ian_mac Posted July 18, 2013 Report Share Posted July 18, 2013 If they werea not for prrofit organisation they could and should be registered as charity for tax and legal reasons....... they are not The people that are press ganged employed to my knowledge are under the work programme scheme, so they don't pay the wages, we the tax payer does. What training are these people given, how to cook and serve a pie, obviously none and aparently the staff turn over is so high that is one of the reasons the food hygiene certs are not posted Now 2 big questions 1 How does a company with ZERO experience or track record get the all inclusive PTFC deal? Was it put to tender as is standard practice or does someone know the directors? 2 If not for profit, where does the profit go? as £3 a pie or £60 a meal with no wages or overheads (I imagine PTFC will pay the electricity) leaves a substansial profit. I fear the next firhill beased expossee coming to a tabloid soon It is my understanding that they approached the club directly. At the time, we were apparently struggling to find someone to take over the catering side of things and SS tabled the only reasonable bid for it. Ajay Chopra was brought on to the board precisely because of his catering background but nothing has come of that so far. The problems were noticed by a fair few people last season, and it was discussed on here at length. The problem is that when the team is doing well, people aren't overly bothered by these things. I also think that the good work done by onethistle helped people forget about the little things that weren't right. I think with PTFC in general, because the last lot of custodians were so unbelievably bad at running the club, any small improvement is lauded, and maybe rightly so. But when you see how other clubs of similar size are run, take St. Mirren for example, you realise that our standards and expectations are exceptionally low. Fans of PTFC have been conditioned to accept mediocrity. I think it's high time that we got out of this mindset. other clubs are running their business better than us. I don't see any reason why that should be the case. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norgethistle Posted July 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2013 (edited) It is my understanding that they approached the club directly. At the time, we were apparently struggling to find someone to take over the catering side of things and SS tabled the only reasonable bid for it. Ajay Chopra was brought on to the board precisely because of his catering background but nothing has come of that so far. I agree with what your saying, but how can a company with NO experience of catering, or stewarding be the only reasonable bid?? By reasonable does that mean that the club doesn't need to do anything bar take the one off payment, This is a company with NO trading history, NO experience, NO staff bar the 3 directors, & NO premises (They trade out of Firhill). I still cannot understand how our experienced businessmen at the helm believed this was the right move Edited July 18, 2013 by Norgethistle 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian_mac Posted July 18, 2013 Report Share Posted July 18, 2013 I agree with what your saying, but how can a company with NO experience of catering, or stewarding be the only reasonable bid?? By reasonable does that mean that the club doesn't need to do anything bar take the one off payment, This is a company with NO trading history, NO experience, NO staff bar the 3 directors, & NO premises (They trade out of Firhill). I still cannot understand how our experienced businessmen at the helm believed this was the right move Completely agree. One has to wonder what the tendering process entailed at the time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stewarty Posted July 18, 2013 Report Share Posted July 18, 2013 There have been plenty of instances where 'not for profit' has been true, but only because directors paid themselves so highly there were no profits to be had. I'm not saying that this is what is happening here, just that the term has limited meaning. As uberteeb says, we need more info on their community activities and who is benefitting from their 'not for profit' ethos. Who knows, we may be pleasantly surprised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norgethistle Posted July 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2013 Completely agree. One has to wonder what the tendering process entailed at the time. I'm going to call St Mirren let them know that I can run the show down there, do I have experience? Hell No!!! Do I have an office?? Don't be silly, do you have a spare cupboard I can use? What about staff?? Don't worry got a few folk from the forum who can help for free pies and a carry out on the train back to Glasgow. They have to worryabout hee haw bar sending me a check for £100K once a year and I'll supply the pies and stewarding. The jobs in the bag, I'm sure of it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stewarty Posted July 18, 2013 Report Share Posted July 18, 2013 They have a twitter feed, but it's not been active for a while. Ironically they follow Jeremy Hunt, Health Secretary! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norgethistle Posted July 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2013 Just to jump back to this we have a fan on the sponsorship thread stating he's been trying to sponsor a player but no one at Firhill will answer his mails, do we really have this untold wealth of the SPFL already Posted 18 July 2013 - 09:47 AM Atleast the club have spoken to you about player sponsorship, I have sponsored a jersey for the last 5 or 6 years, and despite emailing and leaving messages no-one has got back to me. I start to wonder if they want player sponsership from individual fans Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChewinGumMacaroonBaaaz Posted July 20, 2013 Report Share Posted July 20, 2013 (edited) We should never have let Jez Moxey go. Jim Oliver's biggest mistake. We need another person like him. Is this kind of stuff, hospitality, P.R., marketing, in Maxy's remit? I'm hoping a survival season in the top flight will allow the staffing structure of the club to settle and become more defined, organised and reliable. It appears, to the outsider, rather muddled, stretched and patchy at the moment. I aint gonna condemn the good folks at firhill for their efforts, even if they do fall short of my hopes or expectations. Plenty snipers about to do that. Thank f**k we at least have people in place who can keep the club going. They have my respect and gratitude. Perhaps we oughta remember we're lucky to have a club that has managed, by the skin of our teeth at times, not to go tits up. I'm not having a go at folks who raise issues. Polite, constructive criticism and keeping a close eye on what the "custodians" are up to is the duty of every Jags fan. However, be aware that the step up the footballing ladder won't be immediately matched by our off field organisation and the focus off many non-jags fans will be to pin-point and highlight where and when we f**k up. One love. One team. ONE THISTLE!!!! Edited July 20, 2013 by ChewinGumMacaroonBaaaz 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaggy Posted July 20, 2013 Report Share Posted July 20, 2013 We should never have let Jez Moxey go. Jim Oliver's biggest mistake. We need another person like him. I don't think we had a choice, he went on to bigger & better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lady-isobel-barnett Posted July 20, 2013 Report Share Posted July 20, 2013 (edited) I'd like to see a company come in and take over the Aitken suite with a view to making it a fully functioning social club, open 7 days a week. The place needs a complete overhaul. There is nothing "homely" about the place and it's a horrible place to go for a pint. We could learn a lot from the juniors clubs in that respect. It's the social clubs that are keeping these teams alive these days. If we ran ours like that it could be a real money-spinner for the club 5 years down the line. I've long argued that the best use of the Aitken Suite would be to run it along the lines of a social club. Most suggestions on here etc seem to always be aimed at making the place more attractive to fans to use pre match, & to a lesser extent post match. Admirable suggestions mainly but when you stop to think about it all fairly pointless Bringing more people in between 1.30-2.30pm and 5.00-6.30 pm will just result in either even slower service or more staffing. Certainly little or no increased net profit. Extending the times the premises is open for private functions, Jags related socials etc would help a great deal. Charge a token membership fee and try to offset that against a few Jags related benefits (maybe tie it with the Tag thingy?) and you're half way there. Look to who would benefit most from membership. Off the top of my head I'd say parents who take kids to games and the elderly and infirm, who could value the proximity of the premises to the ground, would value a social club. Get the MotM to pop in after the game and Shaggy or someone with the team sheets before. That sort of thing. It's folly to believe that the Aitken Suite can compete with a professionally run pub re pricing, atmosphere general ambiance. Find something Jags related that the pubs can't match then you've got a genuine alternative. Edited July 20, 2013 by lady-isobel-barnett 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norgethistle Posted July 29, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2013 Just to add to this by the time my Dads ST will be posted he will have had 5 letters from the club 1 to renew he went to Firhill and handed it in choosing same seat as last 20 years 1 letter asking him to choose his seat (see above he already did) 1 voucher for Limassol which arrived today (as he was on holiday till Sunday didn't matter) 1 voucher for Dundee UT also arrived today 1 letter to come around 5th telling him when actual ticket is ready for collection. Now multiply this by 1500 people and that's several thousand pound, are we really that wealthy with the SPFL money we can bankroll Royal Mail? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenziejag Posted July 29, 2013 Report Share Posted July 29, 2013 Norge, not everyone has received so many letters. So far, I have only received the one letter with the Limassol tickets. These arrived in plenty of time for the game. I am not sure what you expect the club to do if the contractor doesn't deliver on time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
potty trained Posted July 29, 2013 Report Share Posted July 29, 2013 The contractor has delivered on time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norgethistle Posted July 29, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2013 The contractor has delivered on time. That's what I had heard too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scamps Posted July 29, 2013 Report Share Posted July 29, 2013 The contractor has delivered on time. This 'contractor never delivered in time' discussion confused me. Seems like Thistle never had the tickets in time, or never ordered the right type of tickets/cards in the first place. Something of that ilk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rid Skwerr Posted July 29, 2013 Report Share Posted July 29, 2013 There appeared to be nothing new by way of visible equipment around the JH turnstile I used on Saturday. Shouldn't we be seeing card readers or something by now if the contractor is on time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norgethistle Posted July 29, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2013 All depends on what the agreed delivery time for the new equipment is, now a clever company would have stipulated 2 weeks ago and test run it prior to a small live game against Limassol to prove it in real life, but that option may have cost more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoda-jag Posted July 30, 2013 Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 There appeared to be nothing new by way of visible equipment around the JH turnstile I used on Saturday. Shouldn't we be seeing card readers or something by now if the contractor is on time? same for north stand, as i decided to go there for the friendly on saturday. looked same as they have for several decades. hmmmm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norgethistle Posted July 30, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 same for north stand, as i decided to go there for the friendly on saturday. looked same as they have for several decades. hmmmm. Maybe its this system we are using http://www.petsathome.com/shop/two-way-medium-brown-pet-door-750-by-staywell-24663 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norgethistle Posted August 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2013 2 weeks on from my original post and we still seem to be lurching from one mistake to another. ST's still lack of clarification regarding vouchers for kids, seating for NS etc etc, plus the cost of stamps etc and the new system not being ready, and vouchers being late or not sent out Tag scheme, 1 day till kick off....... how do I access it, hell how do I pay, the clubs never got back to us Advertising, apparently we have barely sold any track-side advertising, do we have an advertising team / guy or is this the students remit too Sporting Solutions, still apparently problems with pies and stewarding, lets see how it pans out in the real games Communication, kids free for home and away, then 2 days before DUFC visit we change the goal posts and say it will cost them a fiver Centenary Fund.... missed draw again DVD still no word but apparently its forthcoming, I wait with baited breath Sponsorship, we had a guy posting he'd been trying to sponsor a player but no one at firhill was interested in getting back to him All of this is costing us money we cannot afford to lose (Sporting Solutions will cost us if the Babyshed etc stop coming, or hospitality drops due to the crap food), the only folk I see trying to improve the club off the field is ONETHISTLE We are a top 12 club on the park but are a bottom 6 club off it, we could learn alot from the likes of Forfar and Peterhead who put us to shame with how they run things office wise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mediocre Pundit Posted August 1, 2013 Report Share Posted August 1, 2013 2 weeks on from my original post and we still seem to be lurching from one mistake to another. We are a top 12 club on the park but are a bottom 6 club off it, we could learn alot from the likes of Forfar and Peterhead who put us to shame with how they run things office wise Not disagreeing with the majority of your post but do they? Do they really? I think we're exaggerating how professional any club of our size (or smaller) is in this country. We all make do as best we can. Should we do better? Yes, but lets not exaggerate our performance relative to others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
potty trained Posted August 1, 2013 Report Share Posted August 1, 2013 Not disagreeing with the majority of your post but do they? Do they really? We all make do as best we can. Should we do better? Yes, but lets not exaggerate our performance relative to others. Yes teams of similar size do excel. i think its sad that we as fans look to our club to "do as best we can". that to me is accepting mediocre business management and accepting that things will not be done in a professional manner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norgethistle Posted August 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2013 Not disagreeing with the majority of your post but do they? Do they really? I think we're exaggerating how professional any club of our size (or smaller) is in this country. We all make do as best we can. Should we do better? Yes, but lets not exaggerate our performance relative to others. Forfar have fully sold out hospitality for next season. Peterhead are almost there............ how are we doing?? Forfar have sold nearly all advertising hoardings........... have we?? Forfar have a weekly lottery paying up to £3000 and its drawn on time,............ how's our doing?? Peterhead utilize their social club / function suite out of matchdays with live bands etc........... how's our utilization of the facilities?? Forfar have a full time office personnel as do Peterhead dealing in and trained in marketing, sponsorship etc.......... do we?? Quoting these 2 clubs as I am friendly with folk who have season tickets / sponsor both, thy would put us to shame 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stillresigned Posted August 1, 2013 Report Share Posted August 1, 2013 Seems to me that although most of the issues raised here are pretty minor when looked at in the grand scheme of things. However, when aggregated it seems to me they do the club no favors at all and in fact have the potential to cause not insignificant reputational harm, at the very least. What is needed is an acknowledged professional to come in and take a grip on all of these issues. In saying this I am not in any way having a go at any of the present staff, who are doing their best under trying circumstances. If I had to cast any aspersions, then responsibility would have to lie with the board, some of whom at least should have the foresight to realise the inevitable consequences of trying to to do everything "on the cheap". That said the situation is far from irretrievable, and if the club get hold of these various issues fast, then the attention of the support can switch back to where it rightly belongs i.e. to events on the park. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Blutarsky Posted August 1, 2013 Report Share Posted August 1, 2013 No disrespect to Maxi, but unless he has a business degree i'm unaware of, i don't think he's suited to the job... Apart from being disrespectful to ....er, Maxi, that is actually hilarious. Some of most inept chancers I've met in business were overly keen to wave their MBA in my face within 5 minutes of meeting them. It's nota pre-requisite or guarantee of ability or success. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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