Viking Supporters Co-operative
Viking Chat => Viking Chat => Topic started by: dickos1 on April 03, 2024, 08:40:58 am
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As a renowned “happy clapper” it’s very unusual for me to find something to moan about, especially after last night
But what is going off with the catering?
At the Crewe game there was no hot food left at all at half time, last night my lad wanted some chips at half time and the bloke told us there was a 20 min wait for chips.
What are they playing at?
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My Grandson watches Rovers and Manchester City.
I asked which team he preferred watching.
He replied 'Rovers, cos the chips are better' lol.
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The attendance was up about 50% so perhaps the caterers got their figures wrong regarding demand.
Things can get difficult when the chips are down.
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I went down just after the goal and queued throughout half time for a pie and a drink and missed first 5 minutes of second half. People still queuing and eating when I went back to my seat.
Too much choice possibly and not able to fulfil orders in the available time? We don’t need people frying chips or whatever at that point, there isn’t time. Keep it simple. Ready-cooked pies, sausage rolls etc.
I don’t normally bother with it at half-time but I hadn’t eaten so I reluctantly had to stick with the queue. I won’t bother again.
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The attendance was up about 50% so perhaps the caterers got their figures wrong regarding demand.
Things can get difficult when the chips are down.
The Crewe game though at half time they had no hot food left at all
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I used the outside catering van at half time for a cup of tea. Served very quickly, went back inside to see the queues still very long.
I think the outside vans tend to alternate their location between South and West but for bigger games, it would be helpful to have both to elevate the pressure on the inside concourse bars.
No matter what, they can't be expected to cope with everyone in that 20 min HT period. Getting anything is a bonus really.
The quantity of food ordered to match demand is another issue, but maybe more folk should be aware of the vans outside.
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I posted this earlier in the week, but I went to Sheff U vs Fulham and they only had one kiosk open for the stand - bonkers, they ran out of food and some drinks, and only had 4-5 items to choose from anyway.the queue was still a mile long well after the second half kicked off. So not just a DRFC issue.
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I used the outside catering van at half time for a cup of tea. Served very quickly, went back inside to see the queues still very long.
I think the outside vans tend to alternate their location between South and West but for bigger games, it would be helpful to have both to elevate the pressure on the inside concourse bars.
No matter what, they can't be expected to cope with everyone in that 20 min HT period. Getting anything is a bonus really.
The quantity of food ordered to match demand is another issue, but maybe more folk should be aware of the vans outside.
I didn’t know you could leave and re-enter the ground. Is everyone allowed to do that? Is it for smokers? Doesn’t seem practical for more than a handful of people.
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‘Speaking for the West Stand’, the club absolutely missed an opportunity for increased sales by not having both kiosks open.
The ‘call from the club’ was for Rovers fans to turn out in droves to support the team. The fans played their part & the club let them down.
Sorry for a negative post on what was a terrific game of football & a fantastic win for the boys but it is what it is.
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I used the outside catering van at half time for a cup of tea. Served very quickly, went back inside to see the queues still very long.
I think the outside vans tend to alternate their location between South and West but for bigger games, it would be helpful to have both to elevate the pressure on the inside concourse bars.
No matter what, they can't be expected to cope with everyone in that 20 min HT period. Getting anything is a bonus really.
The quantity of food ordered to match demand is another issue, but maybe more folk should be aware of the vans outside.
I didn’t know you could leave and re-enter the ground. Is everyone allowed to do that? Is it for smokers? Doesn’t seem practical for more than a handful of people.
It's definitely not compulsory to smoke. There are non smokers who come out for a bit of fresh air too.
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‘Speaking for the West Stand’, the club absolutely missed an opportunity for increased sales by not having both kiosks open.
The ‘call from the club’ was for Rovers fans to turn out in droves to support the team. The fans played their part & the club let them down.
Sorry for a negative post on what was a terrific game of football & a fantastic win for the boys but it is what it is.
Is it the club’s decision or the caterer’s.?
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Have to agree it’s another fail for the catering on an otherwise amazing night. 20 minutes to get a pint before the game meaning you have to neck it in record time to see kick off. You go for food 10 minutes before half time and they’ve got nothing left. The fancy new food never resembles what’s actually advertised.
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Don't forget to fill in the match surveys when you get the emails.
Just a general observation about many cafe's/pubs these days is it takes far too long to serve, even just single items. Everything is all very methodical. Even in pubs these days, when you get served at the bar, they expect you to follow them to the till to pay, rather than coming to you!!
Rarely can you ask for more than one item before they come back and ask you again. Multi tasking and teamwork is lacking.
Mass catering is never going to be perfect but we have to keep trying different things to speed up the service.
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I used the outside catering van at half time for a cup of tea. Served very quickly, went back inside to see the queues still very long.
I think the outside vans tend to alternate their location between South and West but for bigger games, it would be helpful to have both to elevate the pressure on the inside concourse bars.
No matter what, they can't be expected to cope with everyone in that 20 min HT period. Getting anything is a bonus really.
The quantity of food ordered to match demand is another issue, but maybe more folk should be aware of the vans outside.
I didn’t know you could leave and re-enter the ground. Is everyone allowed to do that? Is it for smokers? Doesn’t seem practical for more than a handful of people.
It's definitely not compulsory to smoke. There are non smokers who come out for a bit of fresh air too.
Maybe so but it’s never going to be practical or safe to allow thousands (or even hundreds) of people to exit then re-enter at HT. Turnstile staff have mainly clocked off by then anyway.
So the task is to feed and water a few thousand people in 15-20 minutes. Therefore it has to be very simple and quick. The overall offer has expanded to make more money but it can’t be done in the time available at HT.
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I used the outside catering van at half time for a cup of tea. Served very quickly, went back inside to see the queues still very long.
I think the outside vans tend to alternate their location between South and West but for bigger games, it would be helpful to have both to elevate the pressure on the inside concourse bars.
No matter what, they can't be expected to cope with everyone in that 20 min HT period. Getting anything is a bonus really.
The quantity of food ordered to match demand is another issue, but maybe more folk should be aware of the vans outside.
I didn’t know you could leave and re-enter the ground. Is everyone allowed to do that? Is it for smokers? Doesn’t seem practical for more than a handful of people.
It's definitely not compulsory to smoke. There are non smokers who come out for a bit of fresh air too.
Maybe so but it’s never going to be practical or safe to allow thousands (or even hundreds) of people to exit then re-enter at HT. Turnstile staff have mainly clocked off by then anyway.
So the task is to feed and water a few thousand people in 15-20 minutes. Therefore it has to be very simple and quick. The overall offer has expanded to make more money but it can’t be done in the time available at HT.
It wouldn't be thousands and it's nowt to do with turnstile staff. There's a couple of stewards who monitor the fenced off 'smoking' area by the exit doors.
All I'm suggesting is more folk could use it. Even if it's only 50 per stand, that's 50 less in the concourse queues.
We've touched on this many times and as said before, even taking the catering in house doesn't solve the logistics issues with sourcing and staffing etc. However, we should be able to put other measures in place a bit quicker.
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As a renowned “happy clapper” it’s very unusual for me to find something to moan about, especially after last night
But what is going off with the catering?
At the Crewe game there was no hot food left at all at half time, last night my lad wanted some chips at half time and the bloke told us there was a 20 min wait for chips.
What are they playing at?
Totally agree dickos.
I've just completed the online survey and I'm afraid I had to be very critical again about the standard of service at the drinks kiosk in West Stand concourse.
I queued for almost half an hour to get drinks before kick off; unbelievably frustrating. Loads of potential punters had to give in and walk away as kick-off approached.
I'm sorry but there is only one word to describe the staff in that kiosk last night: inept.
Other than that, a fantastic night!
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Oh for goodness sake it's catering at a 4th division football ground, get over it or don't use it
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https://x.com/amorrisracing/status/1775213245529198609?s=46&t=NW2HQZbSZTCyeJVxHL-jUg
On the flip side it looks like this Wrexham fan was in early and enjoyed his food.
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Oh for goodness sake it's catering at a 4th division football ground, get over it or don't use it
This sort of attitude would cost the club thousands of pounds.
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Oh for goodness sake it's catering at a 4th division football ground, get over it or don't use it
Wrong attitude.
Accept mediocrity & that’s what you’ll get.
Nobody’s asking for the earth here, just decent service & if that means more staff, more kiosks open, better staff training then that’s what needs looking at.
Queuing for 20 minutes for a pint 30 minutes before kick off to find part of the reason for the wait is that there are only 3 staff serving is unacceptable at any venue.
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Going against the grain here but 9 out of 10 matches this season it's been pretty decent in South Stand.
Quality of food is one of the best in this league. Service has been pretty quick too. Night and day compared to last season. Always improvements to be made but from where I usually sit it's been decent.
Having said that the two times I've been in the west stand (pre-season and cup game v Accrington) the catering was a free for all, so maybe it's just a West Stand issue...
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I would be quite happy if they opened all the west stand turnstiles. :chair:
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Oh for goodness sake it's catering at a 4th division football ground, get over it or don't use it
Get over what mick?
It’s a nonsense, we got there just as half time whistle blew and they had just started the chips, surely someone with half a brain cell would realise they need to start cooking the chips before half time not as the whistle goes.
And not having any hot food left at all as the half time whistle blows it’s ridiculous
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I find it hard to believe that people rely on catering at the ground for essential food or that someone can't go 110 -120mins without a pint especially at the prices they charge, maybe it's just me getting old but food beer at a football match doesn't go together, maybe it's just me getting old
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I find it hard to believe that people rely on catering at the ground for essential food or that someone can't go 110 -120mins without a pint especially at the prices they charge, maybe it's just me getting old but food beer at a football match doesn't go together, maybe it's just me getting old
Everyone has different match day expectations and there's no getting away from refreshments and food is part of many folks enjoyment.
I generally can take it or leave it . Sometimes I indulge and sometimes I don't, but you can understand those who might see it as more important like parents with kids who look forward to a treat at some point.
So, if we're going to do it, let's make a decent fist of it.
I just think if we could shift the basics quicker, tea, coffee, pop, crisps, etc, then there's more scope for the hot food etc, which are more complex to prepare, keep warm and serve while getting balance between quantity and quality.
The West stand can be a problem and rarely do we have all the counters open which can compound the frustrations.
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What about setting up some sort of app where we can order the food around 30mins in to be ready on the half time mark
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What about setting up some sort of app where we can order the food around 30mins in to be ready on the half time mark
We've done pre ordering before. I don't know what the current score is with that but again, it's one of many things that could be looked at.
Not sure what the shadow board have on the agenda these days but normally catering is rarely off it.
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What about setting up some sort of app where we can order the food around 30mins in to be ready on the half time mark
I ‘don’t do’ emojis but if I did I’d be searching for the one that has someone pi**ing their pants reading that post!
Sorry DRFCTom, but if someone (as happened last night) decides at 19.15 it would be a good time to start wiping the counter down & emptying the ‘overspills’ from glasses into a slop bucket whilst their two remaining colleagues continue to serve three queues that are now snaking past the concourse windows well, good luck with trusting anyone to ‘act’ on the app ordering.
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Uber Eats?
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What about setting up some sort of app where we can order the food around 30mins in to be ready on the half time mark
I ‘don’t do’ emojis but if I did I’d be searching for the one that has someone pi**ing their pants reading that post!
And why’s that?
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I find it hard to believe that people rely on catering at the ground for essential food or that someone can't go 110 -120mins without a pint especially at the prices they charge, maybe it's just me getting old but food beer at a football match doesn't go together, maybe it's just me getting old
Terrible attitude - it's all part of a modern match day experience.
Is there ever a good reason to not have good catering?
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Do we have someone who manages the catering contract?
Surely the caterers were told ticket sales were strong, there will be a big crowd, be ready for that busy couple of hours. They know when demand is going to be high.
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What about setting up some sort of app where we can order the food around 30mins in to be ready on the half time mark
I ‘don’t do’ emojis but if I did I’d be searching for the one that has someone pi**ing their pants reading that post!
And why’s that?
#27. Sorry Tom I was modifying the post whilst you were replying to my first reply.
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I still think we should have vending machines for cold drinks, chocolate, crisps etc. Most of them are card only and they could be re-stocked in the 1st half, one the catering crew could monitor 2 or 3 machines at once.
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I find it hard to believe that people rely on catering at the ground for essential food or that someone can't go 110 -120mins without a pint especially at the prices they charge, maybe it's just me getting old but food beer at a football match doesn't go together, maybe it's just me getting old
Terrible attitude - it's all part of a modern match day experience.
Is there ever a good reason to not have good catering?
Nothing to with attitude it's all about opinion
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Okay so just to clarify, because your opinion is "food and beer don't go together with football" our entire fanbase should be subjected to substandard catering within the ground?!
On the vending machines, I think this has been raised before but I can't understand why we don't have them - they are a quick win.
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No that is what it says on the tin OPINION
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.... I don't think the current Caterers would want direct Competition from street vendors outside at Half Time although they always seem to be there every game.
I'm surprised they haven't got an exclusivity clause in their Contract
I'm still surprised they don't install Vending machines which could sell basics Tea Coffee Crisps etc. That could up their take and be a win win because if 20% use the vendors then the rest of Staff could serve more of the rest of the customers who want the bigger ticket items
I think we still DO do HT drinks for Beer Lager with prepayment. If not maybe it could be brought back
It has worked every time I've used it in other Grounds.
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I find it hard to believe that people rely on catering at the ground for essential food or that someone can't go 110 -120mins without a pint especially at the prices they charge, maybe it's just me getting old but food beer at a football match doesn't go together, maybe it's just me getting old
Agreed
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.... I don't think the current Caterers would want direct Competition from street vendors outside at Half Time although they always seem to be there every game.
I'm surprised they haven't got an exclusivity clause in their Contract
I'm still surprised they don't install Vending machines which could sell basics Tea Coffee Crisps etc. That could up their take and be a win win because if 20% use the vendors then the rest of Staff could serve more of the rest of the customers who want the bigger ticket items
I think we still DO do HT drinks for Beer Lager with prepayment. If not maybe it could be brought back
It has worked every time I've used it in other Grounds.
It's not competition though because the burger vans take up the slack and offer alternatives to range of foods the concourses can't do.
On the subject of vending machines, when discussed sometime ago, the issues were around rent and maintenance charges of the machines even before stocking them. That doesn't mean it can't be looked at again though.
I often think why couldn't we have hot water urns and let fans pour their own tea and coffee etc but, you can bet the H&S police will knock that back just in case someone gets scalded by hot water!!
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Could always have this at Leeds??
Looks yummy.
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I was at an Ajax match last night and there was a great fast food operation outside the ground that could work in the concourse.
The FEBO fast food chain had a wall of what looked like clear perspex safety deposit boxes that the staff kept filling with hot food from the kitchen side. Customers then made contactless payment which unlocked the door on the public side and on the press of a button it popped open so customers could grab their hot burger/croquette/chips etc.
Something like that could really speed up the service in the concourse.
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There is a lot to be said for investment in technology but the realities still exist - putting the very small crowds at the Dons to one side, there are c30 occasions each season when catering is required for Rovers. This is typically for crowds of around 7,000 on average. The sales happen I would imagine from 2pm through to 4pm only. So that’s across a season a sale window of 60 hours. The volumes we are shifting in that window are probably not worth the capex when you will almost need a decent amount of opex to keep them running even if you can take out some headcount. The volumes just aren’t there and probably aren’t there for anyone to particularly bother excelling in the offer more generally.
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There is a lot to be said for investment in technology but the realities still exist - putting the very small crowds at the Dons to one side, there are c30 occasions each season when catering is required for Rovers. This is typically for crowds of around 7,000 on average. The sales happen I would imagine from 2pm through to 4pm only. So that’s across a season a sale window of 60 hours. The volumes we are shifting in that window are probably not worth the capex when you will almost need a decent amount of opex to keep them running even if you can take out some headcount. The volumes just aren’t there and probably aren’t there for anyone to particularly bother excelling in the offer more generally.
That doesn’t stack up.
The catering company don’t have to pay towards the upkeep of the kiosks they just have to concentrate on providing good quality food & have enough of it at hand because although that sales window may be small, if they don’t get quality & quantity of products right then they’re going to lose money through poor output.
Equally, if the food or drink isn’t being served quickly enough in that relatively small time frame sales will suffer, profits will be poor & all for the want of a ha’peth of tar.
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There is a lot to be said for investment in technology but the realities still exist - putting the very small crowds at the Dons to one side, there are c30 occasions each season when catering is required for Rovers. This is typically for crowds of around 7,000 on average. The sales happen I would imagine from 2pm through to 4pm only. So that’s across a season a sale window of 60 hours. The volumes we are shifting in that window are probably not worth the capex when you will almost need a decent amount of opex to keep them running even if you can take out some headcount. The volumes just aren’t there and probably aren’t there for anyone to particularly bother excelling in the offer more generally.
That doesn’t stack up.
The catering company don’t have to pay towards the upkeep of the kiosks they just have to concentrate on providing good quality food & have enough of it at hand because although that sales window may be small, if they don’t get quality & quantity of products right then they’re going to lose money through poor output.
Equally, if the food or drink isn’t being served quickly enough in that relatively small time frame sales will suffer, profits will be poor & all for the want of a ha’peth of tar.
No cbcb is right. DN4 Catering isn't going to invest in vending unless they will increase profit with the volumes.
To continue with the conversation we had with, I think it was Centreplate at the time, who said it was more cost effective to bring in more staff to dispense the items, than to hire or purchase vending machines. So, of course, we said crack on then. We then see an improvement (also pre ordering came in at the time) but inevitably, the improves were short lived as managers change, staff change, as they try to manage their profit margins.
If vending solutions were such a no brainer, we would have had them by now.