Celtic's treatment of fans

[AlbertBymn]

Got this just posted on our website from a long-time member, anyone else suffer this same problem?

YoungStans has a concession 16-18 season ticket, the club wrote to all concession tickets demanding proof of age despite this being supplied when you take out a ticket in the first place, in YS case 12 years ago. I called ticket services and asked why and that we had supplied this and indeed any renewal has the info on it.

I was told they had "lost" the original proof and PL had ordered that to ensure the club wasn't "losing" revenue we had to supply further proof.

Source: http://www.MonTheHoops.co.uk [URL]http://www.monthehoops.co.uk/showthread.php?p=159190[/URL]



So YS and I did.

On Friday I called Ticket services three times (over the preceeding weeks it had been many times) I was assured all was in order they even emailed me on Friday to say all ok and indeed they called me late on Friday to assure me it was all good.

Yesterday...get to turnstile and yep YS card refused, asked steward for help, he directed me to his supervisor who said over 150 cards had been cancelled and I had to go to the ticket office, this is 10 mins before kick off and our seats are in the North stand so off we ran to the ticket office. Then told to stand in the queue which ran a few hundred long, I refused and asked to speak to someone inside , we heard the first goal go in, after 10 minutes a guy appears who refuses to help us (there were around another 6 or so with the same problem by then). I asked to speak to the lady who had dealt with me on the Friday, again refused, I then asked to speak to the office manager, the goon with the blazer and walkie talkie said "she has told me that under no circumstances will she come down and speak to anyone with a problem" !!

He then said that if we wanted in at all we had to queue, second goal went in, I again tried to explain the situation to which he said "I couldn't care less, go away and join the queue or I'll see you don't get in at all" and shut the door on our faces and physically blocked it.

I couldn't believe we were being treated like this for having done NOTHING wrong, I hadn't seen YS for a month and he was distraught....I then marched in the front door at CP and asked the guys there to help....they said "Over there has NOTHING to do with us mate" (Tam Boyd was standing watching all this) it's a different part of Celtic !!!what the feck is that all about.

By this time I was fairly annoyed to put it mildly and asked to see his supervisor or PL or Dr NO, anyone to take control of the situation....eventually the front are supervisor arrived and after re-telling the story he eventually and very reluctantly gave us two tickets for the Jock Stein lower, we missed all but 5 minutes of the first half and had what was meant to be a special day for us feckin RUINED.

Thanks Celtic for taking care of long standing fans who had done everything you asked and were treated like sh!t.

Shocking way to treat people if I'm honest, someone should be hauled over the coals for this.

[jimbob]

Paul this is poor to say the least,I will ask Joe to look into this and get back to you mate.

Jim Forrest CSA

[Joe O'Rourke]

you need to give me details, membership number etc, and any information regarding stewards.

[sincy]

Hi all
sorry to hear of your issues and troubles, there are several different companies at parkheed with stewards, I would suggest if anyone has any issues with any stewards always ask thier numbers and what company they work for, write down what time the issues are happening, like any company each one has different levels of experience and attitudes, before each game the stewards are briefed and simply have no say in who gets in and who is refused, this is not an excuse or reason for the way you all were treated, it is the way it is, as far as I know there is no supervisory level within the stewards to allow them to over ride the turnstile system, You have found the correct forum here, often customer services are forgotten or not given its place, I hope Joe would agree any issues must be dealt with promptly and properly through the right channels, no one expects crap when paying for anything so again always note anyones number and position/company they work for and approx times, including any calls to ticket office etc, nicely off course, if you have a telephone service that allows you to print off your calls get all these things together and pass them on and finally if you have names numbers details etc if anyone has fobbed you off they will be dealt with Im sure, Fans = Celtic FC = stewards and employees, no Fans = nothing,
have a good one

[Joe O'Rourke]

I note what you are saying, i'm sure most stewards at Celtic park are decent people, some might even be Celtic supporters, but there are those who are not, and who think they have a right to act like the police, i always tell our members to get names ( if possible ) and numbers, there has been some treatment of the Green Brigade which would appear to be beyond what is necessary. I had a meeting with Ronnie Hawthorn last week (January 19th), he said he would send me the briefing notes given to the stewards, i'm still waiting. Make no mistake about this, if we receive evidence of stewards overstepping the mark, we will make a formal complaint and pursue it vigorously.

[sincy]

Hi all
Some supporters choose forums like this and some so called supporters just are set on getting away with anything wide boys, just like in life, what is the difference ?, most folks with issues would find an already established way to make a complaint or to address the issues, some just create issues to make good post match bar room talk, there are several companies involved in stewading at parkhead, I know PE are spending time and money on training of all thier staff, and if I was out anywhere and I saw anything of the above I would certainly take full details of it and submit it in writing to this forum and also Parkhead, and if asking a steward or anyone for thier ID would be polite when asking for it, for reporting in a positive or negative way, so if faced with anyone, speak quietly, do not allow frustration to come into things and get all the details and ask for a supervisor, report it to your association. have a good one

[max]

So what security/stewarding company do you work for Sincy?

[sincy]

Hi all
Hi Max protectevent inhouse, who are spending a lot of time and money to keep training and standards upto what a customer who pays £25 a ticket expects, whither folks here believe it or not, no matter where I work I am their to do customer services, what my company and client require, if I need to check tickets I do, why should fans A get in with a under 12 cheap ticket when they are 35 and you pay the full price, if a fans complains about another sitting near bye, what am I to do, ignore it, smoking in toilets you have no idea how many complaint I get from fans about fans, and not neccesarily for the benifit of the fan complaining, but sometimes the damage to another fan that would be done if we did not reseat or intervene, hope I have made things clearer, have a good one

[max]

Thank you Sincy, for your EVENTUAL honesty, but don't you think it would have been more truthfull if you had clarified the position you were speaking from (as an employee of one of the companies under discussion) before you started giving what is now a patently obvious biased and tainted opinion?
I tippled right away by your attitude, you're well suited to your job.
Have a good one.

[sincy]

Hi all
Hi Max, and thank you for that, I do try and make the fans (customers) feel welcome and let them know I am there to give them service, the best service I can, polite, curtious and helpful, from seating issues to first aid, that is how I see my job, no fans = no Celtic= no me, I mentioned on another thread the story of the young chap who passed his SIA and got a supervisors job at another ground, suddenly he was wearing tuffy boots, a jacket 3 sizes too big and walked like he had a space hopper betwean his legs and was carrying 6 rolls of wall paper under each arm, that is life a badge or title and some folks just go nuts, not me and never will be, most clubs are spending money, time and effort to select the proper stewards and to train them, have a good one.