New food/drink rules at the Turf

[gandhisflipflop]

I’m not that arsed about the prices, more the complete ineptness of the service. I didn’t bother Friday as I drove down and wanted to see how others got on first. There were people turning up 15-20mins into the second half.

Glad I never bothered now.

[Boss Hogg]

It's a football stadium, not a car boot. You ain't gonna get a cup of Tetley in a polystyrene cup for 50p

It's a completely optional service, don't buy it if you don't like the price.

Probably tell the kids we've got coffee at home when they want a Starbucks some of you lot

I’ve opted out. £2 was the limit for a cup of tea. We take our own snacks now. Much better. Starbucks is a premium product and very different from instant coffee so not a great analogy. A pie, chocolate bar, crisps, flask of tea are no different to the ones they are selling at the kiosks. Agree with your comment that everything is expensive now. I take sandwiches and snacks everywhere, I’ve cut down drinking in pubs considerably, rarely eat in them and don’t go to chippies very often. Whilst I can afford to get ripped off my inflation rate is quite low as I don’t get ripped off. I wonder how many people drinking £6 pints are moaning about high interest rates and mortgage payments.

[peter_nobles_fringe]

it seems our club is still run like a corner shop dont think it will ever change

[Fretters]

The club have just emailed about the self-ordering units:

As we continually look to improve the matchday offering at Turf Moor, we have introduced new digital self-ordering units to speed up the time it takes to make orders for food and drinks.

We have taken on board the feedback we have received from supporters and acknowledge that there were some issues with this new system when it launched on Friday. This resulted in longer waits in queues at kiosks and a level of service which isn't in line with our expectations.

We have reviewed our processes and will be carrying out further staff training to ensure the new system is fully operational for the Aston Villa fixture.

We apologise for the longer wait times and any inconvenience caused.

[mikeS]

Does this mean the return of the...

iPie?

I never actually experienced this service - did anyone else - and was it actually delivered to your seat ?

[Fretters]

Does this mean the return of the...

iPie?

I never actually experienced this service - did anyone else - and was it actually delivered to your seat ?

No, you collected it from a hatch but the crap phone signal in the ground rendered it fairly useless, so they soon got rid.

[ClaretTony]

The club have apologised for the long wait times and the issues last Friday with the new system and have resolved to sort out the problems ahead of the Viila game.

Maybe the ground catering was such a mess previously, it is going to take time to get the improvements working efficiently.

[bfcjg]

At least they have acknowledged the faults,IMHO there are just not enough serving points and until this is addressed we won't move forward.

[Sproggy]

Nothing seemed to be different in the CFS apart from the price. I’m surprised that they didn’t relocate the main bar to the dead space where the partition is with an obvious opportunity to get people to queue up without blocking access to the toilets and other areas.

For me that’s a no brainier and certainly could be done if they were willing to sort it.

The queues were worse if anything. We got there an hour before kick off and queued for 15 minutes for a pint. They had none pre-poured. Do BFC own the concourse bars or are they franchised out?

We were talking about the dead space and the answer we came up with was because the entrance to the treatment room is at that end, they need to keep it clear so that an ambulance can drive in.

[Quickenthetempo]

Why would anyone want to drink a pre poured pint?

Even Accy Stanley have the fast pouring pint machines.

[NewClaret]

The club have just emailed about the self-ordering units:

As we continually look to improve the matchday offering at Turf Moor, we have introduced new digital self-ordering units to speed up the time it takes to make orders for food and drinks.

We have taken on board the feedback we have received from supporters and acknowledge that there were some issues with this new system when it launched on Friday. This resulted in longer waits in queues at kiosks and a level of service which isn't in line with our expectations.

We have reviewed our processes and will be carrying out further staff training to ensure the new system is fully operational for the Aston Villa fixture.

We apologise for the longer wait times and any inconvenience caused.

It’s good that the club have acknowledged the issue and apologised… but I’m in the Longside upper without the ordering units and the queues were longer/slower than ever!

[Fretters]

It’s good that the club have acknowledged the issue and apologised… but I’m in the Longside upper without the ordering units and the queues were longer/slower than ever!

Me too. The San Miguel pump at the furthest end (towards the cricket field) broke right at the start of half time which didn't help.

[NewClaret]

Me too. The San Miguel pump at the furthest end (towards the cricket field) broke right at the start of half time which didn't help.

I’m hoping the pump was protesting at still being forced to serve up crap lager.

[Fretters]

I’m hoping the pump was protesting at still being forced to serve up crap lager.

Yep. I ordered that and they offered me Carlsberg, after I'd already paid more for the less-crap San Miguel, and they couldn't refund the difference.

[NewClaret]

Yep. I ordered that and they offered me Carlsberg, after I'd already paid more for the less-crap San Miguel, and they couldn't refund the difference.

So, there’s a semi-solution to this: go to the middle of the longside and there’s a poretti bar on tap & go. Beer pouring machine, queue moves quickly.

For some reason, despite there being a full (empty) bar behind it they set up all this kit on the concourse You have to laugh.

Poretti is better than San Miguel and certainly Carlsberg so a step up but why do three lagers?! I’m just praying we’ll get an IPA one day.

[Fretters]

So, there’s a semi-solution to this: go to the middle of the longside and there’s a poretti bar on tap & go. Beer pouring machine, queue moves quickly.

For some reason, despite there being a full (empty) bar behind it they set up all this kit on the concourse You have to laugh.

Poretti is better than San Miguel and certainly Carlsberg so a step up but why do three lagers?! I’m just praying we’ll get an IPA one day.

Thanks, I'll definitely head to that!

The beer options have got to improve. I'd definitely usually go with the Wainright option, but I think they're cans? Still, better than a flat, pre-poured lager, I suppose.

[Nonayforever]

So the club have put in a new system and subsequently apologised because its worse than the old system.
That is in keeping with most companies nowadays.
It's no longer about serving their customers with the best possible product and making money out of the service. It's about extracting the maximum amount from the customer whilst providing sub standard service.

[Sproggy]

Why would anyone want to drink a pre poured pint?

Even Accy Stanley have the fast pouring pint machines.

It's lager in a plastic glass so unlikely to affect the quality and I'll take the hit if it avoids an unnecessary queue.

And we have more people queuing for beer in the CFS at 35 minutes into the first half than Accy Stanley have season ticket holders!

[Clarets4me]

Why would anyone want to drink a pre poured pint ? Even Accy Stanley have the fast pouring pint machines.

1) Someone who's already had 7 and isn't bothered ?

2) Twickenham had a device that could pour 16 pints at a time back in the 1970's so there's very little new under the Sun !!

[Jamesy]

it seems our club is still run like a corner shop dont think it will ever change

It won’t change any time soon. If they put as much effort into the catering/club shop/ticketing operation as they have with the fancy LED advertising all around the ground we would be getting there. Sadly in these three areas there is a distinct lack of effective management.

[Falcon]

I couldn't disagree more.

The current leadership will be all over this, hence why they've apologised already for catering issues in the City fixture.

I expect it to improve, as they will demand perfection from their new catering partners.

[GetIntoEm]

Just ordered a insulated lunch box so I can bring pie, peas and gravy and a new flask with 2 cans of gold label poured in and an old camera film container with a benny in

[AlargeClaret]

Main thing with the new prepay machines wasn’t the actual tech per se ( though far slower than asking for “ 2 pints and a benny”) etc . It’s that , after queuing for said machine you’ve then gotta queue all over again to get your drink which then needs pouring etc, utter madness . Add to that you HAD to use the machines ( JHL)

This can’t work like it does in say a Macdonalds or an Argos where the order is being prepped/pulled as soon as you place it . I can only presume the caterers have never worked in football before which is staggering if true .

[Jamesy]

I couldn't disagree more.

The current leadership will be all over this, hence why they've apologised already for catering issues in the City fixture.

I expect it to improve, as they will demand perfection from their new catering partners.

It’s easy to issue an apology. The harder part is fixing the problem. I won’t hold my breath. We had issues in the Bob Lord Trophy Room Lounge on Friday. The bar staff were trying their best but not enough of them and they weren’t competent at dealing with a decent sized queue. Again no one seemed to be managing them.

[NewClaret]

Thanks, I'll definitely head to that!

The beer options have got to improve. I'd definitely usually go with the Wainright option, but I think they're cans? Still, better than a flat, pre-poured lager, I suppose.

To be fair, it was basically what we’ve been calling out for for years, so credit to the club for that.

There were three guys manning it. One hammering the machine and putting them on a table, one stood at the table taking your order and one, bizarrely, behind the actual bar punching the orders in to the till to get the card machine on the table to come up with the right price.

Don’t get me wrong - massive step forward. Litterally served twice the number of people at one of the bars with double the staff on. Queue constantly moving and short. By the end of HT they’d served everyone - when do you ever see that? I could’ve been served three times there during HT, no word of a lie.

But it begs the questions:

Why don’t they put it in the actual bar rather than clogging up the concourse with tables, beer machines and kegs? It’s not as if they haven’t had all summer to set it up! That way you’d only need two staff to run it?

Why don’t you put one in every bar and half the number of staff at each?

Before the obvious: why don’t you get some better beer? by the way, *think* I saw Wainwright being poured but might be wrong. Poretti, Wainwright and Neck Oil would be a dream combo!

[NewClaret]

It’s easy to issue an apology. The harder part is fixing the problem. I won’t hold my breath. We had issues in the Bob Lord Trophy Room Lounge on Friday. The bar staff were trying their best but not enough of them and they weren’t competent at dealing with a decent sized queue. Again no one seemed to be managing them.

In my opinion it’s not the issue of not enough staff but they’re not giving them the right technology to do the job.

If I was asked to do my job with a ZX Spectrum, I’d be unproductive too. Just get each bar a bloody beer pourer!

[NewClaret]

Just ordered a insulated lunch box so I can bring pie, peas and gravy and a new flask with 2 cans of gold label poured in and an old camera film container with a benny in

[jdrobbo]

Would it be fair to say that there was very little, if any, improvement today?

From my experience, if anything, it was even worse. Queues right back to the toilets well before kick off. The telling sign was the staff working, who were constantly apologising for the system being slow. What’s the system? It shouldn’t take ten minutes to queue for a coffee 25 minutes before kick off though, so something is clearly a miss.

And again, I’d argue that I was paying significantly more for sn inferior product to last season. I don’t mind inflation, but the product should be equal, if not better in quality.

When you’ve got people walking away from their position in the queue, so long before kickoff, then there is clearly an issue.

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[bfcjg]

I prepaid for food only to find what i had ordered in the main had sold out,alternatives were cheaper, so out of pocket with unhappy family as well.

[wilks_bfc]

No pies, sausage rolls and limited bags of crisps or n the JMU at half time and very slow service

Gave up queuing to even get a drink

[MrTopTier]

Old system- Basic food, no real choice, average quality fare. Overpriced. Queue up and order just about get food and drink by the end of half time.

New system- Basic food, no real choice, average quality fare. Really overpriced. Queue to order-on a touch screen, queue again to collect food chance of getting food before end of half time 50/50.

Really inefficient and definitely worse than before.

[GetIntoEm]

JML showed pies sold out but it was an error. They asked people to put through as a vegan sausage roll then tell them at the counter they wanted a pie

[StuffyClaret]

Got to JMU at about 1:25. The guy didn't understand me when i asked for a pint of bitter. Paid 18 quid (yes 18 bloody quid!) for three pints of San Miguel. I was then told that the San Miguel pump wasn't working and he asked if I wanted something else. I told him to give me 3 Carlsberg which they brought to the bar. I then asked for a refund of the £1 per pint difference and they didn't have a clue how to do that. After another 10 minutes of waiting, they finally produced 3 pints of (what they claimed to be) San Miguel.

Totally farcical operation!

I also noticed that the woman who has served at that bar for the last few seasons was nowhere to be seen today....maybe she has, understandably, had enough of the grief she got after the city game fiasco.

[Steve-Harpers-perm]

Was dreadful in JMU. Only pies left at 1.30pm and the one I got was cold in the middle!

[deanothedino]

The club have apologised for the long wait times and the issues last Friday with the new system and have resolved to sort out the problems ahead of the Viila game.

Maybe the ground catering was such a mess previously, it is going to take time to get the improvements working efficiently.

They weren’t resolved. Absolutely shambolic in the north stand upper. Staff don’t even seem to care, glacial is the word to describe their work ethic.

Not sure how Russell Ball has a job, the turnstiles and concessions have gotten worse under him.

[forzagranata]

So the club have invested a load of money in 'upgrades' for the Premier League which turn out to be worse than last season's set-up?

I sense a trend here.

[daveisaclaret]

Really disappointed to see a huge, slow-moving queue in the fanzone when we got there. Used to be quick as anything to get served in there.

[steveb178]

Was dreadful in JMU. Only pies left at 1.30pm and the one I got was cold in the middle!

Cold??your luck mine was frozen lol

[Steve-Harpers-perm]

Cold??your luck mine was frozen lol

Waiting for the inevitable food poisoning!

[claretdj]

It was the same in the cricket field stand, the bar had sold out of Pies @ 1.30pm! Absolute shambles in there & a lot worse than last season.

[Bosscat]

Really disappointed to see a huge, slow-moving queue in the fanzone when we got there. Used to be quick as anything to get served in there.

We turned round and went up into the stand for a Wainwright and a San Miguel ... at 12 .50pm ... Needs a re-think if it takes that long to get a pint in the fanzone...

[NewClaret]

Wasn’t at the match the today but really frustrating to hear the service was just as **** as City. Club need to to take a real hard look at why they cannot serve people drinks in good time, never mind order enough food.

Personally I’m done with it though, will go elsewhere until it improves.

[NewClaret]

We turned round and went up into the stand for a Wainwright and a San Miguel ... at 12 .50pm ... Needs a re-think if it takes that long to get a pint in the fanzone...

Would like to see Russell Ball in the fanzone and on the concourses pre-match and half time.

[Boss Hogg]

See my other thread. it was an embarrassment of a service today in the Longside. I took a fan of a League 2 club who couldn’t believe how poor the whole set up was along with the lack of food. I’ll be writing in but would prefer to talk to someone face to face about this. Missed our goal as did many others sorting out the shambles of trying to get some food or a refund. Don’t ever go for the last option as you’ll regret it. Some just walked off having paid all that money with no food and no refund. Completely amateur. I dread to think how much we’ve paid to change the ordering system.

[Elizabeth]

Found out today from the portable coffee man that after several seasons of him not being charged rent the club are now insisting he give them 30% of his takings. Not 30% of his profit. He doubts he will be there next season which is a shame because it’s the only outlet both inside and outside the ground that is anywhere decent for cost.
I think he’s been fortunate to get rent free in the past but what the club are doing to him is very poor

[steveb178]

Waiting for the inevitable food poisoning!

Ive had worse

[Chester Perry]

See my other thread. it was an embarrassment of a service today in the Longside. I took a fan of a League 2 club who couldn’t believe how poor the whole set up was along with the lack of food. I’ll be writing in but would prefer to talk to someone face to face about this. Missed our goal as did many others sorting out the shambles of trying to get some food or a refund. Don’t ever go for the last option as you’ll regret it. Some just walked off having paid all that money with no food and no refund. Completely amateur. I dread to think how much we’ve paid to change the ordering system.

The whole point of bringing Levy in for the catering was that they would be paying for the technology upgrades. I wouldn't be surprised if they contributed to the cost of the new suite in the Jimmy Mac too..

[Leon_C]

I went to Macclesfield FC with my lad last week, and without sarcasm, I can say that the food/bev service was 100x better.
The club have gone back 50 years. No idea what this new Levy operation are up to. I’m certain there is nobody of authority paying any attention to it.

[GetIntoEm]

Would like to see Russell Ball in the fanzone and on the concourses pre-match and half time.

He was in the fanzone around 1pm today

[ClaretTony]

Not sure how Russell Ball has a job, the turnstiles and concessions have gotten worse under him.

Oh I think that's fairly obvious