Catering & Bar Feedback Seasons 2017,18,19,20 & 21/22

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arickett
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Re: Catering & Bar Feedback Season 2016/17 & 2018.

Post by arickett »

which is why the bar contract should be with a pub chain or night club that has trained staff not a catering company for which bar work is a minor part of there business
johnthegriff
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Re: Catering & Bar Feedback Season 2016/17 & 2018.

Post by johnthegriff »

I doubt you would find a local night club or a pub chain that had 100 plus staff available for a few hours work for a few hours work 17 times a year maybe on a Friday night or at various times on a Saturday or Sunday and it would certainly not be economic to transport staff from far afield.
Coops
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Re: Catering & Bar Feedback Season 2016/17 & 2018.

Post by Coops »

Think all it needs is some organisation and direction. The staff always look shell shocked when x thousand people turn up!
Grumpy of Crumbie
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Re: Catering & Bar Feedback Season 2016/17 & 2018.

Post by Grumpy of Crumbie »

I haven't read all of this thread but I get the gist which is the opportunity to complain about the catering services at Welford Road. Now I know its not perfect and probably never will be but by way of comparison.......

I was at the Ricoh last Friday for the Women's and U20's England v Ireland fixtures. Now bearing in mind that the ladies kicked off at 5.30 and there was a crowd of only 6600 in the stadium its hard to believe how they had sold out of all food before the end of the first game!! If you know the Ricoh there isn't a line of food outlets outside the stadium as an alternative and the stewards wouldn't let you leave and re-enter, so it was go hungry time!! On the plus side getting a beer was easy due to the low crowd!! I suspect a lot left after the first game as there were a number of kids in the crowd who I'm sure would have been expecting burger and chips as part of their match day treat.

I'd like to think that Tigers would have attracted a bigger crowd for this International double header and would certainly have looked after them better than the appalling service at the Ricoh.

While we aren't perfect I can't recall going anywhere with crowds of circa 20000 were the service is noticeably better. Things can always be improved but sometimes it helps to do a bit of a comparison.

Don't get me stated on concrete football stadiums, razzmatazz music and the third world train service!!
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ourla
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Re: Catering & Bar Feedback Season 2016/17 & 2018.

Post by ourla »

Noticed a thread on Facebook with the usual complaints:
  • 25 minutes to get served
  • Lack of food availability
  • Wrong drinks being given
  • Short pints being served
  • Tea with no teabag in it
  • Poorly trained staff
  • People saying they won't buy stuff again
I know nothing will change but worth noting 3 or 4 times a season that.... nothing has changed!
Tiglon
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Re: Catering & Bar Feedback Season 2016/17 & 2018.

Post by Tiglon »

The only time I've not had to queue for an age at a rugby ground for beer was at Twickenham for the Clash this year - every bar near my seat seemed almost empty and I never had to wait more than 2 minutes.

It's not easy to serve thousands of drinks in a short space of time, especially in the limited confines of a rugby stadium's bars - there are plenty of practical/logistical/spacial challenges. I am sure though that it could be improved, if there is willing from both the club and the caterer to do so. Without knowing the details of the agreements in place it's difficult to point the finger anywhere specific for current failings.

I have plenty of talented contacts in the catering world, and would be happy to put the club in touch with them if they wanted. I'm assuming that if all catering is contracted out, then Tigers do not have any in house catering specialists, in which case they could benefit from a little expert advice.
chris111
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Re: Catering & Bar Feedback Season 2016/17 & 2018.

Post by chris111 »

Personally I’ve given up spending any money on food/drink at WR. I’m a season ticket holder with two juniors and used to spend around £25 per game on top of my ticket prices. To be honest I could just about live with the overpriced poor quality junk food as part of the traditional match day experience! However, the terribly slow service has tipped me over the edge...my kids enjoy watching the pre-match warm-ups to get into the experience, and do not want to spend 20mins queuing at a concessions stall.

I guess if enough people just decided to watch some games without beer to message would get through - complaining has no impact as it doesn’t devalue the cash people continue to hand over!

One thought on service, however - I was in China recently and went to a top flight soccer match. Similar sized stadium and crowd......no queues at concessions and I think the main reason was it was entirely cashless (either smart phone or contactless card). Is it not beyond the wit of the WR catering team to do this? You could keep maybe one or two options for the tiny number of people who perhaps don’t have a contactless card. For the time being, my £25 will continue to be ploughed into the Grimsby Fisheries bank account!
g0akc
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Re: Catering & Bar Feedback Season 2016/17 & 2018.

Post by g0akc »

I attended the last two home games of the season - vs Northampton and Newcastle (shame about the results!). I hadn't been to the ground in years (lifelong fan born and bred in Leicester but moved away). I was generally pleased with the catering. I used it most on the Friday night Newcastle game as went with 3 other blokes.

However - the bar staff were falling over each other - one taking my order, one pouring, one on the till and another to go and fetch the card machine to save messing with notes and change.

And to top it all I get over charged (confirmed when I got my bank statement) - 3 pints of Guinness at £4.20, 1 pint of Tiger at £4.00 and 4 plastic glasses @ £1 each - got charged £25.80 (so guess they added an extra pint of the black stuff). Didn't even show me the amount on the card machine. Not impressed. Tried contacting both the club and Centrepoint but so far just ignoring me.

I get it, it was like paying cash and I was 'short changed' - no receipt or anything and should have sorted it out at the time etc. but if they keep doing this to others it's a nice little earner isn't it. Check your change and statements and what's on the screen....
longlivethecrumbie
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Re: Catering & Bar Feedback Season 2016/17 & 2018.

Post by longlivethecrumbie »

Seems they have brought in Stowford Press as the 'official cider' - assume that means no Strongbow (thank the lord)
trendylfj
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Re: Catering & Bar Feedback Season 2017/18 & 2018/2019

Post by trendylfj »

Back to the same old problem in the bar next to the ABC - Staff who had received no training at all on pulling beer - asked the girl on the hand pump and her reply was "I had till training but none on pulling beer this is the first time I have done it" Very little pre - pulled or part pulled so when a lot of people were ordering 2 pint jugs the service was very slow. The suited up guy who I assume was supposed to be manager was worse than useless in organising the bar and the lead lady from last year did very little either - chatting and giggling instead of getting the staff to get on with serving.
Hehehehehehehehe
johnthegriff
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Re: Catering & Bar Feedback Season 2017/18 & 2018/2019

Post by johnthegriff »

I was told that for the London Irish game about 50 staff just did not turn up on the night, that is the problem labour source and irregularity of matches, training on non match days is a waste of time and money as there is no guarantee the recipients of the training will be there when you need them. There is no excuse for bar managers and supervisors not doing their job, get names and let someone know.
ourla
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Re: Catering & Bar Feedback Season 2017/18 & 2018/2019

Post by ourla »

Judging by comments on Facebook the Oktoberfest was a pathetic attempt at a special match day experience. To be honest I am surprised there are still Tigers fans getting suckered into going to the ground before matches or attempting to use the facilities thereafter during and after the match. And I'm also surprised some seem to want to defend the club saying how difficult it is. It's really not.
Lutontiger
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Re: Catering & Bar Feedback Season 2017/18 & 2018/2019

Post by Lutontiger »

Just wanted to say THANK YOU VERY MUCH to the Club for the £1 pie and mash offer on Friday night. It was a lovely thought and looked well-organised. The folk I spoke to really enjoyed their pies - reported lots of meat and flavour. My veggie option was also good.
As regards slow, disorganised service - try any cricket Test match for similar numbers and queues. It's not just at Tigers! HOWEVER, I do think managers and supervisors are not earning their pay - THEY are the ones who should be able to organise staff to serve in relays, some handling cash, others pouring, and of course, anticipating when higher demands will come. Most catering managers and supervisors are surely used to working with massive unpredictability of staff and routines, yet ours just seem to throw inexperienced staff in at the deep end and let them take all the criticism.
Please get better managers.
ourla
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Re: Catering & Bar Feedback Season 2017/18 & 2018/2019

Post by ourla »

Lutontiger wrote: Sat Oct 20, 2018 2:29 pm As regards slow, disorganised service - try any cricket Test match for similar numbers and queues.
That surprises me as test cricket is an all day affair so I would have thought the demand would be spread out consistently over a long period of time.
Dangerous4
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Re: Catering & Bar Feedback Season 2017/18 & 2018/2019

Post by Dangerous4 »

I guess you get what you pay for. To find a better caterer would no doubt cost more, and that increase would mean that prices would go up, which I feel sure would not go down well with customers.
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