Pleased to see this morning’s initiative by Celtic to provide people with a more visible and accessible complaints procedure, including an “Our commitment to you” section. I know it’s almost blasphemous to use the word ‘customer’ in a football context, but when it comes to levels of service, it is useful to benchmark the ‘customer experience’ at Celtic Park, which is patchy and often disappointing.
I’ve been meaning to pick up this topic for a while but there is a Supporters’ Forum coming up next month, where various supporters’ groups will be given a chance to put issues of concern to the club, and I planned to raise it directly with the club before writing about it here.
Celtic have a great brand (if you indulge me with another blasphemous but useful term), born to feed the hungry, champion of the underdog, fundraiser for the poor and needy in Scotland and across the globe. We still have the unique Seville legacy – which is 11 years old today – and on Saturday, 47 years after their own crowning moment, the remaining Lisbon Lions will cast their considerable shadow over European football, but a great deal of the ‘customer contact’ reflects a club weary from more recent skirmishes. It needed be this way.
We are one of the world’s unique brand properties, like Disney, but a lot smaller, of course. Every customer contact, every public-facing decision, should reflect this. Disney understand this. They make you pay ridiculous amounts for their tat, but you pay willingly, because every customer contact reflects the highest service levels achievable. None of this comes on minimum wage, you need to select, train and retain good staff, who remain in place irrespective of available alternatives.
Legendary customer service is expensive, but if you own a uniquely ethical brand, paying that expense can be profitable.
Look around at brand management elsewhere. BP throw an environmentally responsible ‘better use of energy’ message at you straight from their home page, and they are one of the world’s most notorious polluters. Barcelona give their ‘More than a club’ message the prime spot (top left) on their home page, without a notion of irony around their tax or Qatar cash transactions. Apple have “Apple and the environment” prominently on their home page. They have little to do with the environmental movement, but they know how important to their business it is to maintain their unique brand.
Ethically, Celtic are miles ahead of any of these outfits but you need to go hunt for our considerable ethical works on the club website.
What should Celtic do when training, match day stewards, or kiosk staff (don’t start me)? What should we do when faced with an expensive business decision? Consult the brand values. Brand values are absolutely sacrosanct and the cost of maintaining them should be looked on as an opportunity to invest in them. At the moment lots of areas are under-invested in, reflecting completely different values to those who rush into the ground on match day.
Our values are to build a great football club which improves Health, promotes Equality, encourages Learning and tackles Poverty. Celtic do this through the very real help they give to thousands of people through Celtic FC Foundation. This is where we are today but all of this should have a higher profile.
When you visit the Celtic web site two days before season ticket renewal deadline day (today), you should be smacked around the senses with our work on Health, Equality, Learning and Poverty. Do that and the drag-through to renewals or merchandise sales will follow, ask Apple or Disney.
We need confidence in this strategy. I know it’s expensive, things are tight and demands enormous, but these values, this unique brand, is why we will flourish for another century.
If you want to raise a question at the Supporters’ Forum leave a note below.
Order your signed copy of Tommy Gemmell’s All the Best below.
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Connaire12
Thoughts and prayers with you for tomorrow
BT
Good news on young Marco
And finally after some serious consideration, 2 season tickets renewed yesterday,
Time though for Celtic PLC to get behind its fans
Hail Hail
All Aboard the Celtic train with Casey “skoosh Brown driving :)))
don’t know who the pilot is on the plane though PL ?
http://i.minus.com/itnGqCCMTNRDj.gif
Oh and meant to add on this day
Johnie Doyle your in my thoughts, a true Celt
murdochauldandhay & wee oscar
20:19 on 21 May, 2014
Nice :-)
Captain Unbookable at Hamilton game ,dressed as Danny Dyer….
Goal Hibs
Great goal for Hibs
Noticed the Celtic website have a big feature celebrating Seville. It’s the 11th anniversary don’t you know?
Seriously, what is that all about? 10 years I can understand, but 11? Are we going to celebrate this EVERY year? It’s embarrassing.
At least England WON in 1966.
TET,
No, I am not saying that, but until we can change the structure of the game, we, and other clubs, are victims.
It’s how to change.
Celtic have one vote, no matter how big a club we are.
There has to be the input from the majority of clubs.
The TV deal is farce, just like almost everything in the SPFL.
None of us every want to meet them on a football field again, do we?
However, if/when an incarnation pollutes Celtic Park, do you think the Celtic End will be empty?
I am not and never was an O F supporter, but in reality, I never expected Celtic to stand up and publicly call for their obliteration.
We are all angry, but short of, (analogy warning) picking up the ba’ and going away, what do we do?
BC or DC.
Busy night here, dodging doorstep canvassers.
THindimebhoy
Must admit I’m not a great Tory fan but I did enjoy Theresa May read the bizzies the riot act today
Reform or be damned was the jist of it.
Despite her politics she does something for me….If only I was twenty years older.
The Heid standing at the side of the pitch looking like a Cyberman.
neilbhoy
20:30 on 21 May, 2014
——————————
If I was 20 years older I’d be nearly 80 and I still wouldnae!
Cowiebhoy
Just call me Thomas :)
GCT
I said a similar thing to my wife about our wedding anniversary.
I should be walking normally again within a couple of weeks.
tommybhoy1967\
It’s a strange one from a business point of view.
These guys are supposed to be the cream in their respective fields, yet they are clueless when it comes to football.
I have never advocated spending what we don’t have, well I did once, jeez, we actually have cash in the bank, all very well and good.
Maybe we can play the balance sheet as our main striker and scare the shit out of the opposition >}
HH
……………….
ttt
What do we do ?
Avery good question, and I honestly wish I could give you a difinitive answer, but one thing I can tell you, doing nothing ain’t gonna work.
First off, push for reforming the refereeing sysyem, this has to be acceptable to all of scottish football, apart from the hun that is, so it must be easy enough to get off the ground.
Even if the club questioned the sfa on little things like why is it only our players who are booked for celebrating a goal, they can’t even do that FFS.
Are they happy at the back of the bus, it seems to me that they are, as long as the cash keeps rolling in, they have no desire to rock the gravy boat.
See if we had a semblance of a level playing field, it would go a long way to all the bitching and moaning.
Sort the referees, and it’s easier than many think it is, sort the problems.
If we had a level playing field on the pitch, they could cheat to their hearts content off it, it woodny matter, we would get our just deserts.
HH
gct
the celebration for england was that they won as you correctly said
the occasion of celtic in seville was about so much more than a game of football so is always worth remembering
Mon the Hoops. :-))
Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.
TET,
Stop talking sense.
TET,
To sort the referees, we first need to sort the cause of referees; I.e., the SFA.
Connaire12, good luck tomorrow, you’ll be in my thoughts.
Positive mental attitude, and a wee prayer too.
Any transfer rumours ffs…….getting fed up
wae all the we’re getting cheated shit,it’s
always been like that,if you did not know
that……well then you must be whitever.
awethesweeterwhenwewinCSC.
TBB
From earlier – I might sit alone but I never walk alone :o)
Geezer CSC
I missed oot the >} at the end of my last sentance.
HH
Thoughts on a possible number 2 for Neil Lennon? Personally I’d love to see the return of the magnificent 7.
Another lovely goal for Hibs.
Hoopy-do
There’s also been an extra focus on the whole experience this year with the book and Tony Roper’s play at the Pavilion.
The sponge lassie is tidy.
2-0 hibs as I type.
2-0 to Hibs, well over the line.
Hamilton have got the bus ready to get parked up.
If only they could get in front.
Mullet and Co2, John Collins?
Discipline, fitness played in Europe for Monaco.
Might need a Tin hat, but……………
mullet and co 2,
I suggested Morten Wieghorst a couple of weeks ago as the new number 2. He has shown much more than Henrik on the management/coaching side.
connaire 12,
All the best tomorrow. Will say a wee prayer for you.
Doc, there is a wee medicine bottle sitting round here waiting for you to collect – oh and a book :-)
Come round on Saturday, and well hear some chubes eh chunes
Hail Hail
Connaire12- fingers crossed for good news .HH
Turkeybhoy
I wish >}
HH
………………….
ttt
No, no, no, the referees are a cog in the wheel, there is no need to sort everything from the outset.
Start with the thing that would be acceptable to all the other clubs, the referees.
If the smaller clubs were refereed honestly, and fairly, refereed like clubs are on the continent, they would produce better players, plyers who they would have a better chance of making a few bob from.
I have said it countless times, the likes of Inesta, Xavi and the like wouldn’t cut it in scotland, they would get kicked around with total impunity, this has to change, and FFS, it must be the wish of all clubs to change this.
The mindset is still in the dark ages in scotland, bring it into modern day, where the likes of thompshun and collum ref the games in scotland like they do in europe, they at least ref the games fairly in europe, they are still totally incompetant, but they are at least fairly incompitant,
Let the footballers play football.
HH
mullet & co 2
I would like Celtic to be a bit bold with the appointment of a number 2.
Someone who has either plyed his trade abroad and has a continental ideaof playing.
A Dr Jo type would be ideal.
A highly rated foreigner out to make a name for himself.
I am sure Lenny is a fantastic motivator . I think we need someone to compliment that . Someone very tactically aware.
I guess from a continental experience point of view , John Collins would fit the bill.
Would be very happy with John
Paul67
How very dare you compare us with Disney!
Surely it’s yon deid outfit that’s a mickey mouse club >)
CowieBhoy, I’ll have just about dried out by then, and yes, Mrs Doc and I will wander round in the afternoon, marching shoes on:-)
I’ll text to make sure you’re in.
I have your Oscar wrist band, will return it then too.
A lot of rumours floating around it could be a new No1 and 2 we may need ?
Hope Lenny stays for 10 :-) that would be nice
Either JC or big Morten would do me, big Morten has a good record