CHESTERFIELD FC CUSTOMER CHARTER 2011
INTRODUCTION
Chesterfield FC is the fourth oldest football club in the country and for 139 years played at the Recreation Ground, Saltergate, before moving to its new £13 million 10,300 all-seater B2net Stadium at the start of the 2010-11 season. With the Crooked Spire of the town's Parish Church being the iconic symbol of Chesterfield the club's nickname is 'The Spireites'. Although playing most of its football in the lower leagues Chesterfield FC is a family club that is very much part of the community of North Derbyshire.
CLUB OWNERSHIP
Chesterfield Football Club is the trading name of CFC (2001) ltd, which is a Limited Company owned by its shareholders and run by a Board of Directors.
CLUB OBJECTIVES
Chesterfield Football Club aims to be a source of civic pride in the town of Chesterfield by:
·Playing professional football at the highest level possible.
·Managing the club professionally so as to ensure a sustainable future for top class sport in the town.
·Participating in the football league campaign "Enjoy the match" by eradicating anti-social behaviour specifically in the family areas of the ground, making the match day experience more appealing to all supporters, especially families.
·Providing a facility which will attract visitors to the town and create education, training and employment opportunities.
·Being a member of the Destination Chesterfield initiative.
ZERO TOLERANCE
Chesterfield Football Club intends that the B2net Stadium is a welcoming place for everyone and has adopted a zero tolerance policy regarding racism, violence, homophobia, physical and verbal abuse and anti-social behaviour.
The board of directors are committed to ensuring the workplace is a safe and pleasant environment for staff and visitors alike. All visitors are expected to behave in a reasonable manner in accordance with the club's policy and any aggressive behaviour, both physical or verbal, will not be tolerated and action will be taken against any person acting in such a manner.
CUSTOMER SERVICE
·Customers are encouraged in the first instance to take up their query, complaint or concern with the relevant department of the Club.
·If the matter cannot be resolved verbally the issue should then be submitted in writing to the Customer Services Manager.
·Letters should be addressed to:-
Customer Services Officer, Angela Bray
B2net Stadium
1866 Sheffield Road
Whittington Moor
Chesterfield
S41 8NZ
·E-mails should be sent to angelabray@chesterfield-fc.co.uk for the attention of the Customer Services Officer
·A Customer Complaint Form is available from reception.
·All correspondence will be answered within 14 days of receipt.
·If the customer is unhappy with the reply they can refer the matter to the Club Chairman, and if still not satisfied with the club's response they can contact the Football League Customer Services Department, Operations Centre, Edward VII Quay, Navigation Way, Preston, Lancashire, PR2 2YF, telephone 0844 335 0183, email enquiries@football-league.co.uk
NO SMOKING POLICY
The B2Net stadium is a no smoking area. Smoking is only permitted on the perimeter of the property.
STAFF CONDUCT
·All staff whether full-time, part-time, or match day staff have a duty to act as ambassadors for Chesterfield FC with a duty for supporter care and attention.
·If a supporter has a problem with any member of Chesterfield FC staff, the matter should be referred in accordance with the procedures outlined above.
·An Equal Opportunities Policy operates at Chesterfield Football Club.The Club does not allow discrimination against any individual or group on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, age, religion, race, nationality, ethnic origin, disability, nor does it permit harassment of individuals or other discriminatory behaviour whether physical or verbal and will work to ensure that such behaviour is met with appropriate disciplinary action whenever it occurs..
·Chesterfield Football Club is committed to briefing staff on key issues so that they may answer the majority of supporters' queries.If they are unable to do so they will refer the matter to the relevant person responsible.
·The Club will work with the stewards to ensure that spectators act in a reasonable manner and will not tolerate racial or sexual comments towards players, staff or fellow supporters.Staff will ensure that the provisions of the ground rules are complied with.
·We actively search for ways to improve facilities, merchandise and service in a continuing drive to make every visit to the B2net Stadium efficient and enjoyable for our supporters, whose loyalty is recognised and appreciated.
SUPPORTER CONDUCT
·The Club wants supporters to be part of the passion at the B2net Stadium in a safe, secure and enjoyable environment. The Club is committed to preventing people from behaving in a manner likely to jeopardise the safety or enjoyment of others, and from bringing discredit to Chesterfield Football Club.
·If the Club becomes aware of any person having been convicted of a football-related offence or having been in breach of any of the Club's ground regulations, a decision will be made as to whether that person will be subject to a ban.
Each case will be judged on its own merits and the length of any ban will depend on the severity of the offence and/or the breach of the Club's ground regulations.
SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN POLICY - MATCH DAY
Chesterfield Football Club is committed to providing a safe environment for all supporters.
It has come to our attention that a small number of young children are entering the stadium unaccompanied by an adult for the duration of the match. From the start of the 2011/2012 season, all children aged 12 and under attending a match at the B2Net stadium must be accompanied by a responsible adult for the duration of the game.
This policy has been introduced to safeguard our younger fans in the event of an emergency on match day.Any children who becomes separated from family or friends should approach a uniformed steward who will take the appropriate action.
If children enter the stadium unaccompanied, the club reserves the right to treat them in the same manner as older supporters, including ejecting them from the stadium if they are in breach of the ground regulations.
CONSULTATION AND INFORMATION
·The Chesterfield FC official website - www.chesterfield-fc.co.uk - has up-to-date news 24 hours a day and this is supported by the club's social networking channels, Facebook and Twitter.
·The Club is committed to keeping its supporters informed and publicises its position on major policy issues in the match day programme, local media and club website.
·The Club gives the earliest possible notice through the match day programme, local media and club website of any change in its ticketing policy and the reason for the changes.
·Supporters are invited to give their feedback by using the dedicated email address: feedback@chesterfield-fc.co.uk
STADIUM
Link to Ground Regulations - coming soon
STADIUM CAR PARKING
The club operates a permit only car at the stadium however there are several free parking spaces for pedal cycles.
Cars are parked at owners risk and must be parked in marked bays and clearly display the parking permit.
The club asks that supporters travelling by car do so by parking in appropriate places and be respectful to the needs of the clubs neighbours.
The club encourages the use of a shuttle bus service which operates from the town centre.
TICKETING
Link to Ticketing policy coming soon
PRICING
·The Club continues to strive for the wider access at matches by offering a broad range of ticket prices. The prices for League matches are announced prior to the start of the season.
·The Club operates a scheme to pay for half season tickets during mid-season to accommodate additional interest promoted by the success of the team.
·During the season provisions are made for certain matches to attract new supporters.
ALLOCATION
·At least 5% of tickets to each game are available to non- season ticket holders.
CONCESSIONS
·Concessionary prices are available to juvenile supporters under 14, concessions aged between 15 and 18, senior citizens aged 65 and over, leisure pass holders - a scheme undertaken with the local authority.
·The Club provides an area of the ground for the exclusive use of family groups and junior supporters known as the Family Stand.
·A helper who accompanies a disabled person and remains in attendance for the duration of the game will not be charged for admission. The clubs disability liaison officer can be contacted for details of our disabled facilities and ticket allocation.
LOYALTY AND MEMBERSHIP SCHEMES
The Clubs rewards season ticket holders by giving them priority to purchase tickets for all-ticket cup matches or where there is limited availability for a high-profile away match.
AWAY MATCHES
·The allocation of away tickets is usually sufficient to accommodate all our travelling fans but season ticket holders have priority when in limited supply for league and cup matches.
CUP COMPETITIONS
·The pricing policy is dependant upon the competition and status but is usually in accordance with our League fixtures.
·If demand dictates and tickets are in short supply founder members and season ticket holders will get priority for home matches.
RETURNS/REFUNDS
·The Club undertakes to give a full refund on all unwanted tickets, returned at least 24 hours prior to kick-off.
·If a match is postponed before kick-off, ticket holders are entitled to free admission to the re-arranged game.If a match is abandoned before half time, spectators are entitled to half price admission to the re-arranged game.If a match is abandoned after half time no refunds are available.
ACCOMMODATING AWAY SUPPORTERS
·The Club abides by Football League Regulations governing the allocation of tickets to visiting Clubs.
·The Club does not charge admission prices to supporters of a visiting Club which are higher than those charged our own supporters for comparable accommodation.In particular our concessionary rates offered to senior citizens and junior supporters apply to supporters of a visiting Club.
·Visiting supporters will normally be accommodated in the Printability North Stand which seats 2,088 supporters.A further 1,112 seats can be segregated for use by away supporters in the Midlands Co-operative Community East Stand.
·Tickets will be sent in advance to Clubs for advance sales to alleviate queuing on the day subject to normal football league regulations.
MERCHANDISE
·The Club undertakes research on the design and number of new strips in conjunction with its manufacturers.
·Details of the next intended change of strips will be available from the Club Shop
·The Club offers refunds on merchandise, deemed to be defective, purchased in its official retail outlets in accordance with its legal obligations.
·Merchandise returned for other reasons will receive a full refund if returned within 14 days of purchase, has a valid receipt, and is returned unused and in a re-saleable condition.
·In the event that a customer is unable to provide a receipt, the Club will exchange the item or provide a credit note to the current retail value.
·The Club carries out its obligations under Football League Regulations to prevent price fixing in relation to the sale of replica strip.
DATA PROTECTION
Chesterfield Football Club maintains the privacy and security of customer details held on record in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.
Customers are given the option to opt out of receiving any correspondence from Chesterfield Football Club on all forms of data capture.
Chesterfield Football Club does not pass on any information to 3rd parties.
COMMUNITY ACTIVITY
·Chesterfield Football Club continues to develop ways of supporting the local community through partnerships developed by the Chesterfield FC Community Trust.
·The Trust is in the final stages of its plans to provide state-of-the-art community facilities in the Midlands Co-operative Community East Stand at the B2net Stadium by working with local partners in providing such as, a multi-purpose sports and community room, sports injury clinic, meeting rooms, a gym and healthy living resource for all ages, a wave pool for rehabilitation, heritage room, classroom resource centre for local education, a soft play area for youngsters, a cafeteria, and much more. There are even plans to provide a Changing Places disabled toilet, the first in Derbyshire.
·The Trust expects to be the catalyst for other community projects in Chesterfield and the surrounding area using football and the Chesterfield FC brand
·The Trust manages the club's community department which is staffed by an ex-professional player with a full time assistant and a number of regular helpers as and when required. They visit schools and organise soccer courses during school holidays and generally promote the development of soccer in the North of the county for girls and boys of all abilities. They are also involved with special needs and work closely with all Local Authorities. They organise Birthday parties at the Club and other venues in the area. They also run a holiday play scheme with approximately 60 children attending each day and have been involved with the local council to promote reading and writing initiatives within the community.
·The club aims to actively integrate its community activities through player appearances, fundraising activities and supporting local charities and businesses.
·The club has an active Business Community Partnership Scheme and arranges regular functions for members of the local business community, with business lunches and corporate events, such as an annual golf day.
CUSTOMER CHARTER
·This is available from the Ticket Office, the Club Superstore and on the Official Website Customer Charter downloadable here.
