Fans Forum Meeting – Britannia Stadium
March 2010 - Membership Scheme
Attendees
Bryan Shaw, Tony Tams, Gareth Ekin
Della Birchall, Steve Buxton, Andy Billingham
Apologies
Terry Hughes, Malcolm Clarke, Darren Smallwood, Louise Smith, Tony Scholes
1. Membership Scheme
Representatives from the Fans' Forum met with Stoke City today in order to discuss the Membership scheme and the issues raised by fans.
Firstly the Fans' Forum asked why the Membership scheme had not been part of any discussions that we had with the Club concerning Season Ticket prices. The Forum stated that this was wholly inappropriate and put us on the back foot regarding any queries that arose about the scheme.
The Club agreed that this was not the best course of action and was not to do with keeping the Membership scheme a secret. The Club have assured us that every attempt will be made to avoid such an oversight in future.
The Forum then enquired as to the background of the scheme and where the thinking was to introduce such a scheme. Andrew Billingham from Stoke City informed us all that we are one of a very few clubs that do not operate a Membership scheme. He said that he had looked at clubs like Arsenal, Tottenham, Derby and Wolves amongst others and felt that a scheme where fans could be rewarded through Membership would work at Stoke.
The Fans' Forum asked where the market research was carried out, as the demographics of supporters at Arsenal, Tottenham etc were very different than that of supporters at Stoke. The Club stated that there had been a small internal focus group giving feedback. The Fans' Forum questioned the validity of this focus group and of whom the focus groups members actually were and again made the point that we could have gauged supporter opinion if we had been informed at all about the scheme.
The Forum then raised questions about the free memberships this season and whether Stoke would operate a similar exercise as the premium seating that has caused issue this season - i.e. give the Platinum Plus Memberships away this season and then charge next season. The Club confirmed that this would be the case as they were porting fans loyalty for 80% or more away games over the past two season by upgrading to Platinum Plus free of charge for next season only.
The Forum also questioned the popular opinion from the emails and messages we have received that the scheme is here as either a stealth price hike and/or a way to generate revenue for the club. The Club stated that the scheme would be saving fans money through the potential deals and discounts that would be on offer to members. Deals done by the clubs through official partners and external companies that could offer discounts etc would be passed on to the various Membership sections in terms of deals / offers / discounts. The scheme was not just a way of prioritising distribution of away tickets.
On the subject of prioritisation of away tickets, The Forum made the comments that nearly all fans who contacted us said, that it was a way of "buying loyalty". Stoke refuted that and again stated that the Membership scheme is in no-way intended for that purpose.
The Forum then said that the full extent of what the scheme is about was in no-way clear at all and that for a scheme that Stoke said had cost a lot of money to implement, it seemed on the face of it to be ill researched with fans and hazy in details supplied upon launch. The Forum said that the details needed to be more transparent and better explained and more readily available so that fans can see the other benefits of taking up the Membership scheme and not just prioritisation of away tickets. We also mentioned that the information in the renewal packs was completely inadequate in explaining the schemes and in some cases, the packs had not even arrived at time of launch. Stoke agreed that they could have made details of the scheme much more clearer on reflection and that they would immediately go away and try to get the message across about the full range of membership benefits and how the schemes worked. The Club confirmed they had published information both on official website, in The Sentinel and through a mailer, but would look to support this by answering any questions.
We then went on to discuss how junior membership works with away tickets. The Club explained that if a parent/guardian was a member then providing the child took up a junior membership (circa £20) then the records between parent/guardian and child could be linked and the parent would be able to purchase the child or children away tickets at the same time that the parents membership bracket came on sale, maximum two children per adult. The Forum then argued that this potentially means that the Platinum Plus limit of 500 members, should everyone of them have two children who are also members means that potentially that figure is actually 1500, the club concurred.
The Forum then went on to discuss how the away ticket allocation would work and the tiers of release
The order would be
1) Platinum Plus members
2) Platinum members
3) Gold Members
4) Silver Members
5) General Sale
Asking whether or not you could still secure away tickets in the same manner as present through the Potters Foundation, the answer was yes.
The Forum asked that if people are paying the extra £50 and £30 are they still going to be expected to pay the premium rate phone number for tickets. Stoke confirmed that the purchase of tickets would be a lot easier, your membership card will be swiped at the counter to immediately find you on the system, thus cutting queues. Next season will also see the facility to purchase your away tickets using your Membership card on SCFC Direct which will cut the queues also, but the premium phone lines will still be in operation for all levels of Membership, however, with the extra internet option and swipe card at the Ticket Office window, it should reduce the need to purchase on the telephone.
The meeting ended with The Forum again pointing out that
1) We should have been consulted in a timely manner
2) We could have gauged supporter feedback about the scheme when the idea was first realised without the need for a "small focus group"
3) Full details of the scheme and all its benefits need to be released as soon as possible to supporters as it is unfair asking them to part with money without the full facts to hand and an idea of some of the discounts/benefits on offer.
