Stadium Tour Disappointment

[Villatillidie25]

What a shocking response. The least they should do is acknowledge the situation but, to be honest, I’d expect them to put you on another tour and probably chuck in a free shirt as well.
Having said that, I don’t think this a Heck / revenue driving thing but a case of someone just going by the script and not using any common sense or initiative. Assuming that’s the case, I’d give the club a chance to make it right by pursuing it further. That doesn’t have to be a social media call out though but there must be someone worth contacting.

[Flamingo Lane]

For sure, go down the route of a formal complaint. This smacks of something which seems to be all too common these days, you have taken the time and trouble to set out a detailed explanation of what occurred, and the person receiving your correspondence has seen it but not read it, or at least hasn't bothered to read it properly, and has just sent out a stock response.

[Beard82]

Hi Dave4471 (there are a lot of daves on this platform).

Sorry to hear about that - it is disapointing.  Things like this annoy me as it wouldnt cost the them anything to rebook you. 

I would look to make a formal complaint if you can.  At the very least its the kind of feedback the club needs.  As we all know - the lifetime value of a fan is probably in the 10Ks so from a business perspective it is a no-brainer.

Sorry you have and your son have experienced this - it shoudlnt even be an issue

[luke95]

Another reason why we should have an permanent onsite ticket office.

[Concrete Tom]

Sorry that your son’s surprise was ruined.

Long gone are the days that security would take you around the ground for free if you asked nicely.

We’ve got (relative) success on the pitch at the expense of the community family friendly club we used to love.

[The Edge]

Another reason why we should have an permanent onsite ticket office.

100%. I couldn't agree more. Of all the things that Heck's done ruin the mood since his arrival this is one of the worst. It really feels like there's a disconnect between the club and the fans these days and the whole debacle with this lad having his birthday treat ruined brings it sharply into focus. I hate what Heck is being allowed to do to our club. I know his remit is to raise revenue but the way he's gone about it has been unnecessarily cold and completely lacking in empathy with the fans. I mean in the grand scheme of modern top flight football a ticket office with actual human beings to speak to would cost relatively peanuts.

[RamboandBruno]

Hi, sorry about that experience, we did the tour for my sons birthday a few years ago when he was a similar age and it was good.

Its a different issue, but at a game before xmas, i was using the tap and go bar in the lower holte at half time. For those who dont know, you tap your debit card a barrier opens and you go in and pick up what you want and you are charged automatically. Anyway, some twat purposely followed me with no stewards watching and unbeknownst to me. He then picked up 4 pints and two portions of chips (big hands I guess) and i had £40+ taken out of my account.

The point of this ramble is that I complained to the club through the official complaints email. A women called Sarah Clements picked it up, was really helpful, she got me fully reimbursed and also sent me a couple of drinks vouchers for the inconvenience.
Might be worth trying her.

[Somniloquism]

Another reason why we should have an permanent onsite ticket office.

Would it have been open on the Sunday? I mean if they weren't paying to get the phone lines manned, why would they pay for people to man the ticket office?

[Dave4471]

Just to add, I have emailed the ticket office about 3 times about this and the complaints email address twice, explaining the situation but I kept getting the same standard response. Thanks all for suggestions though and I'll give them a go.

[PeterWithe]

Contact the Trust and ask them to bring it up.

Thanks Dave,

That's a good idea, how would I do that?

By emailing here support@villatrust.org.uk

[PeterWithesShin]

It's things like this where Lee was a valuable link between fans and the club.

[PeterWithesShin]

Mind you, I think an example of the importance of fans is that Lee is still in the fans charter section of the website

https://www.avfc.co.uk/fans/fans-charter/consultation-information

[danno]

Is there a phone number you could call? you might have more luck when actually speaking to somebody.

[The Left Side]

I wanted to add a few things, I am over from Canada for 2 weeks with my 12 year old to see a couple of games and show him around where we are from. My son has become a huge Villa fan and I wrote to the Villa in November when I learned we would be coming over asking if we could take a tour of Bodymoor. I finally got a response saying that they couldn't send me any merchandise as they get so many requests, so they completely ignored the request. I did a tour 15 years ago and it was very relaxed and friendly (no players were there) but this time there was nothing from the club. Lee Preece had just left and we heard we didn't have much chance but thought we might get some positivity from the club but sadly nothing.

We did the Villa Park tour last Thursday and it was great, the guide was very helpful and when I asked him a few questions he gave his honest opinion and it wasn't very positive about the administration. The tour was advertised as 1.25 hours but it lasted closer to 2 and well worth doing if you can.

We went to the ground yesterday early to give my lad the full experience and waited in the fan zone for the player's coach to arrive 90 mins before the game. Now the rain didn't help but the coach pulled right up to the player's entrance, the coach blocked the view for 95% of the fans that had waited to see the players and the few players that we did see didn't even bother acknowledging the fans. To say my son was disappointed is an understatement, especially as it wouldn't have been too much coach to stop a little way away and for the players to walk an extra 10-20 yards in the rain. I know the club sees the players as assets and they have lots of security to keep their assets safe but considering they play 90 minutes in the rain I don't think a few seconds of being in the rain would have hurt them.

So it just feels that the connection between the club and the fans is only getting wider, they don't want fans at Bodymoor watching the players come in and they don't want any engagement with us except spending our money at the shop or ticket office. Anyway these are just my observations and they won't stop us being their on Wednesday... it just leaves a bit of a bad taste in the mouth, especially as we have flown thousands of miles to be there and taken time of school/work. UTV