Chris Heck - President of Business Operations

[algy]

Sent my complaint email (re: ticket pricing) today got the following response from Lee:

“Many thanks for your email which we have logged as complaint reference 24 jul-sep 929.
 
Our apologies that you have had cause to complain.
 
We are compiling all feedback received on Champions League pricing and will ensure this is shared with Senior Management accordingly.”
 
 I’m assuming that’s 929th complaint so far and not of the day?

I had an email back from Lee Preece which was the same but started

“Many thanks for your email which we have logged as complaint reference 24 jul-sep 977.”

Guess that it must be a rolling count for the July to September period!

[Mister E]

Email received from Lee Preece re Pissgate:

On behalf of everyone here at Villa Park, thanks again for taking the time to register your feelings on your experience at our first match versus Arsenal.  We reiterate our apologies that you had cause to complain.

As we are sure you can appreciate, your feedback was not isolated, so it has taken considerable time to log those we have received, acknowledge receipt and then collate all of the points made within the complaints.  Whilst the club emailed a statement to all of those in attendance on Tuesday 27th, we wanted to ensure we followed up with the reply below.

The issues with toilets around the stadium was escalated to our owners, who immediately recognised the importance of both immediate and long-term solutions to avoid repeats of what you had to endure.  Our facilities team have already worked to ensure all blockages have been investigated and repaired.

A longer-term programme has also begun, including the installation of Air Admittance Valves being added to all male urinals to aid waste removal, hand dryers in all toilets replacing paper towels, new flooring and facilities painted.  We will work through the stadium as quickly as we can

throughout the season, using gaps in the fixtures to address every area.

The number of toilets available for fans will remain a challenge in some areas, but we are looking again at ways we may be able to increase the provision.  We will do everything we can to find solutions.

When we introduced Terrace View, the amount of toilet provision for male and female fans was replicated in the two additional facilities created at either end of the lower concourse.  Whilst both spaces themselves are smaller, the actual number of facilities has not reduced.  There are also many hundreds of people using the facilities within Terrace View itself, who before would have been using the old facilities. However, any facility has to function properly and not overflow, as we have referenced above.

Thanks again for taking the time to register your complaint.  We are working hard to improve and recognise the importance of your matchday experience.
Best wishes


Lee

[VillaTim]

Hmmm

[Risso]

No mention of the queues to get in then.

[PeterWithesShin]

If he's replying to an email that was only about the toilets why would he mention anything else?

[Clampy]

If he's replying to an email that was only about the toilets why would he mention anything else?

Yep.

[VillaTim]

Lee's a good guy, a fan, but he won't put his job on the line understandably and has to be careful what he puts into print . I totally get it.
The events of the last few weeks will be with NSWE now so let's wait and see .

[Risso]

If he's replying to an email that was only about the toilets why would he mention anything else?

You don’t know that that’s the case though.

[Somniloquism]

If he's replying to an email that was only about the toilets why would he mention anything else?

You don’t know that that’s the case though.

I assumed it was a reply to Mister E who starts his post "Email received from Lee Preece re Pissgate:"

[PeterWithesShin]

If he's replying to an email that was only about the toilets why would he mention anything else?

You don’t know that that’s the case though.

And you don't know it isn't. And that's why I said "if", because I don't know.

[johny]

Image if you are a family with 4 kids and everyone wants to go? That's nearly £600 for one game of football and there are 3 more to come. £2400 before you've even paid for transport, food, drink etc. and thats on top of a season ticket that you have already shelled out for. I'm well priced out of it. I don't think I could afford to go to any more than a couple of games in a whole year but people like me are irrelevant there is much more money to be made. Fuck them. I'm very happy paying fuck all to watch every single game. Fuck them, I'm happy to never set foot in a ground that you have to wade through rivers of piss to get to a seat that doesn't actually exist! Taking the piss is what they are doing and what your standing in. Fuck them is all i'll say & fuck you Chris Heck you most certainly can't read a room but you'll be on to your next cushy number after this while people will have taken out loans just to watch a game of football.....

[Border villan]

When Heck had that fluffy interview several weeks ago about all the wonders he has created at Villa Park for the GA+ I commented that as I listened I could smell the bullshit, I apologise for this as it I was mistaken and it was the piss I was smelling.
At the time several were prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt but since then his true colours have begun to shine brightly.

[Hookeysmith]

Even £50 a ticket is beyond some people's means, using the same analogy of a family of four is £800 for 4 games, so not sure where you pitch the prices.

A I have said itsall entertainment nowadays, concerts, theatre prices are astronomically inflated. I recently paid £40 to see a tribute act but to be fair they were pretty good.

[Three Spires Villa]

Even £50 a ticket is beyond some people's means, using the same analogy of a family of four is £800 for 4 games, so not sure where you pitch the prices.

A I have said itsall entertainment nowadays, concerts, theatre prices are astronomically inflated. I recently paid £40 to see a tribute act but to be fair they were pretty good.

Going to watch your football team is not similar to going to a gig or other forms of entertainment. They know this, it’s a lifetime commitment, often passed through families. Going for a fancy meal, a gig, or a night out is totally different

[Lsvilla]

Image if you are a family with 4 kids and everyone wants to go? That's nearly £600 for one game of football and there are 3 more to come. £2400 before you've even paid for transport, food, drink etc. and thats on top of a season ticket that you have already shelled out for. I'm well priced out of it. I don't think I could afford to go to any more than a couple of games in a whole year but people like me are irrelevant there is much more money to be made. Fuck them. I'm very happy paying fuck all to watch every single game. Fuck them, I'm happy to never set foot in a ground that you have to wade through rivers of piss to get to a seat that doesn't actually exist! Taking the piss is what they are doing and what your standing in. Fuck them is all i'll say & fuck you Chris Heck you most certainly can't read a room but you'll be on to your next cushy number after this while people will have taken out loans just to watch a game of football.....

You're misleading people here though with those figures. Unless this hypothetical family have six ST's in zone one (in which case they're probably used to forking out the costs involved in attending these CL games anyway) then the whole family can attend for between £220 and £238. Perfectly comparable with other world class forms of entertainment available to do 'as a family'.