FAN EXPERIENCE
Stirling Albion Matchday Experience Report 2021/22
Early in the new year, Stirling Albion, along with 7 fellow SPFL2 Clubs and one from SPFL1 elected to participate in a study commissioned by the SPFL and undertaken by the “Fan Experience Company”. The one SPFL1 Club participating had missed out on a previous study carried out across their league.
The study was conducted in the form of a “Mystery Shop” and SAFC had no prior warning as to when the visit would take place. We only found that the match chosen was versus Stranraer on Saturday 26 March, when we received the final report a couple of days ago.
We are both delighted and proud to announce that Stirling Albion was benchmarked first overall by the Assessors. This accolade is testament to everyone who contributes to the match day experience at Forthbank Stadium, ranging from those formally employed to undertake duties, to our loyal and dedicated team of volunteers.
The assessment was broken down into the following headings:
- First impressions
- Social Media
- Your Journey / Travel Experiences
- The immediate Stadium vicinity
- Physical Retail & Merchandise
- Refreshments purchased inside the Stadium
- Inside the Stadium
- Engagement from Club Representatives
- Overall Summary
Below is a just a small selection of comments by the assessors to give a flavour of how our matchday team contributed to this outstanding achievement:
“Easy access by card payment at the Turnstile, very friendly Steward at the gate”
“Consistent ‘likes’ on Twitter of fan tweets, and retweeted a post-match tweet of mine”
“The Club is active on Instagram and TikTok which is impressive for a club at that level”
“Programme seller outside entry gates and impossible to miss. Warm engagement with him too”
“Staff all warm and welcoming”
“Visible presence of Club Directors in the Club Shop. On advising it was my first game, I was warmly welcomed and parted with an “Enjoy the game”. Not every club will have directors happy to face supporters on a matchday, never mind muck in at the club shop”
“Stadium catering provided by “Food to Go” was excellent, very enthusiastic staff. Impressed that they have card facilities” (Note: The Assessor bought the Pie of the Week – steak and black pudding with peppercorn sauce!)
“Very friendly 50/50 Seller on hand who encouraged us to sit in any unstickered Season Ticket Holder’s Seat”
“Impressed with positive and proactive nature of all staff, from programme and 50/50 sellers to turnstile operators and shop staff. All consistently happy and positive, which can be quite rare at other stadia”
“A very small touch, but they had tubs of chocolates at the turnstiles for folk when they went in. Outstanding!”
“Also got an answer to a phone call on a matchday afternoon, which I can’t imagine at plenty other clubs!”
“The people are the Club’s greatest strength”
Whilst the overall outcome is extremely pleasing, the Report (and the Club Board) acknowledges that there is plenty of room for improvement. Bearing this in mind, we plan to set up a Working Group to build on the positives and address our weaknesses identified within the Report. The Group will undoubtedly include some of our current volunteers but we’d be delighted to hear from any fans who wish to be considered to play an active part in making the “Fan Experience” at Forthbank even better! Please email office@stirlingalbionfc.co.uk in the first instance with your contact details and reason(s) for offering to assist.
The Club Board, Stirling Albion FC
