Food Concourse SS

[since-1969]

Say who ? What this was only Company willing to cater for our refind palet for a modest out lay .

[deebee]

Funny but when I posted about this earlier in the season I was ridiculed and the club was defended. Strange this poster hasn't, t received the same fate.

[wing commander]

   I have seen some improvements recently,the queing times had certainly decreased and a few of the niggles about incorrect menu's and broken fridges seem to have been sorted out..The quality of the food isn't good enough for me but at least some of the basics looked like they were being addressed...
   So that was a huge disappointment Saturday that for whatever reason they couldn't produce the product to sell at any point of the afternoon in the South Stand...
   So far people are complaining about the South Stand only...What was it like in the West??

[swintonrover]

Queueing time is bound to decrease with less people using them. Not being funny but I have no catering experience at all and reckon I could man one of them kiosks alone better than they currently are.

[WestYorkshireRover]

Centreplate just been bought out by Sodexo, see if anything improves? Can’t be any worse to be fair. £513 million!

[BillyStubbsTears]

Centreplate just been bought out by Sodexo, see if anything improves? Can’t be any worse to be fair. £513 million!

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/uk.mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUKKBN1DF0S2

Quote:
Sources on Wall St said,
"On paper this is an excellent acquisition, but doubts still persist about the quality of the Centerplate service. Analysts have calculated that a global roll-out of service on the "Keepmoat Model" would lead to Centerplate's worldwide turnover reducing to approximately tuppence-ha'penny. And the ale is like f**king gnat's piss, an all."

[German Rover]

Centreplate just been bought out by Sodexo, see if anything improves? Can’t be any worse to be fair. £513 million!

Sodexo are terrible. They provide pay as you done to a lot of the army's bases. Undercooked food tiny portions chips with everything. Sodexo are awful and no doubt they'll make things even worse than they are already.

[since-1969]

With all the knowledge of the provider and continual complaints by supporters it can only be thought that the club are fully aware of what is being provided and are unable to intervene probably for contractual reasons ?

[big fat yorkshire pudding]

Centreplate just been bought out by Sodexo, see if anything improves? Can’t be any worse to be fair. £513 million!

Sodexo are terrible. They provide pay as you done to a lot of the army's bases. Undercooked food tiny portions chips with everything. Sodexo are awful and no doubt they'll make things even worse than they are already.

They lost most of the contracts in the recent tender I think though.  I haven't heard great things about them either.  They're likely to keep the low cost model the previous company used as far as I'm aware.

[StocktonRover]

There will be no noticeable difference as the existing contract will Novate from Centreplate to Sodexo.
The only chance of change is if Sodexo want to try and make a fist of it within the existing contract parameters.

[Chris Black come back]

We were unhappy with the shambles of running the Keepmoat so took control ourselves.

We might make a better fist of catering if this was taken in house similarly.

Final punt on this. Reduce menu down to a few good pies and pasties. One decent lager, butter and cider. Tea, coffee, Bovril and soup. Pop. Get rid of all extraneous crap and focus on what folk want and be good (or at least competent) in delivering that focused offer.

[Bentley Bullet]

Nowt better than a pre-match couple o' pints of Lurpak! 

[wing commander]

   When people talk about going it alone I don't think they take into consideration just how big a operation it is..It's not just a few burgers and pies on the concourse for 2hrs every fortnight..Its all day everyday..The functions and conferences that are catered for,the restaurant,the weddings it's a big operation and comes as a total package and it just isn't feasible for us to do it ourselves..
   You would be hard pressed to go down the Keepmoat on any day and not find some outside conference happening...To be fair they cater for that very well,i went to a wedding there recently that they did and you wouldn't have believed it was the same company,you couldn't fault it...it's just the matchday catering that keeps falling short of expectations..

[DonnyBazR0ver]

Exactly. If it was that easy, why aren't clubs across the land doing it themselves. What you see on a match day is the tip of the iceberg.

What I would like to see is alternatives being allowed on the stadium perimeter with food vendors. They can offer something the Centeplates of this world can't and won't offer. I.e. Griddled burgers, hot dogs, kebabs, Fried chicken etc etc.

[anne honemous]

I think the club would benefit hugely from allowing a couple of big catering vans on site on matchdays.

They could park up close to the ticket office or round the West Stand where it's busy, serve burgers, hot dogs, etc, and would make a killing by being actually on the stadium site as the vast volume of folk will see their burger van on the way into or out of the stadium.

It's better than the rubbish food at rubbish prices, given by a rubbish service that is provided currently and has driven a lot of people away from using the catering kiosks.

[DonnyBazR0ver]

It was put forward as a suggestion as part of a 'Fan Park' some while ago. We have gained the fan area outside the BVB which is good, serving drinks and food from a bar outside. Also playing a bit of music which adds to the enjoyment. So thumbs up to the club/fan panel for making that happen.

When the Car Boot is there on Sundays, you see the outside vendors. Not sure why it can be done for a Car Boot but not a match?? I'm guessing the Vendors pay a fee for a pitch? I don't know. You'd think there's a compromise to be had to make it attractive enough for the vendors and Rovers getting something out of it.

[NickDRFC]

It was put forward as a suggestion as part of a 'Fan Park' some while ago. We have gained the fan area outside the BVB which is good, serving drinks and food from a bar outside. Also playing a bit of music which adds to the enjoyment. So thumbs up to the club/fan panel for making that happen.

When the Car Boot is there on Sundays, you see the outside vendors. Not sure why it can be done for a Car Boot but not a match?? I'm guessing the Vendors pay a fee for a pitch? I don't know. You'd think there's a compromise to be had to make it attractive enough for the vendors and Rovers getting something out of it.

It might be a contractual issue ie Centreplate are to be the only matchday caterers at the stadium on a matchday.

[silent majority]

It was put forward as a suggestion as part of a 'Fan Park' some while ago. We have gained the fan area outside the BVB which is good, serving drinks and food from a bar outside. Also playing a bit of music which adds to the enjoyment. So thumbs up to the club/fan panel for making that happen.

When the Car Boot is there on Sundays, you see the outside vendors. Not sure why it can be done for a Car Boot but not a match?? I'm guessing the Vendors pay a fee for a pitch? I don't know. You'd think there's a compromise to be had to make it attractive enough for the vendors and Rovers getting something out of it.

It might be a contractual issue ie Centreplate are to be the only matchday caterers at the stadium on a matchday.

That's exactly it.

[StocktonRover]

It was put forward as a suggestion as part of a 'Fan Park' some while ago. We have gained the fan area outside the BVB which is good, serving drinks and food from a bar outside. Also playing a bit of music which adds to the enjoyment. So thumbs up to the club/fan panel for making that happen.

When the Car Boot is there on Sundays, you see the outside vendors. Not sure why it can be done for a Car Boot but not a match?? I'm guessing the Vendors pay a fee for a pitch? I don't know. You'd think there's a compromise to be had to make it attractive enough for the vendors and Rovers getting something out of it.

It might be a contractual issue ie Centreplate are to be the only matchday caterers at the stadium on a matchday.

It would almost certainly be something like an exclusitivity clause.

What might have some possibility going forward is the splitting of the catering provision between corporate and general match day into two separate contracts. They are poles apart in standards, expectations and operating model.

Who knows, centreplate / Sodexo may be open to losing the loss side of their operation to a small vender who can offer the flexibility both inside and outside of the stadium?

[big fat yorkshire pudding]

Can't see it happening - if you take out the standard part and make it smaller you lose the efficiency that makes it profitable for them.

[StocktonRover]

If you take out the standard, and give them the exclusitivity for inside and outside the stadium footprint, the potential for profitable business outside will vastly contribute to turnover.
In addition, the external staff and facilities could support the internal set up with things like additional griddles food and staff during the game before picking up any trade externally after the game.

[i_ateallthepies]

It was put forward as a suggestion as part of a 'Fan Park' some while ago. We have gained the fan area outside the BVB which is good, serving drinks and food from a bar outside. Also playing a bit of music which adds to the enjoyment. So thumbs up to the club/fan panel for making that happen.

When the Car Boot is there on Sundays, you see the outside vendors. Not sure why it can be done for a Car Boot but not a match?? I'm guessing the Vendors pay a fee for a pitch? I don't know. You'd think there's a compromise to be had to make it attractive enough for the vendors and Rovers getting something out of it.

It might be a contractual issue ie Centreplate are to be the only matchday caterers at the stadium on a matchday.

It would almost certainly be something like an exclusitivity clause.

What might have some possibility going forward is the splitting of the catering provision between corporate and general match day into two separate contracts. They are poles apart in standards, expectations and operating model.

Who knows, centreplate / Sodexo may be open to losing the loss side of their operation to a small vender who can offer the flexibility both inside and outside of the stadium?

A perfectly sensible idea Stockton.  Far from being resisted by the incumbent provider it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if they were delighted to offload the match day food kiosk part of the deal.  Everything about their performance with it over the years shouts that they really have no interest in it, otherwise why would it be so poor when everything else they do at the stadium is widely reported to be very good.