Customer Charter

By Stoke City Football Club

MISSION STATEMENT

Stoke City Football Club ("the Club") aims to provide the best standards of service to supporters in relation to all of its activities.

CUSTOMER SERVICE

The Club will respond to any contact from a customer within a maximum of 14 days, by telephone, letter, post or e-mail: info@stokecityfc.com.

All customer service contact should be addressed to:

Customer Services
Stoke City Football Club
Britannia Stadium
Stoke-on-Trent
ST4 4EG

STAFF CONDUCT

The Club is an equal opportunities employer and is committed to equal opportunity within the organisation and will endeavour to encourage similar commitment from others within the game.

As a professional Football Club, a member of the Football Association and the Premier League, the Club is committed to confront and eliminate discrimination whether by reasons of sex, sexual orientation, race, nationality, ethnic origin, colour, religion or disability.

This will be reflected in:

The advertisement of jobs
The selection of candidates for employment or promotion
Job location or working environment
Pay and employment terms and conditions
Internal training and development of activities
Football development schemes
External education activities and awards

The Club will not tolerate sexual or racially based harassment or other discriminatory behaviour, whether physical or verbal, and will work to ensure that such behaviour is met with the appropriate disciplinary action.

The Club supports the Football Association and the Premier League in their commitment to develop a programme of ongoing training and awareness raising events and activities in order to promote the eradication of discrimination.

All employees whose role involves working with children are subject to disclosure from the Criminal Records Bureau.

CONSULTATION AND INFORMATION

The Club is committed to a consultative process with supporters through the representative body, the Stoke City Supporters Council, on decisions that affect them most. This is practised through at least four meetings each year with senior representatives of the Club.

The Stoke City Supporters Council is a group who represent the cross section of fans supporting the Club. The representatives are elected using a democratic process and have to seek re-election on a regular basis.

All supporters are represented within the Supporters Council, however the club is committed to continually improve the facilities of disabled supporters and a representative of Stoke City Football Club attends meeting of SCWIM (Stoke City Wheels in Motion).

SCWIM offers disabled supporters a direct line of communication to the Club. There are regular trips to away grounds via organised coaches that are accessible for all disabled supporters. There are regular communications with supporters through newsletters, meeting and social events.

The Club is also committed to working and improving relationships with supporters through its Membership scheme which features the Potters Foundation, as well as Platinum Plus, Platinum, Gold and Silver levels to recognise and reward the loyalty and commitment of fans.

The Membership scheme offers an order of priority for the availability of tickets for home and away matches, while also providing many other benefits depending on the level of that allegiance with the Football Club.

The Club communicates with supporters on a regular basis through the Supporters Council, matchday magazines, newsletters, mail shots, www.stokecityfc.com and through press and media coverage.

The Club endeavours to continue ways to develop communications with shareholders, sponsors, the local authority, supporters and other interested parties.

The Club will announce, at the earliest possible notice, any changes to its ticketing policy and will give reasons for that change.

SUPPORTERS CONDUCT

The Club supports and encourages supporter involvement with national initiatives such as Kick It Out, Show Racism The Red Card (racism out of football) and local initiatives that enhance the matchday experience of supporters.

The Stoke City Supporters Council supports the Stoke City Supporters Charter as outlined below to make the Britannia Stadium a friendly venue to watch football.

A SAFE AND FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT

Stoke City Football Club is committed to providing a safe and friendly environment in which all members of our community can enjoy watching football.

The Club adopts a zero-tolerance policy towards any form of racism, anti-social behaviour and discrimination at the Britannia Stadium and we are pro-active in our attempts to maintain this.

We remain committed to actively eradicating any discriminatory behaviour and our supporters must also embrace this fundamental policy. As part of the terms and conditions of issuing Season Tickets or match tickets, supporters must not engage in any discriminatory behaviour.Any supporter who does not adhere to this policy will have their Season 

Ticket removed and will be dealt with in the strongest terms.

Any complaints received regarding discriminatory behaviour are closley monitored by stewards, and where necessary, working in liaison with the police who are on duty within the Stadium, appropriate action is taken as a result of this monitoring procedure.

To report any offensive chanting or behaviour during the match: Text 07920 448570 (With stand, row, seat number, description of the offender and incident). 

After the match: Call 0871 663 2008 or Text 07920 448570. Or e-mail respect@stokecityfc.com.

All information will be treated in the strictest confidence. Please respect your fellow spectators by refraining from persistent standing. 

Please note that smoking is not permitted inside the Britannia Stadium.

The Club works proactively alongside and with other agencies such as Kick it Out, Show Racism the Red Card, Stoke-on-Trent City Council to promote inclusion and celebrate diversity.

SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN POLICY - MATCHDAY

Stoke City Football Club is committed to providing a safe environment for all supporters.

All children aged 12 and under attending a football match at the Britannia 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 a matchday.

If children have entered 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 ground regulations.

TICKETING

The Club provides a wide access to matches by offering a broad range of ticket prices to reflect demand in different areas of the Britannia Stadium, recognising the local economic needs.

The Club operates a scheme to enable supporters to pay for Season Tickets by installment at a reasonable rate of interest.

At least five per cent of tickets to each match are made available to non-Season Ticket holders.

Concessionary prices are available to junior supporters and senior citizens. Concessions for senior citizens are available to both men and women over the age of 65.

The Club provides an area of the ground for the exclusive use of family groups and junior supporters.

The Club provides support for disabled supporters and their helpers.  For details of disabled facilities and ticket allocation supporters should contact the Ticket Office. For any other matters supporters should contact the Club's Disability Liaison Officer Lindsay Leighton by e-mail at lindsay.leighton@stokecityfc.com.

Supporters will be allocated tickets for away league matches, subject to availability, in the following priority order:

Platinum Plus Members
Platinum Members and Potters Foundation Season Ticket Holders
Gold Members
Silver Members and Potters Foundation Non Season Ticket Holders
General Sale

Home League games will generally go on sale twelve weeks prior to the fixture in the following order:

Silver Members and Potters Foundation Non Season Ticket Holders
General Sale

Tickets for Cup competitions are priced after consultation with the opposing club.  Once agreement is made on any special ticketing initiatives, the tickets are allocated as for away ticket allocations.

If a match is abandoned after spectators are admitted to the stadium but before kick-off, ticket holders are entitled to free admission to the re-arranged fixture. If a match is abandoned after kick-off, spectators are entitled to half price admission to the re-arranged match.

Refunds will be considered only if the ticket is returned to the ticket office no later than 24 hours before the advertised kick off of the match and are at the sole discretion of the Club Management.

ACCOMMODATING AWAY SUPPORTERS

The Club recognises that it is appropriate for away fans to visit the Britannia Stadium, and will endeavour to avoid any restrictions being imposed on visiting supporters.

The Club is advised by Staffordshire Police and the local Safety Advisory Group when allocating tickets to away supporters in conjunction with the rules laid out by the competition to which the game relates.

Away supporters pay the same price in the designated away area as casual home supporters in the stand offering the same view of the Britannia Stadium pitch.

The Club reserves the right to designate an unlimited number of games each season as a local promotion match. At these matches, the Club is seeking to generate an increase in local supporters over the long-term and as such these promotions are not made available to away supporters. 

MERCHANDISE

The Club publicises the shelf life of replica strips at the time of launch through the matchday magazine, merchandising catalogue, official club website and signage in the shop.

The Club will make details available of any intended changes of kit through its club shop and the Club carries out its obligations under Football League Regulations to prevent any price fixing in relation to the sale of replica kit.

The Club will always offer refunds on merchandise in accordance with standard retail practices and as part of its legal obligations.

RETAIL

The Club  will regularly consult with supporters regarding the range, selection, quality and the price of all club merchandise.

If you are not content with your purchases, you are entitled to an exchange or a full refund, within 28 days of purchase. Items without proof of purchase will be exchanged for alternative product/s or a credit note will be issued at the latest price.

We regret we are unable to exchange the following items unless the goods are faulty:

- DVDs
- Jewellery
- Books and Magazines

Items with custom printing cannot be exchanged or refunded unless the product is faulty. We accept no responsibility once a replica shirt has been printed, in the event that a player leaves the squad or his squad number changes, or if the premier league badge change in the future.

This policy does not affect your statutory rights.

*Opening times above are subjected to change due to matchdays and Bank Holidays 

Merchandise is also available to purchase online at www.scfcdirect.com or over the phone by calling (01782) 826419.

COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES

The power of sport and football in particular is used by Stoke City Community Trust to deliver an extensive range of activities and support programmes which make a difference to the lives and the outcomes of people of all ages, abilities and social backgrounds within the local community of Staffordshire and surrounding areas.

The Trust engages with people in many varied ways to stimulate an environment in which they can realise their potential and subsequently accomplish more in whatever walk of life they choose for personal and professional development.

Young people are offered sporting opportunities which encourage them to pursue and enjoy a more active lifestyle, while the Trust also helps many others to develop a more positive outlook on life through education, training and support.

The key focus areas of the Community Trust are therefore: Sports Participation, Education and Lifelong Learning and Health and Wellbeing.