PUBLISHED
19:44 5th August 2013
It's a challenge for every football club to serve thousands of people in such a short window of time, and we are no exception."
Paul Barber
Albion have unveiled a new cashback system which will reward season-ticket holders who arrive early or stay late to enjoy food and refreshments at the Amex or shop in the Seagulls Store.Paul Barber
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The new system rewards season-ticket holders who arrive early with an even greater cashback reward of 15%, for all e-cash purchases, with the cashback percentage moving down to 10% and 5% as kick-off approaches.The new system is aimed at reducing queue and waiting times at busier periods, such as immediately before kick-off and at half time.
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Chief executive Paul Barber commented, "The main reason the club opted for e-cash was to speed up service and we hope fans will embrace the new cashback offers to help us, our retail staff, and our new catering partners Sodexo Prestige improve service levels on match days.
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"The new system is designed to help spread some of the custom away from those difficult peak periods on match days. It's a challenge for every football club to serve thousands of people in such a short window of time, and we are no exception.
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"In terms of catering, some of the big fast food chains would struggle with the numbers we serve on a matchday, and their staff are working every day of the week and gaining experience.
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"Our staff only get that for-real experience for a few hours once every two weeks. So anything we can do to help spread the workload is only going to help them improve service.
"Our match day catering volumes are now greater than some of the biggest stadiums in the country and we will continue to look for ways of improving our service to fans, becoming more efficient, and, wherever possible, reducing our costs."
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The new system will take effect from the Capital One Cup tie against Newport County AFC on Tuesday 6th August. The discount level applied is determined automatically by the tills at the point money is taken – not at the point queuing started. Staff will not have discretion to vary this.
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The cashback timescales for season-ticket holders paying by e-cash:
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- Gates open to 90 minutes before kick-off - 15% cashback
- 90 minutes before kick-off to 30 minutes before kick-off - 10% cashback
- 30 minutes before kick-off to kick-off - 5% cashback
- Kick off to full-time - 0% e-cashback
- Full-time plus 30 minutes - 5% cashback
- Full-time plus 60 minutes - 10% cashback
- Full-time plus 90 minutes - 15% cashback
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Meanwhile, from Monday 12th August, non-matchday e-cash purchases in the Seagulls Store and Dick’s Bar will no longer earn cashback.
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Barber added, "We will have a variety of rewards, depending on membership level, across the season, including shopping events, special discount days and online offers. "
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*Please note that the cashback offer is only available to season-ticket holders who pay with their smartcards using e-cash.
Original article