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Fans Consultancy Group Meeting


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I think with the breaking news over the last day or so about Manchester City/PSG and Financial Fair Play, now would be a good time to get a proper assurance (no smoke, mirrors etc) that we are not going to fall foul of FA/UEFA/FIFA fingering on the matter. They may not go for City or PSG, but would go for a minnow like us.

The way Purslow spoke at the unveiling of Dean Smith seemed to be 'we carry on regardless' like some magical wand has been waved. Is this just a case of him knowing all the loopholes (which could close around us), or are we genuinely okay now?

I can't help feeling that we've kind of got all our eggs in this season's basket. How could we be so far in the poop during the summer, then everything is now okay - without obvious financial doping?

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1 hour ago, Raver50032 said:

I think with the breaking news over the last day or so about Manchester City/PSG and Financial Fair Play, now would be a good time to get a proper assurance (no smoke, mirrors etc) that we are not going to fall foul of FA/UEFA/FIFA fingering on the matter.

It's the EFL FFP that we are concerned about. UEFA and the Premier League have their own set of (less rigorous) rules that are not of any concern to us.

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On 01/11/2018 at 13:45, rodders0223 said:

With regards to half time food, I ordered burger and chips last home game. Got handed an absolute rancid dried piece of shit burger and no chips.

"Sorry, I ordered chips aswell."

 

"No, you didn't."

 

**** bunch of useless words removed.

I’ve seen several posts about half time service issues.

Now, I wouldn’t dream of suggesting people change their routines, but I would say that if you go to a kiosk 40 minutes before kick off there’s no queues and if anything is wrong it’s rectified quickly and easily.

I agree with the comments about the staff, they are not in a role where it’s easy to be committed, and there are problems, but there are far less at 2:15 than at 3:45, as one would expect.

And even a big fat so and so like me can go from 2:15 until after the game without eating again at half time .

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48 minutes ago, terrytini said:

I’ve seen several posts about half time service issues.

Now, I wouldn’t dream of suggesting people change their routines, but I would say that if you go to a kiosk 40 minutes before kick off there’s no queues and if anything is wrong it’s rectified quickly and easily.

I agree with the comments about the staff, they are not in a role where it’s easy to be committed, and there are problems, but there are far less at 2:15 than at 3:45, as one would expect.

And even a big fat so and so like me can go from 2:15 until after the game without eating again at half time .

What about an evening game where you go straight from work and don’t get there just before ko? Plus if everyone turned up as early as you suggest, then there would be the same issues at that time.

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4 hours ago, mikeyp102 said:

What about an evening game where you go straight from work and don’t get there just before ko? Plus if everyone turned up as early as you suggest, then there would be the same issues at that time.

I was just making the observation in case it helped anyone.

If you get there just before kick off there is still a lot less crowding than half time.

And yes, of course, if everyone turned up “ at the same time “ there’d be the same issues.......but that’s kind of the point.....hundreds DO turn up in a 15 minute interval. There are 1 1/2 hours available before the game, and even longer if you eat before entering the ground.

 

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18 hours ago, terrytini said:

 

And even a big fat so and so like me can go from 2:15 until after the game without eating again at half time .

This. For the life of me, I just don't see the mad panic/need for an overpriced scalding hot/lukewarm pie with a blob of sauce on it especially when you know the queues will be massive at peak times.

Is it part of one's matchday routine or just "something to do" ? I agree that going straight from work to a game might mean you need some grub (I'd plan ahead and make a sandwich, myself) but like @terrytinisays, surely you can go without for a short while therefore avoiding the aggro and annoyance that comes with queuing and missing the start of a half ?

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There's no panic or need for food.

But at half time, especially when it's cold, it's nice to go down inside and get a pie or a coffee or something and warm up and fill your belly.

The ability to do this shouldn't be taken from you because the staff can only serve one person every 5 minutes. You shouldn't have to leave your seat 5 minutes before half time just to get one beer.

Obviously we could all just not eat or drink. but that's a pretty shitty solution isn't it? We could all just hold in our piss too or not make a bet but that wouldn't be a good excuse to take the toilets or the betting outlets away would it?

 

Nobody needs a pie. Nobody needs a bet. Nobody needs a program. But these are all things that are part of the matchday experience for a lot of people.
"Just don't have one then" isn't a good answer.

Edited by Stevo985
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The way it's going with this FFP every club will be investigated with in depth searching for all sorts. If FFP is to stand for what it's to bend and for then something is going to have to be done. As it stand every person who set up FFP and signed looks like they set it up all for nothing because there is obviously abuse to the system and it isn't working rite. The only way to sort the mess is to either abolish FFP or get strict with FFP and enforce the rules.

Didn't Purslow reassure us we was working within the rules while he was sat next to Terry in that interview abit ago.

Edited by Dave-R
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I have never been to a football stadium where I haven't had to queue for a piss/ pie/ pint. I think 'get there early or go without' is a fair response to anyone who moans about queuing. 

As for the poor service that some of the staff give, that's a different matter. They might be on measly paid temporary contracts, but that's no excuse for being rude or arrogant.

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2 hours ago, Stevo985 said:

There's no panic or need for food.

But at half time, especially when it's cold, it's nice to go down inside and get a pie or a coffee or something and warm up and fill your belly.

The ability to do this shouldn't be taken from you because the staff can only serve one person every 5 minutes. You shouldn't have to leave your seat 5 minutes before half time just to get one beer.

Obviously we could all just not eat or drink. but that's a pretty shitty solution isn't it? We could all just hold in our piss too or not make a bet but that wouldn't be a good excuse to take the toilets or the betting outlets away would it?

 

Nobody needs a pie. Nobody needs a bet. Nobody needs a program. But these are all things that are part of the matchday experience for a lot of people.
"Just don't have one then" isn't a good answer.

I fully agree with all of that.

In fact I was mocked recently for buying a program “ you can find out much more on the net” but I’ve been doing it for 50 years and I will do it for another 50 all being well !

I know you were responding to a follow on from my Post and not my OP but I was originally just trying to suggest that there were some decent alternatives to spending half time getting annoyed at the crap service. Personally I’ve never considered missing any of the game just for a beer either - I didn’t when I was a drinker and even less so now. I guess I’m just saying that given (a) the service is crap and (b) 15 minutes of hundreds of people is never going to much good whatever they do, that maybe for some a change of routine would be better than the misery.

But hey, whatever .

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16 minutes ago, Rob182 said:

I have never been to a football stadium where I haven't had to queue for a piss/ pie/ pint. I think 'get there early or go without' is a fair response to anyone who moans about queuing. 

As for the poor service that some of the staff give, that's a different matter. They might be on measly paid temporary contracts, but that's no excuse for being rude or arrogant.

In the middle of last season I bought a pie ( at about 1:40) which was cold. The assistant took it to the chef who immediately went into a Basil Fawlty style meltdown - a mouthful of swearing then he ripped his chefs apron off, threw his hate down , and cleared off !

?

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53 minutes ago, wilko154 said:

Someone to ask the Prize Where It Lies contestants to kick the ball to the right of the circle instead of trying to swing the ball into the dugouts.

 

For Gods sake change the competition it’s becoming actually depressing ! 

Or say you Win as long as it DOESNT go on the ball thingy.

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21 minutes ago, Rob182 said:

I have never been to a football stadium where I haven't had to queue for a piss/ pie/ pint. I think 'get there early or go without' is a fair response to anyone who moans about queuing. 

But nobody is moaning about having to queue. People are moaning about joining a queue at the stroke of half time with 6 people in front of you and not getting served until the second half has kicked off.

People are moaning that the queues are twice as long and slow as they would be if the service was better. And it's not like it needs to be AAA standard service. Anyone who has been served a pie and a coffee at VP knows that it is **** painful. Even an average performance would improve things so much.

 

It's like if you went to the Post Office to get some money changed into Euros, and the queue was twice as long as it should be because the person changing the money was counting 

each

note

out

like

this

1

2

3

4

 

You'd rightly moan that it was taking forever and if the staff member was any good at their job then loads more people would get served. You wouldn't be moaning that you had to queue, you'd be moaning that it was taking way longer than it should.

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2 minutes ago, Stevo985 said:

Anyone who has been served a pie and a coffee at VP knows that it is **** painful. Even an average performance would improve things so much.

 

Yep absolutely, unless my daughter is really nagging me I try and avoid it at all costs.

The service makes me embarrassed in so many ways. The state of the education system in our country, the assumed zero training people get before they work there, the fact its been like this for the best part of 20 years and I've never seen the club do anything to improve the situation. 

Ordering food/drinks at almost every other sports/music venue in the country is an instantly forgettable experience. Trying to do the same at Villa and it feels like your talking to a hedge. 

In general I hate to judge people so I'll assume its not an education problem and that some of these folks will go on to become CEO's of successful companies. It's the club it has to be the club. 

 

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Yeah the service down at VP for getting food is absolutely pitiful. The amount of times I've been given the wrong food, the wrong change, the wrong notes is shocking. It all just adds to the time people are queuing because I'm always stood there arguing that they're wrong.

There's maybe a handful of competent employess who actually have an idea of what they should be doing and serve people quickly. The whole system needs an overhaul. I don't get why they don't have 1x Tea and 1x Coffee ready made on standby all the time. It takes them ages to make them when the same person serving you is the same person making the drinks. 

Edited by PieFacE
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10 minutes ago, Stevo985 said:

But nobody is moaning about having to queue. People are moaning about joining a queue at the stroke of half time with 6 people in front of you and not getting served until the second half has kicked off.

People are moaning that the queues are twice as long and slow as they would be if the service was better. And it's not like it needs to be AAA standard service. Anyone who has been served a pie and a coffee at VP knows that it is **** painful. Even an average performance would improve things so much.

 

It's like if you went to the Post Office to get some money changed into Euros, and the queue was twice as long as it should be because the person changing the money was counting 

each

note

out

like

this

1

2

3

4

 

You'd rightly moan that it was taking forever and if the staff member was any good at their job then loads more people would get served. You wouldn't be moaning that you had to queue, you'd be moaning that it was taking way longer than it should.

If every Post Office was like that, then I'd probably just think "this is the way Post Offices are".

If I thought about it about more, then I'd probably conclude that it's to do with the fact that 20,000+ people are all trying to get their money changed at the same time in a small area, and that the job isn't exactly for high-fliers, so will only attract temp workers or those that can only get a low paid job. I'd then decide to not go to the Post Office, or to leave it until another time.

As I said, I've never been to a football ground in the country where I haven't had to queue for at least 5 minutes (at the very best), and where the people taking the money are anything other than pond life or people who clearly don't care about reducing the size of the queues. I'm sure this issue has been raised a number of times before in the past 10 years, and each time it doesn't get any better. At this point, I'm bored of us asking. They probably know that it's a lost cause.

What can they do? Employ more people? They all just seem to get in the way of each other as it is. Renovate to create a better layout? Maybe that's the answer. Better staff? I doubt you'll get that without overpaying, which we're probably avoiding from top to bottom now.

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Please please can someone ask what is going on with appointing a new official ticket resale partner?

It used to be Seatwave, but that deal ran out at the end of last season.  Since then I've heard nothing?

I usually get to around 10 or so games a season, and Seatwave used to be great for getting decent last minute seats, which unlike the official site, weren't in singles dotted in random places with limited visibility.

 

Thanks in advance!!!

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3 minutes ago, Rob182 said:

If every Post Office was like that, then I'd probably just think "this is the way Post Offices are".

If I thought about it about more, then I'd probably conclude that it's to do with the fact that 20,000+ people are all trying to get their money changed at the same time in a small area, and that the job isn't exactly for high-fliers, so will only attract temp workers or those that can only get a low paid job. I'd then decide to not go to the Post Office, or to leave it until another time.

As I said, I've never been to a football ground in the country where I haven't had to queue for at least 5 minutes (at the very best), and where the people taking the money are anything other than pond life or people who clearly don't care about reducing the size of the queues. I'm sure this issue has been raised a number of times before in the past 10 years, and each time it doesn't get any better. At this point, I'm bored of us asking. They probably know that it's a lost cause.

What can they do? Employ more people? They all just seem to get in the way of each other as it is. Renovate to create a better layout? Maybe that's the answer. Better staff? I doubt you'll get that without overpaying, which we're probably avoiding from top to bottom now.

But that's the point. Every "post office" isn't like that. Every post office has a queue. But all the other post offices queues go twice as fast as your one.

You've said it yourself, you queue for 5 minutes at other grounds. Have you bought something at half time at Villa Park? You'd be lucky to get served in 5 minutes if you were the only person at the entire kiosk.

I don't know what the solution is. But my suggestion would be to have a trained supervisor on every kiosk who actually knows what they're doing. They're half way there. They have one person taking the money and another one running. But it's executed poorly. The person taking the money just stands there until you get served anyway while the "runner" plods slowly to the fridge to get your beer.

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