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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Bada Bing, McGhlaughlin just wants to sell his guff, any quotes in what he says?
Sorry to see Lennon go but with Sammy not being offered a contract despite Neil wanting him to stay, well the writing was kind of on the wall. Would imagine we’d also lose a few top players now the manager has gone. On the plus side, I guess if Henke does get the job he’ll boost season ticket sales. It’s all about the money money!
HH!
Oh dear guys burying their heads in the sand already..
All the best to Neil and his family. At least you wont need to watch ur back now. I hope!!
thanks for everything Neil and I really hope you get what you want in youir future job. All the best to you and your family
something inside so strong.
The 2011/12 comeback from 19 points is my highlight. I believed we could do it and he delivered
Jackie McNamara for me
Doc – he was on BBC News 24,and i have heard similar re budget concerns
NL has been a much better manager than we could have hoped (I didn’t think he would succeed, although the implosion in Govan has helped). 4 years in the Glasgow goldfish bowl is enough, time for him to get on with his life, with our best wishes. He has done well. The reasons for leaving are probably mixed, but I think that his stock was highest a year ago, so he’s done well to stay. Good luck for the future.
New manager should be young, hungry, but have some experience, and should want to play football the Celtic way.
Artur Jorge willing to come out of retirement to manage the ‘tic-Reuters
chris mclaughlin…jeez has that idiot ever got anything right.
neil was offered a 2 year deal last week, he knocked it back.
end of.
dbbina
i also wish i was wrong…a settled club and manager is a winning
club and manager even without spending gazillions of dough.
the only way to look at it positively is he is leaving the club in
a much better state than when he took over.
SUPPORTERS’ FORUM
Why do we all now know about Neil but the official website has zilch?
McNamara and PL don’t get on,still to be convinced by Jackie TBH
Bada, I’m not burying my head, but I will wait for quotes and facts not a journos spin. There will be interviews and if Lennybstates he left due to a budget problem/cut I’ll hold my hands up.
Good Luck Neil
You earned the right to be in charge for ’10-in-a-row’ but decided to seek new adventures elsewhere.
You will be missed.
Lenny states!
Good luck to Neil what ever he does next. He brought some great nights to Celtic Park both as a player and as a manager. Were ever he goes the team will become another one I will be watching out for and hoping they win. But he moves on and so will Celtic.
Steve Clarke or Malky MacKay would be good choices IMO.
Unless of course we take a chance on another rookie. I hear there is a guy just promoted to the SPFL Championship who could bring some weight to our setup. Not sure we could afford him though. :)
Hail Hail
Charlie Nicholas touting Jackie Mac on SSN…
Charlie, do you ever read CQN?
I prefer to wait to see what Lenny has to say before the blood spills, although that won’t suit a few on here.
Ok Bada, I’ll look it up when I get home.
Breaking news: Owen Coyle’s granny is understood to have been kidnapped by Stuart Baxter.
-Reuters.
Utterly shocked and totally pissed off that Lenny is gone. Apart from being a cracking Manager he got Celtic big time and was one of us. If and I accept at this stage its a big If, Lenny has gone because of lack of support from the Board then its very depressing indeed. Re possible new Manager I’d be hoping for a proven Manager and not a project.
Considering what he’s had to put up during his career at Celtic, does anyone agree he must be considered possibly the greatest servant to the club?
Just logged on.
Shocked is an understatement.
First priority…………………What`s in Celtic`s best interests?
Second priority……………..Who`s in Celtic`s best interests?
Huddle time.
I hope he gets an English paper onto him, asking him to blow the lid on his troubled life up here. The guy got it from all angles and not just from the street bigots. There will be a few sweating now. Thanks for everything Neil.
Onwards and upwards Celtic.
The only bright side to this sorry day is that the Huns have now lost the main reason for their existence as Huns. Their raison d’etre has flown the coup.
Who will they use now to excuse their bitter, retarded, animalistic behaviour?
I am a Happy Clapper. However, I have very good reason for saying that this is something to do with other personnel leaving the club and NFL not being too happy.
He may have other reasons too and perhaps these were final straws or the ‘excuse’ to get out.
No hard feelings from me. We’ve got used to the transient nature of modern football. Players and managers will come and go. Only we remain faithful. Mostly.
Replacements? Don’t shoot me but I’d take Moyes in a heart beat. Moneyball appointment. He needs to rebuild his reputation. Perhaps so do we. Get us through the CL qualifiers. We’d be like Everton in terms of our stature against the big euro teams – and he knows how to organise for those circumstances. We’ll skoosh the league, he’ll get time.
Moyes for me please.
He wont give any interviews I wouldn’t have thought.
There is along list of ‘journalists’ who are sharpening their pens and getting ready to get ripped into him.
He will need to be very careful if he does give an interview and pick his interviewer very, very carefully as it would be easy to get led down a line of questioning that would be very hurtful.
I wish Neil all the best and now hope we have a successor lined up.
I guess that I’ll have to revise my opinion on Neil’s tenure.
He did a fantastic job at the club, under horrendous conditions.
He has his own football philosophy, which served him well, up to a point.
I don’t think that I am breaking a confidence if I repeat what he said to my son, while having a pint in Dublin.
It was after a recent Europa Cup tie, on television.
Afterwards, they went for a pint and, if course,, talked football.
He said that this was something he couldn’t do in Glasgow, have a quiet pint.
He said he understood the financial position at Celtic, even though it frustrated him greatly.
He has never hid his desire to test himself in another league.
Therefore, perhaps the timing is right for him to go, giving the next man time to establish himself before the resurrection next year.
Thank you, Neil and I hope you have a successful career and, more important, peace of mind and safety for yourself and family.
God Bless.
Gold Coast Tom
12:32 on 22 May, 2014
‘I prefer to wait to see what Lenny has to say’
###
Anodyne platitudes in accordance with his contractual obligations would be my guess.
But what do I know?
Looking forward to reading Neil’s book
Please no nonsense talk of Henrik Larsson, Owen Coyle, Jackie McNamara, David Moyes, Gordon Strachan (~Malky Mackay)…
T’will never happen.
Candidates – assuming British based or at least experience in this country
The ex-player
Henrik – no thanks
Malky – would be a safe option
Jackie Mc – don’t think so
Morten – wildcard
Lambert – still employed
Moyes – too expensive
The usual suspects (all please god no)
Coyle
Keane
Using a bit of imagination
Clarke
From within
Houston – we’ll have a problem
Kennedy – probably too soon
So based on my scientific evaluation of the candidates its a three man short list of Mackay, Weighorst or Clarke
I’m gutted at the news that Neil Lennon has left Celtic. I don’t think Lenny would have decided to quit on a whim either.
kingoh
12:22 on 22 May, 2014
As I said earlier “Totally gobsmacked” ……… I luved Neil, and his resistance against the corrupt bigots was an inspiration……… Onwards and upwards for the Celtic……downward and downward for the sevco (following in the footsteps of the previous inhabitants of ipox)
Didn’t expect that news today. Shocked.
Adios Lenny
Hopefully we will find out the real reasons for leaving.
Now that you are going. Just what did sleekit whisper in your ear.
Best of luck to lenny he exceeded my expectations. If he has left with no job yet its a damning inditement of the club and its lack of ambition. The old board used to sell players and give the manager a pittence to replace them nicholas, mcavennie anyone whats changed?
What happened to pl stating that all money from transfer fees would be reinvested back in the team £29m at my last count dont see it? Are we to be taken gor fools again?
Shocked at news
Clarke or Mackay for me
Maybe Peter Lawwell could be the manager?