Catering Issues at ICT - feedback

[SMEE]

British Pie Awards 2009

Winners: Clach FC (McDougall and Hastie) Retail for about ?1.60 (for the Steak Pie)

Scotch Pie Club 2010

Winners: Murdoch Brothers, Forres ....Retail for about 90p (cant say i was that taken by them tho)

[Kirishima]

British Pie Awards 2009

Winners: Clach FC (McDougall and Hastie) Retail for about ?1.60 (for the Steak Pie)

Scotch Pie Club 2010

Winners: Murdoch Brothers, Forres ....Retail for about 90p (cant say i was that taken by them tho)

Murdoch brothers website http://www.murdochbutchers.co.uk/Single-Se...h-Pie-2010.html

0.98p for a pie

My Supermarket.co.uk http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/brands/Capri_Sun_In_Tesco.html

12p for 200ml Capri-sun

52p for a Yorkie

Total ?1.62

Instead it's a hot dog, a drink and a sweetie for four quid. And that's a meal deal. Santa has arrived early at ICT!

(Heather Brooke eat yer hat!)

Edited March 26, 2010 by Kirishima

[SMEE]

Instead it's a hot dog, a drink and a sweetie for four quid. And that's a meal deal. Santa has arrived early at ICT!

Hey....lets not forget how they worded that "Deal"....the price of ?4 is SAVING the fan 90p. So we should be thankfull!!

[Charles Bannerman]

I sometimes really wonder how much the food at football stadia contributes to obesity and other ill health. The standard fare seems to be pies and burgers... dripping with saturated fat and crammed full of calories. In fact I laughed out loud when I saw a vehicle outside the Caledonian Stadium marked with that ultimate oxymoron "The Gourmet Burger Company"

On the other hand I would imagine that salad sandwiches and other healthy options wouldn't go down a bundle at football matches but of course the other option is the "zero option". After all, if you have a decent enough lunch, then, especially in the case of local fans who are home in time for tea, is there really any need for food in the 2 hours that someone is at a football match?

Abstaining would not only restrict obesity in those prone to it but would also restrict the ingestion of these nasty saturated fats which clog up the blood vessels and at the same time save the pocket. And if the fare or the service are not up to scratch, then that would surely make such an approach all the easier, with the added benefit that queueing fans would not miss a chunk of a game they might have paid 15 quid to get into.

But in any case, even if people are not prepared to give up their half time nosh, judging by recent noises from Holyrood, I wouldn't be surprised if such obesity promoting activities were not soon legislated against by the Scottish Government.... aye, that's the one headed up by yon big laddie who looks as if he's enjoyed rather too many ?9000 lunches!

[Kirishima]

Instead it's a hot dog, a drink and a sweetie for four quid. And that's a meal deal. Santa has arrived early at ICT!

Hey....lets not forget how they worded that "Deal"....the price of ?4 is SAVING the fan 90p. So we should be thankfull!!

At the end of the day, cinemas/theatres/funparks/trains/airports, etc, all do the same thing. Captive audience, entertainment atmosphere, it's par for the course.

Under Lindleys...

Things that will happen

Burger Van more accessible

A bit more supervision on queues

Local staff

Things that might happen

May get "hawkers" to ease congestion

Things that will not happen

Prices will not go down

Glasgow Industrial Estate pies will stay

Local Pies will not be offered

Noone will ever be 100% happy

I still think ICT should be supporting local businesses. After all wasn't ICT helped by Tullochs...surely they should be passing it on?

[Scotty]

the other option is the "zero option". After all, if you have a decent enough lunch, then, especially in the case of local fans who are home in time for tea, is there really any need for food in the 2 hours that someone is at a football match?

Does the Press box still get Pies and Tea/Coffee delivered Charles Are they Lindley or McDougall and Hastie ?

At the end of the day, cinemas/theatres/funparks/trains/airports, etc, all do the same thing. Captive audience, entertainment atmosphere, it's par for the course.

Under Lindleys...

Things that will happen

Burger Van more accessible

A bit more supervision on queues

Local staff

Things that might happen

May get "hawkers" to ease congestion

Things that will not happen

Prices will not go down

Glasgow Industrial Estate pies will stay

Local Pies will not be offered

Noone will ever be 100% happy

I still think ICT should be supporting local businesses. After all wasn't ICT helped by Tullochs...surely they should be passing it on?

Good summary.

[Charles Bannerman]

the other option is the "zero option". After all, if you have a decent enough lunch, then, especially in the case of local fans who are home in time for tea, is there really any need for food in the 2 hours that someone is at a football match?

Does the Press box still get Pies and Tea/Coffee delivered Charles Are they Lindley or McDougall and Hastie ?

Absolutely not! We get tea, coffee and plain biscuits which may indeed be Tesco "Kilmarnock Home Strip" Value varieties. The days of O'Brien's sandwiches have long gone and pies are not to be seen. And it is perfectly fair that the Fourth Estate should find themselves at the forefront of the efficiency savings which ICT implemented from May of last year.

I would confess to a single aberration and that is at Clach Park, which I have managed to visit lamentably infrequently this season, where Molly's sandwiches, pancakes and rock buns are placed before me and I simply cannot resist. However in my defence I would have to say that I manage to maintain my BMI of 23.3 partly by the fact that temptation is no longer placed in my way most of the time.

I would submit the supportive evidence that I am currently 10lb LIGHTER than I was at the start of the current season.

Edited March 26, 2010 by Charles Bannerman

[Scotty]

So its only Robbo who takes advantage of a certain Mrs Wilson's home baking then

One of my memories of the early days of the TCS was for a Ross County game that was oversold by several hundred and duplicate tickets were printed for a number of areas in the main stand. Even though we had season tickets we couldnt get our normal seats and ended up being sheperded into the press/TV box, which at that time was next to the police box at the top of the stand rather than the back of the stand. Anyhoo, we stood quietly all through the first half because a film crew were doing highlights for Sportscene/Scotsport (cant remember which) but at half-time there was a rather nice (and large) plate of pies and a couple of jugs of coffee delivered ...... That bugger Rob McLean had 4 pies and a coffee and never thought to offer us any (County fan of course and we were winning ) ..... nowadays I would have got wired right in, but in those days I was polite

Anyhoo, back to the thread - personally I favour competition as i mentioned earlier - get different vendors and let the fans decide who they patronise with their business. The better your product, the better your sales and those not offering a good "customer experience" can wither away.

At ?4 for the "deal" mentioned earlier in the thread I would be doing what I do at Toronto's stadium which is to boycott the food and drink. We are charged something like $6 for a slice of Pizza, $5 for chips, $5 for a hot dog or hamburger etc and a whopping $13 for a 'large' beer (equivalent to a full size can) ..... not paying those prices so despite the fact that everything is of a decent quality and there are so many vendors that queues are not too bad, I just dont do it ...... might have to make an exception this year for poutine though !

[Bridge_Ender]

...and a whopping $13 for a 'large' beer (equivalent to a full size can) .....

Being allowed to buy a beer at the football.... *sigh*

Edited March 27, 2010 by Bridge_Ender

[TopSix]

...and a whopping $13 for a 'large' beer (equivalent to a full size can) .....

Being allowed to buy a beer at the football.... *sigh*

Just did a conversion of $13 Canadian Dollars online: ?8.50! No wonder David Beckham was signed up to MLS. These clubs in North America must be raking it in!

[Council Juice]

It all seems to me like that Lindsays wasn't brought in merely to improve the catering situation, but mainly because the club couldn't be bothered dealing with it and would rather have a large catering company deal with the hassle, whilst still making a decent cut of the takings no doubt.

I have no doubt that our prices are in line with other 1st divison grounds as well...just so long as they are run by the same caterers.

There is always a problem with these large companies in terms of quality. Food generally always found lacking. It got no soul man!

However I imagine they'll get the queuing sorted. The more punters they get through, the more money made. If people wait too long they turn around and dont hand over their dosh which is not what they want.

[Charles Bannerman]

Just did a conversion of $13 Canadian Dollars online: ?8.50! No wonder David Beckham was signed up to MLS. These clubs in North America must be raking it in!

I just don't understand this. A lot of fans seem to complain about ticket prices. But on top of that many also pay something like ?2 to park, ?2.50 for a programme, then all these food prices. And in addition to that there's always these people with buckets standing outside looking for charitable contributions. Presumably they would not do so if it were not worth their while, which is quite surprising given all the other costs. At the end of the day (as they say in football) how much does it actually cost for the afternoon?

Edited March 27, 2010 by Charles Bannerman

[Kirishima]

Its a lot, no matter where.

If we try to look at it from ICTs perspective, i'd imagine its like this...

Darren is tasked with maximising matchday revenue, minimising costs and labour. Best way to do this is to outsource catering. Lindleys offer best deal, so ICT takes it. The issues with fans is irrelevant.

The only concern is to tick the box, and present the figures to the board. You can see why it's been done this way. Fans complain, ICT has no obligation to respond to these, as it is a specialised market. Some token efforts are made, but within the constraints of the contract, which has already been put into the accounts for 2010/2011 so no chance of reneging now.

Its not a futile topic, but it's hardly viva le pie revolution either. At the end of the day, the board want figures, graphs, flowcharts, breaking points, etc, not customer satisfaction surveys. It's just not important.

If ICT was a shop, it would have been closed by now, such is its customer care. I'm not meaning to be harsh to any one person, or attacking anyone, it's just the way things are, at 90% of clubs.

Edited March 27, 2010 by Kirishima

[Charles Bannerman]

So its only Robbo who takes advantage of a certain Mrs Wilson's home baking then :021:

Ah yes... well just noticed this line and wluld have to admit to being the occasional beneficiary of Jessie's scones. However I am commendably abstemious and usually discipline myself to having just one. This probably contributes to the fact that my Body Mass Index is somewhat lower than Robbo's. :021:

[Alex MacLeod]

Couple of years ago I was in Madrid and went to Athletico game. The spanish make footie a family night out. They take along cushions for the seats and picnic baskets loaded with goodies and wine. That, for me, is how an evening at the footie should be.

[stevico1]

Couple of years ago I was in Madrid and went to Athletico game. The spanish make footie a family night out. They take along cushions for the seats and picnic baskets loaded with goodies and wine. That, for me, is how an evening at the footie should be.

Alex can you honestly imagine that happening in Dingwall :lol:

[TopSix]

The laws surrounding football spectating are draconian. I hate the fact that the actions of hun 'fans' in the 1980s mean we can't take a flask of bovril to games.

Pie at Partick was decent today.