1901 Club cost cutting

[Herr Tubthumper]

Please enlighten me with some of recommendations, or just a couple of your favorites, I'm always up for taking the wife somewhere nice.

I live in Hove close to the food strip of Church Rd. Virtually all of the restaurants are non-chain so I'm lucky I guess. Of the brands you listed we have a 'spoons but nothing else.

As for food establishments I like as much for the happy employees as the food I have to mention Harry's English Restaurant, The Chip Basket, The Ganges and Treacle cafe. All on Church Rd.

 

[Jim Jonny]

You seem to have a bit of inside information about the state of Azure and the catering at the Amex, are you sharing your concerns with with anyone at the club? If these things are going on behind the back of the club then they shoud know about it.

That'll be more than his job's worth.. But I will just say, you might find Azure know the score regarding the way the catering is going, so do the club, and the reasons for it.
I'm sure both parties are working on a cost effective solution to provide what most people want on match day.

 

[Jim Jonny]

As for food establishments I like as much for the happy employees as the food I have to mention Harry's English Restaurant, The Chip Basket, The Ganges and Treacle cafe. All on Church Rd.

We're on our way

 

[honey boy zimba]

hi superphil yes I do get told things but the club already know everything that goes on belive me , I am not anti Azure but im anti large catering comps . as a whole they just dont cut the mustard the figures only ever point to one conclusion high prices poor end product .In the past ive worked at other sporting venues and have fond similar probs its much better when it goes in house and you have complete control .Alas this was imposible at the Amex for now because of lack of knowledge ect but one day it might and then the club will have real control of costs and profit .Thanks for asking phil By the way if you go to say Twickenham you can pay up to £500 for high end hospo but its all champagne and lobster guess thats not for the amex

 

[southasp]

Sorry, I appreciate these are genuine grievances as you're not getting what you paid for. But by 'eck, I can't help but laugh at the "problems" fans have to deal with nowadays compared with a few years ago.

You are right Easy 10 it does seem petty moaning about bread rolls etc and in someways I feel a bit bloody stupid complaining about such trivial matters.
However when you have paid over three grand upfront to eat before games you do expect some decent service. Azure IMO have failed dismally week after week.
Our group have complained on numerous occasions and are offered complimentary drinks almost every other week,which we accept !
If the profile lounge was a restaurant in town there would be no returning customers and the joint would quickly go bust,they need to sort it out ASAP.
The lads on our table are all true old school supporters all with at least 25 years service supporting the Albion and are not the corporate JCL types many believe frequent the 1901.
All of us love the club,ground and football but hate the fact we are being robbed by Azure.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

We're on our way

 

[11Wisemen]

We often have a table for 4 in East Central before games & at £30 per head it is at the high end for fairly basic food, but it's a Football ground & no food is reasonably priced at any Stadium.
For entertaining clients it is still a very viable option & goes down well with them.
The staff are generally quite good apart from the one's that don't speak English !!
Quite difficult to take a drinks order if you don't speak the lingo - some are just employed to fetch & carry & not to speak.
Azure or not Azure the cost would be the same - captive market & the maths of supply & demand dictate this.

 

[abc]

I know a couple of people who are part of a group that brought several Platinum 1901 seats with the intention of seat sharing and using the 1901 dining for entertaining themselves, friends and clients (some have their own businesses). I believe all are long serving active Albion fans.
The general vibe is that they feel conned by the club's pre sale 1901 hype. The catering (sold as 'fine dining'!) is so poor/such poor value that they have all stopped using it and often meet elsewhere for lunch (including ironically an Italian near Withdean!) and would never take a 'client' that they wanted to impress anywhere near. There are various other gripes but 99% seem to be about the catering 'experience'.
I think it would be fair to say that they love the club, love the stadium and if they had brought ordinary season tickets they would be chuffed to bits. However they collectively paid a great deal extra for something that was promised and is patently not been delivered and hence are somewhat pissed off

 

[Superphil]

hi superphil yes I do get told things but the club already know everything that goes on belive me , I am not anti Azure but im anti large catering comps . as a whole they just dont cut the mustard the figures only ever point to one conclusion high prices poor end product .In the past ive worked at other sporting venues and have fond similar probs its much better when it goes in house and you have complete control .Alas this was imposible at the Amex for now because of lack of knowledge ect but one day it might and then the club will have real control of costs and profit .Thanks for asking phil By the way if you go to say Twickenham you can pay up to £500 for high end hospo but its all champagne and lobster guess thats not for the amex

Cheers for the info, I do hope they (the club) recognise this and do something about this, otherwise we'll be just the same as everywhere else.

I know a couple of people who are part of a group that brought several Platinum 1901 seats with the intention of seat sharing and using the 1901 dining for entertaining themselves, friends and clients (some have their own businesses). I believe all are long serving active Albion fans.
The general vibe is that they feel conned by the club's pre sale 1901 hype. The catering (sold as 'fine dining'!) is so poor/such poor value that they have all stopped using it and often meet elsewhere for lunch (including ironically an Italian near Withdean!) and would never take a 'client' that they wanted to impress anywhere near. There are various other gripes but 99% seem to be about the catering 'experience'.
I think it would be fair to say that they love the club, love the stadium and if they had brought ordinary season tickets they would be chuffed to bits. However they collectively paid a great deal extra for something that was promised and is patently not been delivered and hence are somewhat pissed off

All very valid points, and they match my experiences too, it's just not what we were lead to believe it would be.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Okay, enough about the food. Back to my original point: does anyone share my disappointment that the are now only 2 hostesses in the Profile Lounge?

 

[Bozza]

You are right Easy 10 it does seem petty moaning about bread rolls etc and in someways I feel a bit bloody stupid complaining about such trivial matters.
However when you have paid over three grand upfront to eat before games you do expect some decent service. Azure IMO have failed dismally week after week.
Our group have complained on numerous occasions and are offered complimentary drinks almost every other week,which we accept !
If the profile lounge was a restaurant in town there would be no returning customers and the joint would quickly go bust,they need to sort it out ASAP.
The lads on our table are all true old school supporters all with at least 25 years service supporting the Albion and are not the corporate JCL types many believe frequent the 1901.
All of us love the club,ground and football but hate the fact we are being robbed by Azure.

I know a couple of people who are part of a group that brought several Platinum 1901 seats with the intention of seat sharing and using the 1901 dining for entertaining themselves, friends and clients (some have their own businesses). I believe all are long serving active Albion fans.
The general vibe is that they feel conned by the club's pre sale 1901 hype. The catering (sold as 'fine dining'!) is so poor/such poor value that they have all stopped using it and often meet elsewhere for lunch (including ironically an Italian near Withdean!) and would never take a 'client' that they wanted to impress anywhere near. There are various other gripes but 99% seem to be about the catering 'experience'.
I think it would be fair to say that they love the club, love the stadium and if they had brought ordinary season tickets they would be chuffed to bits. However they collectively paid a great deal extra for something that was promised and is patently not been delivered and hence are somewhat pissed off

Cheers for the info, I do hope they (the club) recognise this and do something about this, otherwise we'll be just the same as everywhere else.

All very valid points, and they match my experiences too, it's just not what we were lead to believe it would be.

All you chaps are decent, long-standing fans and eloquent with it. Have you expressed your concern and general dissatisfaction directly to the club?

If so, have you had any response of note?

 

[Bry Nylon]

Hope they are able to keep the remaining two kitted out in the heels and short skirts though. Please confirm.

Yes, Derek and Trevor are still there.

 

[Bry Nylon]

If I was in charge of catering at the Amex, I would approach NSC and ask if I could have 2 sticky threads after each home game. One for comments / discussion about general catering, and one for comments / discussion about 1901. Unfiltered feedback like this is gold-dust for a company in the service industry. I would leave it for 3 days, then print off the comments and discuss with my management team and put in action plans to address issues raised for the next home game. I'd then ask NSC if we could do the same again after the next match and gauge how effective the remedial actions had been.

The fact that Azure haven't done this suggests that either they are clueless or simply don't give a shit. Or possibly a combination of both.

(Or possibly that they have asked Bozza and for whatever reason he has declined, but somehow I doubt that).

 

[abc]

All you chaps are decent, long-standing fans and eloquent with it. Have you expressed your concern and general dissatisfaction directly to the club?

If so, have you had any response of note?

My understanding is that there have been many many complaints by many 1901 members. I think perhaps there is a significant expectation gap. However the club created the expectations ( for instance I recall Martin Perry promising at the presentation a 1901 'concierge service' for ticket/seat exchanging and other member services. Try getting an answer to even an email at the moment! I also have a copy of the power point presentation that states 'fine dining'.) and ignoring the dissatisfaction will not make it go away. Ultimately I guess people will just vote with their feet.

 

[abc]

If I was in charge of catering at the Amex, I would approach NSC and ask if I could have 2 sticky threads after each home game. One for comments about general catering, and one for comments about 1901. Unfiltered feedback like this is gold-dust for a company in the service industry. I would leave it for 3 days, then print off the comments and discuss with my management team and put in action plans to address issues raised for the next home game. I'd then ask NSC if we could do the same again after the next match and gauge how effective the remedial actions had been.

The fact that Azure haven't done this suggests that either they are clueless or simply don't give a shit. Or possibly a combination of both.

(Or possibly that they have asked Bozza and for whatever reason he has declined, but somehow I doubt that).

A genuinely excellent and constructive way forward. However I have my doubts whether the Club (and it must surely be the Club rather than Azure that should be taking control of such matters?) will be interested. But I will be the first to applaud them if they are.

 

[Bozza]

If I was in charge of catering at the Amex, I would approach NSC and ask if I could have 2 sticky threads after each home game. One for comments / discussion about general catering, and one for comments / discussion about 1901. Unfiltered feedback like this is gold-dust for a company in the service industry. I would leave it for 3 days, then print off the comments and discuss with my management team and put in action plans to address issues raised for the next home game. I'd then ask NSC if we could do the same again after the next match and gauge how effective the remedial actions had been.

The fact that Azure haven't done this suggests that either they are clueless or simply don't give a shit. Or possibly a combination of both.

(Or possibly that they have asked Bozza and for whatever reason he has declined, but somehow I doubt that).

I was approached by Azure only last week about how they could leverage off NSC. Fearing the worst if we had a simple 'Ask the Club' type format, I made a suggestion or two very, very close to what you detail above. I replied within minutes of seeing the incoming email, recognising the concerns many fans seem to have with aspects of the catering service. I've not had a reply, as of yet, as to how they wish to play it. Hopefully we'll have something very soon, but the ball is very much in Azure's court right now.

 

[Bozza]

In fact, as I don't consider it sensitive in any way, a C&P of my email...

"Firstly, I think you're brave - as I'm sure you are aware people are
hyper-critical, and not always politely, when sitting behind a
keyboard.

However, I think you having a presence on the site would be a big positive.

I could set up an 'ask the caterers' section easily for you, giving
you the sole right to reply to posts. My concern is you may get a lot
of repetitive posts to answer - people get lazy and don't often read
what has gone before.

Alternatively we could have a section where only you can start a new
thread and others can only reply to those threads. This would allow,
for example:

- You to post a catering 'report' from each game, and ask for personal
experiences from that game for your consideration. You would not then
be obliged to respond to each and every post.

- You to post general 'suggestion' threads, such as 'what new pie
flavour would you like to see?'

- You to post news about upcoming changes to services or the menus etc.

Let me know what you think - I'm happy to work on whatever you think
may work best."

 

[Uter]

My understanding is that there have been many many complaints by many 1901 members. I think perhaps there is a significant expectation gap. However the club created the expectations ( for instance I recall Martin Perry promising at the presentation a 1901 'concierge service' for ticket/seat exchanging and other member services. Try getting an answer to even an email at the moment! I also have a copy of the power point presentation that states 'fine dining'.) and ignoring the dissatisfaction will not make it go away. Ultimately I guess people will just vote with their feet.

I agree that the catering was originally promoted as "fine dining" and it is some way off that, however it's much improved since the first few games IMO. Still plenty of room for improvement though.

The ticket exchange service is up and running. If you log onto the e-cash top-up web site and then click on "event details" you can can transfer your ticket via email.

Re HTs comment about the reduction in hostesses, I am not impressed and will feed this back to the club. Whether this can be pinned on Azure or not I don't know as they are not Azure or club employees.

 

[Bry Nylon]

I was approached by Azure only last week about how they could leverage off NSC. Fearing the worst if we had a simple 'Ask the Club' type format, I made a suggestion or two very, very close to what you detail above. I replied within minutes of seeing the incoming email, recognising the concerns many fans seem to have with aspects of the catering service. I've not had a reply, as of yet, as to how they wish to play it. Hopefully we'll have something very soon, but the ball is very much in Azure's court right now.

In that case I happily retract my "clueless or simply don't give a shit. Or possibly a combination of both" comment.

 

[Superphil]

All you chaps are decent, long-standing fans and eloquent with it. Have you expressed your concern and general dissatisfaction directly to the club?

If so, have you had any response of note?

Yes, concern has been expressed, at a number of levels, both with the club and Azure. I think we get a bit of lip service back, promises that things will get better, but they haven't really. The food is still nowhere near 'fine dining', or what they are charging for it. We know that Azure got it wrong in their expectations as to the number of 1901 members wanting to eat at each game. We know Azure have a bit of the hump at the amount of pies being bought in the 1901 as opposed to tables being booked. Sadly it seems obvious that Azure didn't bid enough to win the contract, perhaps they didn't realise how demanding 1901 members would be, or perhaps they had no idea what MP had promised us at the start.

If we bring it to the attention directly to the club staff who work in the lounge we seem to get responses like 'oh yeah, it's not good is't it?' or 'we've been on at them [Azure] about that so hopefully it will get sorted soon'

Three of our group had the food at the Liverpool game, it wasn't fit to serve to a monkey pen in a zoo, they complained, and were given two complimentary meals at a future game. they were told that two is the maximum number of comps that were allowed to be given in the instance of a complaint! I think therein lies the problem with Azure, for all the posturing that they are oh-so experienced, they simply are not, at least in Sussex they are not. We are also aware that Tony Bloom has also given them a rocket, but nothing seems to get through to them.

Whenever I have expressed my concern to Azure,I never get a response, unless I contact Elliot Moore directly. If you approcah the club, similar, you rarely get a reply. Myself and the 4 others in our little group are basically enjoying the surroundings, the bar and the view, but we won't be partaking in Azures food offer until we hear massive things about how it has improved.