Had a quite staggering conversation with the club shop manager today

Whilst buying one of the discounted shirts in the shop I asked whether they'd be bringing back 3XL sizes next season. The instant reply was "absolutely no chance".

When I questioned why this was (as I'd had a similar conversation earlier in the season and the lady was clearly frustrated by being asked this on a regular basis) she said that Just Sports point-blank refused to do this. I then asked whether Don Rowing had taken up the issue and she advised that Don, as a director of the club, was powerless to do anything about this!!!!

So, if the lady's information is correct, it seems that the outsourcing of the club shop now gives the most senior (and apparently only) day to day manager at the club no input to affect matters regarding anything to do with the shop, customer complaints, commercial policy, etc. If true, then what an absolute joke that they signed up to such a ridiculous deal. Sign away the problem and then blame the fallout on someone else.

Does that mean that if Just Sports decided to charge £100 per shirt next season, the club couldn't do anything about it? An extreme example maybe, but that's the implication of the conversation today.

It seems like with every passing day at the moment, something happens to make me despair further and further about the decision makers at the club (and I'm not talking about Keith Hill here). If nothing changes over the summer I truly fear for where this club is heading next season.

 

We need to take back control of our club shop. It's disapointing we aren't doing more to make sure our fanbase are catered for.

 

Won't happen under the current regime

 

To be fair kits this season have been 100 times better this year, Lotto were dire.

 

What I find incredible

Is that we don't, or rather can't, sell Barnsley FC books and Barnsley FC DVDs in the Barnsley FC club shop. How on earth have we allowed something like that to happen? It just blows my mind. It's incompetence on a galactic scale.

 

Unfortunately that's the price you pay for outsourcing a service that was once run internally. Most fans agreed that the club shop was pretty poor before being outsourced and this season the choice and quality is better however the downside is that the shop manager and seemingly the club director dont make the decisions. As with any business though there is a chain of command so I would speak to the account manager for BFC and ask them about the stock policy.

 

Perhaps the Supporters Trust can take this up with the club?

I'd at least like an answer from on high as to why the club decided to absolve itself of all responsibility for providing items to the fanbase that they actually want to buy (bigger sizes, books, DVDs, etc).

 

Have a word with Gally or Hicksy and see if they can get some answers. It will be interesting to hear an official response on this. The club shop is still part of the club even if the management of it belongs to a third party.

 

It would be interesting to know how much the club shop has made this season and if it's more or less since it was outsourced.

 

http://www.jacamo.co.uk/shop/jacamo....action?pdBoUid=5137#colour:RED,size:3XL56/58

 

You are joking , surely mate!!

This seasons kit is just a bloody Polo shirt with a nike swoosh(its a bloody tick!)and our sponsor! No individuality or even a clever design, just a bloody T shirt!!!!

 

AHHH!!! BUT!!! that does not have a nike tick on it, so therefore it is not as good obviously.

 

Job done
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NIKE-SWOOSH-LOGO-STICKER-DECAL-VINYL-/270778688418

 

But they did have a decent polo shirt that you could buy for about half the price of the team shirt - and it didn't have a sponsors logo on it. For about the same price as a replica shirt I bought a polo shirt and a sweatshirt - get far more use out of those than I ever would a replica shirt.

I don't understand why the shop don't carry the dvd's and books though - it's not as though it's taking sales away from the club shop franchisee by selling those.

 

Try playing indoor 5 a side in these kits and then you'll find out about the material in them when you're sweating your bag off. Much rather have a Nike/Adidas/Puma etc kit than some of the cack we've had over the years.

 

Football has been outsourced to Rochdale and wont be long before NCP operate the car parks.

Whats left.

 

Take the outsourcing of the club shop

Which I say in principle isn't a bad idea at all - I think the merchandise p1sses all over the tat of recent years. But if there's no on the ground response built into the contract and we have negotiated away a venue to sell our own merchandise like DVD's etc then take the dealing of this contract and it's not a massive jump to see why we get dry bum ****** over players contracts and transfer fees really.

Come on over Adam, some nous needed.