Sort it out Fisher!!

[SteveTreacle]

If programmes were not making money then the club would not be producing one.

I do wonder whether the club want to drop the producing and selling of hard-copy programmes, but have seen the backlash from other clubs who have done it and are trying to do it by the back door and bit by bit.

They sold out very early on Saturday despite it being a pretty small crowd and they are wasting no time or resource on selling them and they're being sold in the club shop or with refreshments, which meant on Saturday the queues for them were massive. I didn't bother and the club lost my £3. They also lost another tenner plus as the beer queues were massive too. The new co chairman will need to do some work on balancing saving money from reduced staffing to how much money is being lost on matchday with people not bothering to queue for programmes, drink and booze.

Back to the point though, I yesterday got an email saying that an online programme was available. I wonder whether they'll produce fewer and fewer paper programmes and promote an online programme and ultimately deliver the message that the online programme is proving more popular than the paper one, so they're dropping the latter (which may well have already been decided already and regardless).

 

[OneSirKeefy]

Good to hear that your children will soon be sampling GFC first-hand. Re Programmes - really not sure if they make GFC money or not. I do know that plenty of (other) clubs have already stopped publishing them to save money.

Didnt we stop doing programs for a while a season or 2 ago? (Don’t mean Covid times).

I thought we’d stopped but then reinstated after a bit of fan backlash. But maybe I’m thinking of some other clubs that stopped doing them.

As you say Lancs, plenty of clubs have stopped doing them and getting grief off their fanbases. Here’s us still doing them and when the club put up a post about them the other day, they just got grief for too dear, too bland, not available in (X) part of the ground, why can’t I get one with my food? Etc etc Another case of damned if do damned if don’t.

 

[LockdownLife]

I'd probably pay for a subscription say £2 a game if I got digital programmes. I don't manage that many home games but would happily pay and read an e-programme if it helped.

 

[jogills]

1. Open a cash turnstile with un reserved seating for the end blocks with no increase for POTD

2. Ticket promotions / promote the club at local universities and colleges with cheap student offers.

3 use the car park to open a few pop up beer / food tents pre match for the summer months - make a few quid while the sun shines. Give him time to sort the internal catering for the winter.

4. No court cases or slagging off fans (even if they do deserve it)


Just do the basics right for once.

Your first would be the single, easiest way to increase attendances.

 

[OneSirKeefy]

I'd probably pay for a subscription say £2 a game if I got digital programmes. I don't manage that many home games but would happily pay and read an e-programme if it helped.

Interesting point LdL.

Agree with Lancs that the club probably loses money on programmes or only makes a little. Yet fans go ballistic when clubs stop doing them.

Maybe they could put it out there openly and say they will continue to produce programmes only if they continually sell X amount each game and it’s profitable. Otherwise they have to stop. Then it’s over to the fans. With the alternative being a subscription to a digital copy. Although not sure many would be willing to pay much for one of those. All the info is readily out there on the net for free anyway.

 

[SteveTreacle]

Interesting point LdL.

Agree with Lancs that the club probably loses money on programmes or only makes a little. Yet fans go ballistic when clubs stop doing them.

Maybe they could put it out there openly and say they will continue to produce programmes only if they continually sell X amount each game and it’s profitable. Otherwise they have to stop. Then it’s over to the fans. With the alternative being a subscription to a digital copy. Although not sure many would be willing to pay much for one of those. All the info is readily out there on the net for free anyway.

Re the paper programmes, it's a difficult one to judge. Last match they sold out and the queues to buy them before they hadn't were ridiculous, so I and I daresay a lot of others didn't bother, so they didn't maximise the potential revenue they could have earned. I don't disagree that they need to make money on the programmes, but people also need to be able to given a reasonable chance to buy one before the club can make a judgement whether it's worthwhile as, like it or not, lots aren't going to queue for 15+ minutes to buy one.

 

[PuB]

Re the paper programmes, it's a difficult one to judge. Last match they sold out and the queues to buy them before they hadn't were ridiculous, so I and I daresay a lot of others didn't bother, so they didn't maximise the potential revenue they could have earned. I don't disagree that they need to make money on the programmes, but people also need to be able to given a reasonable chance to buy one in order to make a judgement as, like it or not, lots aren't going to queue for 15+ minutes to buy one.

Interesting that you say they were sold out (I’ve long since stopped buying them), as there was a link on Twitter for people who wanted to buy one yesterday or the day before.

 

[LancsGordoRoad]

Interesting point LdL.

Agree with Lancs that the club probably loses money on programmes or only makes a little. Yet fans go ballistic when clubs stop doing them.

Maybe they could put it out there openly and say they will continue to produce programmes only if they continually sell X amount each game and it’s profitable. Otherwise they have to stop. Then it’s over to the fans. With the alternative being a subscription to a digital copy. Although not sure many would be willing to pay much for one of those. All the info is readily out there on the net for free anyway.

Perhaps GFC might consider a discounted e-programme subscription for ST holders ?

 

[markinkent]

Your first would be the single, easiest way to increase attendances.

Suggested to scally himself. His response was i would have to trust people handling cash. Hopefully the new fella will be open to trying things to build crowds

 

[Detritus]

She’s been foaling around, you could say.

Was just horseplay

 

[Tarian]

Further to "matchday ticket sales"

From the Rochdale site:
"Gillingham say that there will be *NO phone sales or in-person sales, either in the run up to the game or matchday. "

No doubt some would wonder whether it worth employing ticket staff for the few travelling from Lancashire last minute....
...but there might be a few Rochdale fans in London.

But...
At the Town End turnstiles... surely there were staff scanning e-tickets - staff already on the payroll ?

On a positive note.....
Rochdale Adults paid £22 - the same as the Gills fans in the GR.
So a few £ more than the old Town End price.

 

[SteveTreacle]

Suggested to scally himself. His response was i would have to trust people handling cash. Hopefully the new fella will be open to trying things to build crowds

Given that we are a cash free stadium now and the club seem to have blib blob machines everywhere to facilitate card payments, I'd have thought it would be easy and quick for card machines to be employed on turnstiles to receive payments for entry and let people in. A section of unallocated seats in the BMS if demand is high enough, if not elsewhere in the ground (as there are plenty of empty seats) could be freed up for such a scheme.

As you say, hopefully the new guy will be a bit more open to innovations to increase crowd numbers and various other ways of making it easier for people to spend money on matchdays. Too often the club is cost revenue as it is too difficult for genuine fans to buy tickets, purchase shirts or other merch, or just to get a programme, pie or a pint on matchday.

Maybe a bit more focus on making money from the bread and butter rather than extra curricula activities like Whitney nights, the GFC school etc and I'm not saying they are not worthwhile ways of making revenue, but too often the simple matchday experiences for fans seem to be neglected and, in the process, opportunities for making money lost.

 

[markinkent]

Given that we are a cash free stadium now and the club seem to have blib blob machines everywhere to facilitate card payments, I'd have thought it would be easy and quick for card machines to be employed on turnstiles to receive payments for entry and let people in. A section of unallocated seats in the BMS if demand is high enough, if not elsewhere in the ground (as there are plenty of empty seats) could be freed up for such a scheme.

As you say, hopefully the new guy will be a bit more open to innovations to increase crowd numbers and various other ways of making it easier for people to spend money on matchdays. Too often the club is cost revenue as it is too difficult for genuine fans to buy tickets, purchase shirts or other merch, or just to get a programme, pie or a pint on matchday.

Maybe a bit more focus on making money from the bread and butter rather than extra curricula activities like Whitney nights, the GFC school etc and I'm not saying they are not worthwhile ways of making revenue, but too often the simple matchday experiences for fans seem to be neglected and, in the process, opportunities for making money lost.

Yep card readers are fine. The key point is allow walk ins to pay at the turnstile. No need to book and no price increases. Just make it easier for people when we are less than 50% capacity.

 

[SteveTreacle]

Further to "matchday ticket sales"

From the Rochdale site:
"Gillingham say that there will be *NO phone sales or in-person sales, either in the run up to the game or matchday. "

No doubt some would wonder whether it worth employing ticket staff for the few travelling from Lancashire last minute....
...but there might be a few Rochdale fans in London.

But...
At the Town End turnstiles... surely there were staff scanning e-tickets - staff already on the payroll ?

On a positive note.....
Rochdale Adults paid £22 - the same as the Gills fans in the GR.
So a few £ more than the old Town End price.

TBF, from social media, I saw quite a few problems regarding ticket sales and issues for the season so far from our League Two rivals, including slightly farcical handling by Wimbledon of our season opener as well as tonight's match - in both cases, making tickets available about a week before the match.

Re the GRS being used for away fans, this is a sensible move. I note that the section allocated in the GRS was moved up further and I'd say about a third of the stand was available for away fans, which is about 800 seats, I believe. This should be more than enough for about 20 of the teams this season and means costs saved by not opening the BMS and, as you say, opportunity to charge away fans a bit more. For the rare occasion of a big away following or us doing well and more interest being generated, the Town End is always there and can be opened.

 

[SteveTreacle]

Yep card readers are fine. The key point is allow walk ins to pay at the turnstile. No need to book and no price increases. Just make it easier for people when we are less than 50% capacity.

Can't help thinking that this would generate easy money for not a lot of effort. Lot's of people can't be fussed with booking online, phoning or having to queue up at the ticket office on the day, then queuing up at he turnstile again. As I say above, make it easier for people to spend their money and both the club and punter are winners - too often in the past, we make it difficult and people just don't bother.