Big mistake today not having a refreshments kiosk open on the west side of the North Stand. Meant that some folk had to queue for over half an hour. Not that they missed much of an awful match but not much fun for those who had to stand for so long.

Edited August 15, 200916 yr by L_G

What happened to the wee burger vans outside - surely it did enough trade to carry on this season?

Really think our catering needs looking into pronto...Clach's is so much better!

Mrs PB

Completely agree with above posts

Catering was farcical today. 1 kiosk open for the whole home support... What is all that about? A lot of people queued for over half an hour and then realised when they got to the front of the queue there was nothing there... Drinks machine out of order, no juice of any sort, no steak pies... What a good first impression for our new fans. I went at 5 past 3 and they had ran out of juice already...

Its about time the club ditched that awful D&M Whyte or whatever they are called and get someone in that can cook a decent pie and who know actually know what they are doing!

:(

They did announce that "due to unforseen circumstances" there were major problems with the catering, just for today. So relax, it will be sorted.

I'm sure that many people will have benefited from two hours without a pie.

There is a statement on the Official Site which also covers this.

I have to say, the standard of both the food and the service has never been adequate from our current provider. I know that a lot of us are fed up with barely edible food and Cups of Coffee where the tide is well and truley out.

We were discussing at the Clach game how embarassing it is to have a Highland League team providing top quality (indeed Award Winning!) food at better prices than ICT.

I think that a phone call from Mr Smith to "Dougal's" agent with the offer of a lucrative transfer across the City is needed.

There have been a few issues over the last few weeks as well as some problems last season. I met with Mike Smith after the game and he had issued the apology on the main site. It would seem that the other units should have been opened but there was some kind of misunderstanding.

I do know that they will have a meeting with the company who provide the catering in the coming week, so I'm sure your constructive critisism will be appreciated. They didn't even have milk for the tea today as they had run out. I would ask that the quality of the food be improved and the prices reviewed. I mean 60p for a packet of Polos is really taking the Mick. Forming an orderly queue shouldn't be too difficult and when they run out of stock, why do they let everyone queue for 20 mins to find out there are no pies/sausage rolls/juice/milk etc etc.

Thank goodness I decided to join the Kingsmills Club. We had lovely pies and coffee at half time :003:

So aside from the lack of facilities today, how else can they improve the catering?

ps I like the idea of contacting Dougal. They do Clach and County and have award winning football pies. :-)

Was the Burger van at the Nairn Games today ?

Lets get Harry Gows in :003:

What happened to the wee burger vans outside - surely it did enough trade to carry on this season?

Really think our catering needs looking into pronto...Clach's is so much better!

Mrs PB

must say the pie at clach was superb,pity the result wasnt as good

I think the fact that the club recognise there is a problem and aplogised is encouraging, I am sure there will be improvments now

Edited August 15, 200916 yr by stevico1

This was probably a ploy to get more people to join the Kingsmills club. :003:

Unforeseen circumstances my hairy starfish, the Nairn games were on and G&M Shyte thought they would make a fast buck there knowing that we would be a captive audience during the quiet winter months.

I like the staff but we are being robbed blind and are being provided with a sub standard service.

Why is it that a company from Keith provides catering in Inverness?

I for one will now be extremely choosy about what I accept as a pie from these charlatans, no more dried up crap for me, it's top quality or its returned with a complaint to management.

As valued customers we should be provided with a product which will enhance the match day experience, and not muck from the crooks whose only interest is making a fast buck because they happened to be the biggest concession payer.

How many people will not return after today's debacle? First home league match of the season and there are two people serving the main and north stands. This is just the impression we need to encourage more people to the stadium.

Note to club management:- Get rid of these clowns.

Note to club directors :- If above not carried out get rid of Smith.

I am a very unhappy slightly less fat fecker.

Have yo say I felt a bit sorry for the people serving today as they were taking a lot of flak. I spoke to the lady that served me and she said there were a lot of other events being covered by the company today and that they had been misinformed by the club re the size of the crowd. I can only assume they thought it was main stand only. I asked whether the other servery would be open at the next game and was assured yes. I do think however that the club would do better running the catering themselves. They cpuld charge more reasonable prices and the profit would go to the club. I did ask re this in the last boardroom banter but it appears the catering is out to contract. Maybe if the powers that be has to put up with the crap the fans do they might be a bit more sympathetic. Having kids the Kingsmills club is a no no so I'm glad LG enjoyed her pie but as for the rest of us a very frustrating experience. Maybe for once the club should be asking the fams what kind of service we want. By the way the only soft drink avaiable at 2.20 pm was irn bru so they did'nt run out.

Reading the apology on official site I think it was the caterers who were at fault and not the club.

Sorry Alex but the club would say that would'nt they? But regardless of blame today was a disaster in the catering dept.

Edited August 15, 200916 yr by old caley girl

Sorry Alex but the club would say that would'nt they? But regardless of blame today was a disaster in the catering dept.

I also don't buy passing the buck onto the caterers as it has been below par for a while and is the clubs responsibility to make sure all the things like this are up to scratch, however they have recognised there is a problem so will hopefully address it

The club were totally blameless on the catering issues today (aside from using an inferior company to start with).

The caterers turned up with no CO2 gas for the juice machines, no staff to cover anything other than the pods in the main stand and they wouldn't have had enough food to cover a friendly (they would have struggled to cover a Highalnd League Game), let alone a full crowd.

How "misinformed" could they have been on crowd size, and how does that explain no gas, no milk, and (allegedly) less than 500 hot food items?

The catering at our ground has been appalling at our ground for some years now.

latest rumour has it that the catering company buy the cheapest of cheap pies from farmfoods for selling at our games.

noting wrong with farmfoods pies - but when you're being charged ?1.60 odd for a pie that costs 4 for ?1 or something... well that is daylight robbery!!

60p for polos? don't eat them - but i'm sure that must be nearly 100% mark up!

absolutely abysmal

i remember buying a pie and it was not the slightest bit hot in the middle and burnt on the bottom. took it back and it was as if it was my fault!! got a replacement which he's stuck a thermometer in and it was still cold in the middle!

the catering is a joke!

I have removed my post because I feel it was a bit harsh.

Edited August 15, 200916 yr by birdog

Glad the club have taken the initiative, apologised and are aware there is a problem. They cannot in future have a situation where you get a top notch pie in hospitality but a crap one in the stands. That just won't do.

Good quality pies throughout the stadium please!!

If as I heard the staff and the resources were all at the Narin Games, then if G&M Whyte are still the caterers at the next home game the club should be ashamed of themselves after the way the fans were treated today. It's not like it's the first time either, they let the club down because there was a bigger buck to be made a bit further East along the A96. It's not as if the catering is up to much, that their going would be much of a loss.

At the very least, let the main stand stall or the west stand portacabin out to a different contractor than the main stand. Having two competing contractors should at least ensure that there's at least 2 outlets open!

Constructive questions for Mr Smith...

1. Why are the fans in the stands not given the same pies as those in Hospitality/The Kingsmills?

2. Why, with other grounds (not just SPL) offering their fans Pizza, Hotdogs, etc are we still subjected to dried up Macaroni Pies and cold "Steak" Pies.

3. Why are we using a company from Keith, when we have an Award Winning Supplier in Inverness?

4. There was also big problems with the catering, or lack of it....at the Montrose game. why, if only one stand is to be opened, is there not adequate provisions made? Vans outside would help take the pressure off the Serving Areas, and give the fans some choice! Surely there must be quite a few Hot Food vans in the Highlands - could the club investigate this?

Mrs PB

I'm amazed those in the Kingsmills suite eat meat pies. I thought they would be more volivonts and cucumber sandwich kinds of people...

:024:

I'm amazed those in the Kingsmills suite eat meat pies. I thought they would be more volivonts and cucumber sandwich kinds of people...

:024:

Britains class structure (if you believe we still have one?) has changed hugely in my lifetime, nearly everyone is middle class now.. So is it any wonder things have changed?. Thatcher wiped out the working class..

Edited August 16, 200916 yr by birdog

I'm amazed those in the Kingsmills suite eat meat pies. I thought they would be more volivonts and cucumber sandwich kinds of people...

They get all that stuff too, Kt...

I got a chance to sample a Kingsmills suite pie once...

It was filled with the finest, leanest and purest steak imagineable, and was absolutely delicious...

Sorry... these pies are far to good for the likes of you!

I'm amazed those in the Kingsmills suite eat meat pies. I thought they would be more volivonts and cucumber sandwich kinds of people...

They get all that stuff too, Kt...

I got a chance to sample a Kingsmills suite pie once...

It was filled with the finest, leanest and purest steak imagineable, and was absolutely delicious...

Sorry... these pies are far to good for the likes of you!

Kingsmills Suite is no longer - it's the Kingsmills Club now and not a cucumber or a vol-a-vent in sight. Good pies though :024:

Maybe the club were expecting a smaller crowd, because i certainly was