Paul Barber - Empty Seats - Detailed Response from the man himself

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portlock seagull

Well-known member
Jul 28, 2003
17,780
Christ you can both write!! But fair play to both of you, especially as you quoted my experience. Well done on all fronts.
 






fat old seagull

New member
Sep 8, 2005
5,239
Rural Ringmer
That Paul Barber appears to be so approachable whilst being heavily committed to the success of the club, should not surprise anyone who knows of his history. That Tony Bloom secured his services also says that we only want the very best at BHA. And though we may not be top of the league (yet) in football terms I'm damn sure we are in terms of club running and admin.
Whilst TB and other senior officials occasionally get verbal grief on NSC it's not often and only by the same malcontents, most of whom probably weren't any part of the dire years of struggle for us all. Or they'd surely know better.
For myself having first been indoctrinated into the Seagulls way of live at the Goldstone 59 years ago I can say I have never ever held out so much promise for the club.:)
 


Thunder Bolt

Silly old bat
The mobile sales unit is the mobile shop, which is going to replace the Queens Road shop. So much for those who thought we would be able to rent something in Churchill Square. It was also in the programme last week.
 






elbowpatches

Active member
Jul 7, 2003
1,178
Cambridge
I have sent PB emails in the past and credit where credit is due he is very good at replying personally.

In an age where I feel the club is becoming more and more commercial this is very positive.

Although I don't agree with everything being suggested by the club (paid memberships, the ridiculous £5 voucher from memberships that people will never use because they don't know far enough in advance when they can be used, the higher prices etc), let's face it, we need to be more commercial.

Just looking at other clubs in the Championship we are only doing things they are. And actually we are probably one of the top teams ready for FFP.
 


Barrel of Fun

Abort, retry, fail
That's great - but my emphasis is on new fans. Their first port of call will be the website. If there is any info on Pro Rata season tickets here then I missed it.

Sadly the website is utter shite. I wish we were independent on that front and not the current messy generic one.
 


Brovion

In my defence, I was left unsupervised.
NSC Patron
Jul 6, 2003
19,877
It sounds to me like he said thank you but we know best.
Perhaps. But the remarkable thing is if I were the club's CEO and received a lengthy email like that from a fan I wouldn't bother reading it, I'd just send back a standard 'thank you for your interest' response. PB obviously read it and digested it before replying. As others have said whatever you think of him that in itself is worthy of respect.
 




KZNSeagull

Well-known member
Nov 26, 2007
21,100
Wolsingham, County Durham
It sounds to me like he said thank you but we know best.

A lengthy response like that shows how interested he is in what the fans/customers have to say. That in itself is an excellent attitude, even if his response would suggest that they have already thought of, and possibly discarded, these ideas - which also demonstrates that he and his team know what they are doing.
 


drew

Drew
NSC Patron
Oct 3, 2006
23,630
Burgess Hill
It's a good thread but would just comment on a couple of things.

1 Dam is spelt 'damn', the former being a barrier, normally to water and the second a curse!!!
2 On a serious note, is £50 the cheapest it costs to take someone to a game. They chose the £37.50 seat whereas in the south stand it is only £31 including online fee! It's still pricey but then everything is these days!
3 As for the mobile number, why does everyone think you have to ring from a mobile? We all have them but plan ahead! Also, if you have a mobile, go online and buy.


Have to say that most of PB states seems reasonable. Match day sales mean that you could have a flood of 6k supporters turning up at short notice and that would affect the number of buses for P & R, number of stewards, even the number of pies. If the 6k don't turn up, do you have that surplus supply at every game.

I think some people get too hung up on the size of the crowd. Yes it would be great if the ground was full to the brim every home game but then you require all STH to turn up. Where we sit, there are two season ticket holders who, last year, only came to the Arsenal and Palace games! The most likely thing to affect atmosphere (other than the game itself) is not whether there are any gaps in the south stand or around the ground but the size and loudness of the away contingent. The best atmosphere is normally when the away end is sold out.

Still, that said, sterling effort.
 


drew

Drew
NSC Patron
Oct 3, 2006
23,630
Burgess Hill
That's great - but my emphasis is on new fans. Their first port of call will be the website. If there is any info on Pro Rata season tickets here then I missed it.

Those being advertised to are already in the ground and I would have guessed, bought a ticket. However, I have not seen these adverts. They certainly are not on the wall in front of where we take a pee. They are the only ad's I see at the Amex.

I think you miss the point made by PB that they have a massive database of people, not just those that have season tickets but people that have been to one or two games before and that they are being selective in their marketing rather than keep chucking out generic emails to everyone. I would get fed up if the club kept sending me emails trying to flog me a season ticket when I already have one!
 




goldstone

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 5, 2003
7,177
Well done to kingcole ... some excellent suggestions ... and respect to pb for the speedy and very detailed response. Very impressive!
 




I sent him a picture of my son who climbed Mount Snowdon raising money for a charity. As we were season ticket holders, he invited us down so he could say well done. He took us all onto the pitch, was charming and walked us from the West Stand round to to the East. I was very impressed on how he was with us. I think he has to make decisions that will make him unpopular, but I can't fault how he communicates with fans
 






Justice

Dangerous Idiot
Jun 21, 2012
20,696
Born In Shoreham
PB is TB's henchman he puts himself in the firing line when the main man wants to do some cost cutting, don't be fooled by the pretending to be interest emails.
 


Well done kingcole. It's good to know that someone is coming forward with good ideas for keeping the ground as full as possible.

I'd like to see a section of the ground put aside for young school children to watch the match free or for a couple of quid each (for games with expected lower attendance). Choose a couple of different schools each week and give them 50 tickets each - I'm sure that a few will get hooked for life.
 






Soulman

New member
Oct 22, 2012
10,966
Sompting
Well done Kingcole and it was good to see PB reply. I have to say that even after PB's detailed reply, Calde is still my favourite.
 




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