It appears that Nick Illingsworth has been refused a season ticket

[Secret Site Agent]

Yet again Cortese shows himself to be class 'A' tosser.

And yet again the same old Fundamentalist übber fans, who believe that to critisise anything the club does is close to treason, defend this petty little man.

 

What evidence is there that this is anything to do with Cortese? Who really thinks that Cortese really gives a **** about him in anyway shape or form?

[John Smith]

I've heard of this Cortese bloke, but who the frig is Nick Illingsworth???????

 

Illingsworth is the guy that represents 'all' fans through the popular Saints Trust. Apparently though, this is not the case, he kept quiet when it came down to the protests against Lowe, why? Probably because he still wanted to be on the board. Why? Because he is the most represented saints fan there is. Even though many on here don;t think he represents them, he still turns up on TV and newspapers, representing you, me, everyone. Some say that he is shy and retiring and doesn;t enjoy the limelight, but then, if he represents all of us, why is he so shy at coming forward, in fact, having his arm twisted up behind his back to do this.

 

Then, recently, NI decided to represent you and me, under the guise of the Saints Trust, in 'installments plan gate'. And where as some on here will have you believe that this is why he has been refused a ST, the next steps he took, for me, were the nails in the coffin. He went to the Echo. He went to the echo and made all sorts of claims and representations, on behalf of you and me. the echo reports, again, were apparently done with NI's arm up behind his back and sometimes even being sat in a stress position with a bag on his head and dogs barking at him, whilst a speaker bellowed AC/DC at full blast. Anyway, Cortese, the one you have heard of, has apparently said enough is enough, jump onto bed with my enemy, you become my enemy and banned him from having a ST. And, in doing so, has now agreed with the majority of those that do have an opinion on NI, in that, he does not represent large swathes of saints fans, and in banning him from holding a ST, those that he never represented have now jumped to his defense, rather than the clubs, which they claim to support and are trying to dictate to the club who can and can;t have a ST. Apparently, a club can;t have an opinion, but 3 or 4 fans can dictate terms?

 

Anyway, this is all opinion doused in a large dose of rubbish posted on this thread.

 

IMO, some people have a very serious agenda against Cortese and will stop at nothing until they have unsettled him. They 'want' to butt heads with him, they want to antagonise him, they want to 'expose' him. Why? I believe because they have nothing better to do. In time, I may be proved wrong, but, like Lowe and his cronies, ML and NC deserve time to do things. I never jumped on Lowe in the first few years. I didn;t bemoan him once because he knew more about finances and hockey than football. ML and NC deserve our respect. We should respect them for entering into this tough business and 'saving', yes, 'saving' this club. this is their first full run at things. This is the first full season that they have to do things their way. Yes, people should complain if they are disgruntled, people should debate on forums and in the pub if they feel unhappy, but, going to the echo is a whole different level. For you and me, it would be a pretty extreme event for us to take this action. For many, and I mean many, just not going is action enough, as I did with Lowe. In the end, I didn't want him here, I thought he would get us relegated and placed into administration and I had no faith in him. I was soundly barracked on this site, told I wasn;t a fan, told I wasn;t wanted, told I was a glory hunter and am onl using Lowe as a reason not to buy a League 1 ST. But, Lowe left, I returned and I bought a ST (2 seasons running now) in League 1, as I said I would. IF I had instead gone to the echo and slagged Lowe off, sent email after email and constantly phoned Lowe himself, I would have expected Lowe to ban me, and, this would have been brought on by MYSELF.

 

If I don't agree with something, I say so. I'm no uber fan. I watched painfully as we got relegated from the Prem, I cheered as we painfully reached the play offs under GB. I shouted my gob off when Pearson was here and we survived on the last day of the season, but I couldn;t bring myself to watch the dutch duo and Lowe bring this club to its knees. if you don;t like it, don;t go! I won;t say you;re not a Saints fan. Why? Because I know you are, and, sometimes, the pain is just to much to bear. Come on, we've all been there, but, how many of us went to the echo about it, and, IMO, made things worse.

 

HTH

[Dave Benson Phillips]

What evidence is there that this is anything to do with Cortese? Who really thinks that Cortese really gives a **** about him in anyway shape or form?

 

Everything gets signed off by Cortese, absolutely everything, right down to the pie orders for the concourse. The staff at SMS are running round scared of Cortese, the more informed people with contacts inside the club will know this. Why do you think there are 13 videos on Saints players with staff kissing his arse? Don't you find that a bit strange and unbalanced? Another member of staff would not pull a stunt like that, because you can say what you like about Nick ( there is plenty of negatives ) but one thing you cannot deny is that he is the Saints fan with all the contacts in the press and media.

[Dave Benson Phillips]

god we need the season to start!!

 

You just need to shut up and come back at the start of the season if it doesn't interest you.

[Thedelldays]

You just need to shut up and come back at the start of the season if it doesn't interest you.

 

Ah. The SWF mouth piece back on form

Edited 28 July, 2010 by Thedelldays

[skintsaint]

He did say his money was refunded for his season ticket !!!

 

yeah i saw this but doesnt mean it was refused...could of been an admin error? what was his response when he phoned the ticked office as its not on that link.

[Wes Tender]

If this happened to a customer of British Gas, not SFC, there would be uproar.

 

 

ROFLMAO. This would be the same British Gas where you probably have to contact a call centre in India on a number costing you 12p a minute. You will be given several menu choices that direct you to several other menu choices until you get to the one you want. Then you will be informed that your call is important enough for them to keep you hanging on the line for hours whilst they play musak. As for your assertion that if a customer was treated this way there would be uproar, I beg to differ. I haven't noticed marches of banner waving protestors in the streets of the nation's major cities, banner headlines in the newspapers, or mentions on News at Ten. Far more likely that the uproar would be a letter from "disgusted" of Tunbridge Wells writing to the Guardian. The equivalent of the posts on this thread.

[Dave Benson Phillips]

yeah i saw this but doesnt mean it was refused...could of been an admin error? what was his response when he phoned the ticked office as its not on that link.

 

Yes it is. He has been trying to get an answer and leaving messages for 4 weeks but nobody has responded. Left messages with pretty much every manager going, including the ticket office manager himself.

 

Seriously, you think that's an admin error too? OK then...

[Dave Benson Phillips]

ROFLMAO. This would be the same British Gas where you probably have to contact a call centre in India on a number costing you 12p a minute. You will be given several menu choices that direct you to several other menu choices until you get to the one you want. Then you will be informed that your call is important enough for them to keep you hanging on the line for hours whilst they play musak.

 

The main British Gas Call Centre is in......................

 

ST MARYS, SOUTHAMPTON

 

Pwned.

Edited 28 July, 2010 by Dave Benson Phillips

[skintsaint]

edit

Edited 28 July, 2010 by skintsaint
dont really care

[Saint Fan CaM]

Illingsworth is the guy that represents 'all' fans through the popular Saints Trust. Apparently though, this is not the case, he kept quiet when it came down to the protests against Lowe, why? Probably because he still wanted to be on the board. Why? Because he is the most represented saints fan there is. Even though many on here don;t think he represents them, he still turns up on TV and newspapers, representing you, me, everyone. Some say that he is shy and retiring and doesn;t enjoy the limelight, but then, if he represents all of us, why is he so shy at coming forward, in fact, having his arm twisted up behind his back to do this.

 

Then, recently, NI decided to represent you and me, under the guise of the Saints Trust, in 'installments plan gate'. And where as some on here will have you believe that this is why he has been refused a ST, the next steps he took, for me, were the nails in the coffin. He went to the Echo. He went to the echo and made all sorts of claims and representations, on behalf of you and me. the echo reports, again, were apparently done with NI's arm up behind his back and sometimes even being sat in a stress position with a bag on his head and dogs barking at him, whilst a speaker bellowed AC/DC at full blast. Anyway, Cortese, the one you have heard of, has apparently said enough is enough, jump onto bed with my enemy, you become my enemy and banned him from having a ST. And, in doing so, has now agreed with the majority of those that do have an opinion on NI, in that, he does not represent large swathes of saints fans, and in banning him from holding a ST, those that he never represented have now jumped to his defense, rather than the clubs, which they claim to support and are trying to dictate to the club who can and can;t have a ST. Apparently, a club can;t have an opinion, but 3 or 4 fans can dictate terms?

 

Anyway, this is all opinion doused in a large dose of rubbish posted on this thread.

 

IMO, some people have a very serious agenda against Cortese and will stop at nothing until they have unsettled him. They 'want' to butt heads with him, they want to antagonise him, they want to 'expose' him. Why? I believe because they have nothing better to do. In time, I may be proved wrong, but, like Lowe and his cronies, ML and NC deserve time to do things. I never jumped on Lowe in the first few years. I didn;t bemoan him once because he knew more about finances and hockey than football. ML and NC deserve our respect. We should respect them for entering into this tough business and 'saving', yes, 'saving' this club. this is their first full run at things. This is the first full season that they have to do things their way. Yes, people should complain if they are disgruntled, people should debate on forums and in the pub if they feel unhappy, but, going to the echo is a whole different level. For you and me, it would be a pretty extreme event for us to take this action. For many, and I mean many, just not going is action enough, as I did with Lowe. In the end, I didn't want him here, I thought he would get us relegated and placed into administration and I had no faith in him. I was soundly barracked on this site, told I wasn;t a fan, told I wasn;t wanted, told I was a glory hunter and am onl using Lowe as a reason not to buy a League 1 ST. But, Lowe left, I returned and I bought a ST (2 seasons running now) in League 1, as I said I would. IF I had instead gone to the echo and slagged Lowe off, sent email after email and constantly phoned Lowe himself, I would have expected Lowe to ban me, and, this would have been brought on by MYSELF.

 

If I don't agree with something, I say so. I'm no uber fan. I watched painfully as we got relegated from the Prem, I cheered as we painfully reached the play offs under GB. I shouted my gob off when Pearson was here and we survived on the last day of the season, but I couldn;t bring myself to watch the dutch duo and Lowe bring this club to its knees. if you don;t like it, don;t go! I won;t say you;re not a Saints fan. Why? Because I know you are, and, sometimes, the pain is just to much to bear. Come on, we've all been there, but, how many of us went to the echo about it, and, IMO, made things worse.

 

HTH

 

Absolutely fantastic post.

[Dave Benson Phillips]

edit

 

I would say Nick waiting 4 weeks for even acknowlegement is not jumping to conclusions don't you? Come on Skint Saint, I am not asking you to say whether it's right or wrong, but Nick being ignored for 4 weeks does not equate to an 'administrative error' . He has stated on the Ugly he has left messages with just about every member of the management team and not had so much as an acknowlegement.

[Sour Mash]

Illingsworth is the guy that represents 'all' fans through the popular Saints Trust. Apparently though, this is not the case, he kept quiet when it came down to the protests against Lowe, why? Probably because he still wanted to be on the board. Why? Because he is the most represented saints fan there is. Even though many on here don;t think he represents them, he still turns up on TV and newspapers, representing you, me, everyone. Some say that he is shy and retiring and doesn;t enjoy the limelight, but then, if he represents all of us, why is he so shy at coming forward, in fact, having his arm twisted up behind his back to do this.

 

Then, recently, NI decided to represent you and me, under the guise of the Saints Trust, in 'installments plan gate'. And where as some on here will have you believe that this is why he has been refused a ST, the next steps he took, for me, were the nails in the coffin. He went to the Echo. He went to the echo and made all sorts of claims and representations, on behalf of you and me. the echo reports, again, were apparently done with NI's arm up behind his back and sometimes even being sat in a stress position with a bag on his head and dogs barking at him, whilst a speaker bellowed AC/DC at full blast. Anyway, Cortese, the one you have heard of, has apparently said enough is enough, jump onto bed with my enemy, you become my enemy and banned him from having a ST. And, in doing so, has now agreed with the majority of those that do have an opinion on NI, in that, he does not represent large swathes of saints fans, and in banning him from holding a ST, those that he never represented have now jumped to his defense, rather than the clubs, which they claim to support and are trying to dictate to the club who can and can;t have a ST. Apparently, a club can;t have an opinion, but 3 or 4 fans can dictate terms?

 

Anyway, this is all opinion doused in a large dose of rubbish posted on this thread.

 

IMO, some people have a very serious agenda against Cortese and will stop at nothing until they have unsettled him. They 'want' to butt heads with him, they want to antagonise him, they want to 'expose' him. Why? I believe because they have nothing better to do. In time, I may be proved wrong, but, like Lowe and his cronies, ML and NC deserve time to do things. I never jumped on Lowe in the first few years. I didn;t bemoan him once because he knew more about finances and hockey than football. ML and NC deserve our respect. We should respect them for entering into this tough business and 'saving', yes, 'saving' this club. this is their first full run at things. This is the first full season that they have to do things their way. Yes, people should complain if they are disgruntled, people should debate on forums and in the pub if they feel unhappy, but, going to the echo is a whole different level. For you and me, it would be a pretty extreme event for us to take this action. For many, and I mean many, just not going is action enough, as I did with Lowe. In the end, I didn't want him here, I thought he would get us relegated and placed into administration and I had no faith in him. I was soundly barracked on this site, told I wasn;t a fan, told I wasn;t wanted, told I was a glory hunter and am onl using Lowe as a reason not to buy a League 1 ST. But, Lowe left, I returned and I bought a ST (2 seasons running now) in League 1, as I said I would. IF I had instead gone to the echo and slagged Lowe off, sent email after email and constantly phoned Lowe himself, I would have expected Lowe to ban me, and, this would have been brought on by MYSELF.

 

If I don't agree with something, I say so. I'm no uber fan. I watched painfully as we got relegated from the Prem, I cheered as we painfully reached the play offs under GB. I shouted my gob off when Pearson was here and we survived on the last day of the season, but I couldn;t bring myself to watch the dutch duo and Lowe bring this club to its knees. if you don;t like it, don;t go! I won;t say you;re not a Saints fan. Why? Because I know you are, and, sometimes, the pain is just to much to bear. Come on, we've all been there, but, how many of us went to the echo about it, and, IMO, made things worse.

 

HTH

 

You got enough time on your hands? Honestly not got anything better to do with your time than stick stuff like that up on an internet forum?

 

Can anyone on here honestly tell me they are happy and impressed with the way Cortese treats and communicates with fans?

[shurlock]

Everything gets signed off by Cortese, absolutely everything, right down to the pie orders for the concourse. The staff at SMS are running round scared of Cortese, the more informed people with contacts inside the club will know this =QUOTE]

 

Demented chinese whispers - no doubt youre just like the others who've shot their mouths off, unable and unwilling to reveal their sources and point to tangible evidence when pressed. Put up or shut up.

Edited 28 July, 2010 by shurlock

[O_RLY]

This does not bother me. I support the club, always have and always will. Quite why there needs to be a Supporters Trust I will never understand. Just go along and watch your team and support them. If you want to engage in some friendly banter and debate, pop onto SWF every now and then. But thats it. People like Nick Illingsworth are troublesome busy-bodies, have too much time on their hands and can **** right off. Same goes for those that run the Echo. Well done Saints.

 

Seconded.

[Sour Mash]

I would say Nick waiting 4 weeks for even acknowlegement is not jumping to conclusions don't you? Come on Skint Saint, I am not asking you to say whether it's right or wrong, but Nick being ignored for 4 weeks does not equate to an 'administrative error' . He has stated on the Ugly he has left messages with just about every member of the management team and not had so much as an acknowlegement.

 

I can't believe you've got the patience to carry on arguing on here. There are some who are still trying it must be an admin error

[Thedelldays]

You got enough time on your hands? Honestly not got anything better to do with your time than stick stuff like that up on an internet forum?

 

Can anyone on here honestly tell me they are happy and impressed with the way Cortese treats and communicates with fans?

 

Yes. We get told news if and when it happens. The people he annoys are those that somehow want to feel important. Sure there is room for improvement. After all we have literally started again. Overall I am happy. Even more so if he is annoying rent-a-gobs and the who use saints in colusion with ex 657 to blatantly rip fans off.... No wonder the company do not wish his to use the crest etc. He is not responsible with it

[NickG]

I would say Nick waiting 4 weeks for even acknowlegement is not jumping to conclusions don't you? Come on Skint Saint, I am not asking you to say whether it's right or wrong, but Nick being ignored for 4 weeks does not equate to an 'administrative error' . He has stated on the Ugly he has left messages with just about every member of the management team and not had so much as an acknowlegement.

http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/showthread.php?24047-Barnet&p=792395#post792395

[shurlock]

Illingsworth is the guy that represents 'all' fans through the popular Saints Trust. Apparently though, this is not the case, he kept quiet when it came down to the protests against Lowe, why? Probably because he still wanted to be on the board. Why? Because he is the most represented saints fan there is. Even though many on here don;t think he represents them, he still turns up on TV and newspapers, representing you, me, everyone. Some say that he is shy and retiring and doesn;t enjoy the limelight, but then, if he represents all of us, why is he so shy at coming forward, in fact, having his arm twisted up behind his back to do this.

 

Then, recently, NI decided to represent you and me, under the guise of the Saints Trust, in 'installments plan gate'. And where as some on here will have you believe that this is why he has been refused a ST, the next steps he took, for me, were the nails in the coffin. He went to the Echo. He went to the echo and made all sorts of claims and representations, on behalf of you and me. the echo reports, again, were apparently done with NI's arm up behind his back and sometimes even being sat in a stress position with a bag on his head and dogs barking at him, whilst a speaker bellowed AC/DC at full blast. Anyway, Cortese, the one you have heard of, has apparently said enough is enough, jump onto bed with my enemy, you become my enemy and banned him from having a ST. And, in doing so, has now agreed with the majority of those that do have an opinion on NI, in that, he does not represent large swathes of saints fans, and in banning him from holding a ST, those that he never represented have now jumped to his defense, rather than the clubs, which they claim to support and are trying to dictate to the club who can and can;t have a ST. Apparently, a club can;t have an opinion, but 3 or 4 fans can dictate terms?

 

Anyway, this is all opinion doused in a large dose of rubbish posted on this thread.

 

IMO, some people have a very serious agenda against Cortese and will stop at nothing until they have unsettled him. They 'want' to butt heads with him, they want to antagonise him, they want to 'expose' him. Why? I believe because they have nothing better to do. In time, I may be proved wrong, but, like Lowe and his cronies, ML and NC deserve time to do things. I never jumped on Lowe in the first few years. I didn;t bemoan him once because he knew more about finances and hockey than football. ML and NC deserve our respect. We should respect them for entering into this tough business and 'saving', yes, 'saving' this club. this is their first full run at things. This is the first full season that they have to do things their way. Yes, people should complain if they are disgruntled, people should debate on forums and in the pub if they feel unhappy, but, going to the echo is a whole different level. For you and me, it would be a pretty extreme event for us to take this action. For many, and I mean many, just not going is action enough, as I did with Lowe. In the end, I didn't want him here, I thought he would get us relegated and placed into administration and I had no faith in him. I was soundly barracked on this site, told I wasn;t a fan, told I wasn;t wanted, told I was a glory hunter and am onl using Lowe as a reason not to buy a League 1 ST. But, Lowe left, I returned and I bought a ST (2 seasons running now) in League 1, as I said I would. IF I had instead gone to the echo and slagged Lowe off, sent email after email and constantly phoned Lowe himself, I would have expected Lowe to ban me, and, this would have been brought on by MYSELF.

 

If I don't agree with something, I say so. I'm no uber fan. I watched painfully as we got relegated from the Prem, I cheered as we painfully reached the play offs under GB. I shouted my gob off when Pearson was here and we survived on the last day of the season, but I couldn;t bring myself to watch the dutch duo and Lowe bring this club to its knees. if you don;t like it, don;t go! I won;t say you;re not a Saints fan. Why? Because I know you are, and, sometimes, the pain is just to much to bear. Come on, we've all been there, but, how many of us went to the echo about it, and, IMO, made things worse.

 

HTH

 

This

[The Cat]

Can't see how it could be an admin error. No member of ticket office staff would just randomly refund a season ticket without being told to do so. I'd imagine the process gone through to refund a ticket means the member of staff needs to access the customers details through the database, check the name against it, enter their debit card details and process the transaction. It's pretty difficult to do all of this in error.

 

For someone like Nick who, despite huge disagreements with those involved, has been in close contact with the previous owners and board members of the club going back over 20 years it must be strange to have new owners who seem to hold little regard for the traditional club/fan relationships.

 

Even when we were battling through hard times, Saints have always had a dialogue between the board and fans groups and representatives. OK, the club probably didn't take much of this dialogue on board, but at least it existed.

 

Maybe it's a romanticism, but I like the idea of a club being rooted in it's community. I like it to be open and welcoming, to maintain strong links with the locals and fans groups. Even faceless multinational corporations use focus groups to improve their products to keep their customers happy. From examples I've read on here it seems our new owners are somewhat struggling with their communication with the fans. Whether this is a cultural thing, something they just don't understand having not run football clubs before, or just the way they want to do it, I don't know. Maybe in time this will improve.

 

Having worked for a number of companies from shop floor levels through to head offices, I've always kept customer communication levels high. Honestly, to reply to Nick, or to SRS/DBD's queries and problems shouldn't take longer than a day or two. Even to just fob people off with a thanks but no thanks is surely better than ignoring them.

[Dave Benson Phillips]

Yes. We get told news if and when it happens. The people he annoys are those that somehow want to feel important. Sure there is room for improvement. After all we have literally started again. Overall I am happy. Even more so if he is annoying rent-a-gobs and the who use saints in colusion with ex 657 to blatantly rip fans off.... No wonder the company do not wish his to use the crest etc. He is not responsible with it

 

Of course you are happy... YOU DON'T HAVE A SEASON TICKET NOR DO YOU ATTEND MORE THAN A HANDFUL OF GAMES A SEASON

 

For you, success is simply picking up the News Of The World on a Sunday morning and having a look at the league table. You have minimal contact with the club as a customer, so of course you will be happy, as on the pitch, things look promising.

[shurlock]

Of course you are happy... YOU DON'T HAVE A SEASON TICKET NOR DO YOU ATTEND MORE THAN A HANDFUL OF GAMES A SEASON

 

For you, success is simply picking up the News Of The World on a Sunday morning and having a look at the league table. You have minimal contact with the club as a customer, so of course you will be happy, as on the pitch, things look promising.

 

Superfan!

[Dave Benson Phillips]

 

Superfan!

 

Yes. Exactly. I know. Not this season though, I am a non-season ticket holder too.

 

There is a reason I pointed that out though...

[MarkSFC]

Everything gets signed off by Cortese, absolutely everything, right down to the pie orders for the concourse.

 

in true DBP stylee.....where's your absolute proof of this?

[Saint in Paradise]

I recently had two small problems, one was a ticket issue so I e-mailed Mr Luker as I wasn't sure

who else to contact. Within a very short time a young lady from the ticket office replied asking

me to phone her. I did and within seconds my problem was totaly solved. Almost at the same time

as her e-mail I had another e-mail from a gentleman in a different section at the club with the

info I needed with regard to my other problem. After another exchange of e-mails that second

problem was also solved.

 

I like to think that as I was polite in my comunications this helped a lot, was Mr Illingworth polite

or was he mouthy with a "do you know who I am" attitude ?

 

Treating people how you expect to be treated can make a tremendous difference in regards to how

you actually are treated.

[The Cat]

Oh, and all the people that have a go at Nick should remember what he and other fans did to get rid of Askham and to expose the dodgy and underhand takeover by Lowe. The old SISA, for all their faults, also helped secure the land for St Mary's.

 

That's why you need fans groups, or people that care about their club more than your average pop-along-to-home-games-and-lap-up-the-official-website type of supporter.

[Dave Benson Phillips]

in true DBP stylee.....where's your absolute proof of this?

 

He said as much himself in an interview, but I also know from a couple of people I know inside the club this is the case. No I won't give names, all staff were briefed that anyone who discusses club matters externally will be sacked on the spot.

[Deppo]

Why doesn't he just get a mate to buy him a ticket? It would save us 8 pages of Stuart whinnying on.

[theyin]

You got enough time on your hands? Honestly not got anything better to do with your time than stick stuff like that up on an internet forum?

 

Can anyone on here honestly tell me they are happy and impressed with the way Cortese treats and communicates with fans?

 

It seems many on here keep abreast of developments at other clubs through their forums as well. I will bet my bottom dollar near on every single one of those forums has a thread sla gging off the board/chairman/CE about one thing or another ... communication and treatment of fans being up there near the top.

 

The season can't start soon enough - hopefully then there'll be something interesting to talk about

[Thedelldays]

Of course you are happy... YOU DON'T HAVE A SEASON TICKET NOR DO YOU ATTEND MORE THAN A HANDFUL OF GAMES A SEASON

 

For you, success is simply picking up the News Of The World on a Sunday morning and having a look at the league table. You have minimal contact with the club as a customer, so of course you will be happy, as on the pitch, things look promising.

do be quiet

[Thedelldays]

He said as much himself in an interview, but I also know from a couple of people I know inside the club this is the case. No I won't give names, all staff were briefed that anyone who discusses club matters externally will be sacked on the spot.

 

of course...this is the absolute truth...yeah

 

 

*awaits abusive PM/warning from the admin

 

edit...like clockwork..it happens

[Daren W]

ROFLMAO. This would be the same British Gas where you probably have to contact a call centre in India on a number costing you 12p a minute. You will be given several menu choices that direct you to several other menu choices until you get to the one you want. Then you will be informed that your call is important enough for them to keep you hanging on the line for hours whilst they play musak. As for your assertion that if a customer was treated this way there would be uproar, I beg to differ. I haven't noticed marches of banner waving protestors in the streets of the nation's major cities, banner headlines in the newspapers, or mentions on News at Ten. Far more likely that the uproar would be a letter from "disgusted" of Tunbridge Wells writing to the Guardian. The equivalent of the posts on this thread.

 

British Gas' call centres are all in the Uk.... Oh, and the answer time is within 60 seconds or you're called back..

HTH...

[Dave Benson Phillips]

of course...this is the absolute truth...yeah

 

 

*awaits abusive PM/warning from the admin

 

* abusive PM sent.

 

Also, Cortese said in the interview that he is incharge and oversees and signs off EVERYTHING.

 

Are you saying that we can only believe SOME of the things from that hour interview?

[Dave Benson Phillips]

British Gas' call centres are all in the Uk.... Oh, and the answer time is within 60 seconds or you're called back..

HTH...

 

Not just that, but the main billing call centre is in St Marys!

Edited 28 July, 2010 by Dave Benson Phillips

[Thedelldays]

British Gas' call centres are all in the Uk.... Oh, and the answer time is within 60 seconds or you're called back..

HTH...

 

british gas, virgin media, BT....that was not the point...I think you know this

[MarkSFC]

He said as much himself in an interview, but I also know from a couple of people I know inside the club this is the case. No I won't give names, all staff were briefed that anyone who discusses club matters externally will be sacked on the spot.

 

"He said as much" is ambiguous, and not fact....link to interview?

 

The people you know in the club, are they close mates or just contacts you have made over the years?

 

And your last sentance is not about NC signing everything off its actually common business practice.

[Secret Site Agent]

As far as I can tell, the only FACTUAL thing that NC has done to p*ss off some fans is the installment plan removal.

 

I've said all along, if it is important enough to you, you find a way to afford it up-front. If you cannot afford it anyway upfront, you should be worrying about bigger things.

 

NC has rebuilt the team, made us potential promotion candidates.

 

The whingers can f**k off.

 

 

Bloody hell, I agree with Alpine!

 

****, so do I. That's twice in one post. Come on, whose hacked his account?

[Dave Benson Phillips]

"He said as much" is ambiguous, and not fact....link to interview?

 

The people you know in the club, are they close mates or just contacts you have made over the years?

 

And your last sentance is not about NC signing everything off its actually common business practice.

 

Well that's the point I was making, so what's the problem?!

[NickG]

As far as I can tell, the only FACTUAL thing that NC has done to p*ss off some fans is the installment plan removal.

 

I've said all along, if it is important enough to you, you find a way to afford it up-front. If you cannot afford it anyway upfront, you should be worrying about bigger things.

 

NC has rebuilt the team, made us potential promotion candidates.

 

The whingers can f**k off.

 

agree, removal of plan and communication around it very poor.

 

anything else factual - very good

 

lots of rumours, agendas and whining

[hypochondriac]

Can't see how it could be an admin error. No member of ticket office staff would just randomly refund a season ticket without being told to do so. I'd imagine the process gone through to refund a ticket means the member of staff needs to access the customers details through the database, check the name against it, enter their debit card details and process the transaction. It's pretty difficult to do all of this in error.

 

For someone like Nick who, despite huge disagreements with those involved, has been in close contact with the previous owners and board members of the club going back over 20 years it must be strange to have new owners who seem to hold little regard for the traditional club/fan relationships.

 

Even when we were battling through hard times, Saints have always had a dialogue between the board and fans groups and representatives. OK, the club probably didn't take much of this dialogue on board, but at least it existed.

 

Maybe it's a romanticism, but I like the idea of a club being rooted in it's community. I like it to be open and welcoming, to maintain strong links with the locals and fans groups. Even faceless multinational corporations use focus groups to improve their products to keep their customers happy. From examples I've read on here it seems our new owners are somewhat struggling with their communication with the fans. Whether this is a cultural thing, something they just don't understand having not run football clubs before, or just the way they want to do it, I don't know. Maybe in time this will improve.

 

Having worked for a number of companies from shop floor levels through to head offices, I've always kept customer communication levels high. Honestly, to reply to Nick, or to SRS/DBD's queries and problems shouldn't take longer than a day or two. Even to just fob people off with a thanks but no thanks is surely better than ignoring them.

 

Superb post.

[Daren W]

british gas, virgin media, BT....that was not the point...I think you know this

 

ROFLMAO. This would be the same British Gas where you probably have to contact a call centre in India on a number costing you 12p a minute. You will be given several menu choices that direct you to several other menu choices until you get to the one you want. Then you will be informed that your call is important enough for them to keep you hanging on the line for hours whilst they play musak. As for your assertion that if a customer was treated this way there would be uproar, I beg to differ. I haven't noticed marches of banner waving protestors in the streets of the nation's major cities, banner headlines in the newspapers, or mentions on News at Ten. Far more likely that the uproar would be a letter from "disgusted" of Tunbridge Wells writing to the Guardian. The equivalent of the posts on this thread.

 

Not true. Just pointing out elements of the post that are incorrect...

HTH

[Bucks Saint]

Superb post.

 

+ 1

[Dave Benson Phillips]

agree, removal of plan and communication around it very poor.

 

anything else factual - very good

 

lots of rumours, agendas and whining

 

Ignoring complaints - FACT

Ted Bates Trophy removed - FACT

Pay and Display Parking - FACT

Suites Re-named - FACT

Booking Fee - FACT

Matchday Surcharge - FACT

Removal of Installment plan - FACT

No notice of inteded removal of Installment Plan - FACT

Late notice of Season Ticket Sales - FACT

Short window to buy Season Tickets - FACT

Intentionally sitting back and allowing Saints fans to worry/speculate on Pardews future - FACT

Refunding NI's Season ticket - FACT

Petty and Bitter squabbles with Echo - FACT

Doubling the cost of matchday parking - FACT

No information on memberships even though they promise them 'early July' - FACT

 

There is plenty more, lots of little things start to paint a picture and become a bigger issue.

Edited 28 July, 2010 by Dave Benson Phillips

[Bucks Saint]

Why doesn't he just get a mate to buy him a ticket? It would save us 8 pages of Stuart whinnying on.

 

Oh, you have not heard about the face recognition cameras NC has had installed then? (originally to stop any Daily Echo employees getting in)

[MarkSFC]

Nick Illingsworth is a customer of Southampton Football CLub and as such should expect a certain level of service and communication...exactly the same as everyone else.

 

The fact that it is Nick Illingsworth a self-promoting spokesperson for a so-called fans group and suddenly there are 8 pages of "discussion". These pages are based on a quote from the OP from Nick Illingsworth himself (apparently) which of course will be 100% balanced.

 

The truth of the matter is that we DO NOT know the full story and NC/Southampton Football Club may in actual fact have a very valid reason for returning NIs money for his purchase of a season ticket.

 

Having listened to Nick Illingsworth over the years, from the SISA invlvement to his role now in the Saints Trust, and having met and spoken with the guy, my overall opinion is that he is very political. To me he is the stereo-typical politician, saying whatever he thinks is the right thing to say at that moment in time despite what he may actually think. To me it looked like he left SISA when they became very ineffective and the Trust became (at the time) a more acceptable more centre/right wing body.

 

He clearly is though a very passionate and dedicated "supporter" of Southampton Football CLub. And as any customer does, has the right to express his opinion or complain when he deems it neccessary. What is important here is the method and the manner in which he (or anyone else) does this.

 

We/I certainly do not all the facts as yet and should not pass judgement on either Nick Illingsworth/Nicola Cortese/Southampton Football Club until we do. This said I doubt we will get a detailed reason from "The CLub" and nor should we neccessarily. Their dealings with an individual customer should remain between those two parties. I do not want my business with the club discussed in any medium without my say so, whatever those dealings maybe.

 

Nick Illingsworth however has - in what appears to be "mid-transaction" so to speak" made his complaint/situation public. From his perspective, it appears, that the timeframes involved dealing with his apparent situation are not good enough and therefore he has "gone public". By doing so, and I stress this point, we/I do not know the full story he will have turned his situation into a legal one. As such the club will clearly take a difference stance than if everything had been dealt with in-house.

 

Some people will say that perhaps the club would prefer it all to stay in-house and have a situation like the one that is alledged to have taken place in regard to Nick illingsworth hushed up. Of course they would...every single company in the world would. But it appears that NI did not follow a procedure laid down by the club for complianing and as such cannot neccessarily expect a timely response if any. If indeed NI has followed the clubs procedures as they set then question marks over that procedure are valid and the club should accept them, review them, make adjustments, satisy the customer and move on....in private.

 

By going public, Nick Illingsworth has merely used his personal profile and contacts with local media to get his political message across. This is not the right or fair way of doing things.

 

Has he gone to trading standards? Has he gone to the Football League?

 

What he has done is mix his individual status as a customer with his position as Chairman of The Saints Trust. He has tried to use it in his favour yet when it seems like (and this is only from his side of the story) the club have made a decision because of his position with the trust he doesnt like it.

 

Until the club states publically their viewpoint on the matter we will never know but I know what my instinct is!!!

[alpine_saint]

Illingsworth is the guy that represents 'all' fans through the popular Saints Trust. Apparently though, this is not the case, he kept quiet when it came down to the protests against Lowe, why? Probably because he still wanted to be on the board. Why? Because he is the most represented saints fan there is. Even though many on here don;t think he represents them, he still turns up on TV and newspapers, representing you, me, everyone. Some say that he is shy and retiring and doesn;t enjoy the limelight, but then, if he represents all of us, why is he so shy at coming forward, in fact, having his arm twisted up behind his back to do this.

 

Then, recently, NI decided to represent you and me, under the guise of the Saints Trust, in 'installments plan gate'. And where as some on here will have you believe that this is why he has been refused a ST, the next steps he took, for me, were the nails in the coffin. He went to the Echo. He went to the echo and made all sorts of claims and representations, on behalf of you and me. the echo reports, again, were apparently done with NI's arm up behind his back and sometimes even being sat in a stress position with a bag on his head and dogs barking at him, whilst a speaker bellowed AC/DC at full blast. Anyway, Cortese, the one you have heard of, has apparently said enough is enough, jump onto bed with my enemy, you become my enemy and banned him from having a ST. And, in doing so, has now agreed with the majority of those that do have an opinion on NI, in that, he does not represent large swathes of saints fans, and in banning him from holding a ST, those that he never represented have now jumped to his defense, rather than the clubs, which they claim to support and are trying to dictate to the club who can and can;t have a ST. Apparently, a club can;t have an opinion, but 3 or 4 fans can dictate terms?

 

Anyway, this is all opinion doused in a large dose of rubbish posted on this thread.

 

IMO, some people have a very serious agenda against Cortese and will stop at nothing until they have unsettled him. They 'want' to butt heads with him, they want to antagonise him, they want to 'expose' him. Why? I believe because they have nothing better to do. In time, I may be proved wrong, but, like Lowe and his cronies, ML and NC deserve time to do things. I never jumped on Lowe in the first few years. I didn;t bemoan him once because he knew more about finances and hockey than football. ML and NC deserve our respect. We should respect them for entering into this tough business and 'saving', yes, 'saving' this club. this is their first full run at things. This is the first full season that they have to do things their way. Yes, people should complain if they are disgruntled, people should debate on forums and in the pub if they feel unhappy, but, going to the echo is a whole different level. For you and me, it would be a pretty extreme event for us to take this action. For many, and I mean many, just not going is action enough, as I did with Lowe. In the end, I didn't want him here, I thought he would get us relegated and placed into administration and I had no faith in him. I was soundly barracked on this site, told I wasn;t a fan, told I wasn;t wanted, told I was a glory hunter and am onl using Lowe as a reason not to buy a League 1 ST. But, Lowe left, I returned and I bought a ST (2 seasons running now) in League 1, as I said I would. IF I had instead gone to the echo and slagged Lowe off, sent email after email and constantly phoned Lowe himself, I would have expected Lowe to ban me, and, this would have been brought on by MYSELF.

 

If I don't agree with something, I say so. I'm no uber fan. I watched painfully as we got relegated from the Prem, I cheered as we painfully reached the play offs under GB. I shouted my gob off when Pearson was here and we survived on the last day of the season, but I couldn;t bring myself to watch the dutch duo and Lowe bring this club to its knees. if you don;t like it, don;t go! I won;t say you;re not a Saints fan. Why? Because I know you are, and, sometimes, the pain is just to much to bear. Come on, we've all been there, but, how many of us went to the echo about it, and, IMO, made things worse.

 

HTH

 

Yep, I never understood that bit, and its my biggest criticism of him. He seemed to keep schtum whilst Lowe and the Golden Duo took us to the brink of our existence. Strongerst evidence there is that his actions are motivated by self-interest.

[MarkSFC]

Well that's the point I was making, so what's the problem?!

 

AH! what I meant to say is that your last sentance is about not discussing business matters outside of the club......this is common business prcatice!!

[Dave Benson Phillips]

Nick responded to people like Dulldays going onto his boards and asking him direct questions and Big **** Last saying that Nick had his season ticket revoked on the Saints AGM thread.

 

Nick actually hasn't accused the club of anything, simply clarified what people were talking about.

[Ashby Saint]

I don't know Nick Illingsworth or the reason why he has not been able to obtain a season ticket. However, IF it is because the club do not appreciate his opinions / views then it is a deplorable act.

 

It maybe how you are allowed to behave in Italy (along with bribery, corruption and overly powerful business owners) but in England we have a strong tradition of freedom of speech.

[Dave Benson Phillips]

Can't see how it could be an admin error. No member of ticket office staff would just randomly refund a season ticket without being told to do so. I'd imagine the process gone through to refund a ticket means the member of staff needs to access the customers details through the database, check the name against it, enter their debit card details and process the transaction. It's pretty difficult to do all of this in error.

 

For someone like Nick who, despite huge disagreements with those involved, has been in close contact with the previous owners and board members of the club going back over 20 years it must be strange to have new owners who seem to hold little regard for the traditional club/fan relationships.

 

Even when we were battling through hard times, Saints have always had a dialogue between the board and fans groups and representatives. OK, the club probably didn't take much of this dialogue on board, but at least it existed.

 

Maybe it's a romanticism, but I like the idea of a club being rooted in it's community. I like it to be open and welcoming, to maintain strong links with the locals and fans groups. Even faceless multinational corporations use focus groups to improve their products to keep their customers happy. From examples I've read on here it seems our new owners are somewhat struggling with their communication with the fans. Whether this is a cultural thing, something they just don't understand having not run football clubs before, or just the way they want to do it, I don't know. Maybe in time this will improve.

 

Having worked for a number of companies from shop floor levels through to head offices, I've always kept customer communication levels high. Honestly, to reply to Nick, or to SRS/DBD's queries and problems shouldn't take longer than a day or two. Even to just fob people off with a thanks but no thanks is surely better than ignoring them.

 

Good post.

 

The thing is, and people will hate this, and due to my feelings towards the Trust, it's hard for me to post... BUT, like it or not, Nick is the most public figure with regards to fans at SFC.

 

The people stating that it was probably just an admin error are just p!ssing in the wind, it wouldn't take 4 weeks to rectify, they would simply email Nick asking for his payment details again and redebit his account. Of the many negatives I could say about NI, I don't believe he will intentionally lie about actions of the club, especially as he is well informed enough to know Cortese will have a Solicitors letter on his doorstep quick than Nick could say " Mama Mia " if Cortese thought Nick wasn't telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

 

Like it or not, but with any business, if you are dealing with someone who has links with the press which can potentially harm your public profile, then you escalate them through a different channel and make sure they have no grounds to complain, regardless of whether you like them or not or you agree with their views. This is common business practice. Cortese just seems to not give a f*ck who he ****es off along the way... one day it will bite him in the arse. The majority of fans on this forum will put up with being treated like a c*nt, others won't be so willing... and will start drifting away as prices rise and communication drops even more.