.

 

Bet that deosn't happen in the Corporate suites where they serve 'real' beer and where the SISA representative can allegedly afford to pay for the chance to buy a drink at that bar but not actually afford the extra 30p they have to pay over and above what they consider a reasonable price.

 

Draino, I have long decided beverage purchase on the concourses is a waste of time not because of price but quality as you outlined. Better off being a pot collecter and drinking the dregs!

 

Fuel up before entering and relax in the ambience of your surroundings at halftime instead of trying to get a drink or a cup of tea that has a tendency to strip layers from your mouth lining due to the concoction of powder and water so hot it could melt mild steel.

 

They should do what they do in theatres and allow customers to order their drinks for halftime and left on occassional tables dotted around the concourse with names underneath. Mr Draino76 drinks party, how very civilised. The most the drinks could be standing for is 45 mins so probably not as bad as the pint you buy at 2.45 and poured at 1.45 and the tea would still be hot enough to melt plastic.

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suewhistle

suewhistle

Posted
Posted
Asking for a Pasty and a Coffee makes you wonder if you pronounced coffee correctly.

 

That made me laugh! I have to admit I forego concourse catering, but more than make up for it in various local hostelries before or after the game, and sometimes both... was it against Brentford when I had my first pint at The Platform at 11.15?.... But oh, a decent pint would be so nice.... Hopback GFB is a tasty quaffer.

 

I've been footie training 3 times a week recently so the results of my visit to the UK is gradually being burnt off!

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