Amex catering

[worthingseagull]

Errr boss you know we sold 50 coffees and 30 hot chocolates at half time for the last 8 home games in a row?
yeah
well how about we get them ready before half time for everyone?
don't be stupid, how do we know we'll sell them?

 

[mona]

The only place that rivals the Yeovil Wetherspoons for snail-pace service. Surely the bar staff could do better and the club could make so much more money if they demanded faster service.

 

[BensGrandad]

Boss "Should we buy some milk portions for coffee".

Dont be stupid they only have a shelf life of 12 months so we may not use them and get left with them at the end of next season.

 

[fat old seagull]

I'm mistaken, it's just places that sell alcohol.

Lower West last night was awful they ran out of Bovril so I asked for coffee and was told only black becsuse thry had no milk or sugar. While I was in the queue a chap asked for a Harveys " sorry we have run out" What clown runs the catering at the stadium ? A stupid 13 year old could do better.

Coco ? ..... Oh no they've run out of that too

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

I've just read, that any establishment that serves alcohol must provide tap water for free...that's the law.

Illegal it may well be ... but how often pubs, restaurants, shops etc. actually uphold the law, is another matter entirely.

 

[jackanada]

"Boss, if we had some heated urns we could serve tea that tastes of tea and bovril thats properly stirred - and we could serve it in a couple of seconds as opposed to waiting on the trickle of hot water out that special tap"
"Don't be daft son. What if we had some left over. There's very little margin selling tea and bovril at 2 pounds a pop, and I'm certain those pre-packaged cups work out cheaper than ordinary cups and some teabags and a pot of bovril. Get back to work, next you'll be suggesting the best use for our current dry gunk in a cup system is to cover the few minutes should we need to refill an urn."

 

[albion534]

Why are people still surprised?

They give the catering to the highest bidder, whoever gives me the biggest wad of cash, and tje Albion will also get a % of takings, so for the caterers to make any money they understaff and get them in as late as possible so training isn't offered!

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

everything about the catering at the amex nowadays is an absolute shambles;

idiotic slow staff (get some urgency you braindead youths)
nowhere near enough food/drink available (oh, you didnt realise there was going to be 25000+ at this one grrrrr)
hardly anywhere to actually put your drink whilst you eat your food (we are not 4 armed aliens).

Shame as all seemed wonderful in first season

Sort it out Albion or your revenue from this area will dive like Ronaldo in the box

Was it really so wonderful in the first season? I don't think it was, we all have very short memories.. We have been through three catering companies now, and to be honest they all seem equally shambolic.

 

[TomandJerry]

There was this one woman in the WSL who couldn't even speak English better than a four year old, ridiculous!!!

 

[Titanic]

I think WSU catering just gets overwhelmed by the sheer weight of numbers. North Stand seems to have a far more favourable ratio of punters to catering outlets and available stock than anywhere else in the stadium.

Our group variously bought food, beer and hot drink before the game, at half time and after the game, from the north end of WSU - no problems at all other than rather busy at HT but still got back for kickoff - and the pies were consistently delicious

 

[Pinkie Brown]

I think WSU catering just gets overwhelmed by the sheer weight of numbers. North Stand seems to have a far more favourable ratio of punters to catering outlets and available stock than anywhere else in the stadium.

Not last night. My main reason of going to the Amex is to watch the game not consume as many pies and pints as possible and miss segments of the game. However, last night was frustrating.

1. I made a bad choice by joining the queue I was in - I have to blame myself for that I guess? It was manned by a gormless youth who clearly didn't know what he was doing, ambling about so slowly, he was almost going backwards.

2. One of the three lads in front of me ordered a hot chocolate - He ID'd him!!!! (No, I'm not making that up!!)

3. Previously mentioned gormless youth finally got around to taking my order after going on a circuit of the serving area for no apparent reason. "One pint of Harveys and a white coffee please". After a few seconds silence and a blank look. "You want milk in the coffee"? Harveys turns up with almost one quarter of foam on top - I send it back for top up. It returns barely improved but by this time, I'm losing the will to live. I notice he's serving a black coffee from the dispenser. "No, I asked for white coffee please". Youth looks left along the counter, then right, then wanders off and returns a few seconds later - "We've run out of milk" I walk away....

Having appeared to improve earlier in the season, the whole operation was a shambles last night with young staff who clearly were completely inexperienced. Where were the more experienced staff? You tend to recognise the regular faces at the same serving stations.

 

[Marty___Mcfly]

I went in East Stand Lower yesterday and was surprised to see how much poorer the provision is there compared to the North Stand. The North has a lot more drink only stands and lots more toilets, gents in particular. Plus no Guinness in the East Stand. I appreciate that those in the North Stand may typically drink more than the East, but I was surprised how much worse off the East Standers are, particularly as they pay more for their tickets!

 

[Marty___Mcfly]

I nearly lost in standing in a queue watching the guy in front being served hotdogs. The four actions required- get hot dog, get bun, put hotdog in bun, put both in a bag, took the server about 5 minutes per hotdog. It was like watching a slow motion replay..

 

[father_and_son]

I'm mistaken, it's just places that sell alcohol.

The original law is very, very old and it was defined as "Inns and Taverns" that must supply water free to travellers.

Although you cannot charge for water, you CAN make a service charge for the use of a glass, ice cubes, etc.

Therefore, if someone came in to your Tavern and said, "May I fill my bottle with tap water please", you cannot charge.

If however, they come in and say "I'll have a glass of tap water with ice and lemon please", you can!


- I used to be a pub landlord

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

The original law is very, very old and it was defined as "Inns and Taverns" that must supply water free to travellers.

Although you cannot charge for water, you CAN make a service charge for the use of a glass, ice cubes, etc.

Therefore, if someone came in to your Tavern and said, "May I fill my bottle with tap water please", you cannot charge.

If however, they come in and say "I'll have a glass of tap water with ice and lemon please", you can!


- I used to be a pub landlord

It's a real pleasure not to have to ask for tap water in Oz. It's often all laid out on the bar; iced water dispenser, glass, lemon. No human contact involved. And even if there is, they wouldn't dream of charging you for it. Such a civilised country.

 

[Questions]

Well I have to admit the supply of my tap water at over a quid or whatever was very prompt, I'll give them that.

 

[Horsham Gull]

Personally thought the north stand middle kiosk were all in all a bit slow last night not sure why

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

In the North last night I felt a bit sorry for the lad who was first day on the job. Very capable supervisor girl reels him off a list of instructions along the lines of 'OK We've got two special pies tonight, Balti and Chill. Make sure they get the right one'. (The pies had G/B and G/C written on them). And also 'OK, customer has asked for a pint of Kronenbourg' and pours the pint herself. Then says 'OK, prices and pictures are on the till. Customer is paying with cash. He's given you ten pounds. Amount given will show. Amount of change due will show. OK, give him 3 pounds change.' Very capable supervisor girl does all the till stuff then hands new lad the change to give to me. It was horrible to be part of. Can't knock either of these kids, they're both doing their best, but there's no way either of them should be subject to the severe stresses and strains of trying to cope with the catering demands of a 30,000 crowd in a hurry. Fault lies with the wise guys with the catering franchise. They can provide a very decent level of experienced catering staff at, say, horse racing, why can't they do it at football? Club might save thruppence on the catering contract, but they'll lose countless thousands through the tills. How come the only catering company most people agreed did a good job were the emergency ones who came in halfway through Amex season 2 and hit the ground running. How come they weren't awarded the contract the following season?

 

[Horton's halftime iceberg]

I bought some water just before ko WSL, and they had sold out, the girl then told me to wait and went off to the South stand and came back with some chilled bottles, I thought that was good service.

Is is possible supplies were low due to it being an extra game at the end of the season - possibly didn't replenish after the last game, and a very short turnaround 2.5 working days between winning away at the city ground to us hosting Derby.

 

[Marty___Mcfly]

I nearly lost in standing in a queue watching the guy in front being served hotdogs. The four actions required- get hot dog, get bun, put hotdog in bun, put both in a bag, took the server about 5 minutes per hotdog. It was like watching a slow motion replay..