New website

[babychunder]

Nothing that's being suggested will lead to people losing jobs. Quite the opposite actually as it would involve their roles evolving to embrace 'new' engagement tools which will make them an even more important part of the process, if that's at all possible.

I work during office hours, so email is realistically the only way that I can get in touch with the club if I have a question, and I'm positive that I'm not the only one in the same situation. Customer service shouldn't be exclusive to people that can phone up, or folk that have had to go out of their way to visit the stadium and speak face to face. It should extend to email replies from the ticket office, live chat on the website, plus instant Twitter replies/Facebook messages etc. All incredibly easy to implement, and are the bare minimum of what's expected these days.

Don't get me wrong I'm all for choice, was just thinking about the impact.

[Havana Saint]

Trust me Ross is an innovative guy. Concerns raised here I believe should be directed towards the politburo.

[Dave H]

I have no reason to check the Saints official site.  The last time I checked it was to try find ticket arrangements for semi final... but I think I found the info I wanted under a different titled news story...  it annoys me 1 title and different stories!

[Abernethy Saint]

I went on to find shop details once. It was like a Murder Mystery Weekend, following little clues that led to multiple blind alleys. Eventually I phoned, where they laughed and agreed that the website was terrible and gave me a link. Phoning to get an Internet link is a bit crazy nowadays, and sales must be being lost. Most commercial sites nowadays you can't even get to a homepage without navigating past "buy me" stuff. I don't think it's the end of the world, but the set-up is completely non-intuitive and a bit amateur, given the key demographic target for any football club is young lads, all of whom nowadays are completely digital. If that's the word!

[Hendo]

My experience has always been great. Maybe you were just unlucky. I don't believe in messing with something that works well? And I prefer dealing with people rather than machines.

Nope, still waiting on a phonecall from the ticket office.

I've decided if they don't want my money I'm not going to chase them any further to give it to them. I'm in the fortunate position of being able to afford a season ticket and see it as a means of giving something back to the club (I'd never make enough matches to make the actual purchase a money saver). If they can't be arsed to call me and take my money then that's their lookout. 

[TheYellowBox]

Seems to be the same script each year. We are slow getting strips and season tickets out and there seems to be a grinding halt on things happening off field at the club each summer.

It's most likely highlighted as there is no saints games etc going in, but it does seem that we are incredibly slow to change at the club. Yes, on the pich all is going well and generally, the club is well run, but we are being left behind a bit now.

Staff at the club are great when you need something done, but effectively they are being let down by the infrastructure around them.

Had a quick look around some other clubs websites and ours is very poor by comparison. As a minimum we should at least have a fixed link to saints tv, but a lot of content is out of date or not easy to find. The community bit for example is 2 years out of date and the photo gallery icon is at least 4 years old. All small things, but it doesn't give a great first impression.

I don't think it is deliberate as such, but a lot of this kind of thing seems like a bit of an afterthought to the club.

If your target audience (I.e a lot of folk on here) are telling you that your initial point of contact is poor, you really should be listening to them. 

[541ntees]

I went on to find shop details once. It was like a Murder Mystery Weekend, following little clues that led to multiple blind alleys. Eventually I phoned, where they laughed and agreed that the website was terrible and gave me a link. Phoning to get an Internet link is a bit crazy nowadays, and sales must be being lost. Most commercial sites nowadays you can't even get to a homepage without navigating past "buy me" stuff. I don't think it's the end of the world, but the set-up is completely non-intuitive and a bit amateur, given the key demographic target for any football club is young lads, all of whom nowadays are completely digital. If that's the word!

scrolling down and clicking online shop isnt exactly mensa stuff

 

if i want to watch highlights i go to the clubs youtube channel or watch sportscene. if i want a strip i phone campus or order online from ttl. the once a season when i require a ticket i phone carol an its here the next morning if i want the latest news i (wait for it) click on news. if i cant make a match i follow the twitter feed 

after saying all that ive had a look at other sites and ours can be improved . having everything on the official site would be great but it wasnt that long ago if you werent at the game you had to rely on 3lines lines in the sunday papers. having to make a phone call or make an extra click on your laptop is not a 1st world problem

[blueheaven]

scrolling down and clicking online shop isnt exactly mensa stuff

 

if i want to watch highlights i go to the clubs youtube channel or watch sportscene. if i want a strip i phone campus or order online from ttl. the once a season when i require a ticket i phone carol an its here the next morning if i want the latest news i (wait for it) click on news. if i cant make a match i follow the twitter feed 

after saying all that ive had a look at other sites and ours can be improved . having everything on the official site would be great but it wasnt that long ago if you werent at the game you had to rely on 3lines lines in the sunday papers. having to make a phone call or make an extra click on your laptop is not a 1st world problem

Unfortunately I think that's exactly the sort of attitude that is causing Saints to fall behind in this area. There is profile to be built, support to be gained and money to be earned from getting a neat, efficient, cleanly designed and up to date website that allows people to engage properly with the club. Increasingly, Saints customers are going to expect all of this from Saints as it's what they get from everywhere else.

I still don't understand why it is that every single other event I go to (cinema, theatre, music, comedy, other football matches) can sell me a ticket online, but a Premiership-level football club with a big customer base and a bloody good turnover can't do the same. We've had so many big matches over these last few years, and yet Saints don't have my email address or contact details from any of them. That's such a wasted opportunity.

Anyway, better go. I need to buy a few things so I'm off to phone Amazon.

 

[Abernethy Saint]

scrolling down and clicking online shop isnt exactly mensa stuff

 

 

 

 

 

Yes I see they have that now. They didn't when I last tried it.

[Hendo]

Well wonders will never cease; I've just had a call form the ticket office. Season Ticket bought.

Still would have been easier with a website.

[HOODLUM65]

Well wonders will never cease; I've just had a call form the ticket office. Season Ticket bought.

Still would have been easier with a website.

Patience my friend, patience.

Everyone is in such a hurry and so busy, patience has been forgotten.

[ejksjfc]

I can honestly say that I find the Saints website perfectly adequate for my needs.

1: When I need to renew my season ticket I fill in the form ,sign a cheque, post a letter  and normally within a week I recieve my new season ticket.

2: If I decide that my 40+ Saints tops are not enough for my requiements and I want to have the latest one (admittedly not much arm twisting required) I either go to the excellent Campus Sports or the club shop to make said purchase.

3: If I require a ticket for an away fixture( or a home fixture not covered by my season ticket) I go to the ticket office and speak nicely to the lovely helpful people there.

4: On the special occasions when I wish to partake in the "posh seats" hospitality I phone the club and manage to organise everything required

5: On the one occasion I have travelled to Europe with the club everything was done on the phone 

6: The "online" shop have a wide selection of goods which can be viewed online and quite easily bought through the site or ordered over the phone (I have used both these methods of buying in recent months and have found the level of service from both methods to be exemplary.

 

 I have got to say that although plainly limited Saints OS is very easy to navigate through compared to other clubs offerings.

As I said earlier Saints OS is perfectly adequate for my needs (a diehard Saintee exiled a mere 70 miles from Perth) This may well not be the case for "real" exiles!!!!

[Kevin James Is On Stilts]

I can honestly say that I find the Saints website perfectly adequate for my needs.

1: When I need to renew my season ticket I fill in the form ,sign a cheque, post a letter  and normally within a week I recieve my new season ticket.

2: If I decide that my 40+ Saints tops are not enough for my requiements and I want to have the latest one (admittedly not much arm twisting required) I either go to the excellent Campus Sports or the club shop to make said purchase.

3: If I require a ticket for an away fixture( or a home fixture not covered by my season ticket) I go to the ticket office and speak nicely to the lovely helpful people there.

4: On the special occasions when I wish to partake in the "posh seats" hospitality I phone the club and manage to organise everything required

5: On the one occasion I have travelled to Europe with the club everything was done on the phone 

6: The "online" shop have a wide selection of goods which can be viewed online and quite easily bought through the site or ordered over the phone (I have used both these methods of buying in recent months and have found the level of service from both methods to be exemplary.

 I have got to say that although plainly limited Saints OS is very easy to navigate through compared to other clubs offerings.

As I said earlier Saints OS is perfectly adequate for my needs (a diehard Saintee exiled a mere 70 miles from Perth) This may well not be the case for "real" exiles!!!!

Your first five points don't actually involve any contact with the website though, and that's partly the argument that's being made. 1-5 are all vital sales opportunities that should be among the main features of any football club's site, yet with Saints you're telling me that you need to sign a cheque and send it in the post. If you gave a blank cheque to an 18 year old these days I bet they wouldn't have a clue what to do with it.

Nobody is saying that the club should close the doors to the ticket office, unplug the phones at the stadium and sell their souls entirely to the elders of the internet, but the main method of shopping and communication for a huge huge huge number of consumers these days is online. And that number will only increase as the years go on. 

A website is a business' shop window, and currently Saints' one is faded, dated, uninviting and doesn't sell the right things.

[ejksjfc]

Your first five points don't actually involve any contact with the website though, and that's partly the argument that's being made. 1-5 are all vital sales opportunities that should be among the main features of any football club's site, yet with Saints you're telling me that you need to sign a cheque and send it in the post. If you gave a blank cheque to an 18 year old these days I bet they wouldn't have a clue what to do with it.
Nobody is saying that the club should close the doors to the ticket office, unplug the phones at the stadium and sell their souls entirely to the elders of the internet, but the main method of shopping and communication for a huge huge huge number of consumers these days is online. And that number will only increase as the years go on. 

A website is a business' shop window, and currently Saints' one is faded, dated, uninviting and doesn't sell the right things.

I in all honestly can not offer an argument against your points................what I did say was that at present the website does all that I (as an individual) needs it to do.

I fully accept that others in this (for want of a better definition) techie dominated times want to use websites more fully than I do.

At the end of the day it probably comes down to the old adage " it does exactly what it says on the tin" .............which in many peoples eyes is not a lot and also not enough which I can fully accept and sympathise wiyh.

[Pat McGroin]

I in all honestly can not offer an argument against your points................what I did say was that at present the website does all that I (as an individual) needs it to do.

I fully accept that others in this (for want of a better definition) techie dominated times want to use websites more fully than I do.

At the end of the day it probably comes down to the old adage " it does exactly what it says on the tin" .............which in many peoples eyes is not a lot and also not enough which I can fully accept and sympathise wiyh.

I think it might be fair to say that you might be of the generation that doesn't do everything online (+50?). Saints are missing a trick and losing revenue (potentially quite a bit) because of their poor e-commerce. Just because you find the site to be adequate for your needs doesn't mean that it's fit for purpose for a business the size of St Johnstone.

[ejksjfc]

I think it might be fair to say that you might be of the generation that doesn't do everything online (+50?). Saints are missing a trick and losing revenue (potentially quite a bit) because of their poor e-commerce. Just because you find the site to be adequate for your needs doesn't mean that it's fit for purpose for a business the size of St Johnstone.

I fully accept everything you are saying as I have already said in previous posts.

I must also sincerely thank you for suggesting I am merely +50, I am a mere youngster at heart especially on a Saints away day. ( although it does take a lot longer for my body to recover from these days now) 

[mainstand]

I think it might be fair to say that you might be of the generation that doesn't do everything online (+50?). Saints are missing a trick and losing revenue (potentially quite a bit) because of their poor e-commerce. Just because you find the site to be adequate for your needs doesn't mean that it's fit for purpose for a business the size of St Johnstone.

I think your assumption that the 50 plus brigade are over the hill as far as computer use is slightly wide of the mark.

 

 

[rickardo]

I think your assumption that the 50 plus brigade are over the hill as far as computer use is slightly wide of the mark.

 

 

Aye especially when it comes to porn  

[541ntees]

 

2: If I decide that my 40+ Saints tops are not enough for my requiements and I want to have the latest one (admittedly not much arm twisting required) I either go to the excellent Campus Sports or the club shop to make said purchase.

 

i was under the impression that the only place you could purchase a top was campus or ttl

[Kevin James Is On Stilts]

I in all honestly can not offer an argument against your points................what I did say was that at present the website does all that I (as an individual) needs it to do.

I fully accept that others in this (for want of a better definition) techie dominated times want to use websites more fully than I do.

At the end of the day it probably comes down to the old adage " it does exactly what it says on the tin" .............which in many peoples eyes is not a lot and also not enough which I can fully accept and sympathise wiyh.

Absolutely, for some people the website does meet their needs, and that's great. It's got news updates, club contact information, squad details and match reports - the basics.

But on the other hand, in these 'techie dominated times' (© ejksjfc), there is a whole generation of people who are growing up with everything available to them instantly, and Saints need to realise that and embrace it because there's a lot of money to be made from them. And ultimately a website is a money making tool these days.

Somebody needs to tell Brooner that he's losing a bucketload of cash by having such a crap site and I bet you he'd be straight on the case 

Edited June 16, 2016 by Kevin James Is On Stilts

[Abernethy Saint]

The Saints site reminds me of old newspaper front pages, where mountains of information was presented in the same typeface and all jumbled up. So it was difficult to find out the Titanic had sunk in amongst the adverts for second hand false teeth. Look at the modern tabloids, where the front page message is clear and, sadly, works:

1. IMMIGRANTS ARE REALLY, REALLY BAD!!

2. GIANT TITS INSIDE! 

3. DID WE MENTION IMMIGRANTS ARE REALLY BAD?

On a commercial site, this translates to 

1. Buy stuff.

2. Here's how to buy stuff.

3. Buy stuff now, you miserable bastards.

Simples.

[blueheaven]

I honestly don't think I've written a cheque for about 10 years, and don't know if I even own a chequebook any more. I also can't think of a single thing I've bought over the phone in that period. In fact, if I'm looking at buying something and the process involves having to post a cheque or use the phone, I just don't buy it (or I find somewhere else that will sell it to me online). This is just the way things are going now, and football clubs of Saints' size need to catch up with that.

I also believe that having online ticket sales for every home game (not just big games) would help attendances and should be given a trial period by the club.

[akuram]

Online ticket sales would certainly help.

I remember before the cup final being able to pinpoint my exact seat on the Celtic website.

They are able to see which seats are available for sale.

No reason why we couldn't have a similar system.

[jazzsaint]

For feck sake Saints (Mr Broon et al) get it sorted!

 

If the North inch golf course can have an online system that lets you prebook and pay for a round of golf then surelyy a senior professional football club can run a webstore type site.

http://www.northinchgolf.co.uk/visitors/teetimes/

 

just saying like!

[deej]

For feck sake Saints (Mr Broon et al) get it sorted!

 

If the North inch golf course can have an online system that lets you prebook and pay for a round of golf then surelyy a senior professional football club can run a webstore type site.

http://www.northinchgolf.co.uk/visitors/teetimes/

 

just saying like!

You can do that at Crieff Golf Club as well. Crieff!