Scarlet Pimple

Witless loon :002:

:015: :015: What a load of cobblers! And you believed it all! :rotflmao: :rotflmao: It would never happen at ICT. :028: :028: :028: :028:

It's the Government who wants immigrants so that they vote for them as soon as they set foot upon the Shore. :symbol_exclaim01:

My eyes opened wide when I saw John Hughes mentioned --great passion and great experience. Outgoing as they come. He really could be a great Hibs Manager and frankly if John could ....erm....consider taking electrocution lessons I would fancy his chances of success at getting the Scotland job and his future success too. I am sure that with his .....connections....he could.... spark..... any new team into life . A player's man if every I heard one. :crazy07: :022:

Drochit Blue Slip him a wee dram, then he won't feel it. :003:

There are some very valid points raised here: My business Discount Plan was originally formulated for brand new clients who had contacted me through responses to my advertising or through a recommendation from another person, possibly one of my customers. I used the standard price in all initial negotiations because I wanted to do the job first so that the quality of the work which I did would be very evident and gave me the platform upon which to sell my Plan. Of course, if the job presented unusual difficulties ,or I devined that I might be gettingg involved with a customer who could prove to be a problem in the future, I would allow myself the option of increasing the standard price before quoting it to him/her. In almost all cases the price worked out at standard rates was sufficient and then after we had negotiated the terms of the job frequency and the relevant Discount applicable I allocated this discount to that standard rate. Doing so, and not trying to finaigle every situation is the simplest, most effective and honest way to do business because if you treat every client on an equal basis you can avoid the pitfalls of receiving a call from a client who is unhappy because he /she has heard of a friend getting a Discount which they do not have. So, to offset the possibility of that happening I then expanded the Plan to include existing clients which also allowed me to engage in more public advertising knowing that I had nothing to hide and could give a straight answer to a straight question if asked. This cemented my existing client relationships and meant that every client was treated in exactly the same manner and also gave me the opportunity of getting most of my existing clients to authorise me to come and do the work on a regularly scheduled basis automatically, without having to telephone them every time that the schedule showed the job was due . Telephoning alone can be very time-consuming since Canadian customers don't often answer messages left on voice mail and even if you can talk to them directly you sometimes have to be very persuasive to get their permission because they have other financial priorities to contend with also, or have to repeatedly 'phone them back to try to get them at home. The ceding of control to me obviated all that and a simple card sytem was all I needed to make sure that I did not overlook any future job date. The Discounts that I propose for ICT relate as much to the fan who does NOT necessarily want to buy a full season ticket but would like a cheaper price to induce them to attend more games. So the club in this case ensures that the percentage discount applicable under my scheme is less than that allocated for a full season ticket....the more you buy the greater the discount. This might, in turn, mean that they may require to increase the discount on a season ticket which is not a bad thing because it should induce the fan to buy one rather than not buy one, which is the preferred route for the club. However, they could also offer a further discount for the last series of games in the season to those clients who had used the rolling scheme a lot by giving them a discount bonus at the end of the season. Yes there is work to administer the scheme but .....so what? If it results in additional revenue then hire a couple of smart young people and have someone check their work from time to time since we know that there must be proper checks and balances in place. Doing it online of course, accompanied by the direct debit, is the most efficient way of handling it. The fan will need to select the series of games themselves of course and the seats would have to be available but the computer handle the bookings as if you were buying theatre tickets. My main point is that the first step for the club is to initiate either this or a similar plan FIRST and then subsequently fine-tune it to suit developing circumstances. That's work--so be it---the club must go to the people and say "heh folks, we want your business and support and this is what we are trying to do, call us" and not expect the public to come to you. The last thing that I would like to suggest is for the Club to set up a competition to involve all fans and the public asking them to send in suggestions for business development to the club. Then make up a panel from the most committed of supporters (maybe) to judge what they consider to be the best entries. The Management must also have a representative sitting on this panel to engage themselves directly with the fans who volunteer their time to show Management's commitment also to what should be a serious promo campaign. Then, on an ongoing basis, one or more selections are tried to see how they work. The most successful ideas can become a permanent advertisng tool and if adopted the originator of that idea should receive a handsome prize...free tickets, free top or a voucher to spend in the gift store, but worth at least 100 pounds, perhaps more ......OR....a percentage of any increase in sales resulting from his/her suggestion which I think is a great incentive to think about this and ICT!. :004:

Thank you Ronaldo. You know how to win friends and influence people.! :002: Dealing with the great unwashed pubic for twenty eight years has taught me a thing or two, I can tell you. :029: Survival being one... :001: As I see it you have to break out of the old mould, catch the eye with the right approach and at least try. I truthfully don't know how hard ICT are trying to be that innovative but I just feel that the prices are too high and a different approach is mandatory to increase the crowds.

Well.................................that too! :016: I must say , F.W., you are a daunting , daring, darling, delightful, doll. But I can't really tell if ah want you fer yersel until I see a photo --but you can always send one to me via email, email or, alternatively, email. And then you would find out how shy I really am :002: But then again....sigh....maybe you like living on the edge but won't be able to handle that challenge .....mmmmmmmmmm? :028:

Of course you could always tempt him to enter the fray by sending him a bottle of Canajin whusky.. Aye! And then he would be COMING through the rye , bejabbers. Oh , how you flatter to possibly deceive , petal? But I am sure IHE will be UP to the challenge. :015:

Tempt him dearie?---- my goodness you tempt me.... :crazy07:

Ye I get the same feeling. One thing is for sure , if Caey Thistle go one down thenit will not stop them from fighting back. Should be some game I will bet that the stadium will be full--and buzzing. :clapping03:

He :002:had a low centre of gravity. ..Sniff

Ach but the Mexicans canna get intae this country as easily as they get intae the U.S. But that huge fence George Bush is erecting right along the Mexican-U.S. Border will keep a lot of the ones with rickets out I am sure. So far eh hivnae seen too many sombreros in Vancouver. No sun, thet's why! :029: :001:

I'm checking to see whether it was in Monday's Vancouver Province. I bought the paper and have not even picked it up to read it yet. :001:

I agree that the Discount scheme that I proposed should and could be spread over the whole season. The use of this scheme menas that a fan does not need to buy a full season's worth of games (i.e season ticket) but , in order to get top value from the Discounted games , he or she must go to all three, four or six games selected. It's like a rolling renewal every 3rd, 4th game etc. How I worked it in my business was that I was not giving any discounts but I realised that the compettion was fierce and that I had to offer something to get more customers. So I said "O.K. you like my first job, would you like to become a regular customer" The reply was often ''Yeah.. how often do you think ?" or "what would you give as a discount if I go three times a year?" and I woudlrepoly ..10% off. Then I realised that giving the discount on each consecutive job was not going to work because thatr way I had no control over the customer's fickeness. So then I put together a paper authorisation for me to come and do the work automatically without further reference to the client being needed ,which they signed and this mini-contract assured them of the ultimate discount, I also included a clause that this arrangement would go on ad infinitum until they chose to cancel without any penalty being attracted to cancellation.. This latter clause made them feel that they had control but I knew that if I kept doing a good job and kept future price increases to a minimum then they would rarely cancel because they needed the service. The outcome was great and I kept many many clients for well over 15 years, and some over 20 years. The key for me was the fact that I did not need to telephone them because when you do that it can open up a can of worms and you are subject to their whims-of-the-day. But after the job is done they just accept it and send the cheque and forget about you until the next time. And the less that I talk to the customer the better since "out of sight out of mind " is always a good policy especially when if you open your mouth you can put your foot in it , even inadvertently. ICT can also do the same. Whether we like it or not the fact remains that there is no shame or penalty in giving something back to the fan so long as they agree to continue to show up. It's just good business sense. If ICT produce a spirited team and lots of effort and thrills this scheme could be a winner. Just a suggestion. :002:

Charles I am happy that her Mr Right showed up. Nice lass miss Goodsir,she had a very pleasant disposition.. hope she is reading this. :016: The truth was that she was a new teacher and some of the lads took advantage of this and tried to push her around. What I liked about her was that she handled it well and never lost her cool. :022:

Strachan's " Inverness Caley ....can't believing that they have won a a game of football" was a very sour-grapes, tactlesss, insult. He certainly does not understand how to win friends and influence people. And hopefully his board will still be cringeing at and after his post- match analysis. I dont think he will be long at Parkhead unless he wins every game from now until the end of the season. :33:

12th man that was a very amusing remark...."Ariel" display supported by "Crouching Dragon". That was quite a film wasn't it with people running up walls as if they were flat roadways. :021: Very apt comment 12th man. The only eyebrow raiser was why you did not type it all in Ariel format instead of Hard Times New Roman. :023:

Right on that ex-pat in Canada. :clapping03:

Miss Cuthbert was a diminutive wee cutie. And she liked Mr MacPherson too! I saw it in her body language when he came thundering around with his cape flying, his tackety brogues a thumping and his 6 foot 3 manly frame giving her the shivers. His fine head of sleekit hair did nothing to undermine his appeal . She was nice to me giving me the accolade of being first in the class at the end of the 5th year so I liked her quite a lot until she made the class titter by referring to me as a cockerel--must have been something about the way my hairstyle caught her attention I suppose or maybe it was just plain ole lust . All us young boys have all these dreams don't we. :015: She was on a par with Miss Goodsir the Geography teacher.who also had prominent female charms but I am not absolutely certain that her teaching style measured up since she seemed a little shy, forby. And thank you Scotty for allowing an older man to digress and reminisce about the good old days. Keeps us healthy doesn't it Charles? :003:

The club must start in true entrepreneurial spirit by innovative marketing. What about the simple one to start with: First three consecutive games at full price and the fourth consecutive game at 40% off (equivalent to 10% per game) Or First four consecutive games at standard price and the fifth at 75% off (equivalent to 15% off per game). I worked a scheme like this in my business and it worked very well.After I had hooked a barrowload of clients I stopped worrying about the discounts since I had steady income that was my bread and butter; the discounts were viewed correctly as the cost of doing business and it certainly built up a core of loyal clients even if the loyalty was based as much on the reduced prices as their love for me. Whatever the club chooses to do it must be shown to be innovative, customer orientated and give real value back to the customer for their loyalty and support. :rolleyes02: S>P>

Aye and Niculae-- Romanian is close to Polish is it not? And if not then no one can say Niculae is not a POLIShed player can they? Hoch! Hoch! :015:

Setanta can be added to the Cable bill--for a big PRICE. The question is , as always, would it be worth it since there is no guarantee that you would see ICT more than once a season? I would much rather GIVE MY MONEY TO THE CLUB. :crazy07: Scotty is right about the Media rights.--time for all of us overseas posters to form a united front and start putting pressure of the ICT Board to help us out---fer heaven's sake. C'mon the Board, shake a leg and put in a subscription-based video link. Here is my cheque right now so what arey you---and we--- waiting for?--fer heaven's sake. :029:

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What makes the difference is fitness and spirit. So, whoever comes in, they must tie in to that ethic to succeed. If they are lazy they will require to change attitude or languish under Brewster (at least I think this ) on the bench or worse. :rolleyes02: