Minutes from Supporter Experience Group

The club has recently gone through a round of supporters’ group meetings, which have been grouped closer together than usual due to disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the January transfer window.

The attendees, agenda and minutes from the meeting can be read below.

Attendees:

Neill Blake – Chief Executive

Jeff Mostyn – Chairman

Elizabeth Finney – Operations Director

Chris Smith – Head of Media & Communications

Paul Fudge – Head of Catering Operations

Olivia Hammond – PA to Chief Executive

Matthew Davies

Richard Jackson

Mike Ponchaud

Terry Dennis

Jon Knight

Harrison Wingate

Jo Hebditch

Daniel Butler

Lesley Hathaway

Sarah McLaren

Dawn Rothwell

Stacey Finch

Andrew Jennings (remotely)

Apologies:

Alex Forbes

Agenda points:  

Nottingham Forest Postponement

This was discussed by the group and agreed that the Club acted appropriately in difficult circumstances.

Blue badges assignment in car park, when is this due for review?  

When the main and south car parks were refurbished, marked accessible bays were included to the required standard and number. At that time, there was a list of STHs who had access based on STH seniority and accessibility needs. That list still exists but in actual current practice we accommodate blue badge holders based on their accessibility parking requirements i.e. if they need a wider, accessible space or have mobility/distance needs.  This is done on a first come, first served basis and, through management of spaces by the car park staff, we have been able to accommodate all blue badge holders on a matchday so far, although there naturally be no guarantee of this on a matchday. 

Wi-Fi at the ground

The network is extremely poor in the stadium on a match day. A lot of away stadiums have a Wi-Fi system which people can log into via an external provider.

Jeff is involved in the Town Committee and they are looking at introducing 5G to the area which will hopefully cover the stadium. The club’s IT/Commercial teams continue to look at this in the meantime but it is not a straightforward fix.

The ordering separate tickets for FA cup game for season ticket holders meant multiple postage costs. Why did this happen when usually put on season ticket cards?

There are a few reasons for this, the first that both club and supporters have only had half a season of using the new ticketing system for capacity games.  When games were loaded onto STs for the reduced capacity matches, there were a high volume of issues where supporters selected the wrong codes and this led to a lot of confusion at the turnstiles. It seemed sensible therefore to issue paper tickets to simplify the process and avoid delays and inconvenience for fans entering the ground.  The ticketing team however have raised the issue of multiple codes with the service provider and together they hope to have a simplified system for next season.

Turnstile opening times. They encourage you to get in early and hardly ever open when they say they will. Always 10-15 mins later. Not a major issue but some elderly fans can’t stand for extended periods so want to get in and they never open on time

The club aims to open turnstiles 1.5hr before kick-off and for the last 3 games we have recorded that the turnstiles have opened on time. Turnstile B opens 1 hour before kick off on weekend games, due to the Junior Fans Zone but there is a sign outside to notify people and it should be on the pre-match comms also.

Earlier in the season there were a couple of games where St John’s Ambulance were not in position and this needs to be the case before opening the turnstiles. However, we have worked with SJA to resolve this and hopefully, barring any unusual circumstances, turnstiles should open as planned.

Lots of empty seats when game is listed as “sold out”

This is due to a number of STHs not returning yet post-Covid together with general no-shows plus an away stand that has only reached capacity on a couple of occasions.  Another contributor is the family stands occupancy where there are a high number of gaps due to 16-year-olds having to move seats to another area. Bookings for the vacant seats have to be by phone to the ticketing team due to checking eligibility. We are drafting an email to STHS to gauge interest in those STHs who have U16s they want to be STHs moving to re-populate the family stands and so freeing up general admission seats that are more easily accessible to purchase.

It has been raised that in the family stand that adult supporters are coming in with no children (Block 9) and using children’s tickets, it has been the same faces for each game.

Liz suggested speaking to a steward on the day to deal with or to message her so they can be spoken to and tickets checked.

Ticket stalls on match-days with new supporters

This was deemed to be in relation to the Boreham Wood Cup match where it was felt delays at the turnstile were due to new supporters not knowing how to use the barcode on tickets.

Liz advised that analysis of entry for this game showed that only circa 1/3 of attendees were new supporters. Regarding support at the turnstile for those not being familiar with using the paper tickets, she reported that on the day of the game 5 x supporter services staff reported sick, 4 with Covid which impacted that service. SEG members offered their services in such circumstances which Liz was pleased to note.

Steward searches at the gates

There was the suggestion that the searches on entry of the stadium are a waste of time and not carried out properly and impacted on time to enter.

Liz confirmed that full searches would definitely continue to be part of our matchdays and that it was important in the context of terrorism as well as general safety.

Obviously training in and observation of searching is part of steward training but if supporters feel that they have not been properly searched they should report this to a supervisor.  Liz will also feed back to the safety officer.

Searching of female supporters was raised and the club will always strive to use same-sex searches and have briefed stewards that if a female supporter is in a queue with a male steward to pass directly across to a female steward rather than ask to go back to the end.

Traffic after the game

By our location this is a historic issue that the club and/or its SAG members have tried to address in various ways:  as sensor on Holdenhurst Road to adjust the traffic lights at Ashley Road to increase flow away from the ground; the provision of free parking at Avonbourne Academy (Harewood Avenue), increased bike racks, dual egress points from the south car park, etc. 

Social Media for the Women’s Team

They have an Instagram channel, not Twitter.

Chris advised Instagram is currently a test process to gauge the engagement from supporters on this channel and based on the analysis of use, the club will review setting up a Twitter channel for them. At the moment, the Instagram page is going very well and there is a high level of interest with over 2,000 followers.  It is a balance however in being able to commit to the level of content required to ensure the quality of the service and do it justice.

Chris’s view was that Instagram currently works well and gets lots of exposure, but that is not to say Twitter will not feature in the future Women’s team coverage.

Can the club officially partner with ‘Her Game Too’

Chris Smith is currently in touch with them and this is on the Club’s radar.

Platform booking system and the re-opening of the DC Lounge

Liz was pleased to be able to confirm that the DC Lounge was going to re-open as team protocols had been relaxed further. The area is for the use of disabled supporters and their Pas and is  open to home and away supporters, with refreshment services and screens showing the early live match.  Comms will be sent to disabled supporter to make them aware.

For the platform booking system, fans have asked if they can book straight onto the platform rather than buying separate tickets and then allocating on the platform, or whether they can get a season ticket.

Liz advised that for the time being the booking system will remain as, while currently everyone who applies is accommodated, it is anticipated that we will return to more disabled supporters attending and wanting to also experience the platforms on a matchday.  When this happens, it is only fair that an applications system is used, rather than the same people using the facility.  This would also be the case in respect of the season ticket request.

Half-time outdoor area behind the North Stand – a better understanding as to what the club are trying to achieve

The reason for trialling the facility was based on recognition of the small concourse areas and the resultant issues with queues for catering and toilets and the fact that the club was able to take advantage of temporary Covid licencing arrangements that precluded a formal licence application.  The space, fresh air/ventilation and access to the outside catering kiosk were seen to be an advantage that supporters would hopefully welcome.  The SAG agreed to a trial where the internal concourse in effect extended externally and therefore it was licenced for alcohol but not for smoking/vaping. However, after the first period and various inspections, the SAG voiced concerns at the level of smoking in the area and the aggressive response to stewards when supporters were asked not to smoke.  A further trial was agreed but the issue with smoking continued, although with some discernible improvement.  The trial continues for a further short period (the temporary licensing extension ends after the end of the season) although there was a view expressed on the night that the level of abuse together with the resources applied to provide the facility was untenable and its future was not certain.  A suggestion was made regarding more visible signage and this was agreed by the club.

Further meetings / feedback on the role of the SEG group from club

Neill expressed the view that these groups are valuable, as supporters experience things that we wouldn’t necessarily see. By virtue of different locations, their viewpoints, etc, the feedback is always very diverse.

As planned, there will be one further meeting before the end of the season and then the group will be refreshed for the new season.  Neill advised this allowed us to continue to receive a variety of feedback while Liz confirmed that all involvement or contact was not going to stop and those present should always feel free to contact or provide feedback.

We feel this group has been a success and has worked across the fan base and hopefully other people will want to apply for next season and be part of the SEG to give their different experiences.

Neill asked the question if the club should do anything different with the next group?

The group believed the club could reach out for support from the group, as some people are keen to help where possible, this could be on match day when we need support around the stadium or passing on important messaging to other fans.

Initially when this group started, there were a lot of contentious issues raised but dialogue quickly moved to more of a sharing, “2-way street” approach and this is important so we can identity where improvements can be made.

All agreed that it has been a weird season so far, coming out of lockdown to a full capacity at the stadium which led to a focus on the ticketing team as we have experienced early issues with the new ticketing system and we lost some key members of staff during this time.  However, the team have been restructured, more staff taken on and focused training delivered which everyone agreed had brought good improvements.  Going forward the aim is to turn the focus more to supporter needs and what we can continue to do differently to improve.

Plans for stadium capacity / development elsewhere?

Neill advised there are currently no further developments re plans for a new stadium.

He felt huge credit should go to Maxim Demin for his support for the club during the pandemic through continued personal funding as well as bringing in new squad members.

Against this background, it is not the right time to develop a new stadium especially.  As said before, the priority would be the training ground, so the club continues to look at this. 

Menu changes in the stadium?  Dirty / loaded Fries? 

Paul advised that there is not the capacity/facility for fries within the stadium.  He also noted that as of 1^st April, catering outlets will have to show calorific intake of everything served at the stadium.  The club’s stance will always be on the side of healthy eating and Paul advised that he is exploring a number of new heathier options.  He did point out though that there will always be a process to be undertaken first i.e. trialling, sourcing, sustainable alternatives and pricing.  He does intend though to soon start trialling these options around the ground and encouraged the group to take part and feed back their views.

Youth Facilities

Neill confirmed that he wants the Academy to continue to grow.  There is an issue with future training facilities that needs to be resolved and we are working with partners to meet that challenge. 

AOB

To cover social media rumours: Maxim Demin is a British Citizen who also holds Swiss residency and there were no issues with Maxim Demin.

The group mentioned the 3^rd kit and questioned which shirt has been chosen. Neill is to speak to our head of brand and Liz will advise.