I sent Paul Barber an email suggesting he read this thread and received a reply which I cant post cos I dont know how. Basically he said the caterers had ample stock but Thursday was the busiest any of the concourses have been and the takings were by far the heighest ever, so running out of stock was regretable but unavoidable. The catering operation like every department will be looked at during the close season. They were his words not mine just passing on the info.
In the North last night I felt a bit sorry for the lad who was first day on the job. Very capable supervisor girl reels him off a list of instructions along the lines of 'OK We've got two special pies tonight, Balti and Chill. Make sure they get the right one'. (The pies had G/B and G/C written on them). And also 'OK, customer has asked for a pint of Kronenbourg' and pours the pint herself. Then says 'OK, prices and pictures are on the till. Customer is paying with cash. He's given you ten pounds. Amount given will show. Amount of change due will show. OK, give him 3 pounds change.' Very capable supervisor girl does all the till stuff then hands new lad the change to give to me. It was horrible to be part of. Can't knock either of these kids, they're both doing their best, but there's no way either of them should be subject to the severe stresses and strains of trying to cope with the catering demands of a 30,000 crowd in a hurry. Fault lies with the wise guys with the catering franchise. They can provide a very decent level of experienced catering staff at, say, horse racing, why can't they do it at football? Club might save thruppence on the catering contract, but they'll lose countless thousands through the tills. How come the only catering company most people agreed did a good job were the emergency ones who came in halfway through Amex season 2 and hit the ground running. How come they weren't awarded the contract the following season?
