Getting a beer at half time

[angelman]

The queue wasn't particularly long. The ridiculous amount of time that it took for each individual to be served was what took the time.

 

How about getting rid of draught and going for (plastic) bottles like they do with the cider? That would cut out the time needed for pouring. Having said that, that might not be the only problem. I did have a hot dog from the concourse last season, and the boy doing it had no sense of urgency what so ever and was ridiculously slow - not like the van outside the Northam who can serve your order very quickly. I suspect because he was so slow, the people behind me would either have given up or missed KO.

[hypochondriac]

How about getting rid of draught and going for (plastic) bottles like they do with the cider? That would cut out the time needed for pouring. Having said that, that might not be the only problem. I did have a hot dog from the concourse last season, and the boy doing it had no sense of urgency what so ever and was ridiculously slow - not like the van outside the Northam who can serve your order very quickly. I suspect because he was so slow, the people behind me would either have given up or missed KO.

Yep it was both of those things that caused a problem. One of the people giving out change was comically slow.

[Lord Duckhunter]

Who would want to queue for the sterile brews that Saints serve up these days anyway? Bring in craft ales.

 

And out of plastic glasses as well. Overpriced **** water, plastic glass, surprised there’s anyone queuing.

 

Must be the blokes who are pussy whipped & have to get home after the game, rather than go for a decent drink.

 

 

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[ALWAYS_SFC]

And out of plastic glasses as well. Overpriced **** water, plastic glass, surprised there’s anyone queuing.

 

Must be the blokes who are pussy whipped & have to get home after the game, rather than go for a decent drink.

 

 

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Maybe they don`t want to drink and drive

[hypochondriac]

Maybe they don`t want to drink and drive

Or they have an ill relative that they don't want to leave for too long. Could be that as well.

[IFHP]

Surely they could have X amount of beers already poured 20 mins before half time. I wonder if the payment and giving change takes more time. Bottle of water £2 easy, other products are priced at £2.30 and £2.40 so that adds time sorting change. How about a credit card type scheme with credit on and swipe it like an Oyster card or such like. Vending machines for coke and sweets/chocolate bars? We queued for a bottle of water, had there been vending it would have been easy, we wouldn't have been in the queue taking up time for the beer drinkers

 

You should really give the club a break , it’s not like the ground has been open for 17 years is it ......

[wessex saint]

In Kingsland north, they didn’t open the small bottle bar ( which has been open the last few seasons).

It meant therefore everyone queuing at the same outlet whether buying a bottle of lager or kids buying a chocolate bar.

Queue was so long it was a struggle to actually get down the steps into the concourse proper. A fair amount of pushing and pulling going on by people trying to navigate to the toilets etc.

 

Pi## poor management from people supposedly operating a service, and will cost them profit for sure.

 

 

 

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[holepuncture]

Thought the Dell bar would be a good option with the early Sunday kick off, but closed for a refurb after the summer break!

 

It would be nice to be able to buy some quality beers pre-match or half time, draught or bottles.

 

Had a some decent pints after the match in a pub.

[Toon Saint]

I’ve started going to the BrewDog before games now. Great selection of beers, never too busy. Relative bliss.

 

H/T queues in Block 38 were ridiculous. Club need to sort it out.

 

 

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Edited 14 August, 2018 by Toon Saint

[diggers]

total cluster fluk all day Sunday in the Itchen North concourse. Did anyone notice the team selection on the TV's 15 minutes before the game? Tadic lol

[Super_Uwe]

total cluster fluk all day Sunday in the Itchen North concourse. Did anyone notice the team selection on the TV's 15 minutes before the game? Tadic lol

 

 

He had one of his invisible games against Burnley, can't believe we're persisting with him.

[East Kent Saint]

Even if said beer/burgers etc are crap the club should at least be able to sell them in good time if fans want want to pay that much !

[Lighthouse]

 

He had one of his invisible games against Burnley, can't believe we're persisting with him.

 

I’m not sure about that big circle and one up front formation, either.

[Shandy_Top_89]

Just raking this thread back up for a second to actually say something positive.

 

I felt there was a vast improvement in service at the ground for the Leicester game, fastest queues I have experienced at St Mary's (actually served in under 5 mins at half time). It was nice to watch Wolves - Man City with a beer before hand and I actually noticed some of the increased product range.

 

I'm now going to need a sick bucket after writing the ultimate 'satisfied customer' post. But I felt I need to give credit where it was due.

 

Shame about the football part of the day....

[davefoggy]

Just raking this thread back up for a second to actually say something positive.

 

I felt there was a vast improvement in service at the ground for the Leicester game, fastest queues I have experienced at St Mary's (actually served in under 5 mins at half time). It was nice to watch Wolves - Man City with a beer before hand and I actually noticed some of the increased product range.

 

I'm now going to need a sick bucket after writing the ultimate 'satisfied customer' post. But I felt I need to give credit where it was due.

 

Shame about the football part of the day....

 

Which stand were you in mate? Itchen was a complete disaster at half time. There were actually training some staff members how to use the till during half time during a Premier League match ffs. Surely the pre-season friendlies were the best opportunity to train up new staff? But oh no, the bars weren't even open during the friendlies (only the food kiosks that were also serving beer)

Like someone else mentioned, the queues at half time yesterday weren't any longer than usual, the staff were just too incompetent to serve anyone. Some of them struggle to understand/speak English, which isn't their fault, but the real blame lies with their managers for not giving them the basic training that they need to do the job in the first place. There doesn't seem to be anyone 'in charge' on match days. Other grounds seem to cope ok at half time, I just don't know how they can get it so wrong at St Marys, it's been getting worse year on year

[Toomer]

I gave up trying to get a drink at half time years ago **** beer **** service.

[Shandy_Top_89]

Which stand were you in mate? Itchen was a complete disaster at half time. There were actually training some staff members how to use the till during half time during a Premier League match ffs. Surely the pre-season friendlies were the best opportunity to train up new staff? But oh no, the bars weren't even open during the friendlies (only the food kiosks that were also serving beer)

Like someone else mentioned, the queues at half time yesterday weren't any longer than usual, the staff were just too incompetent to serve anyone. Some of them struggle to understand/speak English, which isn't their fault, but the real blame lies with their managers for not giving them the basic training that they need to do the job in the first place. There doesn't seem to be anyone 'in charge' on match days. Other grounds seem to cope ok at half time, I just don't know how they can get it so wrong at St Marys, it's been getting worse year on year

 

Far end of Chapel by the Chapel - Itchen Corner, quite impressed as I even managed to nip across to the Itchen to have a chat with a mate for 5 mins at half time before going down to grab a drink. Obviously sounds like they didn't replicate it.

 

Actually my surprise at getting something so quickly had clouded the fact that we had been served by someone who couldn't speak English before the game and I don't mean struggled to speak English, couldn't speak a word and had to be physically pointed in the direction of what we wanted and we had to gesture the quantity of what we wanted with our fingers too. Which bluntly isn't acceptable, but like you say that is down to the quality of employment and training. Not her fault that someone decided that she was capable to man a till with no understanding of the language, also I bet it was probably a pretty stressful experience for her too.

 

So ill amend my message to 'at least it was better than Burnley'

[davefoggy]

Far end of Chapel by the Chapel - Itchen Corner, quite impressed as I even managed to nip across to the Itchen to have a chat with a mate for 5 mins at half time before going down to grab a drink. Obviously sounds like they didn't replicate it.

 

Actually my surprise at getting something so quickly had clouded the fact that we had been served by someone who couldn't speak English before the game and I don't mean struggled to speak English, couldn't speak a word and had to be physically pointed in the direction of what we wanted and we had to gesture the quantity of what we wanted with our fingers too. Which bluntly isn't acceptable, but like you say that is down to the quality of employment and training. Not her fault that someone decided that she was capable to man a till with no understanding of the language, also I bet it was probably a pretty stressful experience for her too.

 

So ill amend my message to 'at least it was better than Burnley'

 

Cheers for the info. Just imagine the poor souls who weren't successful in the interview process lol

 

I shall be emailing the club with my concerns this evening....

[Dalek2003]

I can't understand why people don't pack a flask of soup or Bovril and a kit kat for half time.

[Cabbage_Face]

Luckily we have a fan forum for this sort of stuff

 

 

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[hypochondriac]

You'll never have an issue getting a beer in the Chapel. It's the other areas that need sorting.

[davefoggy]

You'll never have an issue getting a beer in the Chapel. It's the other areas that need sorting.

 

Good to know, thanks

[Ivan Katalinic's 'tache]

You'll never have an issue getting a beer in the Chapel. It's the other areas that need sorting.

 

Good to know, thanks

 

It's definitely one Saints Voice have as an item to discuss with the club, both in terms of speed & quality of service & quality of the product on offer. .

[the boy from saints]

Plus all the HT & FT scores on the screen were all 0-0. It sounds trivial but I'd be embarrassed having the wrong info in a mtg of 7 let alone 32,000. Does it underline a general malaise within the club - like they can only be bothered to do a half arsed job of things?

[hypochondriac]

It's definitely one Saints Voice have as an item to discuss with the club' date=' both in terms of speed & quality of service & quality of the product on offer. .[/quote']Thanks. I'll look forward to seeing the results.

[Ivan Katalinic's 'tache]

Plus all the HT & FT scores on the screen were all 0-0. It sounds trivial but I'd be embarrassed having the wrong info in a mtg of 7 let alone 32,000. Does it underline a general malaise within the club - like they can only be bothered to do a half arsed job of things?

 

Yes, saw that too. Embarrassing.

[simo]

Left our seats on the blow of the halftime whistle to get the boy a water and didn't get back up until 4 mins into halftime from the Kingsland corner , Didn't help that some of the server's don't have English as a first language imo! Between that the strange decision to refurb the dell bar at the beginning of the season rather than in the summer and the farce of the away kit being none existing for us to buy the club really have made a **** start to the season for me !

[Ivan Katalinic's 'tache]

Ok, this is one on the agenda for the first 'proper' meeting of Saints Voice, on Thursday evening. Aside from better/more timely service at the bar, what are we actually looking for product-wise? I went to the Carabao Cup match, at Brighton, a couple of weeks ago and the pies and burgers were fantastic + they were selling local ale, too. Is this the type of offering we're looking for? Any other foodstuffs? I remember the pizzas were popular, when we first landed at SMS. Any feedback gratefully received. The response from the club on this, and other issues flagged early on, will be a useful barometer for what sort of dialogue this will truly be...

[Lord Duckhunter]

Ok' date=' this is one on the agenda for the first 'proper' meeting of Saints Voice, on Thursday evening. Aside from better/more timely service at the bar, what are we actually looking for product-wise? I went to the Carabao Cup match, at Brighton, a couple of weeks ago and the pies and burgers were fantastic + they were selling local ale, too. Is this the type of offering we're looking for? Any other foodstuffs? I remember the pizzas were popular, when we first landed at SMS. Any feedback gratefully received. The response from the club on this, and other issues flagged early on, will be a useful barometer for what sort of dialogue this will truly be...[/quote']

 

Brighton was far and away the best beer I’ve had at football the last few years. They encouraged people to stay behind to ease congestion, and we had our post match few pints in there, (it was the Sunday game, not Cup one). It was almost on a par with the pub. The problem with real ale is you’ll have to sell enough, know how to look after it, and the person serving it needs to know what they’re doing. They had it spot on, I doubt whether our shambolic lot will. If I remember correctly we did have Saints ale at one time, but it was ****ing woeful.

 

 

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[Give it to Ron]

Ok' date=' this is one on the agenda for the first 'proper' meeting of Saints Voice, on Thursday evening. Aside from better/more timely service at the bar, what are we actually looking for product-wise? I went to the Carabao Cup match, at Brighton, a couple of weeks ago and the pies and burgers were fantastic + they were selling local ale, too. Is this the type of offering we're looking for? Any other foodstuffs? I remember the pizzas were popular, when we first landed at SMS. Any feedback gratefully received. The response from the club on this, and other issues flagged early on, will be a useful barometer for what sort of dialogue this will truly be...[/quote']

 

Yes and given they have a micro brewery about 500 yards away Tap It it can't be that difficult to do.

[waylander]

Brighton was far and away the best beer I’ve had at football the last few years. They encouraged people to stay behind to ease congestion, and we had our post match few pints in there, (it was the Sunday game, not Cup one). It was almost on a par with the pub. The problem with real ale is you’ll have to sell enough, know how to look after it, and the person serving it needs to know what they’re doing. They had it spot on, I doubt whether our shambolic lot will. If I remember correctly we did have Saints ale at one time, but it was ****ing woeful.

 

 

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Exactly so. If you have half a barrel left over at the end of the game then it is not going to be drinkable by the time the next home game comes around. Maybe having the beer in bottles would address this.

[Give it to Ron]

Exactly so. If you have half a barrel left over at the end of the game then it is not going to be drinkable by the time the next home game comes around. Maybe having the beer in bottles would address this.

the barrels would be used in suites or corporates stadium isnt just used on matchdays. Just statt with small polypins

 

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[ecuk268]

My memory may be fading but didn't they have pre-poured beers when the stadium first opened?

 

Also go for contactless card payments only. it works on the London buses and cuts out fiddling about with change.

[hypochondriac]

My memory may be fading but didn't they have pre-poured beers when the stadium first opened?

 

Also go for contactless card payments only. it works on the London buses and cuts out fiddling about with change.

Agreed. Contact less only would speed things up immensely. Dealing with cash is part of the problem.

[Ivan Katalinic's 'tache]

What about dedicated drinks only queues?

[ericb]

What about dedicated drinks only queues?

 

They used to have those in the Northam and they didn't work, the main issue is payments, slow staff, staff that don't speak english properly (as has been the way this season) and not enough vending points.

 

The easiest solutions is more vending points, including those "backpack people" they had at Reading away, more tills on the counters and generally better preparation (it's not like they don't know when they'll be busy).

 

The quality of drinks issue is a different one, everyone will have an opinion on that but i assume the club will also be tied into long term contracts with providers so it'll be incredibly difficult to change right away.

[whelk]

Have a bottles only contactless section. Better selection of beers and ciders wouldn’t hurt. Dedicated staff serving beers and dedicated staff taking payment.

 

Get local pie seller in - people will pay for decent grub but have it separate to beer. As others said learn from the cricket

[Ivan Katalinic's 'tache]

They used to have those in the Northam and they didn't work, the main issue is payments, slow staff, staff that don't speak english properly (as has been the way this season) and not enough vending points.

 

The easiest solutions is more vending points, including those "backpack people" they had at Reading away, more tills on the counters and generally better preparation (it's not like they don't know when they'll be busy).

 

The quality of drinks issue is a different one, everyone will have an opinion on that but i assume the club will also be tied into long term contracts with providers so it'll be incredibly difficult to change right away.

 

Agree, backpack people is a possibility. Others have said, these have been seen before in the Northam. Thanks for your thoughts.

[mitch01]

Affects the atmosphere as well. Loads of people head downstairs on 38 minutes and the noise noticeaby drops. A bit annoying that, you know, the actual football match isn't people's top priority but at the same time they should be able to head down on the whistle and get a pint.

[DJ_TOAST]

What about dedicated drinks only queues?

 

At the last game they had a guy coming around before the game who you could buy a coupon from for the price of the beer/wine, and then at half time there was an outlet for the coupon holders only (where I think one of the betting stands was near the left hand corner).

 

I didn't actually take him up on it (as somebody else was getting the round in) but seemed a good idea and should cut the queues if people use it.

Don't know if was just beer you could get or all alcoholic drinks.

 

Did anybody use it ?

[jamesfp1]

Vending machines that only contain those big plastic beer bottles and only accept contactless payment would work resolve the issue.

[hypochondriac]

Vending machines that only contain those big plastic beer bottles and only accept contactless payment would work resolve the issue.

You couldn't really do that though because they can only be accessible at a certain time. I guess you could cordon them off but it isn't the best solution.

[Smirking_Saint]

Agreed. Contact less only would speed things up immensely. Dealing with cash is part of the problem.

 

I remember Fulham away in the cup last year had loads of those little drinks stations, with some form of drink filler that filled it from the bottom up (somehow) and basically allowed for a beer to be poured in around 5 seconds.

 

Surely they need to introduce these drinks only stalls, and possibly suggest they are coupon or contactless only, and also allow people to have a food only section

 

Unfortunately the queues are bad for everyone, god forbid some parent is being nagged to have something to eat or drink.

 

I'm sure the service can be improved, it really can't be that difficult can it ?

 

And saying 'Why drink that pish' is a pathetic ask really, if people want to eat, or drink, then its up to them and it should be on the club to provide a decent service.

[niceandfriendly]

I think the whole burger/pie/pint culture at football is slowly but surely fading away in a very similar effect to the kinds of degrees one could study at certain Universities across the nation whereby people will stop and ask "well is Marine Biology truly a worthwhile subject to commit 4 years or your life to?"

 

Accommodation and tuition are incredibly expensive these days. Thousands of pounds. Yet people moan about paying £3.50 for a pint? £4.50 for a pie? Would you pay more if the pie had peas, for example? You would, wouldn't you. Yet we'll all stand there at half time and debate the merits, or lack thereof, of all manner of subjects at universities. Hypocritical to say the least and reflects very badly on not just the club and its supporters but on the brewers and pie makers too.

[whelk]

Affects the atmosphere as well. Loads of people head downstairs on 38 minutes and the noise noticeaby drops. A bit annoying that, you know, the actual football match isn't people's top priority but at the same time they should be able to head down on the whistle and get a pint.

 

Yeah noise will be much louder when they return rowdy and p1ssed having necked a delicious Carlsberg 3.2% pint in 13 minutes. That is until they collapse and fall asleep and p1ss their pants.