shop and ticket office to go

[Joe DiMaggio]

How can a 1st division club with an aim to getting back to the spl not have a club shop. Surely they should keep it there for match days at least. And how often do pople go down during the week to buy merchandice they could always keep the shop and get someone at the club to open it when someone comes down. Match day sales alone should justify keeping it open for those days at least. Is there any other club who doesnt have a shop? Our shop was a bit of a joke anyway among other fans as it is only a portacabin, which was really poor for an spl side but now with none at all. What next!

[L_G]

How can a 1st division club with an aim to getting back to the spl not have a club shop. Surely they should keep it there for match days at least. And how often do pople go down during the week to buy merchandice they could always keep the shop and get someone at the club to open it when someone comes down. Match day sales alone should justify keeping it open for those days at least. Is there any other club who doesnt have a shop? Our shop was a bit of a joke anyway among other fans as it is only a portacabin, which was really poor for an spl side but now with none at all. What next!

My understanding is that there will be a matchday shop, not sure of the venue though. Don't know if they will keep the portacabin or operate from within the stadium the way they did before

[ICTBTTH]

Such a shame. Will miss going in there before the game if it is true.

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Oh dear - looks like the Self Preservation Society is back up and running again. Pay cuts but it is still money for the boys !! Surely they should keep a stock in the Reception area and a welcome for the odd passers by during the week as I take it tickets will be picked up from reception. I still think the idea of running a stall in the town centre a couple of days a week and at the ground on a match day would bring in the tourist spondoolachs.

Why is it the muppets cant feckin think "out of the box" ?

[stevico1]

Oh dear - looks like the Self Preservation Society is back up and running again. Pay cuts but it is still money for the boys !! Surely they should keep a stock in the Reception area and a welcome for the odd passers by during the week as I take it tickets will be picked up from reception. I still think the idea of running a stall in the town centre a couple of days a week and at the ground on a match day would bring in the tourist spondoolachs.

Why is it the muppets cant feckin think "out of the box" ?

Agree, it would be worth a try for a couple of months , along with some more imaginative merchandise I am sure it would bring in some dosh

Edited August 7, 2009 by stevico1

[Dmacca]

Backward step getting rid of the shop, always find the ladies very friendly and welcoming, its good to have an outlet at the ground.

Agree with the Immortal one with regards to the stall, simple ideal that would im sure would reap rewards, take the club to the people.

[Libero]

in the current financial climate where all revenue streams should be utilised it is sad news that the shop and ticket office is being closed, the hard work of the staff and its associated revenue will be missed.

[tm4tj]

Impeccable timing with the season about to start, give everyone something to help muddy the waters.

Is this the start of downsizing for the long haul?

[kencar]

Another morale sapping decision

[absent friend]

Does profit from sales cover cost of keeping shop running? Can it be done cheaper/better?

Is this not a time when ALL areas of expenditure must be considered and action taken, if required.

There are a lot of 'nice' people being paid off all across the country, I'm afraid.

This may only be a one season situation until our finances improve.

[Georgeios]

Also has this been confirmed yet? Im hoping its just hot air..

[Johnboy]

Also has this been confirmed yet? Im hoping its just hot air..

I'd say the wall of silence from anyone connected with the club regarding this matter, should be taken as confirmation.

[MissICT]

Butcher has been pushin the comercial side of the club so how can the club psuh it back?

This has to be a major set back in a time when the club is pushing forward.

[BonnybridgeICT]

Maybe the next genius commercial move will be to play all our home games behind closed doors to save on the cost of security, policing, producing the match programme etc.

[absent friend]

Maybe the next genius commercial move will be to play all our home games behind closed doors to save on the cost of security, policing, producing the match programme etc.

We will be on a part time basis by then - maybe 3rd div.

[KingBeastie]

I'm sure they could have found another way to reduce costs than scrapping the shop / ticket office altogether.

Sad.

[MissICT]

couldn't they just open it on matchdays?????

Edited August 7, 2009 by MissICT

[Johnboy]

couldn't they just open it on matchdays?????

With just a part-time staff?

I can't see any good reason why not.

[DALNEIGHCALEY]

There's obviously not the demand for merchandise or the club shop would still be open , whats so difficult to understand ? We tried selling merchandise from a prime city centre location and it failed miserably .

[BonnybridgeICT]

Is the online shop and the handling of merchandise for orders etc now done completely independent of the club? Previously when I got stuff from the online shop it was dealt with by the club - would get receipt etc from the club shop. When I got my new away shirt the address for returns etc was through Born For Sports at their address down south.

[stevico1]

There's obviously not the demand for merchandise or the club shop would still be open , whats so difficult to understand ? We tried selling merchandise from a prime city centre location and it failed miserably .

If the club shop was not making cash perhaps if the club had been a touch more imaginative in the range of stock available it would have been more viable, remember its not that long ago when Savage was Chairman he was looking to get rid of the portakabin and build a proper shop

[BonnybridgeICT]

There's obviously not the demand for merchandise or the club shop would still be open , whats so difficult to understand ? We tried selling merchandise from a prime city centre location and it failed miserably .

You're of course correct but perhaps there's not been enough demand for the merchandise that they're selling, rather than demand for merchandise full stop? There's been umpteen different threads on here for folk asking for an increased range of training gear etc. Once you've bought your new replica shirt, there's only so many pencils, pens, keyrings etc that you justify buying.

[DALNEIGHCALEY]

We're to small a club to justify the gamble of stocking a shop with merchandise that only one or two posters here might want .

[forresjags]

Really just another short -sighted move to save a couple of pennies in the biscuit tin. Merchandise when marketed correctly could be a real money spinner regardless of what League your playing in.

[Scotty]

Does profit from sales cover cost of keeping shop running? Can it be done cheaper/better?

Is this not a time when ALL areas of expenditure must be considered and action taken, if required.

There are a lot of 'nice' people being paid off all across the country, I'm afraid.

This may only be a one season situation until our finances improve.

I am as p***** off about this move as anyone else, perhaps even moreso than some, as I like and respect those tasked with running the shop and always found them to perform to a level far in excess than that which could be called merely "acceptable". We have had threads on here countless numbers of times slagging off the physical building (ie. portakabin) but virtually all of those who would slag off the building had nothing bad to say about the staff. That speaks volumes considering the dogs abuse that some other ICT staff get on here.

I understand some of the logic behind it - we didnt have a "proper" shop before we reached the SPL so we are pretty much reverting to our previous arrangement. Sales through the week will likely be done from reception, perhaps with some part-timers (or volunteers) doing it on matchdays. This is a backwards step for sure, but perhaps it is considered a necessary one in terms of controlling cashflow/costs. We dont know the numbers as we dont have access to the projected income from gates/advertising/sponsorship etc which is all likely to be down significantly from last year's level. The same logic probably applies to ticket sales too. In the SPL we had far more games where pre-match ticket sales were essential but in the SFL, not so much.

My biggest fear in all of this - and I am not just talking about the shop staff here - is that necessary or not we have got rid of some very talented people from all areas of the stadium who have developed, tweaked and fine tuned the processes that are in place now and who can get things done in a manner that seems almost effortless due in no small way to their knowledge and skill. When we once again reach the SPL, that talent pool will not just come flooding back, many of them will stick two fingers up at the club and say "**** You !!". We will then be faced with employing inexperienced staff (not their fault), who will have a steep learning curve in trying to to get to grips with processes that the poeple we let go know inside and out. Its nothing to do with "nice people" as AF puts it ... its to do with talent and capability and trying to maintain at least some of our professional approach.

I also have fears that the club will think they can rely on online ticketing and the online shop for sales and may not have fully explored the overall process of either. If they had, they would realise that - just like websites or forums - both require a significant amount of behind the scenes work to keep them ticking over that those on the front end (or in management) never see.

I am not sure about the ticketing as that is something I had nothing to do with beyond a few suggestions 6 or 7 years ago, but having setup the club's first two online shops (one on SportNetwork [when we were in the lower divisions] and one on the temporary official site before the PTV contract kicked in [when we were promoted to the SPL]), I know how much work was involved in the setup, in training the staff to use it, how much administration was needed to make sure cash came in and goods went out in a timely fashion, and how important it is to have someone there keeping the online inventory - descriptions, photos, stock levels, order processing and dispatch - up to date. If you take the current situation, with a somewhat amateur looking shop, provided by a third party, and then have someone at the club who's actual job is something else and get them to "play at it" every so often, when they have the time, it is, IMHO, a recipe for disaster.

I hope it doesnt turn out that way and that I am completely and utterly wrong, but I can see this rapidly moving higher up the list of subjects we like to moan about as posted by Mr Bannerman in another thread.