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new caterers hit or miss



Bozza

You can change this
Helpful Moderator
Jul 4, 2003
57,058
Back in Sussex
Did anyone really think that the caterers would get it absolutely, on-the-nail right first time?

I mean - REALLY?

Talk about getting a bee in your bonnet...

Do you think it's unreasonable to expect staff to understand English, have a basic knowledge of the products they are selling and to know how to operate a till?

I mean - DO YOU?
 




Knotty

Well-known member
Feb 5, 2004
2,421
Canterbury
But as CEO surely this rests with him? I know he has to present certain items to the board for approval but ultimately it his thinking and plans which the board merely back?


If that is true, then the Board deserve equal criticism when it is due.

However, I can't believe a board such as ours is so passive. There must be plenty of proposals and ideas that come from the board down to PB for him to implement, whether he agrees with them or not.
 


Herr Tubthumper

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 11, 2003
62,381
The Fatherland
They're also very aware of the brand loyalty enjoyed by Harvey's and Piglet's, and how it affects, among other things, transport issues after the match.

Re: the cheap booze thing - you can't, as a caterer, buy much cheaper than Foster's - yet it's still £3.90 on the concourses, the same as Harvey's. Can you see them dropping the price? Who would benefit?

Who benefits from the significant drop in quality in 1901 and the eye watering price hike? This defies my logic and I cannot see who gains from this. In fact the only theory I can infer is that Barber feels he can jack up the prices, cut the quality and we will still queue up to consume.
 


Herr Tubthumper

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 11, 2003
62,381
The Fatherland
Do you think it's unreasonable to expect staff to understand English, have a basic knowledge of the products they are selling and to know how to operate a till?

I mean - DO YOU?

And the drop in food quality has nothing to do with it being their first AMEX game.
 






Billy the Fish

Technocrat
Oct 18, 2005
17,594
Haywards Heath
The lot that took over from Azure seemed to me to hit the ground running and were pretty switched on from day one. Never went last night, but judging by the comments on here it sounds like a re-run of the early days of Azure. Is this Groundhog Day all over again?

Agreed, was going to put something similar. I can't believe they didn't get the contract to be honest, they weren't perfect but they were doing some things very well - the burgers in the North at the end of the season were actually pretty nice. It must all come down to money and who came in with the best price on the tender.

This just echos what happened two years ago with Azure - staff trained on the job and very little organisation from management. Caterers trying to cut corners on qulity to improve their bottom line. Make no mistake, we are starting again from square one.

I don't think it's fair to criticise individual members of staff for problems, those positions are generally filled with students and agency staff, it's fair to say that in most cases they will have less experience of what corporate catering should be like than an educated person in their 50s who regularly attends these events - they have taken on a part time job and obviously aren't being supervised and directed properly and the fault of that must lay with the management.

In turn the club can't just blame the caterers, they have bought a service from sodexo and it's up to them to make sure they are providing the agreed level of service. They need to be asking questions of sodexo at every turn and if things aren't up to standard they should make sodexo get their act together.
 


Pinkie Brown

Wir Sind das Volk
Sep 5, 2007
3,633
Neues Zeitalter DDR 🇩🇪
Did anyone really think that the caterers would get it absolutely, on-the-nail right first time?

I mean - REALLY?

Talk about getting a bee in your bonnet...

Saturdays farce wasn't just a few teething problems. It was a complete screw up, as is quite apparent by the comments so far.

When anyone makes a first appearance, whether it be a football player or somebody on the first day of work in a new job, they usually pull out all the stops to make a good impression. Go the extra mile.

Not so the muppets running Sodit-exo it would appear?

Ir was quite obvious that few staff had been given the very basics in training on Saturday night. That is unforgivable.
 


El Sid

Well-known member
May 10, 2012
3,806
West Sussex
And the drop in food quality has nothing to do with it being their first AMEX game.

Personally I would hope that Sodexo would have gone all out to impress with quality on their first outing. Especially with only a reduced attendance to cater for. It was clear to me on Saturday that they had failed to produce any quality and just as importantly clearly failed to give the staff the most basic training.
Let's see how they get on tomorrow........
 








Mileoakman

Well-known member
Aug 11, 2003
1,050
The name gives it away
There's teething problems and showers of shit

That sir, was a shower of shit

Plus, these are not first time stadium caterers are they? Poor form

This is it isn't it. From all the blurb we've been fed, (no pun intended), we were told that as far as catering at sporting events goes this lot were the bees knees. If that is the case how could they get it so wrong? I mean its not as if this type of venue is new to them is it.

I can't make the friendly tomorrow but I look forward to hearing whether things have improved or not, sadly I think its looking unlikely.
 




Superphil

Dismember
Jul 7, 2003
25,647
In a pile of football shirts
Who are Jo & Dodge? Why should we feel sorry for them?

Jo is the BHAFC employee responsible for hospitality bookings. Dodge is Paul Rogers, commercial manager. Both BHAFC employees, trying their best to sell the 1901 concept, whilst the caterers fail miserably to come even close to what the club is asking for.
 










Beach Hut

Brighton Bhuna Boy
Jul 5, 2003
72,280
Living In a Box
Got the special pie on Saturday and disappointed plus the £20 I had put on my card was a no show.
 


Herr Tubthumper

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 11, 2003
62,381
The Fatherland
Got the special pie on Saturday and disappointed plus the £20 I had put on my card was a no show.

I will be interested to hear how you get on getting your £20 back. Good luck.
 


crabface

Well-known member
Mar 24, 2012
1,883
Interesting to see this thread. met a friend for a Pint last night, he went to the game and had his first experience of 1901.

He ordered an orange juice and had to then point out where they were kept after the staff couldnt find them. They had no idea what the pies where and there was only one person in the lounge who could operate the till.

I know there where problems with Azure, but this sounded alot worse.
 




trueblue

Well-known member
Jul 5, 2003
10,905
Hove
It does seem bizarre that the catering has gone backwards form the stop-gap company who seemed to improve things from their very first game.

On the subject of price, I went to wembley recently where the cost of food is routinely slated. However, in that central club Wembley section, the concourse offering was still substantially cheaper than the 1901 club and the stir-fry we had was excellent quality. Freshly cooked in front of us. It is possible to provide good mass catering.
 


16 bit 44.1

New member
May 17, 2011
265
Hove
How did the £14 pasta compare with the infamous £25 burger and chips? I wasn't there on Saturday but want to know if I have missed out on a historic moment or whether the Liverpool menu is still the lowest point in football catering.

PS the menu I got sent mentioned a Spanish buffet.

Much better than the infamous burger and chips for £25 but equally not significantly better than the £7.50 "specials" that you could get last season (post Azure). If that helps..... :)
 


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