One team in Glasgow Partick Thistle

INTERVIEW WITH JIM ALEXANDER - Report by Kieron Dempsey

There can be no doubt that there has been a vast improvement in the atmosphere on matchdays. The responsibility for this lies with Associate Director and former Jags Trust Board Member Jim Alexander. In order to find out how this remarkable change has come about we decided to go straight to the man himself to find out.

Jim, the matchday experience has improved dramatically since you took responsibility for this, how did you turn it around and did your experience of matches at Espanyol  and their model help?

The first thing I did was attend the game as “a fan” unlike a normal game I took notes of every aspect from arrival at the Stadium, Paybooth, Turnstile, Toilets, Catering, Stewarding etc etc there were obviously a number of core things we were failing in – the toilets for example, if you pay £15 you have a basic expectation level of Customer Service so this is where I started, paper towels in the toilets and hand-driers working, nothing more, nothing less.

Issues like disabled parking which had been hanging around for years I looked at and identified workable solutions, again straightforward customer service process.

Uniforms for staff, more people actually visible in the JHS who can deal with issues and identify problems all help to put across a professional feel to Fans as they arrive. It’s important that people notice change as well as experience it.

My experience at Espanyol was  very important in things like the Shed and general approach to Fans was based on their model, the key thing I picked up from them is  that when you live in the shadow of giants you need to work twice as hard to hold onto your fans and attract new ones. Being as good is no use you have to be better.

For whatever reasons - and they have been debated to death - my view was that we had lost the one thing that fans truly value –“pride in their Club”, I saw this as key to our future and everything was aimed at restoring it.

What must be recognised is that the “Matchday Experience” was ultimately a missing part of the Jigsaw, the Greaves deal, rebranding, better PR and additional staff have all played a major part in Fans feeling better about their Club, if they arrive in a positive frame of mind at the game it impacts on the day in general (a whole load of wins also helps I may add).

A good example was the PR on the Pink strip, that wasn’t luck Brian Welsh at Big Partnership and Ami our Press Officer worked there arse off on this, no team in the UK had the level of coverage PTFC achieved for an “away top”.

The day in general had become sterile, and a more relaxed user friendly ethos has been put in place, safety and policing are paramount, but we have to remember the aim  is for people to enjoy their day, otherwise what is the point?

Well, it  certainly seems to have paid off - admittedly a win of four nil would help improve any matchday, but even as we lost to Ross County the atmosphere felt like the old days - I heard one chap say that it was “…like being at a football match again…” How did you manage to overcome the problems of the transmission of crowd-generated sound around the Jackie Husband. I remember when you were on the trust board you had found physical problems associated with the design and materials used in the Jackie Husband?

PA system took all of two hours to resolve, did a calculation met with the PA Company, produced a performance Spec and got a quote, the Board signed off the capital spend and it was resolved.

Lance revisited music and how we used the sound system as part of the match build up, not rocket science and something we continue to work on, however it gives the overall feeling of more noise in the stadium which adds to the atmosphere.

The issue of noise transmission from the Shed to the rest of the Stadium has not been overcome, and its something I’m still working on but a noisier Shed means it travels better.

People have been interested in the Kids Zone, kids passport etc. what exactly are they and why do you feel that these are important for the club?

Kids stuff is critical, Fans with or without kids worry about our future, having more kids around creates a feel good factor and generally gives the place a lift, we are the first Club in the Country to let the kids in for free, what is of note is that you would have thought the governing bodies would have shown an interest or even ask how its been going, but nothing so not for the first time PTFC are breaking new ground alone.

One thing that I quickly established was that letting kids in for free is one thing, getting them to come back is another this is why the Kids Zone has to be first class.

The PT Juniors is essentially about establishing a bond between our young supporters and our Players there had been a growing gap between the Fans and the guys who run onto the park and getting young fans to meet there heroes and get there autographs in there PT Passport is a very important step in making us one Club again. Our Players Zone is the first of its kind .

The Thistle Futures package is being redesigned and will be re-launched, it’s too close to the PT Juniors so we will have something new in the next couple of weeks which hopefully will get more teenage fans involved in PTFC.

The whole thing was a bit rushed and we know have a better feel for what differing age groups require.

The Aitken Suite - is there any way of improving access to the bar before the match?

Our options are limited due to licence and Police restrictions dictating layout, both myself and David Beattie visited it at the Ross County game and we will be making a few changes to improve things, however this is not a normal Bar and we are under strict control from external bodies at all times.

Complaints used to be made about the state of the seats in the ground but this seems to have improved somewhat - what has changed in this regard?

The seats, the toilets etc etc were cleaned or repaired “as required” we now have a cleaning and repair regime in place which means we don’t react so much and try and repair  or clean things before they happen, roosting pigeons are a problem along the back wall of the JHS ,still looking at a solution.

Are their any other areas regarding the matchday experience that you will be looking into in the near future?

I’m desperate to get Clapper Handouts for the Kids as I feel it will involve them in the overall experience, plus create noise at both ends of the ground meaning the middle sections will join in more, we have attempted to get a sponsor or government funding but no joy, the cost is around £2500 and money is tight, we are still working on it.

We need more Flags at the back of the Shed and need to bring back scarves for Fans to hold up when singing.

Good point - that (scarves) was something I hadn’t noticed

The whole process is ongoing and we are only at the start, we should have 3000 paying Fans every home game and 1000 kids in for free that’s my aim, we are getting there but a long way to go.

I recently met with the EEOS Supporters Club and I’m happy to meet with any official or unofficial group of fans to hear their views on how we can improve things and win back more Fans.

Thanks Jim for taking the time to speak to us.