Cheesed off Female Fan!

[Gullywog]

Fellow Fans, This is the first year I have had the capacity and wherewithal to be able to purchase a season ticket. The new stadium is truly fantastic and long long overdue for the club and for the people of this superb city of ours. To be able to participate in recent events has been wonderful for me. The atmosphere is truly great. I have held back for a fair few weeks now to air my grievances over discrepencies in the opening of the new stadium and how I believe things should be perfected. Hey, guys I know its early days and a good job has been done so far but here are mine. Please bear in mind I have been to EVERY game since we opened.
Catering - way below standard, although queue problem slightly improved since opening.
Catering Prices - way too high for below standard fodder that is far surpassed by a burger van!
Stewards - Well, what can I say - here we go, absolute ner do wells, not all of them (as a forty odd year old woman to be confiscated a bottle of perfume out of my handbag and told to collect at the end of the game is absolutely disgusting)
Stewards/Body Searching - Now this happened to me at Withdean and now flipping bag searching at AMEX - I actually feel this is a bloody infringement on MY human rights. Its totally degrading and bloody well unnecessary.
Bottle Tops: Upon purchasing a bottle of water (yes water), I was informed by the serving member of staff that in the interests of health and safety my bottle top had to be removed - what a load of absolute shite! There are people in the stadium with bloody heavy metal flasks full of soup and other people with bottle tops on their drinks - pissed off I was (especially after having said bottle of perfume confiscated - which I then had to collect at end of game!)
Anyway, nuff said for now, Mr Bloom and Co, hope you check in on all your supporters chat and all points are taken on board. I know its early days but seriously I hope this club does not try to run before it can walk. PR is a very powerful machine - take care to treat your fans with the respect they deserve after all the years they have been waiting for this!

I happened to be in the group behind this "woman" entering the West Stand Upper at approximately 7pm and was absolutely disgusted as well.

I have no idea what the hell you are moaning about, love. You were not searched, your bag was checked, as it would be if you were boarding a plane, going into Withdean, Old Trafford or the Amex. Claiming it was embarassing because you had "lady stuff" in there is ridiculous, as even men iron these days so have seen it all before.

How is this an infringement of your human rights? the only people looking in are 'trained' stewards, who don't give a flying toss if you have a tampon (used or not) in there. They are simply doing their job, which is made more difficult by the likes of you. By drawing attention to the situation you only made things worse for yourself as in my eyes you looked like an absolute TWAT!!

What made it even worse was that after ascending a couple of flights of stairs, you were still kicking off about this 'infringement' and actually preparing to complain to the police. What are they going to do?

As far as i'm aware, on buying a ticket you're agreeing to the stadium rules which will include being searched or having your bag checked. If you don't like it, don't go, but more to the point don't come on here expecting sympathy from people who quite frankly don't give a shit.

Besides, shouldn't you have been at home preparing dinner for your husband?

 

[MrShaun15]

I don't think so. I got my first negative rep for my reply.

have another positive one

 

[pauli cee]

1) Catering is well below 'standard' - If you think it is below standard, then presumably you have stopped purchasing after the first or second visit. Please don't tell me you have been buying 'below standard' produce on each and every visit.

2) Catering prices - Seems pretty reasonable to me. Eat before or after if you don't wish to pay that sum. Other stadia offer bog standard stuff for a much greater price (as do restaurants. Don't buy it.

3) Perfume confiscation - Now that you are not munching through pies or burgers, you are going to lose weight, sweat less and will be able to avoid having to use perfume within a two/three hour window.

4) Body searching - Now that you have lost weight through refraining from pies and burgers, they might not think you have something stuffed down your front.

5) Bottle tops - Tony Bloom is hoping to garner the largest collection of bottle tops in the world. We owe him that much, don't we?

spot on

 

[cjd]

I'm a bit astonished at some of the vitriol aimed at the OP.

She thought the catering food was below standard. I think it's OK...but no more than that. The price of the 'food' is.....IMHO......a tad over-priced. However, with 10% cashback on the smartcard and knowing the club receive a percentage of the profits...I can live with that.

I agree with her regarding perfume confiscation, but accept it is part of the rules. I also agree that 'body searches' are ridiculous, but again, accept they are part of the 'rules' etc.

With regard to bottle tops, I believe that Richard Hebberd has stated that the removal of bottle tops is not necessary and that the stewards have got it wrong.

All in all, not an opening post that should have attracted some of the insults that have followed. She is an Albion supporter....a new STH.....at a new stadium......hope she comes to accept some of the bizarre rules....and enjoys her footie.

 

[WeAreTheAlbion]

You wouldn't be angry and annoyed at the bag searches if the stewards found a knife or any harmful weapon.

 

[WeAreTheAlbion]

I bought an ex g/f some perfume. She asked what it was called. I said, 'It's called 'Come To Me'...', to which she replied, 'It doesn't smell like come to me!...'

 

[WeAreTheAlbion]

I bought an ex g/f some perfume. She asked what it was called. I said, 'It's called 'Come To Me'...', to which she replied, 'It doesn't smell like come to me!...'

 

[Al Bion]

As a fellow 40-something female fan like the op, this thread reminded me of an incident that happened to me back in the 80's when I was trying to get in at an away game and was stopped to be searched. The copper patted me up and down inside my coat before grabbing hold of one of my boobs and asking me to 'remove whatever it was I had stuck under my jumper', obviously this caused much hilarity amongst those that I was with and the copper must have realised his mistake and just told me to get inside if I wanted to see the game with no hint of an apology. I guess I could have caused a fuss but I was more interested in getting in to watch the match. Can't say I've ever seen the need to take a handbag to the match in the 35+ years I've been going but guess things are different now and we're attracting different sorts of fans in our shiny new stadium.

 

[fireseagull]

Blimey, the slightly hysterical OP has been washed away by a flood of even greater hysteria in the over the top responses. Not exactly a welcoming tone for the Albion's female fans (well beyond the OP herself) with this kind of vitriolic abuse on display based around someone's gender. Many might not mind, but it is 2011, you know.