Chris Heck - President of Business Operations

[imavillan]

2 minutes ago, TRO said:

My point is that let’s just say, He is struggling to raise the finances the expectations of the club are looking for.

stay with me….

We just go on a protest and he wilts under the mass pressure and  (gives in to our claims ) and affects other aspects of the club, we didn’t envisage.

all sort of unseen effects could emanate, from protests or pressure, it doesn’t always equate to the isolated issue in dispute.

At some point we have to trust the club to manage itself.

I am not suggesting, I am never in favour of protest, I just think it maybe too early in a dispute for that…..Dialogue in searching out the best in each other, might still be the prudent move.

If he refuses to enter dialogue, that must reach the fans.

He's just not interested in dialogue though is he?

Sadly, this has been mentioned by various fan groups

[wishywashy]

In Germany they have a habit of throwing tennis balls onto the pitch mid-game in protest, causing delays, etc. Even before the latest widespread protests about private investment it was done by Dortmund fans in 2016 to protest ticket prices rising above £15(!!!!). The players had to pick up the balls!

In the same year Liverpool fans staged a mid-game walkout, about 10k strong, to protest ticket prices: and FSG backtracked. Both protests are much more significant than anything Villa fans plan on doing, and given Dortmund and and Liverpool won their respective games regardless, I don't think showing discontent towards the off the pitch management of this club is going to make the Villa team fall apart anytime soon.

But it is evident through current fan communication channels that those running the day to day functions of this club genuinely do not give a crap. I'm sure they would be more inclined to do so, given how apparently obsessed they are with their branding, if supporters played their hand and sent a massive visual message.

All of this for what really isn't that much money for a football club. We spend millions on academy players on the regular, I'm sure they could survive without ignoring fan concerns, rinsing them for a piss poor stadium service that appears at this point to be a deliberate choice, and making active attempts to drive away disabled people from games.

Edited September 7 by wishywashy

[nick76]

1 hour ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

I fully agree with Simon Jordans line where it's only " Our Club " until things need to be paid for... then suddenly it's the " Owners Club " or in this case " Chris Hecks " club/fault.

But there is an extension to that that the club say we are community club and beg us to turn up and pay for things when things are bad and crowds are low but then as soon as we are in style then it’s increasing prices, supply and demand and corporate hospitality pushing out the average Joe.  5 years ago it was easy to get a season ticket and pick a fairly good seat whenever you wanted as one of my family members did….suddenly the club take off and now there’s season ticket waiting lists of 30,000.

The Our Club works both ways depending on how we are performing on the pitch.

[bobzy]

1 hour ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

I fully agree with Simon Jordans line where it's only " Our Club " until things need to be paid for... then suddenly it's the " Owners Club " or in this case " Chris Hecks " club/fault.

I think it's a symptom of modern football - and it's seen everywhere on here.

"If we want to progress"
"To progress"
"We need to spend"

Lads, it's a game of football.  There's no divine right to be anywhere in the league and spending only gets you so far.  The football club should be about the fans, not about the money.

It's a shame that so many seem to have switched to the latter.

[DakotaVilla]

Heck’s job is to get us all to spend as much money with Villa as possible. That’s it.

Regardless of whatever business you are in there are two fundamental ways of doing that. 
 

The first much more effective method is to take the time to understand exactly what it is that your customers want and then to delight them by giving them that. In the context of us and the Villa it should be as easy as shooting fish in a barrel. I appreciate that many individually may have different wants but essentially from a commercial perspective we want to:

 - Be able to get served in the ground within a reasonable timeframe;

- Have decent food and beverage options; 

- Have a good and wide range of Villa apparel; 

- Have toilets that are functional and fit for purpose; 

- Not fear that our seats are going to be taken away and turned into another corporate zone;

- Be treated with a modicum of the same love and affection that we all have for the club. 

- Pay a fair price for tickets. We all want the club to have the resources to do as well as possible. 
 

This is not a difficult wishlist for the club to deliver and to be fair they are making progress in some of these areas. If they delighted us by nailing these simple wants I can guarantee you that we’d all be spending far more money with the club than we are now but more importantly we’d be delighted to do so. 

The other extremely unsustainable approach is to simply not bother with any of the above and to take advantage of the brand loyalty that a particular product/company may have and effectively march your customers begrudgingly to the cash point at knife point to pay over the odds for sub standard delivery. 

It’s fairly obvious which route Heck has chosen in general for us regular season ticket holders which suggests a fundamental incompetence as ultimately it’s pretty much guaranteed to be a worse outcome than putting in a little bit of effort to try and delight our very basic wants. 

[mjmooney]

Just now, bobzy said:

We could charge £0 for fans if we wanted to and the club would be absolutely fine.

Back when all this Sky business started, someone predicted that the future for top flight football would be cheap, or even free, entry to matches, as all the money was coming from TV - and the crowds in the stadiums would essentially be like 'film extras', there mainly to provide atmosphere for the much more significant TV audience. 

Whatever happened to that idea, eh? 

[bobzy]

Just now, mjmooney said:

Back when all this Sky business started, someone predicted that the future for top flight football would be cheap, or even free, entry to matches, as all the money was coming from TV - and the crowds in the stadiums would essentially be like 'film extras', there mainly to provide atmosphere for the much more significant TV audience. 

Whatever happened to that idea, eh? 

And it's quite close to this!

Except fans are charged ridiculous amounts instead of nothing and the atmosphere doesn't matter as long as optics are alright.

[TRO]

11 minutes ago, markavfc40 said:

Fair play to these guys.

As for those that see it as small time or not needed. It is certainly not small time. I can remember Liverpool doing a mass walkout a few years ago, relatively early in Klopps reign, due to an increase in ticket prices. Days after that protest the club back tracked and didn't implement the increase. I don't remember many seeing that as small time,it was merely supporters coming together to show their disdain at being exploited.

As for the suggestion that fans should communicate with Heck. Well there is already a fans advisory group to allow that to happen. The problems with that from what I can gather is that Heck often doesn't attend and concerns are often ignored and not addressed/actioned. They seem pretty pointless. Really though fans should not be having to try to raise concerns after the horse has bottled the club could have called a meeting with fans representatives and explained the reasons behind the need to increase prices to exorbitant levels.

In fairness this latest issue with ticket prices is just the tip of the iceberg though but it may well be the tipping point for many it seems.  We've seen huge increases in season tickets/GA tickets,then the introduction of more and more GA+ tickets, the relocating of season ticket holders (in some cases to seats that don't exist), the issues with basic facilities such as toilets/access to food/drinks, poor communication at every turn and the lack of any apology when issues arise.

There is clearly a lack of respect and appreciation for supporters, many of whom stayed loyal though years and years of shit and very little shine. Now there has though been a glimmer of relatively short lived shine Heck and others think they can ride roughshod and take advantage of what may well be short lived demand. It is wrong on so many levels. 

I think , if as you say he is not interested in dialogue with the fan groups of which I personally am not aware of, that is quite scary, because the  possible  consequences of the next move, could have bad outcomes.

for my part, I am torn between avaricious profiteering, to a genuine attempt to raise finances to reach targets of expectation.

I also feel presumptions are being made, with sceptical evidence involved in the justification for these price hikes.

On the surface, I am as alarmed as the next man, but I still harbour a feeling of unexplored dialogue.

I don’t know enough about Heck, to suggest what makes him sit up and take notice, so I am reluctant to suggest protestations, of trial and error that may harm the club.

I am also reluctant to suggest the obvious course of protest action of don’t buy tickets, because for STH’s like me that ship has sailed.

I am also aware this could easily divide the fan base and as always, “I’m alright Jack” could be the ultimate stance.

When we have, an enormous waiting list for STH’s….this does hamper our ability to be listened to, If Heck wants to take advantage of that leverage.

We just have to hope Heck is above a “ Take it or leave it” approach, which could be his stance.

I accept, I don’t know his character, as much as some claim to.

 

[TRO]

37 minutes ago, imavillan said:

He's just not interested in dialogue though is he?

Sadly, this has been mentioned by various fan groups

I don’t know…..I can only take your word for it.

In such Circumstances, where I am unsure…..I can only pay up and ignore the noise.

In a world of such uncertainty, with anyone’s opinion…..Evidence is required to convince me of his intransigence.

I would be staggered if Nassif confirms and condones that Chis Heck refuses to talk to fans via fan groups to explain his need to hike prices.

 

Edited September 7 by TRO

[OutByEaster?]

21 minutes ago, DakotaVilla said:

Heck’s job is to get us all to spend as much money with Villa as possible. That’s it.

A small part of Heck's job is to get us all to spend as much money as possible - we're less than 10% of his revenue.

The difference between the value of our shirt sleeve sponsor and Spurs shirt sleeve sponsor is £8m a year - that's the equivalent of adding £308.00 to the price of every season ticket - it should be clear which part of that equation a well run business should be focused on.

Heck is like a man that works three jobs; one as a freelance barrister, one as a freelance brain surgeon and one as an Uber driver - he's putting in a load of extra shifts in the cab and bragging to his mates about the extra tenner he made this week.

 

[TRO]

10 minutes ago, OutByEaster? said:

A small part of Heck's job is to get us all to spend as much money as possible - we're less than 10% of his revenue.

The difference between the value of our shirt sleeve sponsor and Spurs shirt sleeve sponsor is £8m a year - that's the equivalent of adding £308.00 to the price of every season ticket - it should be clear which part of that equation a well run business should be focused on.

Heck is like a man that works three jobs; one as a freelance barrister, one as a freelance brain surgeon and one as an Uber driver - he's putting in a load of extra shifts in the cab and bragging to his mates about the extra tenner he made this week.

 

I would hazard a guess that it’s easier to raise Sponsorship money for London clubs and the North west serial winners like Liverpool and Man City.

I understand Heck is not Mr Popular…..but has he a heck of a job…..just asking.

[limpid]

Back on topic. Use other threads for anything not about the CEO.

[TRO]

2 hours ago, Made In Aston said:

Bit too late for that! 

I am hoping it’s not.

I would like to hear from the owners on this, through the media channels of their choice.

If they endorse it, without explanation, then we know where we stand.

just maybe, they could instruct Heck to explain his actions.

[TRO]

14 hours ago, DakotaVilla said:

If you’re smart, you’re better off spending that time and money with your wife. This business doesn’t give the slightest damn about you. 

Problem is for me, I go with the wife, she’s a STH too.

I have never been under the impression, that this business gives a damn about me, in 60 odd years.

I go because I give an unconditional damn about them, that admittedly leaves me at a distinct disadvantage, but I am well aware of it.

sadly, I think Heck’s reputation in some quarters, precedes him….maybe Unai should have been the one to sign it off…….just kidding.

we have to have good cop, bad cop as part of the strategy.

Edited September 7 by TRO

[mattyvilla]

You could argue he is doing his job , even with how unpopular it is. I simply won't support the protest , what are we hoping for the owners saying we can't finance this any more , emery has to go and the aim is now to finish 17th every season? I think football is broken and needs to change

[Made In Aston]

This whole ticket situation is a bi-product of football becoming commercial product. To heck it is basic economics of demand and supply. Like Oasis, he knows he can charge that amount and still fill the stadium, so as far as he is concerned it's a successful event. 

A lot of people aren't happy and the only way to show the club that is by not buying a ticket. If the club know that they can't charge that amount and fill the stadium then they will reduce the price. Protesting at the match won't have the desired affect as you have already bought a ticket. 

Edited September 7 by Made In Aston

[Vive_La_Villa]

I'm more annoyed about the piss than the ticket prices and I don't even sit in the holte end. 
 

Probably not Heck's remit though.

[delboy54]

The thing is Heck has been bought in to wring out £400 million, that is his objective given to him by our owners.

Our owners must have known full well who Heck was and his track record knowing that he has a CV of doing this.

Very short term outlook to be honest. Heck is picking the easy stuff first, I suspect there will be a lot more pain for us Villa supporters over the next couple of years, before Heck leaves.

[Sam-AVFC]

6 hours ago, Made In Aston said:

He won't. Would you turn up if you knew you were going to get abused by angry fans?!

Now in my current job, or in a theoretical situation where I am earning 7 figures to lead the club?

[Tomaszk]

Looking forward to Heck chants.

Emery will be asked about this multiple times. This has already affected the team and we haven't even played.

If we have any sort of organisation behind the scenes he'll be briefed properly and can think about where he stands. Oh the fun if he says tickets are too expensive...