Westfield 'catering'.

[Shakespeare blade]

So you're telling me that these beer pouring individuals follow their training to the letter and don't have any common sense themselves? You see a queue of people 100 deep in an aisle that is solely for beer and you're telling me they have to take payment first before pouring it when all those 100 people want an ale, as per the queue they're stood in? They always seem shocked when someone asks for an ale.

And if we're not gonna lay blame on the staff, let's slag off compass for being so shit they literally lose money every week by not telling their staff how to pour beer quicker. And by that, I mean before someone asks for it. It isn't hard at all.

Agreed it’s not hard but it’s still not the staff who are to blame, the blame lays firmly at Compass, but why keep buying from them

 

[Shakespeare blade]

The thing is at the Lane there is zero chance that everyone will stop using the service - so they can take the piss

I just don’t get it, shit service, shit products, company that doesn’t care and then people are shocked nothing changes whilst they keep giving them their money

 

[Sean Thornton]

Pie and peas please

How do you want them served ?

How do you think ?

Don’t know - some people want them separately

Ok - I’ll have them separately

In boxes ?

No - pie in box - peas on a red serviette

Look of confusion

Manager appears and puts young lad right

Long oblong box
Red serviette on bottom
Pie placed upside down on said serviette
Peas served on top of pie (still
In foil) and now soaking up whatever chemicals are in said serviette , which is turning to mush

Front of house customer service executive looks proud and fulfilled as he hands over his output whilst front of house finance executive checks if my order falls within plethora of meal deal combinations only to find it doesn’t so prices up accordingly and takes payment from my blockbuster card whilst front of house customer service executive points towards the condiment station when I asked for a fork / hendos

Lovely pie though - bit pappy I thought but a nice spin which could catch on

UTC

(Caterers)

At BL? A manager was there? Must have gone to work without his cloak of invisibility.

 

[Sean Thornton]

I just don’t get it, shit service, shit products, company that doesn’t care and then people are shocked nothing changes whilst they keep giving them their money

No point beating that drum. You aren’t thinking about those who can’t get through a game without a pint or who constantly moan about shit beer, shit food poor service and high prices for said shit who post again and again about how it was this week. I just wish l could get their details on my Magic Beans and Baby Unicorns mailing lists.

Last year Compass made over £600m profit. What do they know? (Or care)

 

[Bell4]

Depends on my appetite. Can sometimes manage a side order.

I had a go at a tasting menu recently

Trouble was that I was full by the time I’d buttered my roll

 

[Karaoke Blade]

I really don't get this infatuation with having to get a drink before or during a match. I normally don't have a drink, but yesterday I had 5 pints before the match ( met an old mate). I can honestly say this did not enhance the experience in the slightest. It was only when I viewed the extended highlights this morning that I realised how very little of the match I could actually remember.

 

[Varkanoid]

I guess its a long standing tradition, pie and a pint since the olden days.

Compass just like to give a modern twist, a pint that takes 5 minutes to pour (1 of those minutes is the poor sap trying to open the can) and the pie being served in 99 different ways. "How would you like the pie served ? Bashed, battered, mush, cold, burnt, rock hard, upside down, right way up, hotter than lava, in foil, in a box, etc etc"

What seems to be as amazing is the quality differs in different areas of the ground but its all the same stuff provided by the same company.

I just stick to my Rollover Hot Dog. Thats another story.

 

[Davalon]

I have to be exceedingly desperate to order dogmeat or dishwater from the Lane.

Loads do though. Therefore there's little pressure to change much.

 

[Shakespeare blade]

No point beating that drum. You aren’t thinking about those who can’t get through a game without a pint or who constantly moan about shit beer, shit food poor service and high prices for said shit who post again and again about how it was this week. I just wish l could get their details on my Magic Beans and Baby Unicorns mailing lists.

Last year Compass made over £600m profit. What do they know? (Or care)

I’m coming to the the same conclusion, taken me a while, but I’m just going to stop bothering now, as you said Compass, largest contract caterer in UK ( probably the world) with enormous profits, I wonder how they achieved that p

 

[Linz]

I’m coming to the the same conclusion, taken me a while, but I’m just going to stop bothering now, as you said Compass, largest contract caterer in UK ( probably the world) with enormous profits, I wonder how they achieved that

They also serve a lot of cricket grounds where, in my experience, you'd have to have massively fucked up to not sell tonnes of shit beer by the 2-pinter.

 

[Ainsley Harriott]

I really don't get this infatuation with having to get a drink before or during a match. I normally don't have a drink, but yesterday I had 5 pints before the match ( met an old mate). I can honestly say this did not enhance the experience in the slightest. It was only when I viewed the extended highlights this morning that I realised how very little of the match I could actually remember.

It's not the point though. The fact is, United (or compass) offer a drink and other refreshments before the match and at half time. It is simply not too much to ask them to offer a better service, especially considering the prices they charge for their products. I'm aware they employ students and kids, but who trains these people?

I know myself from applying that they give training on the day of the game for new starters. How is that benefitting anyone in an environment as fast paced as a football match?

My argument has always been for those who can pour ale to keep pouring it. I've shouted and screamed at them to do it to get the queues moving. It seems an alien concept to them. Pour as its ordered. No, pour it because people are queuing for it. Why they turn the tap off baffles me, just keep it flowing constantly. They know how many pints they sell on any given Saturday, so they'll know how many they'll need. If they're pouring 500 pints, why do these people have to ask what people want? It's retarded in its thinking. And the managers are no better either. They seem to revel in the fact they're managers rather than doing a job.

Overall, the service is 2/10. And that's being generous.

 

[biggiesablade]

Pie and peas please

How do you want them served ?

How do you think ?

Don’t know - some people want them separately

Ok - I’ll have them separately

In boxes ?

No - pie in box - peas on a red serviette

Look of confusion

Manager appears and puts young lad right

Long oblong box
Red serviette on bottom
Pie placed upside down on said serviette
Peas served on top of pie (still
In foil) and now soaking up whatever chemicals are in said serviette , which is turning to mush

Front of house customer service executive looks proud and fulfilled as he hands over his output whilst front of house finance executive checks if my order falls within plethora of meal deal combinations only to find it doesn’t so prices up accordingly and takes payment from my blockbuster card whilst front of house customer service executive points towards the condiment station when I asked for a fork / hendos

Lovely pie though - bit pappy I thought but a nice spin which could catch on

UTC

(Caterers)

What pie was it?

 

[Whiston Blade]

What pie was it?

Take your pick from "Bashed, battered, mush, cold, burnt, rock hard, upside down, right way up, hotter than lava" if varkanoid is owt to go by..

 

[Greasy Chap Butty]

I guess its a long standing tradition, pie and a pint since the olden days.

Is it though?
It would be interesting to hear from some old timers how beer was sold and when inside the ground.

 

[TJB.]

Is it though?
It would be interesting to hear from some old timers how beer was sold and when inside the ground.

Tinnies in a carrier bag on the Kop, wasn't it?

 

[Bell4]

What pie was it?

Steak

 

[Varkanoid]

Is it though?
It would be interesting to hear from some old timers how beer was sold and when inside the ground.

If you look at some of the old b/w photos you can see proper glass pints. My Grandad when he was alive said they used to sell Wards Beer there were proper pumps which served you like you see in a pub. He also said for quite a while after the 2nd World War there was a total ban on alcohol at the Lane for a while.

Bit more recent remember this from 2016 ?

https://www.sufc.co.uk/news/2016/august/pre-order-your-half-time-drinks/


How about this

Jan 2022

 

[Rodders]

If you look at some of the old b/w photos you can see proper glass pints. My Grandad when he was alive said they used to sell Wards Beer there were proper pumps which served you like you see in a pub. He also said for quite a while after the 2nd World War there was a total ban on alcohol at the Lane for a while.

Bit more recent remember this from 2016 ?

https://www.sufc.co.uk/news/2016/august/pre-order-your-half-time-drinks/
View attachment 144977

How about this

Jan 2022
View attachment 144980

In 2016 you could pretty much order a 3 course meal and finish it off during half-time. League One wasn’t all bad

 

[BushBlade]

I really don't get this infatuation with having to get a drink before or during a match. I normally don't have a drink, but yesterday I had 5 pints before the match ( met an old mate). I can honestly say this did not enhance the experience in the slightest. It was only when I viewed the extended highlights this morning that I realised how very little of the match I could actually remember.

I had a couple at the England game and I found myself talking some proper shit, like some nobhead who doesn’t really follow football or understand it. I was a bit embarrassed tbh. The only time being pissed has been a good thing was at Cardiff POF, where it reduced the pain. Felt like shit when I got back to Sheffield and threw up as soon as I got off the coach.

 

[Rodders]

The other alternative is this…

 

[Grecian2000]

I had a couple at the England game and I found myself talking some proper shit, like some nobhead who doesn’t really follow football or understand it.

The bloke who has sat next to me for the last few seasons has "moved on" this season. He was a real Jekyll and Hyde character. For Sat 3pm kick offs he would arrive late, usually the worse for wear, and be a complete dick head throughout. The referee got every decision wrong, our players were shit/not trying and the opposition were cunts. Generally an absolute twat to sit next to.
For midweek kick offs he'd arrive on time, dressed for work by the look, and was pretty much a decent bloke who seemed to know about the game and would judge things on their merit, even tackling people who were slagging our players off for no good reason.
Never really understood why he would want to make himself look a complete dick for the sake of a few pints!
Each to their own I suppose.

 

[LudlamBlade]

Downside : Got half the beer I paid for.

Upside : Came with a nifty pair of skis