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Totally agree Forever. Had I been the fan that was thrown out then I would consider following TUFC away from home and on the radio when at home for a bit. We're getting less than 2000 at home now and club are seeking new investment so having to refund the lad involved and offer a free ticket to the next game means the club loses money, albeit £30-£40 for the tickets and whatever else the 'customer' (as we are more known as) would have spent had he been allowed to watch the remainder of the match, possibly would have spent some cash in B&L after .. Things like this have the potential to become a domino effect, we should be keeping people inside Plainmoor not throwing them out for F all.

cambgull wrote: I really can't believe it's a particularly difficult job for the most part, unless you have a troublesome supporter. The most difficult bit is probably not watching the game!

Not watching the game? Wouldn't have been much of a difficulty last season !!!! As for Forever's post, if ever he's looking for a job, with such a sensible approach, he'd be a perfect candidate for Safety Officer.

Very nice of you to say Tommo. I do not however want to come across as someone who's in anyway downplaying the role of safety officer, as said it's a minefield of rules and regulations and I should imagine our club is audited from time to time, to make sure we are abiding by them and our safety certification and training is up to date.

For me personally, I work part time in the retail trade, and part-time self employed with my own hobby business which is customer facing as well, as I'm sure anyone on this board who also works in retail or has their own customer facing business will know doubt tell you, some of the British public are capable of being difficult, rude and at times total arseholes.

I have just learnt very quickly that a difficult conversation with a customer with an issue/complaint can go one of two ways depending on how I act and react, I/anyone can talk an unhappy/upset or angry customer down very quickly, just by the way I/you react, the manner you approach the situation and words you use.

That's all I'm suggesting re; stewards approach a fan/fans in the right manner they can neutralize any situation before it escalates, you will get the odd one who wont comply no matter what, fine bung them out, no time for that type of person, and there is a fine line, some things just need someone to keep and eye on with out intervention, it's knowing where that fine line is.

TUFC stopped treating Fans as Customers a long time ago. The CRM at Plainmoor is downright awful as I witnessed and experienced first hand at the GAWS home game September 2012 (the last time I was in the UK). The Stewards regard all fans as a problem and react accordingly even to polite requests. I have worked in customer focused roles all my working life and have learned that, it's not the problem that is the problem, it's how it is handled. I have had really pissed off customers baying for heads and blood on the carpet at first, become life long advocates of the company after having their problem dealt with professionally. When was the last time a problem was handled this way at TUFC? The customer problems just keep coming, far more often than any company should experience. While that continues, TUFC will lose more paying customers to other uses for their hard earned cash. Should I ever return to the UK, Plainmoor will be low on my list of priorities for a visit. I will listen or follow on t'internet as I have been for the last 10 years or so.

To be fair Andrew Candy has always been a model professional when dealing with anything related to the club. If he was the face most people dealt with there would be far fewer problems.

Southampton Gull wrote:To be fair Andrew Candy has always been a model professional when dealing with anything related to the club. If he was the face most people dealt with there would be far fewer problems.

Southampton Gull wrote:To be fair Andrew Candy has always been a model professional when dealing with anything related to the club. If he was the face most people dealt with there would be far fewer problems.

I agree with that too

Southampton Gull wrote:To be fair Andrew Candy has always been a model professional when dealing with anything related to the club. If he was the face most people dealt with there would be far fewer problems.

I would echo this - Andrew Candy certainly appears to have done his best to smooth this issue over to everyone's satisfaction. I think he handled it well.

Thank you everyone for your kind words. Much appreciated and I will continue to try and do my best.
Thank you.
Andrew

Southampton Gull wrote:To be fair Andrew Candy has always been a model professional when dealing with anything related to the club. If he was the face most people dealt with there would be far fewer problems.

I personally think he will say anything to please the fans...

Greengull22 wrote:
I personally think he will say anything to please the fans...

I think that is harsh. He is a fan. He has a massive amount of experience in the business World. He gives his time and experience to the club he has supported all his life for free. I do not know him personally and have never had any dealings with him, but those Torquay United supporters who have had personal experience of his customer service skills speak highly of him.

Whilst your first post on this forum deserves to be taken as seriously as all others, it does seem to me to fall into the category of 'an axe to grind (anonymously)'

May be wrong, may be not, but I would rather listen to people who have had personal contact with a hard working volunteer and have had a good experience.

Harsh Greengull22; .
Andrew has sorted out quite a few matters that have been raised on this forum; including mistakes with tickets etc. He is rightfully popular in here.

taxilady wrote:Harsh Greengull22; .
Andrew has sorted out quite a few matters that have been raised on this forum; including mistakes with tickets etc. He is rightfully popular in here.

He is popular because he is a gentleman who would go out his way to try and help others. I'm sure he won't get everything right but he'll give it a damn good try.

Nobody I know has a bad word to say about the man. Perhaps you should deal with Mr Bill Phillips

Greengull22 wrote:
I personally think he will say anything to please the fans...

Such a shame that this is your first post.

Andrew Candy is a great asset to Torquay United.