Disappointing visit to AP this morning
in Not Football
After 5 months away from our beloved AP I went down today to have my photo taken with the cup and pop into the shop in the hope of getting some playoff goodies and swelling the club coffers. The queue at about 11.15 for the photo was understandably long in the meantime nipped into the shop as there was no queue for that Found out why as the place was basically devoid of stock Not surprising maybe but the attitude of guy behind the desk was basically take it or leave it ,it's all on line mate. Not very helpful. Empty shelves for any reason not a good look. Came away thinking where is the go getting ,please the customer attitude of our owners. ?
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It makes sense. I went in last week to get a pic with the trophy, and went into the shop afterwards. The woman behind the counter told me that they were finishing up this current stock in preparation for a big influx of new stock over the next few weeks
Understandably the shop has been closed while nobody was able to go there and all stock is being sold online and sent out from a fulfilment house, while we have no shop staff.
I am sure that by the time that fans can start to attend matches again, the club shop will be restocked and staffed.
Understand that it was the attitude of the guy that rankled me and my partner. Maybe it would have been prudent to have the photo shot with a fully stocked shop ?
Well, what a surprise, the shop being devoid of stock during a lockdown! How very dare they? With a new kit coming out & not yet released, honestly what did you expect? The clue, "there was no queue for that". There are some that would complain that the sun rose this morning.
thank you Mr Cecil I get what you say even though it was disappointing. Re the post above sounds like you must related to the guy who served me. I take it you are not in a customer care job?
You can’t magic ‘stock’ out of thin air.
You can display a helpful attitude.
What on earth can you be expecting FFS? It is so bloody obvious that in the middle of a lock down, the shop would have no customers hence what's the point in carrying stock? I take it you are not in any business that relies on basic maths?
Steady @EwanHoosaami , he was just saying, he doesn't need a full dressing down, just LOL
It's a little bit of a shame we couldn't maximise the flood of well wishers with some extra sales, but it of course does make sense why not.
I think the positive is that this is a great gesture from the club for the photo ops. And not just a cynical excuse to sell some gear.
Alan Cecil and his son are fantastic servants of this club. I doubt Matt was in the club shop but your response is so far from the truth regarding this family.
They are exemplary in their commitment to this club and the community.
Agreed re: the Celils, great people for me. Unfortunate about the shop sales, skeleton staff and lockdown to blame for sure and unlucky to get someone without a smile at that moment.
The club have perhaps been victims of our own success in this respect, I trust that things will be sorted in the shop by next season as it is online now from all reports.
COYB!
And probably another thing to add is that the Couhigs inherited certain aspects like the catering situation, and probably a few things to do with contracts on kit and stock.
No doubt going forward their influence will be seen with improvements across the board.
It was an opportunity missed today. I will also say that on my many pre lockdown visits to the shop the service has been very efficient and helpful. It was the first time that I and others had been to the ground in 5 long months and I was excited by the prospect of celebrating in a limited and socially distanced way as well as parting with a few quid for the good of the club. I was honestly and maybe wrongly expecting a little more. It struck me as very poor business and PR to have a club shop open when it looked like a1980s Eastern Block food shop. The whole thing seemed to me not thought out sufficiently. If the issue was the stock hadn't arrived then hold the event when it has. After all we will have the cup for nearly a year. With businesses struggling at the moment marketing and good impressions are all Lets hope lesson learned which I am sure it will be and we will move on. Just to clarify none of my posts are criticising the Cecil family ,far from it My post of 12.31 was a comment on the post by Ewanhoosami who seems to be from the Basil Fawlty School of customer relations.
Intersting point, I wouldn't be surprised if Alan was related to the chap serving you. It would mean his son working on the weekend to help out in a role nothing to do with his actual job, probably for no extra £, but that would not be out of the normal at the club over the last few years.
Yeah , someone could have got a bit of extra stock delivered (at a cost, and with the potential for them to then need to go back at more cost) for this event, or you know, they could maybe have not given up their weekend to allow you in at all.
You may have noticed that Alan is a volunteer before you give him abuse for trying to answer your question and explain. Not sure you can claim this isn't a criticism.
Interesting how these things go on, I'm not too worried about seeing the trophy myself, seems they spotted an opportunity to let a few people do so last week and we're immediately bombarded with "why not me's" , as soon as they widen it out it's "why's there no stock in the club shop" despite it being closed mostly from march until probably October.
I hope soon we can get back to the "Why haven't we signed x" and "My season ticket isn't here, despite me not needing one at all and probably nobody needing one until October"
I think your take is spot on.
What this thread should have opened with is
"Wow, the club have done amazingly to open up the ground on a saturday, in a pandemic, with tonnes of staff on furlough, just to allow the fans who couldn't make the other opportunities to view the trophy"
Have you thought @Mr67 that sometimes the attitude you approach somebody with is generally mirrored in what you get back. I'm not a betting man, but if I was, I would have put my odds on you being the moaner to the staff member and you got back your approach. Even when I was being messed around by the club a couple of years ago regarding the moving of my season ticket seat, I went out of my way to be polite & smiled, with everyone I was face to face with. Not surprisingly I was never met with the attitude that you narrated on here earlier! I think it is you that was trained by Basil Fawly. I have made a living for 45 years in customer facing situations, many who come to me initially grumpy, as they are in pain, as such someone like you would have very little to offer me in the form of advice thanks.
Nail. Head. Probably (good post @EwanHoosaami)
Hang on, he told you the stock was online. Would it have been more helpful not to tell you that?
I bet you were encountering someone giving up their weekend to try and give people an opportunity to get a pic with the trophy. What’s he meant to do with someone moaning about a lack of product in a shop that’s been shut for months?
Woeful stuff.
Perhaps Richie was back in his old job!
You beat me to it @mooneyman
A lost opportunity to sell crisps also
I assumed you could take your own as long as you didn't touch the shiny cup with your greasy fingers...
I visited Saturday morning with my daughter, found the bloke behind the desk in the shop to be quite friendly, had a nice chat with him.
I did go with plans to buy myself a "play off winners" shirt but he suggested I shop online. Given that the season has ended and we are due a new kit I wasn't overly surprised or disappointed.
I had a positive expeience, waited an hour given the queue but was nice to see some familiar faces and everyone was very friendly.