TOPIC: Meet and greet

Can someone explain the concept to me? I must've missed the original explanation/concept and don't have time to look for it. Keep seeing it mentioned.

It can be a variety of things, including:

* assistance with ticket collection / directing to appropriate area of the ground
* support for disabled fans
* location of catering outlets and toilets
* best place for an away fan to a get a pre-match drink

Cheers

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So sort of like a fans liason officer that the club gets a football league grant for that theyre getting people to do for a free ticket. Wonder how much the grant actually is?.

Ask Claire to find out.

cufcdeano wrote:
So that will be some where in the town center or even the sandwich shop next to the club shop as outlets in the ground are a waste of time . Last home match in the paddock people a few people i no went for a pie halfway through the first half to be told they were saving them until halftime ...... They went back at half time and were told they had sold out!!!!!!!!!!! it was the same for cold drinks as well they had none . We all thought the last lot that ran the catering out lets were bad this lot make them look like ................................................

Dancingbear wrote:
I don't know what the job description is for the FLO, so couldn't comment completely, but I wouldn't have thought so. The idea with meeters/greeters is that you have somebody in all different areas of the ground. The FLO can only be in one place at once.

zoney wrote:
Has this been reported to the club? If not, I'll mention it to Phil King.

cufcdeano wrote:
Assistant FLOs then

cufcdeano wrote:
I have, numerous times, the club can't do much as they leased the contract to them, they can do what they want the only thing that will happen is the contract won't be renewed. No idea when that is.

As for the meet and great, was really helpful at Cambridge. Direct to seats and pubs and town centre etc.

Mullen103 wrote:
Surprisingly i managed just fine at Stevenage without a meet and greet. A bloke in their supporters club bar did show us our team on his phone and said they were shit so i suppose he fulfilled that role somewhat. Thats another thing. Pretty basic supporters club but had sky game on bt sport game on and sky sports news plus loads of bar staff so no queues for beer. Something we could prob learn from?

Taking this slightly off topic, but to expand on DB's point there, I questioned Phil King yesterday about the lack of BT Sports in the Sunset on the one occasion I've been in there recently. This resulted in us going back across the road to the Beehive pre-game.

He advised they do have BT Sports/Sky Sports in the Sunset now, but at the moment are only capable of having one on at a time. They're looking to get additional boxes sorted so they can show both channels at the same time. Also pleasing to hear they're sticking a couple of new TV's in the Sunset too as part of an upcoming refurb.

Suppose it's a start.
Could do with a big screen under the East Stand for the football, some fan-zone Oktoberfest type set up, at least once in a while, with dancing girls etc., a sausage and a beer or two before the game, bit of fun rather than the usual grim fare on offer.

Can stewards not help people with all of the above? Not like they're ever rushed off their feet that much at Brunton Park. Surely our home attendances now are pretty much down to the die-hards who will have been going for years anywayand go to games no matter what (no help for directions required off greeters)!

Who else will there be to help on match days???

Mashie Niblick wrote:
They could be asked, but in general they're surly, miserable twats and don't like to be helpful, they're more inclined to be a hindrance.

I can understand the need at Man City, Liverpool etc where you have 40,000+ people looking for hundreds of turnstiles and toilets.

Seems a bit daft to have people directing folk to the wall that gets pissed on at the back of the Warwick.

cufcdeano wrote:
Quite surprised they have it in at all. As per the sky thread on here BT is a different subscription from Sky and when first quoted they wanted £750 a month from us for it, this price will of gone up now due to Champions League but the club will see no benefit from that. So effectively they only get 3/4 games a month from the subscription. Maybe football teams get a set rate for it.

Reeves9 wrote:
As I say, maybe it's more beneficial for away fans, I don't honestly know having not done anything like this before. A bit of help for the club shouldn't be knocked though.

I really am struggling to understand why there is so much opposition, and in some cases outright hostility to this idea.

I honestly think it's great, it might get some people more involved with the club and give them an idea how it runs on a Saturday, plus they get a free ticket for it. It will mean that there are more people around on the Saturday around the ground. There will be somebody to ask if you're unsure of anything (yes I know most of us know our way round, but some people don't), it also means there'll be somebody kicking about you can have a bit of a crack with if your mate (Griff) turns up late.

It certainly won't be doing anybody any harm, and might just mean some people making new friends, and also getting us some new regular fans.

Just trying to save Deano & the others wasting their time on a Saturday afternoon. People like these do more than most attending meetings etc during the week. Saturday afternoons should be about enjoying themselves (until the match kicks off of course).

As said above, won't really work with a few hundred fans on the main car park. Folk only go these days out of routine, as stated on here by a lot in the summer. 99% of folk who attend BP won't need showing anywhere.

It depends what Phil is trying to achieve by it though. If it is going to be this on it's own, you'd be right, but there's the family zone and he's obviously got other things coming up as well. The whole thing is to make the match day experience much smoother, more enjoyable and more friendly it seems to me. This is all about getting people to come back.

I think a series of small things can make massive differences.

Don't think it can do any harm to have some people around to help supporters and inform them of new initiatives such as the kids zone, refurbished sunset etc. communication is a two way thing and will give supporters a chance to pass on there ideas/frustrations with the club. Remember not everyone is online.
Good luck to all involved

As Jim Royle would say, meet and greet my arse.

melbourneblues wrote:
Exactly. Pleased I'm not alone on this. If I'm a away fan and I fancy a pint somewhere I'd prob look in advance on the internet not wait on the off chance some Herbert is gonna greet me getting out of my car and tell me where I should be going.

*butts in*

When I read about this at the start of the season I thought about it from my own perspective. I can't afford to go to all the home games so this was an opportunity for me to go when I don't have my son for nowt! Obv I have the ST as part of the fan rep role but i'd already volunteered my time for this game so I'm honouring that commitment.

The number of greeters will obv be relative to the size of our club but I'd struggle to see any negatives about having a small team of friendly faces who are helpful around the place.

Re. FLO I've been told the club don't receive a grant for this role (I thought they did too). It is a role every club has to have. I'm spending some time learning more about it. I have been negative about this at our club & while I still have my opinion on the role, must say I have found Nigel Dickinson to be very helpful, open & approachable.

Claire_Like_Eh wrote:
www.fsf.org.uk/slo/slo-faqs/

I hope nobody tries to meet and greet me or there will be trouble!

I've never been welcomed into Brunton Park in my life and i don't want it to start now!

Do you always cause trouble with people who offer their time to help others?

I go to every home match & some away and I wouldn't know our FLO if he passed me in the car park.

The meeters and greeters will be a great help for those first timers and those with disabilities. I have had issues with stewards in that they change areas and the new ones haven't been told of the arrangements for easy access and those with disabilities and make things very difficult. Its not necessarily the stewards fault its just they haven't been told and are doing the standard of whats required for everybody.

A regular face will help and direct these supporters making it easier. A disability officer will be a good step in the future but this is a great idea, will also help away supporters by having people with local knowledge and places to go avoid. The ones at Cambridge were superb.

Mullen103 wrote:
Totally agree Mullen. Id have thought a dedicated disability liason officer is a far more important role. Maybe if the name was changed to something other than meeter and greeter id be a bit more welcoming of the role but to me at brunton park meeting and greeting is a complete waste of time for your average home fan. Just a thought though maybe they could put one on the east stand carpark and tell me something other than follow the road round when i pay. Im sure the young lad on there is worried im gonna veer left and onto the golf course once ive paid.

Meet and Greet is a great idea for many reasons, not just being there to help. They appear in many other organisations, not just sports, and have been around for a while. One forgets that just because we don't think something a good idea there will be many others who do and who will avail themselves of the service. Some grounds even have Games Pastors to care for folks spiritual and emotional side at games - we do not know why all attenders come to games and the problems and baggage they are carrying. Any help we can give to anyone should be appreciated.

I think the fact that the majority of our fanbase wouldn't know the name of our FLO, with even less being able to recognise him, tells you all you need to know. He should be one of the most recognisable people at the football club.

In my one and only encounter with him about 3/4 years ago (havnt seen or heard of him since) he failed miserably. It was pretty obvious he had been given the role simply because somebody at the club had to do it. Absolute waste of time.

cufcdeano wrote:
I go to the matches to watch the game in the Paddock where men are men.. I don't need some cheery do-gooder directing me to the carsie.

nobbyblue wrote:
You'll be pleased to know after my greeting & meeting (in a fluorescent bib ) I will be in the Paddock!!

I wasn't planning to do crowd pics tomorrow but it's getting more and more tempting

Yanmike wrote:
Blimey, there was me frowning on those who can't get through 90 minutes without eating a pasty, never mind emotional and spiritual support.

Whatever happened to away fans getting a good shoeing and getting stuff nicked off them or is that just confined to liverpool now .