Queue for half time food/drinks

[Micalijo]

Anyone else have problems in the beer queue on Saturday in South Stand or was it just my daft mate who picked the wrong line?

I think I'm right in saying United get a set fee per annum off the company who runs the stalls and as such no point complaining to the club as the volumes sold don't affect the club but it was back to the bad old days on Saturday for those who need some refreshment in order to watch Blackwell's brand of football.

No longer any bottle bars and I recall for a while they had a fella walking round with some bottles.

Not the end of the world by any means but there are machines available that pour drinks quick and if anyone from the company concerned is reading I will be happy to provide free consultancy services in return for VIP half-time treatment.

 

[Stafford Blade]

why not just pop down after 30 minutes? served in about 30 seconds and they won't have run out of everything!!

 

[Linz]

I think the club took the catering back under its own command before last season? I stand to be corrected but I vaguely remember hearing that it was the case?

 

[Deleted member 1486]

The one's at the Bramall Lane end of the South Stand were terrible, a friend went to queue 10 minutes before half time and was still there as the second half kicked off.

Another moan about Saturday; we queued for about 5 minutes (about 2:30) to get in to the South Stand entrance on Bramall Lane. We got to the front of the queue and the stewards suddenly announced they were closing the entrance. We (myself and other people in the queue) asked why and we were told they couldn't tell us. We asked if they could close the entrance at the back of the queue so that the people who had been waiting could get in (no). We asked what to do, they said to walk around to the other entrance near the Kop.

A few people started losing their cool and having a go at the the stewards. I thought something serious might be going off like someone had collapsed inside so didn't want to cause too much of a scene. I just asked if it might be worth hanging around for 10 minutes (i.e. would the gates be opening again?). We were told "No, no chance. These gates are shut. Walk around to the other gate". We walked all the way around to the other entrance and queued again and then walked back through the stand down to the Bramall Lane end of the South Stand (as that's where we sit) and I was really pissed off to see people streaming through the gates we'd just been told were closed. Farcical.

 

[Micalijo]

Yep - Bramall Lane side of South stand was a total joke at half time.

If United are losing out due to shortage/slowness of staff then something needs doing.

I might tell Sepp Blatter that the service is a disgrace and surely then McCabe might do something as he wouldn't want the Honduras fans missing the first 5 minutes of the second half.

 

[happyhippy]

I tend to find that my own bottle of pop (especially for a night match) tends to be the best way of resolving refreshment problems. No queues at all then.

 

[beightonblade]

The catering in our bit at BDTBL is 1st class.

 

[DuncDisorderly]

Hungry by half-time? I've got an idea! Why not have a decent lunch before you get to the ground, or get there at 2.30 when the queues are very short. This has the added bonus that you or your kids won't feel the urge to disappear every five minutes to go and top up on pies and hot-dogs throughout the game.

Also, I think I'm right in saying, that it has been known that humans have survived for more than 2 hours without drinking alcohol, although some of you seem to be fearful of what might happen if you actually try it....

 

[Robbie]

Also, I think I'm right in saying, that it has been known that humans have survived for more than 2 hours without drinking alcohol, although some of you seem to be fearful of what might happen if you actually try it....

They sell a product... they should have the workforce to make sure it is sold promptly and in a timely manner.

why not just pop down after 30 minutes? served in about 30 seconds and they won't have run out of everything!!

Can't buy beer at this time.

 

[DuncDisorderly]

... they should have the workforce to make sure it is sold promptly and in a timely manner.

On a practical level, what you need are 2 people behind the counter from 2pm to 3.30, then 20 people until 4.00, then 2 people for another 30 mins. Coping with the huge rush is always going to be a massive challenge, especially as you can't just have workers in for half an hour. They have to work from 1.45 to 4.15 to even make it worth anyone doing the job.

I would suggest that unless they have 20 staff behind each counter, and you are willing to pay £8 a pint to cover the cost of all those people to give you your quick service, then it is unlikely to become the nirvana you seek. Hence my suggestion...

 

[Sensiblade]

why not just pop down after 30 minutes? served in about 30 seconds and they won't have run out of everything!!

That would involve missing part of the match, which is a big no no in my opinion.

Also 2 hours without food or drink is not impossible and it also saves spending the obscene prices some grounds charge

 

[Robbie]

On a practical level, what you need are 2 people behind the counter from 2pm to 3.30, then 20 people until 4.00, then 2 people for another 30 mins. Coping with the huge rush is always going to be a massive challenge, especially as you can't just have workers in for half an hour. They have to work from 1.45 to 4.15 to even make it worth anyone doing the job.

I would suggest that unless they have 20 staff behind each counter, and you are willing to pay £8 a pint to cover the cost of all those people to give you your quick service, then it is unlikely to become the nirvana you seek. Hence my suggestion...

What used to work (as someone else mentioned) is the people walking round with the bottle of beers.... quick and easy. If they had maybe 4 people walking around each refreshment stand doing this, the queues would be helped so much, not just for people wanting beer.... but also people wanting food etc.

 

[DuncDisorderly]

What used to work (as someone else mentioned) is the people walking round with the bottle of beers.... quick and easy. If they had maybe 4 people walking around each refreshment stand doing this, the queues would be helped so much, not just for people wanting beer.... but also people wanting food etc.

...And what happens if they all want pies as well? Or I want a beer, and my kids want hot chocolate, etc etc. Whatever way you try to slice it, there is no easy solution, and trying to serve 10,000 people in 30 minutes is a serious task...

 

[Radioblade]

...And what happens if they all want pies as well? Or I want a beer, and my kids want hot chocolate, etc etc. Whatever way you try to slice it, there is no easy solution, and trying to serve 10,000 people in 30 minutes is a serious task...

Having people with bottled beer wondering around would significantly thin out the beer only queue (lets be honest, this is always the biggest queue by some margin) leaving more people to man the 'multiple options' kiosks.

Employing people who can add up 3 x £3 without using a calculator would speed things up as well

 

[Robbie]

...And what happens if they all want pies as well? Or I want a beer, and my kids want hot chocolate, etc etc. Whatever way you try to slice it, there is no easy solution, and trying to serve 10,000 people in 30 minutes is a serious task...

As the RB stated, it would thin out the kiosk queues.

If you wish to get a multitude of items.... the kiosk queues are then easier to get to for people who don't just want beer.

Also, as it spread people to queue bear the beer sellers, the queues would be smaller, enticing more people to go get something rather than wait in a massive queue.

They're never going to perfect it, but they can help out a lot more than they do.