There is an ongoing and very longstanding thread at the top of this Forum about (the poor) Catering & bar service which has been outsourced to Lindleys rather than operated from within and by the club. Thus keeping the profit and level of service and quality in the clubs control.
NOW there is another new thread running about the (lack of) items in the club shop that people want.
Guess what?
The shop has been handed to Kit Bag to run.
Another lack of profit for the club and lack of understanding of what supporters want in the shop and would buy if available.
My thoughts on outsourcing are well known. I hate it. It removes all heart and soul from any operation and simply becomes a cold clinical cost-cutting excercise with diminishing quality for the customers, or "fans" as I still prefer to call us.
Kicks and scrums and ruck and roll.....Is all my brain and body need!
From my view the continued outsourcing is beginning to damage the club.The pursuit of profit by outsourcing does not appear to satisfy the fans - poor catering,reduced selection in the shop,failed IT on the forum without a viable backup(I was vanished into the ether as well) or enhance the clubs reputation. Time for the Board to rethink their policy or partners (I personally think there will be no action from above.) Who knows what the change of kit supplier will bring?
It does make me laugh at the level of incompetancy of the bar staff. I used to frequent the old 'Dusty's Bar' in the Cat stand and there were two bar staff who managed to serve two or three people simultaneously whilst taking orders, pouring drings and charging.
Now, it takes two people to serve one order. I went to the final whistle on Saturday during the match when the bar was empty. I asked for a pint of beer. One staff looked at me, looked at his mate, and then said 'sorry, what did you want?' I repeated my order and one of them went and started to pour my order (press a button with a plastic cup underneath). The other engaged on the clearly difficult task of finding the right button on the menu on the cash register. The pint arrived whilst the server was still serching the register and finally pressed the right button, looked up and said '£3.25'. I handed over £5 and got my change.
Unfortunately it pays the club to do this until the tipping point where 'customer' dissatisfaction is actually harming the core operation. In this case, no-one is failing to attend Tigers matches and I assume the franchisees are guaranteeing the club a fixed amount plus a % of profits?
Leicester Tigers 1995-
Nottingham 1995-2000
Swansea (Whites) 1988-95
A game played on grass in the open air by teams of XV.
I assume the franchisees are guaranteeing the club a fixed amount plus a % of profits?
The problem with this outsourcing business model is that when contract renewal is up the future fixed amount is normally adjusted iaw profit received. More often than not the contract is not renewed because the contractor realises they originally paid to much for the fixed amount in anticipation of high profits that never materialised. This means a new contractor comes in and the same cycle is repeated resulting in a downward spiral in terms of product and quality of service in order to eek out more profit.
Without hope we are nothing, keep the faith, a Tiger for eternity
sapajo wrote:I assume the franchisees are guaranteeing the club a fixed amount plus a % of profits?
The problem with this outsourcing business model is that when contract renewal is up the future fixed amount is normally adjusted iaw profit received. More often than not the contract is not renewed because the contractor realises they originally paid to much for the fixed amount in anticipation of high profits that never materialised. This means a new contractor comes in and the same cycle is repeated resulting in a downward spiral in terms of product and quality of service in order to eek out more profit.
What I expect.....but of course it is too much for the club to manage themselves....or is it?
Leicester Tigers 1995-
Nottingham 1995-2000
Swansea (Whites) 1988-95
A game played on grass in the open air by teams of XV.
Outsourcing makes it easier for the club - no staff costs,no management shedloads of profit for no effort. Outsourcing also means poorer staff (Minimum wage prevails) who have no pride in the job. I am surprised it only takes two to pour a pint Four would more likely.The outsourcer has no interest in the club or its supporters just the profits.Very poor show Tigers.
I worked for an agency who used to supply staff to these outsourcing companies, and there ia a minimum requirement for competency.
It was soul-destroying in that the comapnies were hopelessly ineffecient and would call as 5:25pm on Friday, having suudenly realised they needed 50 people at a venue on Saturday for a 1:30 briefing.
On the other hand, the agency would supply them with any old desperate person who, having hardly ever worked anywhere before, having no command of English (and I don't just mean the foreign ones)and given no incentive to do well.
Indeed, we did suggest to these companies that we had the technology to create a "talent pool" whereby as soon as we recieved a request for a particular venue we would automtically text and email all the people who had worked there before.
We may have been talking Swahili. No cmprehension of customer service, building a rapport, or "learning the ropes".
Kicks and scrums and ruck and roll.....Is all my brain and body need!
Kinoulton wrote:I worked for an agency who used to supply staff to these outsourcing companies, and there ia a minimum requirement for competency.
It was soul-destroying in that the comapnies were hopelessly ineffecient and would call as 5:25pm on Friday, having suudenly realised they needed 50 people at a venue on Saturday for a 1:30 briefing.
On the other hand, the agency would supply them with any old desperate person who, having hardly ever worked anywhere before, having no command of English (and I don't just mean the foreign ones)and given no incentive to do well.
Indeed, we did suggest to these companies that we had the technology to create a "talent pool" whereby as soon as we recieved a request for a particular venue we would automtically text and email all the people who had worked there before.
We may have been talking Swahili. No cmprehension of customer service, building a rapport, or "learning the ropes".
I would have thought that with the shop and catering / bars that there would be a good job for someone with flair and organisational abilities to manage that side of the business with a passion for doing the job properly, being part of the most profitable club in the country and setting the benchmark for others to follow.
Instead Tigers are not doing anything to make the matchday experience a memorable day out in all respects.
Does Kinoulton want employment? It sounds as if he has experience and a few ideas of his/her own?
I dont understand why the shop has been outsourced. I thought that the manager was excellent and the product range really good. New things added from time to time and the unfortunate cycle of shirt changes as per wendyball.
Now there is a larger shop, it is an opportunity to expand the range of goods available. So why not either trust the manager to take the shop further or find someone to manage it who is both local and with retail experience. I don't know who did the buying but Leicester is surely the best city in the UK for sourcing anything that is textile based and Birmingham not far away which still produces loads of badges, jewellery and souvenir items.
