Grimsby Town Football Club teamed up with The Fan Experience Company last month to launch a fan survey to gauge the feedback of our supporters following the recent change of ownership.

Darren Young of The Fan Experience Company worked alongside staff at Grimsby Town Football Club to build the survey prior to its launch in May.

"There is no better way to engage with fans than to ask their opinion in the first place, so we were delighted when the new ownership team at Grimsby Town asked us to support them with this fan survey.

"The survey was open for three weeks in May and it gathered a fantastic 4,663 responses with fans typically taking 17 minutes to complete it. This demonstrates the amount of thought that went into supporters' feedback, ideas and suggestions and many of them are summarised in the initial findings document that we've produced."

Following the initial analysis of the survey results, a number of headline action points have been highlighted which include the following below. You can access the initial report by clicking HERE.

Communication

An overwhelming proportion of our supporters stated that they prefer to use the club's official website or social media to be kept informed about the club, with 62% of supporters thinking that an increased social media presence will improve the club's communication.

The Community

A vast majority of our supporters stated that they were interested in the community as well as the team's results, with over a third of respondents stating that it was of equal or more importance. In addition, 80% of supporters would like to see more community visits by the manager or players. Our Grimsby Town Sport & Education Trust (GTSET) has a fantastic bond with schools in the local community and regularly hold events and visits with members of our first team.

Taking the results into consideration, we understand that the work carried out by the Trust is not publicised as well as it could be. With this in mind, we have committed to working even closer with GTSET to ensure all their hard work and efforts are promoted as much as possible.

The Mariners Trust

95% of respondents felt that the Mariners Trust should be the voice of the fans on the Board, with two-thirds of supporters stating this was the most compelling reason to join in the future, 75% of respondents felt the Trust should be involved in improving the matchday experience.

Members of the Mariners Trust are working hard to improve the matchday experience for supporters at Blundell Park. Work continues on the Fan Zone located between the Young's Lower & Osmond Stands.

Mariners Trust & GTFC Board Member, Dave Roberts had the following to say about the work going on and the dedication shown by members of the local community.

"We are really excited with the progress of the Fan Zone and we cannot wait for our supporters to come and enjoy a great pre-match experience from this season.

"I would also like to extend a huge thank you to local businesses who have donated materials and staffing free-of-charge, as well as our fantastic army of volunteers who have donated their time to help us progress. As well as the Fan Zone, we are also looking at a number of other projects to help improve the experience for our supporters here at Blundell Park and we look forward to sharing those in due course".  

The Experience

One of the highlight points of the survey was that less than 20% of our supporters thought that the quality and choice of food and drink was of a good or excellent standard. We have listened to your points and concerns relating to the refreshments and have started talks with a number of caterers based locally to bring you a wider range of food and beverages ahead of the 2021/22 campaign.

Post-COVID

Once the 2021/22 campaign gets underway, COVID 19 will have stopped fans attending football at Blundell Park for 17 months. We understand that people may remain cautious and still expect certain protective measures in place. The fan survey showed us that 40% of our supporters are not as confident as they were before the pandemic, with 27% of supporters saying that they will only come to games when they feel 100% safe.

We are committed to ensuring that Blundell Park is as safe as possible once we can welcome back supporters to fixtures and understand that despite restrictions set to be removed prior to the start of the season, supporters will expect certain procedures to remain in place.

Continued Analysis

Over the coming weeks, we will continue to analyse the results of our survey and will communicate our findings in due course. Chief Executive Officer, Debbie Cook has thanked those who took the time to complete our fan survey and is committed to putting plans into action.

"I am overwhelmed by the fantastic response to the fan survey. Thank you to everyone who took the time to give us their views. This Club is nothing without its fans. We're listening and we're committed to improved communication."




I dont think there is anything in there that surprised me with percentages etc. But all the same its good that they have already got things in place to rectify/placate the main problems that the fans stated.

What will be interesting is what 'little things' they bring to fruition to make things better for the fans.

And whether Pete the Pettit Sausage will make an appearance next to Harry the Haddock

Nothing really surprising in the results. The most important thing is that supporters were actually asked for their opinions and those opinions taken on board. First time I can remember the club doing that.

I like the sound of Pete the Pettit sausage . ;D

I have thought for a long time that the match day catering at the club was very poor. Under JSF the whole thing was contracted out which I thought was a poor and lazy decision. IMO it would be far better to bring it in house and use local suppliers for pies, burgers etc. Use sponsorship or reduced/free advertising as a means to encourage local suppliers to get involved. It's all part of getting the Community involved.

That much!!!!!

One of the highlight points of the survey was that less than 20% of our supporters thought that the quality and choice of food and drink was of a good or excellent standard.

Quoted from rancido

I have thought for a long time that the match day catering at the club was very poor. Under JSF the whole thing was contracted out which I thought was a poor and lazy decision. IMO it would be far better to bring it in house and use local suppliers for pies, burgers etc. Use sponsorship or reduced/free advertising as a means to encourage local suppliers to get involved. It's all part of getting the Community involved.

Absolutely agree with this. We are food processing Town, we should be proud to show off good local produce at the ground.
I have always thought Youngs as sponsors could come up with a few decent items that would sell well, they have a mariners pie and lots of similar products, surely it wouldn’t take too much for their development department to come up with a few popular      
Match day dishes.

Quoted from rancido

I have thought for a long time that the match day catering at the club was very poor. Under JSF the whole thing was contracted out which I thought was a poor and lazy decision. IMO it would be far better to bring it in house and use local suppliers for pies, burgers etc. Use sponsorship or reduced/free advertising as a means to encourage local suppliers to get involved. It's all part of getting the Community involved.

Don't expect huge improvements this season as I think the catering contract expires next summer. The fan zone gives an opportunity to experiment with what can be done throughout the stadium next year though I guess.

Quoted from jamesgtfc

Don't expect huge improvements this season as I think the catering contract expires next summer. The fan zone gives an opportunity to experiment with what can be done throughout the stadium next year though I guess.

Yes, the fanzone would be an ideal "testing ground" for experimenting with different products. I don't know which local butchers produce cooked pies, pasties etc especially now that Turners have gone, but I'm sure there must be some who could get involved. It would also give them the opportunity to reach a wider customer base.

Quoted from rancido

I have thought for a long time that the match day catering at the club was very poor. Under JSF the whole thing was contracted out which I thought was a poor and lazy decision. IMO it would be far better to bring it in house and use local suppliers for pies, burgers etc. Use sponsorship or reduced/free advertising as a means to encourage local suppliers to get involved. It's all part of getting the Community involved.

I wouldn't say it was a poor decision initially. The club were losing money on the bars and food stalls and outsourcing them for a fee meant the club got some money that they wouldn't have had otherwise. The problem was the quality was supposedly awful and something should have been done about that when the contract was due for renewal.

Quoted from pen penfras

I wouldn't say it was a poor decision initially. The club were losing money on the bars and food stalls and outsourcing them for a fee meant the club got some money that they wouldn't have had otherwise. The problem was the quality was supposedly awful and something should have been done about that when the contract was due for renewal.

In other words no action was taken after the first contract expired even though it was recognised that the quality was poor. Surely if the food stalls were losing money then it would have been more sensible to find out why instead of out sourcing.

Quoted from rancido

In other words no action was taken after the first contract expired even though it was recognised that the quality was poor. Surely if the food stalls were losing money then it would have been more sensible to find out why instead of out sourcing.

Yeah, but it's only footy fans and they don't count. They managed to serve decent food in the posh seats however.

Fact is, the club lost money on catering because the fare was crap and they couldn't be ar$ed to make it better.

Quality food doesn't win you 3 points on a Saturday.

Cheapskates.

Quoted from ginnywings

Yeah, but it's only footy fans and they don't count. They managed to serve decent food in the posh seats however.

Fact is, the club lost money on catering because the fare was crap and they couldn't be ar$ed to make it better.

Quality food doesn't win you 3 points on a Saturday.

Cheapskates.

The perfect post... until you used the wrong ‘c’ word as the grand finale!

Quoted from pen penfras

I wouldn't say it was a poor decision initially. The club were losing money on the bars and food stalls and outsourcing them for a fee meant the club got some money that they wouldn't have had otherwise. The problem was the quality was supposedly awful and something should have been done about that when the contract was due for renewal.

True.......that was the simple economic decision ....they lose money so outsource..

Not in the know like some maybe....but ......they lose money so why not review, revamp , consult with your customer and see if you can deliver a product that they might want, might buy and that you might make a profit on ?

Depends on your mindset I suppose.

There's 3 fentyistas furiously red crossing the posts on this thread by the look of it.

Give it up guys, he's gone. ;)

I might be wrong, but didn’t Fenty respond to criticism of the catering by parading himself along the front of the Pontoon eating one of those chesseburgers? In other words, he knew fans hated what was on offer and acknowledged it, but basically flicked the Vs at everyone and intimating that if the slop was good enough for him, it was good enough for us plebs?

Again, could be wrong, probably not though.

Quoted from ska face

I might be wrong, but didn’t Fenty respond to criticism of the catering by parading himself along the front of the Pontoon eating one of those chesseburgers? In other words, he knew fans hated what was on offer and acknowledged it, but basically flicked the Vs at everyone and intimating that if the slop was good enough for him, it was good enough for us plebs?

Again, could be wrong, probably not though.

No that did happen mate I remember that.

Quoted from ska face

I might be wrong, but didn’t Fenty respond to criticism of the catering by parading himself along the front of the Pontoon eating one of those chesseburgers? In other words, he knew fans hated what was on offer and acknowledged it, but basically flicked the Vs at everyone and intimating that if the slop was good enough for him, it was good enough for us plebs?

Again, could be wrong, probably not though.

He did a John Selwyn-Gummer, but on himself not his daughter like JSG.

Quoted from rancido

In other words no action was taken after the first contract expired even though it was recognised that the quality was poor. Surely if the food stalls were losing money then it would have been more sensible to find out why instead of out sourcing.

That's what I said...

Just because I appreciate the reasons that things were done doesn't mean I think the right decision was made. If the food was excrement and people were complaining about it, then something should have changed.

Travelling around I see the good, bad and ugly of catering. Ours is among the worst. Black coffee that resembles dirty water.

I do think the catering needs outsourcing though because making a decent offering profitable is difficult when it's only open for a couple of hours 23 times a year.

Customers are a fickle bunch and the poor catering on offer will actually impact the decision to attend for some.

Being able at get a decent bit of nosh and a good coffee as an exile who makes the journey every home game, will make my life a lot easier. I look forward to it!!  Onwards and upwards!

Quoted from jamesgtfc

Travelling around I see the good, bad and ugly of catering. Ours is among the worst. Black coffee that resembles dirty water.

I do think the catering needs outsourcing though because making a decent offering profitable is difficult when it's only open for a couple of hours 23 times a year.

Customers are a fickle bunch and the poor catering on offer will actually impact the decision to attend for some.

Outsourcing may be the sensible thing.....but doing so with little regard to what your customers are actually served is just dire. The new options will probably be outsourced also but there are so many pop up food businesses locally now that hopefully they will be interesting.

Quoted from ginnywings

There's 3 fentyistas furiously red crossing the posts on this thread by the look of it.

Give it up guys, he's gone. ;)

Ginny weeks if not months ago I realised that a minor few will always red cross any post that criticises Fenty. A bit like the nazi's who think Hitler was brilliant, but not to that extreme.

Likewise, I have realised that I get up to 3(or more) red cross's because DB puts a post on. My contents are not read and if they were you have to wonder why you get a red cross for saying Town are good!

Unfortunately, I don't know the answer so we have to live with it.

Quoted from DB

Ginny weeks if not months ago I realised that a minor few will always red cross any post that criticises Fenty. A bit like the nazi's who think Hitler was brilliant, but not to that extreme.

Likewise, I have realised that I get up to 3(or more) red cross's because DB puts a post on. My contents are not read and if they were you have to wonder why you get a red cross for saying Town are good!

Unfortunately, I don't know the answer so we have to live with it.

I suspect that there are some individuals who automatically red cross posts from some posters regardless. It's almost like I don't like this poster so I will automatically red cross him.