The queue in the beer tent wasn’t too bad they have introduced the snakey single line you get at an airport check in .More frustrating was the number of numpties who get to the front and faff about because they want to chitchat with their friends and miss the free server or only have a discussion about what they want when they get there.
Exactly. It'd male more sense having the kiosk reserved for both food for instance.
Get your crisps, drinks and choc etc out of one of say 15 vending machines.
Although I guess then we're down to someone has to stock them, the stock will run out, the machines break down, they'll have to be cash less etc.
While they're sorting that though, they could at least clear some of those unsightly rust stains in the toilets though , surely that can't be that expensive to sort.
Good idea, however the difficulty with vending machines in our situation is the infrequent use is not likely to cover the contract costs. The loos in the FA were the same but are definitely cleaner and more functional with warm water, soap and paper towels refreshed/cleaned up.
Can there be another ground in the country where the club have effectively given up selling drinks and snacks in one of the largest areas of the ground?
I’m used to it now and just grab a sandwich and a drink at the co-op as I approach Wycombe, but shouldn’t the club want to take my money?
I understand the club chasing the corporate $$$ but I think it’s fair to say they couldn’t give a shit about ‘fan experience’ in the FA Upper. The only reason it looks vaguely ok is because of volunteer work anyway. And I could forgive it if I didn’t have to keep watching interviews with Rob Couhig saying the concessions are superb.
Could the club offer it’s kiosks in the FA as a concession on a rota to the guys in the car park after kick off they must see a drop in customers . I’m sure a mutton curry or a German sausage at half time would be very popular
There was talk early in the Couhig era of getting different food businesses to set up in to different kiosks inside the ground, but no idea of the practicalities.
I stopped buying any food at the ground midway through last season after trying one of those hot dog abominations!
I think the club would probably be better off to stop selling any food in the ground and leave it to the professionals in the village. Would save money and hassle on taking on staff who half the time don't seem to turn up.
The burger from the Hellfire before the game wasn’t bad at all. Beer queue in the Caledonian moved reasonably well. But the Frank Adams debacle was very poor. My friend left early first half to secure me a pint with enough time to drink before the second half began. But needing to miss 10 minutes of a match isn’t good enough. And no I don’t have a solution but other clubs seem to be able to manage it.
As for food trucks - there were plenty at the Aston Clinton beer festival. A fine finish for the day.
Funky Elephant is always massively popular & independent. They tell me they would happily come every home game but the club have been very reluctant? 💁
The dad and daughter behind me went to get some food at half time as she wanted a burger and chips or suchlike.
They came back with a packet of crisps vowing never to eat at the stadium again.
i do wonder how much revenue we’re missing out on and how many people we are putting off eating here all together. I used to spend about a fiver a game on chips and a drink for my daughter but she just brings her own sweets now.
They had beer vending machines at the cricket, worked really well.
I expect the issue with the in ground kiosks is that they were near enough condemned as a biohazard do it would take a sizable chunk of money to get them serving edible food again, as well as staffing issues.... Still you'd hope they'd be able to serve something basic
The issue is the reliability of casual and agency staff these days, a common problem throughout the hospitality industry. I’m told that a number of temporary staff hired for Saturday just didn’t turn up.
And perhaps not at AP...but across the industry a lot of people 'went back to where they came from' even before Covid as they were advised by patriots...and have not bothered coming back.
Why can't they just remove all the kiosks and invite in two or three burger vans (or even an ice cream van when the weather is appropriate). The club then has no staffing or maintenance problems and simply take a cut of the traders takings) The supporters in return get basic burgers, hot dogs and chips etc at realistic prices which is what MOST of us want.
Comments
The queue in the beer tent wasn’t too bad they have introduced the snakey single line you get at an airport check in .More frustrating was the number of numpties who get to the front and faff about because they want to chitchat with their friends and miss the free server or only have a discussion about what they want when they get there.
Best ever day of sales for a game in July I heard
I said, half in jest we should get some vending machines.
But maybe that would be a decent solution if it really is so hard to get reliable staff?
In Japan you can get pretty much anything out of a vending machine. We could have a line of them tea or coffee pizza slices, beer, crisps anything
Exactly. It'd male more sense having the kiosk reserved for both food for instance.
Get your crisps, drinks and choc etc out of one of say 15 vending machines.
Although I guess then we're down to someone has to stock them, the stock will run out, the machines break down, they'll have to be cash less etc.
While they're sorting that though, they could at least clear some of those unsightly rust stains in the toilets though , surely that can't be that expensive to sort.
I didn't use the loo yesterday (terrace) - have they been done up?
Good idea, however the difficulty with vending machines in our situation is the infrequent use is not likely to cover the contract costs. The loos in the FA were the same but are definitely cleaner and more functional with warm water, soap and paper towels refreshed/cleaned up.
Can there be another ground in the country where the club have effectively given up selling drinks and snacks in one of the largest areas of the ground?
I’m used to it now and just grab a sandwich and a drink at the co-op as I approach Wycombe, but shouldn’t the club want to take my money?
I understand the club chasing the corporate $$$ but I think it’s fair to say they couldn’t give a shit about ‘fan experience’ in the FA Upper. The only reason it looks vaguely ok is because of volunteer work anyway. And I could forgive it if I didn’t have to keep watching interviews with Rob Couhig saying the concessions are superb.
Could the club offer it’s kiosks in the FA as a concession on a rota to the guys in the car park after kick off they must see a drop in customers . I’m sure a mutton curry or a German sausage at half time would be very popular
There was talk early in the Couhig era of getting different food businesses to set up in to different kiosks inside the ground, but no idea of the practicalities.
What happened to that variety of food offerings in the "chairboys village " (carpark) that were a feature of earlier games. Has that all finished now?
I stopped buying any food at the ground midway through last season after trying one of those hot dog abominations!
I think the club would probably be better off to stop selling any food in the ground and leave it to the professionals in the village. Would save money and hassle on taking on staff who half the time don't seem to turn up.
Are there many "professionals" in the village these days?
Early one I'm sure there were swathes of fancy little vans, "Funky Pigeon" and suchlike. Is it now just the guy with the grill in the corner?
The burger from the Hellfire before the game wasn’t bad at all. Beer queue in the Caledonian moved reasonably well. But the Frank Adams debacle was very poor. My friend left early first half to secure me a pint with enough time to drink before the second half began. But needing to miss 10 minutes of a match isn’t good enough. And no I don’t have a solution but other clubs seem to be able to manage it.
As for food trucks - there were plenty at the Aston Clinton beer festival. A fine finish for the day.
Funky Elephant is always massively popular & independent. They tell me they would happily come every home game but the club have been very reluctant? 💁
The family stand queues are bad enough when it's not having to cater to an extra fee hundred fans from another stand. I like the idea of home fans in the away end when there's a small away following, but the facilities just aren't configured for it to work smoothly. https://twitter.com/SimonDa98273075/status/1554032613081448448?t=LS6IB1S_hVgZ3Dr_rwH5_w&s=19
all that and still no half time chips to be found
pitch looked lovely though
Imagine how fun the queues will be if we go up and get regular crowds of 8,000+
The dad and daughter behind me went to get some food at half time as she wanted a burger and chips or suchlike.
They came back with a packet of crisps vowing never to eat at the stadium again.
i do wonder how much revenue we’re missing out on and how many people we are putting off eating here all together. I used to spend about a fiver a game on chips and a drink for my daughter but she just brings her own sweets now.
They had beer vending machines at the cricket, worked really well.
I expect the issue with the in ground kiosks is that they were near enough condemned as a biohazard do it would take a sizable chunk of money to get them serving edible food again, as well as staffing issues.... Still you'd hope they'd be able to serve something basic
The issue is the reliability of casual and agency staff these days, a common problem throughout the hospitality industry. I’m told that a number of temporary staff hired for Saturday just didn’t turn up.
Pay decent wages, get reliable staff.
The Tory philosophy of race to the bottom, with zero hour contracts, low paid agency work is coming home to roost.
Exactly this. There's plenty of people who are willing to do that job, just not for peanuts and no security.
And perhaps not at AP...but across the industry a lot of people 'went back to where they came from' even before Covid as they were advised by patriots...and have not bothered coming back.
When they say 'Wanderers are recruiting', they mean via an agency? https://www.wwfc.com/news/2022/june/08/matchday-bar-and-kiosk-positions-available/
Why can't they just remove all the kiosks and invite in two or three burger vans (or even an ice cream van when the weather is appropriate). The club then has no staffing or maintenance problems and simply take a cut of the traders takings) The supporters in return get basic burgers, hot dogs and chips etc at realistic prices which is what MOST of us want.
It’s bad enough trying to recruit for retail and hospitality anyway.
Trying to organise staff to work 1 day every 2 weeks is going to be an uphill struggle in the current climate, even if we raised the pay.
I would pay good money to see them get an ice cream van onto the Frank Adams concourse
How would they get the vans inside the Frank Adams?