- Aug 8, 2005
- 27,246
Paul Barber email response to the tea/coffee issue and the delay in receiving 1901 tickets posted in full below:
Thank you for your e-mail. I hope you’re well.
I’m sorry to hear that your tickets/passes have been delayed.
This is due to a fairly small number (around 15%) of 1901 tickets not being collected by ROYAL MAIL. The club was informed of this issue by our printer only this morning. Unfortunately, in situations like this, we are very much at the mercy of our supplier (to inform us promptly if there’s been a delay – they didn’t) and Royal Mail (who, quite frankly, we simply expect to do their jobs and collect large batches of mail as requested – they didn’t).
From time to time, such issues do occur. It’s very frustrating for supporters and for the club - but it is not the club’s fault. As we have explained on many occasions, and in common with most clubs of our size and bigger, we distribute new tickets and passes as close to our first home game of the season as possible.
This is because a lot of experience - both from here and from other clubs – shows us that early distribution of new season’s tickets and passes leads to many tickets and passes being mis–laid ahead of the first home game – and this, in turn, causes a considerable amount of additional work for our supporter services team and delays for supporters.
With regard to the provision of free tea and coffee in 1901 lounges, this has never been a contractual right or official benefit for 1901 members. It was an initial gesture when the stadium opened from the club’s catering partner, Azure (which they funded), and after their departure, it has been something the club honoured (as other caterers couldn’t/wouldn't fund it) without any obligation whatsoever – at a cost of tens of thousands of pounds per season – for a further 3.5 years.
The provision of tea and coffee has never been featured in any literature relating to the sale of the 1901 club, hence there was no mention this time on renewal, and half time tea and coffee featured as the lowest ranked (next to friendly match tickets) of any benefits 1901 members have received during their first term from the 1901 members’ survey. I suspect that thaws because of the inevitable difficulties of delivering up to 3,000 cups of tea or coffee in a 15 minute period.
As such, we have focused our time and energy on the benefits that did matter to 1901 members and to keep the costs of renewal as low as possible. Based on my emails after renewal notices went out, our renewal pricing came as a pleasant surprise to the vast majority of members. We can only retain the most important services and keep prices competitive for members if we manage all other aspects of our cost base efficiently. This we have done and will continue to do.
Finally, of late, we have seen various references to the club “penny pinching” or comments from some supporters dismissing us attempting to secure savings of “tens of thousands of pounds” as if they are somehow insignificant or irrelevant! Unfortunately, when we are asking one man to fund our combined losses of £1.5m per month, such savings - wherever we can make them - are very significant and they are certainly relevant to the chairman.
In summary, far from 1901 members receiving a poor or worse service than anyone else, this football club provides a level of access, dialogue and overall support for fans that I have not seen anywhere in nearly 20 years working in professional football, and certainly in 20 years as a football fan and season ticket holder myself prior to that. Again, we can only provide such a level of engagement if we manage the football club’s business efficiently and remove non-contractual costs when we can.
Thanks again for writing. I’ll leave you to liaise directly with Paul Rogers regarding the most efficient way for you to collect your tickets/passes.
Regards, Paul
Paul Barber
Chief Executive
Thank you for your e-mail. I hope you’re well.
I’m sorry to hear that your tickets/passes have been delayed.
This is due to a fairly small number (around 15%) of 1901 tickets not being collected by ROYAL MAIL. The club was informed of this issue by our printer only this morning. Unfortunately, in situations like this, we are very much at the mercy of our supplier (to inform us promptly if there’s been a delay – they didn’t) and Royal Mail (who, quite frankly, we simply expect to do their jobs and collect large batches of mail as requested – they didn’t).
From time to time, such issues do occur. It’s very frustrating for supporters and for the club - but it is not the club’s fault. As we have explained on many occasions, and in common with most clubs of our size and bigger, we distribute new tickets and passes as close to our first home game of the season as possible.
This is because a lot of experience - both from here and from other clubs – shows us that early distribution of new season’s tickets and passes leads to many tickets and passes being mis–laid ahead of the first home game – and this, in turn, causes a considerable amount of additional work for our supporter services team and delays for supporters.
With regard to the provision of free tea and coffee in 1901 lounges, this has never been a contractual right or official benefit for 1901 members. It was an initial gesture when the stadium opened from the club’s catering partner, Azure (which they funded), and after their departure, it has been something the club honoured (as other caterers couldn’t/wouldn't fund it) without any obligation whatsoever – at a cost of tens of thousands of pounds per season – for a further 3.5 years.
The provision of tea and coffee has never been featured in any literature relating to the sale of the 1901 club, hence there was no mention this time on renewal, and half time tea and coffee featured as the lowest ranked (next to friendly match tickets) of any benefits 1901 members have received during their first term from the 1901 members’ survey. I suspect that thaws because of the inevitable difficulties of delivering up to 3,000 cups of tea or coffee in a 15 minute period.
As such, we have focused our time and energy on the benefits that did matter to 1901 members and to keep the costs of renewal as low as possible. Based on my emails after renewal notices went out, our renewal pricing came as a pleasant surprise to the vast majority of members. We can only retain the most important services and keep prices competitive for members if we manage all other aspects of our cost base efficiently. This we have done and will continue to do.
Finally, of late, we have seen various references to the club “penny pinching” or comments from some supporters dismissing us attempting to secure savings of “tens of thousands of pounds” as if they are somehow insignificant or irrelevant! Unfortunately, when we are asking one man to fund our combined losses of £1.5m per month, such savings - wherever we can make them - are very significant and they are certainly relevant to the chairman.
In summary, far from 1901 members receiving a poor or worse service than anyone else, this football club provides a level of access, dialogue and overall support for fans that I have not seen anywhere in nearly 20 years working in professional football, and certainly in 20 years as a football fan and season ticket holder myself prior to that. Again, we can only provide such a level of engagement if we manage the football club’s business efficiently and remove non-contractual costs when we can.
Thanks again for writing. I’ll leave you to liaise directly with Paul Rogers regarding the most efficient way for you to collect your tickets/passes.
Regards, Paul
Paul Barber
Chief Executive
