Club shop

[Mustapha-Dump]

But surely we are responsible for the attitude of management?

[wing commander]

We will never agree with each other on that statement Martin..Easy cop out and it is a reflection on the club..

[Jenny]

I'm not quite sure how many more times it has to be pointed out that we don't run the club shop. It's been Just Sport for the last few years.

Total cop out. Sorry but the club need to take responsibility and not just blame Just Sport.

[Donnyrovers]

I'm not quite sure how many more times it has to be pointed out that we don't run the club shop. It's been Just Sport for the last few years.

Which professional club doesn't own their own club shop? That's a joke the club shop is a bag of shit and it's the club that needs to take responsibility not JustSport.

[silent majority]

We will never agree with each other on that statement Martin..Easy cop out and it is a reflection on the club..

It was statement of fact, not an opinion. I don't go in the club shop so my opinion counts for very little.

For your information Scunthorpe report the same problems, and they have Just Sport too.

[belton rover]

I wish I was buying stuff off Retford Rover out of his holdall in the pop side again. That was real customer service.

[DN8ROVER]

It was crap before Just Sport took over!

[belton rover]

Lol. I wondered if someone would eventually remember that.... Doesn't ANYBODY on here have a memory?

BobG

I think, Bob, that everybody on here does have a memory. And many of us remember that the club shop has been shit for a long, long time, regardless of who may 'run' it now.

[BobG]

Fair enough. Yes. It was rubbish before. I've never had any issues with the sales people. Just the tat that's sold. But although the club maybe should have kept control of the shop, their previous efforts weren't up to much were they? So franchising the thing must have been an attractive option. We  know the club can't run a shop, and we know there's no earthly reason why they should. They're none of them shopkeepers. As Charles Handy, management guru extraordinaire, said "Stick to your knitting". So it's unfair to moan at the club both because we know they can't do any better, and because it's not in their gift to change anything.

The franchise owwners are the ones who should be getting it in the neck.

BobG

[bobjimwilly]

a lot of questions, opinions and ideas all rolled into one there mate!
here's the company that run the shop: http://www.justsport-group.com/proclub/index.html
and here's the company that run the catering: http://www.centerplate.co.uk/client-venues

I'm guessing both of these companies are successful at other clubs, but for whatever reasons they aren't delivering at the Keepmoat in the eyes of a lot of the fans. I would guess Gavin and the board, with hindsight, wouldn't have gone with these companies, but if they got recommendations from other clubs, and the deals would good for the club at the time, why should they have avoided them to begin with?

[BobG]

Would you take a job that needs you on occasional random Tuesday nights, Wednesday nights, Friday nights and alternate Saturdays? And then didn't wnat you at all between June and mid August.  How much would you expect to be paid for that?

Not easy for one little footy club to organise. It could be done. Of course it could. But where would you rather the Rovers devoted their available resources and effort?
Maybe sub contracting something has its attractions?

BobG

[BobG]

Are you suggesting then that the Rovers employ  this 'experienced catering manager or chef' on a full time basis? Why would any experienced person take a job like the one the Rovers could offer unless he is so shite he can't get a job anywhere else? A decent experienced bloke costs decent money. I do agree that it could be made to pay. But I doubt very much that the Rovers have the motivation, the resources or the ability to make that happen. So, outsourcing to someone so the cost can be shared with others in a like position still sounds like a good idea to me. The execution is what needs to be changed.

BobG

[hoolahoop]

Would you take a job that needs you on occasional random Tuesday nights, Wednesday nights, Friday nights and alternate Saturdays? And then didn't wnat you at all between June and mid August.  How much would you expect to be paid for that?

Not easy for one little footy club to organise. It could be done. Of course it could. But where would you rather the Rovers devoted their available resources and effort?
Maybe sub contracting something has its attractions?

BobG

Are you aware Bob that this Community asset runs or should run 12 months a year certainly in terms of the catering side . It's also incumbent for the owners GB etc to ensure that franchisees are delivering on their promises if they aren't capable of running these individual parts of the business. They are pissing money away by franchising the work out  quite simply there are still not enough innovative ideas being formulated by the Board/Owners into how to utilise these fantastic facilities to the fullest. Upto now since taking over they are still copping out of running the business to anywhere near its fullest potential.

Currently we have the sporting calendar, car boot sales and an annual firework display. We have an under cover venue for concerts, fake festivals etc.
The punters won't come if the service is shite.....PERIOD !

[hoolahoop]

SCWK you are wasting your breath I'm afraid. BTW I love your terminology in your final paragraph re. " the normal man ". Lol
Fact is its taken them aeons to exploit the Sunday car boot sales with breakfasts, teas and coffees etc....you're correct if you think that this doesn't already happen sadly.
Profit pissed down the drain ; they a quite simply have no idea how to turn opportunities into profit. Now I'm not sure whether they just have a laissez - faire attitude to profit enhancement or they just don't see the many opportunities sat staring themselves in the face ?

All these 'small' £££'s add up but maybe not for multi-millionaires ?  - its easier to franchise it out  !

[bobjimwilly]

I think if they wanted the easiest option they wouldn't have stayed involved with the club go so long 

[silent majority]

When we did the first IRWT surveys the club shop and ticket office were top of the list for complaints. In today's surveys the ticket office never gets a negative response, in fact the opposite is true, and the satisfaction rating of the club shop has shot up too.

[bfdoncaster west]

 where the under cover venue for concerts, fake festivals etc.

[bfdoncaster west]

wot event wood you put forwood to club

[Colin C No.3]

My wife has just informed me that I won't be getting anything from the club shop for Christmas as in looking at the offerings online, she's come to the conclusion that there's nothing worth having! She clicked onto the 'Accessories' section only to find it consisted of 3 items!

[bobjimwilly]

there are certainly questions to be asked of the club shop, even if it mainly boils down to the section of products for sale, which I would doubt is down to the people who actually work in the shop. Sounds like a meeting with JustSport might need to be organised, but by all means keep posting your ideas for how to improve it on here folks... 

[BRMC_rover]

We will never agree with each other on that statement Martin..Easy cop out and it is a reflection on the club..

It was statement of fact, not an opinion. I don't go in the club shop so my opinion counts for very little.

For your information Scunthorpe report the same problems, and they have Just Sport too.

Its not just sport. The person in question will have held hear position within the club shop under the TUPE arrangement for staff currently in post during a change of ownership. I personally dont have any opinion on the staff as I usually just buy online and call occasionally to check if something is definately in stock.

Bottom line is, its not easy to remove someone from a position if they have been there a long time. If customer service is not what it should be, then its a tricky one to deal with.

[acko]

i raised the question of having a rovers supporters shop in the frenchgate  were the young kids in town with their family would see what we have on offer like we used  to do at street wise.i was told by mr baldwin the the cost of such a set up would cost the club a six figure annual sum.so it was a no go still not to worry can buy for every other team in the area iam sure franchise would be a way forward

[Sammy Chung was King]

I Don't think i would read in to less ticketing complaints,it might not be they have improved,it could be that people have just give up bothering.

[bobjimwilly]

I Don't think i would read in to less ticketing complaints,it might not be they have improved,it could be that people have just give up bothering.

ticketing is something else that I, personally, have never had a problem with? I'm must be a rate lucky sod

[les@donr]

Both the catering and Club Shop should be under the club's direct control. This would allows changes and improvement to be easier to make, rather than having to go through a third party.