Chelsea Template Guidelines (Main Title) · Web viewChelsea Football Club’s supporters are defined as: - Individual supporters, whether season ticket holders; executive club members,

Supporters Information GuideChelsea’s policy is to ensure that each supporter is provided with service and quality that exceeds their expectations in a safe and secure environment. Chelsea’s vision is: “To outperform our competitors both on and off the pitch.” This applies to customer service, as well as achievements on the pitch.

Chelsea Football Club’s supporters are defined as: -

Individual supporters, whether season ticket holders; executive club members, members or casual attendees.

Hospitality members, whether season ticket holders, matchday package purchasers or casual non-matchday visitors to the stadium.

Hospitality or individual clients using the stadium's facilities on non-match days.

Supporters purchasing from the Chelsea retail stores and the Chelsea online stores: www.chelseamegastore.com, www.chelseamegastoreasia.com, www.chelseamegastoreusa.com

Visitors to the management offices.

CFC staff and those of its related companies.

Consultation and SurveysChelsea FC meets with various supporter groups and local residents in order to gain feedback. Along with these meetings two fans satisfaction surveys are conducted during the course of the season.

The aims of the forums are: To maintain a positive and constructive dialogue between the club

and fans To develop a better understanding of issues that affect supporters An opportunity for the club to discuss new ideas The end goals of

the Forum are:- Ensuring that supporters - whether on the Forum or not - feel valued

in their loyalty to the club To increase the supporter base

To provide supporters - as far as reasonably possible - with the facilities and conditions that they expect from Chelsea Football Club

To help develop a business structure that underpins a successful football team

Supporters can contact any of the forum groups and raising agenda items by visiting the website www.chelseafc.com

Chelsea Disabled Supporters Association (CDSA)Chelsea FC meets with the Chelsea Disabled Supporters Association (CDSA) twice a season. The forum is made up of seven supporters covering various forms of disability. All minutes of these meetings are posted on the website, www.chelseafc.com

Fans ForumSince the 2004/5 season, Chelsea FC has hosted Fans Forums, three times a season. The Forum is made up of 18 independently selected fans from different fan groups. These meetings are supplemented by smaller meetings between the club and individual representatives of the forum. The whole process is overseen by the Electoral Reform Services to ensure best practice and independence. All minutes of the meetings are posted on the website, www.chelseafc.com

Fans Satisfaction SurveyIn addition Chelsea FC will annually commission two Fans’ Satisfaction Surveys aimed at assessing current satisfaction and setting targets for the future. This survey is independently commissioned by The Leadership Factor. The results are presented to the CDSA and Fans Forum and they will continue to monitor progress, year on year. A summary of the findings will be available on the club website, www.chelseafc.com

Hospitality Fans ForumChelsea FC hosts a quarterly Hospitality Fans’ Forum. The Hospitality Forum is made up of 14 independently selected fans, representing each of the Hospitality Suites. The process is overseen by an independent Chair to ensure best practice and independence. All minutes of the meetings are posted on the Hospitality website, hospitality.chelseafc.com

Local Residents’ Committee

Chelsea FC has in place, and continues to develop, ways of consulting all stakeholders from a national to a local level. There are meetings, regular contact and good relations with more than 10 local resident groups, local politicians and MPs. These are also fostered through the local council, with whom the club are involved with on several projects.

Supporters’ Club ForumChelsea FC meets with the Official Supporters Clubs twice a season. All supporters’ clubs officials are invited to attend the meeting or submit agenda items by email to the independent chair.

Contact Us

AddressChelsea Football ClubStamford Bridge Fulham Road London SW6 1HS

TelephoneUK 0371 811 2012* International 0044 207 915 1950

[email protected]

*Please note, 03 numbers are charged at the same rate as local and national rate calls.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)Chelsea FC is committed to achieving best practice and being a good corporate citizen. This involves adherence to industry standards and reporting frameworks but also corporate leadership by creating innovative programmes in our immediate and wider community, beyond the industry norm.

Chelsea FC is a supporter of the Chelsea FC Foundation. The Foundation’s work has seen a huge increase in the number of children participating on a variety of courses in London and in Surrey, Essex, Hampshire, Sussex,

Berkshire, Essex and Wiltshire as well as a number of programmes internationally.

Programmes cover a wide range of coaching, disability and female specific courses all overseen by the dedicated staff of the Chelsea FC Foundation.

The Foundation also provides a series of programmes tailored to the particular needs and social make-up of the communities. Working in partnership with organisations such as the police and youth offending agencies, these initiatives help divert young people away from issues such as social exclusion, youth crime and anti-social behaviour.

In total more than one million children attended Foundation courses during the 2015/16 season. There is now a dedicated Foundation area of the website at www.chelseafc.com/foundation.

For more information on the Chelsea FC Foundation, visit the website or email [email protected].

Chelsea FC Foundation assisted more than 250 charities in 2015/16 providing signed merchandise and fundraising activities. For more information, please contact [email protected].

Chelsea FC Foundation is committed to inspiring learning and education through the medium of football and to provide high quality programmes which respond to local needs. Through the Chelsea Foundation the club is building an extensive education programme with local schools and has established two learning centres (“The Hub” at Stamford Bridge and “The Hub2” at Cobham) aimed at supporting educational needs. For more information, contact [email protected]

Chelsea FC Foundation is committed to tackling discrimination. Every matchday programme includes a full-page poster giving details on how to report discrimination, which are also displayed around the stadium on poster sites. These include an internal hotline number 020 7386 3355, Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or Kick It Out on 0800 1699 414.

The club has introduced an email address to report discriminatory incidents, [email protected] and launched the Building Bridges campaign to promote equality in our communities.

The Chelsea Foundation continues to work with Asian football and community groups to encourage and increase participation and the number of coaches in football, through providing practical sessions and campaigns such as the Asian Star project. For more information please visit http://www.chelseafc.com/the-club/foundation/foundation-development/asian-star-2017.html

National equality campaigns have been fully endorsed by the club, such as ‘Kick It Out’ and ‘Show Racism the Red Card.’ Chelsea has been awarded the advanced level of the Equality Standard for professional football clubs and has worked with LGBT groups including the GFSN and Football v Homophobia. For more information please visit http://www.chelseafc.com/the-club/foundation/foundation-community/foundation-building-bridges.html

Customer ServiceChelsea FC regards excellent customer service as a top priority for the business. All general enquiries are initially channelled into our general enquiries department.

Supporters wishing to make a complaint or communicate positive feedback should email [email protected] . Alternatively by post to: Customer Services, Chelsea Football Club, Stamford Bridge, Fulham Road, London SW6 1HS.

Once the communication has been received our Customer Service team will send an acknowledgement confirming the case reference number. The logged complaint/feedback will then be passed to the relevant department for review.

If a response is asked for or warranted, Chelsea FC will use its best endeavours to respond to a written complaint within 14 working days from receipt of the complaint/ feedback. If it is felt the complaint/feedback cannot be resolved within that time, an acknowledgement of the communication will be made as an interim measure.

Supporters who are dissatisfied with the response can escalate the complaint to a Senior Manager of that department to review. If supporters remain dissatisfied with the outcome supporters should contact the Independent Football Ombudsman (IFO). For further information on how to contact the IFO please visit www.theifo.co.uk/index.html.

The Premier League are also available to mediate between the complainant and the club to achieve a positive resolution. For further information or guidance on this process, please contact [email protected]

If you want to nominate a member of staff for providing excellent service please email [email protected] or by letter to: Customer Services, Chelsea Football Club, Stamford Bridge, Fulham Road, London SW6 1HS.

Data ProtectionAny data you disclose to us is collected, stored and used in a responsible and secure manner. Our Privacy Policy supports this and will give you more information if you'd like to have confirmation of our commitment.

We collect your personal information in order to provide you with the services you have requested in a timely and efficient manner.Chelsea FC will:

Respect your right to privacy and we have in place technical and organisational methods as required under the Data Protection Act 1998 to keep that data secure.

Collect permissions from you to send you the communications you have selected but we respect your right to change your mind and we have solutions in place to take note of your current preferences, for instance, if you choose to stop receiving communications from us.

Use plain English so that you can easily understand what will happen to your personal data when you share it with us.

Pass your information on to third parties for marketing purposes only where you have given us your permission to do so.

Pass your information on to suppliers with whom we engage to process your information for us, for instance, to send you the Chelsea FC merchandise you have ordered, where we have contracts in place to ensure that they will take just as much care as we do whilst your data is in their care.

Give you access to the data we hold about you.

Train our employees to take care to protect individual's personal data, both inside and outside the office.

Have written policies in place that comply with the privacy regulations so that there can be no doubt as to the commitment we place on using your personal data responsibly.

Be responsive to any queries that you send us about how we collect, store and use the information that you have provided.

Keep our policies and our promises up-to-date including preparation for launch of the new General Data Protection Regulation and the Directive in May 2018.

To learn more about how we use your information, or to choose not to receive communications from us, please e-mail [email protected] or write to Data Protection, CRM, Chelsea Football Club, Stamford Bridge, Fulham Road, London, SW6 1HS.

EmployeesWe believe employees who enjoy a greater work experience are more likely to deliver a greater customer experience. Therefore our human resources strategy seeks to coordinate how people across the board join the company, how they are motivated and developed in the company and finally how they are acknowledged and rewarded.

Part of the Chelsea FC induction course for all new permanent employees emphasises the club’s total commitment to customer service. A section of

the Employee Handbook sets out Chelsea FC’s Equal Opportunities policy, including sexual and racial harassment and warns that both are unlawful, unacceptable and subject to Chelsea FC disciplinary procedures.

All staff, members, supporters and applicants for employment will be regarded equally and be given equal opportunities irrespective of their race, colour, nationality, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, age, ethnic and national origin, disability or gender reassignment.

All staff agree a Personal Development Plan with their Managers and an annual training plan is widely published by the HR department, and delivered by a range of external trainers. The HR strategy has a major focus around communicating to the company the Brand Essence of the organisation. It provides workshop sessions for individuals at all levels in the business in specific skills development and to help staff understand their role in “making it real” for both the internal and external customers.

Chelsea FC has a group-wide employee recognition scheme which has been in place for the last 12 seasons. Employees can be nominated throughout the month for a variety of actions in line with our brand essence, including a letter of recommendation from a customer. There are a variety of rewards for levels of nomination.

All senior managers review and rank the nominees, which produces six finalists and an overall winner for the quarter. The quarterly winners enter are then entered for the employee of the year.

Match Tickets, Membership and Season TicketsAway Supporters The away supporters are situated in the Shed End (South Stand). The visiting team can choose to receive either 1500 or 3000 away tickets.

ConcessionsTo qualify for a senior citizen you must be 65 or over as of 31 July 2017.

To qualify as a juvenile you must be under 20 as of 31 July 2017. Juveniles under the age of 14 will NOT be permitted entry to the stadium unless accompanied by a person over 18 years.

Disabled Supporters’ Membership

We have two options of membership for disabled supporters.

Rota Memberships is a scheme where supporters who sign up can receive match tickets on a rota basis free of charge.

The Match Membership scheme gives disabled members the chance to purchase their tickets subject to the ticketing policies.

Both options carry a personal assistant ticket if required.

True Blue Membership can take a minimum of 48 hours to register once the membership process is complete.

Ticketing Loyalty SchemeFor certain matches, tickets will be sold to season ticket holders and True Blue Members on a loyalty-point basis. In order to earn ticketing loyalty points, season ticket holders and True Blue Members will need to attend home and away matches during the course of the season.

A full list of matches and more information on the ticketing loyalty-point system can be found in the ticketing polices on the club website www.chelseafc.com

Match Ticket Exchange (FA Premier League Games Only)Season ticket holders and members can visit the Chelsea FC Ticket Exchange to buy officially authorised home Premier League match tickets. Season ticket holders will be able to sell their seats for home Premier League matches only. Season ticket holders and members will be able to purchase home Premier League match tickets through the Ticket Exchange. Terms and conditions apply – see the website, www.chelseafc.com for details.

All tickets made available for sale on the Chelsea FC Ticket Exchange are priced at face value (i.e. the price at which the same ticket would be available from the Chelsea FC ticket office). Season ticket holders selling their seats via the Chelsea FC Ticket Exchange will receive the unit cost for their seats and any difference between the face value of the ticket and its unit cost is donated by Chelsea FC to the Chelsea Foundation.

Season ticket holders who sell their tickets via the Chelsea FC Ticket Exchange will receive their money within seven working days of the match taking place.

Tickets sold or purchased on the Chelsea FC Ticket Exchange are final and cannot be refunded.

PoliciesAvailable on the club website are three ticketing polices. These polices list the full information for how tickets will be sold for each season.

Refunds for Home MatchesRefunds will only be made in accordance with the Match Ticket Conditions of Issue. Any refunds can be made at the ticket office providing the match tickets are received back no later than 48 hours before the game. Refunds can only be made on production of the actual match ticket. It is recommended that tickets are returned by Royal Mail Special Delivery. This policy does not apply to hospitality tickets or packages. Refunds are subject to the hospitality terms and conditions, and will be offered only when a match date has been changed.

Selling FA Premier League Home TicketsMatch tickets for Premier League home matches are sold as follows:

Match tickets will go on sale approximately 42 days before the fixture as follows and in accordance with the following procedure:

Week one – sales at one per member only.

Week two – sales of up to two extra match tickets per member and two extra match tickets per season ticket holder (no more than three match tickets in total per member/season ticket holder).

Week three – general sale (maximum of four per person) – subject to availability.

Season Ticket HoldersChelsea FC has approximately 24,000 home season ticket holders in the general admission areas. Season ticket renewals for each season are usually available from the middle of April with a deadline for supporters to renew their seats for the following season. Should any season tickets become available, True Blue members with the highest amount of loyalty points will be invited to apply.

General admission season ticket holders can pay for their season ticket via six monthly instalments or pay in full by credit/debit card.

True Blue Adult MembershipAdult membership starts from £26 and has a number of benefits, from ticket access to receiving monthly magazines and a membership pack. Each tier of membership allows ticket access subject to the ticketing policy.

True Blue Membership can take a minimum of 48 hours to register once the Membership process is complete.

True Blue Junior MembershipChelsea FC also operates a junior membership scheme which starts from £22 and includes a variety of exclusive benefits.

True Blue Membership can take a minimum of 48 hours to register once the Membership process is complete.

Matchday GuidesOn the Chelsea FC website we have three matchday information guides to help those supporters who attend Stamford Bridge. The guides can be found by visiting www.chelseafc.com

MerchandiseAll home, away and change replica strip designs shall have a one-season life span.

Chelsea FC carries out its obligations under the Premier League rulebook to prevent price fixing in relation to the sale of its replica strip.

CHELSEA MEGASTORE REFUND POLICY

GOODS WILL BE EXCHANGED OR REFUNDED IF: The goods are returned to the megastore via hand or post within 28 days in a condition suitable for resale, with a full proof of purchase. The store management deems the goods to be faulty, not of acceptable quality or not fit for purchase for which they were designed, if proof of purchase is presented in the form of a till receipt. Our full postal address and enquiry telephone numbers are on the front of this receipt.

GOODS WILL NOT BE REFUNDED OR EXCHANGED IF:The goods returned show signs of damage not obviously the result of a manufacturing fault: this applies to both accidental (e.g. a shirt not being washed in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions) and malicious damage.

PLEASE NOTE: That all purchases made via mail order or via the internet at chelseafc.com and/or nike.com must be returned in accordance with the chelseafc.com and or nike.com returns policy, and not returned to the Megastore or Stamford gate store.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to reasons of hygiene, underwear, swimwear, body bars and earrings cannot be refunded or exchanged unless deemed faulty by store management.

PLEASE NOTE: Any bespoke items that have been personalised with names or images at our personalised bar cannot be refunded or exchanged unless deemed faulty or of poor quality at a point of production. This policy has been implemented to ensure that you understand the terms and conditions of your purchase. All exchanges and refunds are at the discretion of the megastore management and must be accompanied by a till receipt.

THIS POLICY DOES NOT AFFECT YOUR STATUTORY RIGHTS

PERSONALISATION POLICYWe regret that shirts custom printed with an individual’s name cannot be exchanged or refunded, unless the shirt or the print is deemed by the store management to be faulty or not of acceptable quality. We are

unable to exchange or refund a custom printed shirt or accept responsibility should a player leave the club or change squad number. This policy does not affect your statutory right.

Official Chelsea FC online retail sites from 1st July are as follows:

NIKE.COM/CHELSEA NIKE.COM.BR/FUTEBOL/CLUBE/CHELSEACHELSEAMEGASTOREASIA.COM AU.CHELSEAMEGASTOREASIA.COMHK.CHELSEAMEGASTOREASIA.COMJP.CHELSEAMEGASTORE.COM KR.CHELSEAMEGASTORE.COM CHELSEAMEGASTORE.COM.CN

Safeguarding Chelsea Football Club is committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of all children, young people and adults at risk (vulnerable groups) that are in our care or attending our premises. Through the application of our policies and procedures we aim to provide a safe environment for those engaging with the Club. This equally applies to the safety and security of those working with and responsible for the activities involving our vulnerable groups.

The Club takes its responsibilities to safeguarding and duty of care seriously and we are committed to getting the right people involved through safe recruitment and training, while also creating a positive environment for all visitors, participants and staff.

The Club complies with government legislation relating to safeguarding vulnerable groups and has comprehensive safeguarding procedures which meet the requirements of The Premier League Rules, The FA Safeguarding Children Rules and Affiliated Footballs Safeguarding Children Policy and Procedures.  

A copy of the Club Safeguarding Policy & Procedures can be found on the main club website at www.chelseafc.com

Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility and if you have a concern of a safeguarding nature please contact the person in charge of the activity who will refer on to the Departmental Safeguarding Officer or you can contact;

Mark Walter (Club - Head of Safeguarding)Email: [email protected]

Jo Nicholson (Chelsea Foundation - Operations & Safeguarding Manager)Email: [email protected]

Safety and SecurityChelsea FC will use all reasonable endeavours to ensure Stamford Bridge is maintained to the highest standards, making the stadium a safe and pleasant environment for supporters and visitors. If you want to know more about the club’s safety and security policy, email Head of Security Keith Overstall on [email protected]

Where there are apparent breaches of the ground regulations, match ticket conditions of issue, or where there is behaviour connected to Chelsea Football matches which is deemed detrimental to the reputation of the club these will be investigated by the club with any necessary sanctions imposed based on the individual circumstances of the case.  Appeals against such sanctions can be made in accordance with the Appeals Procedure.