West Ham have appointed a new Head of Ticketing at West Ham who has started her new job this week. Nicola Keye is the new boss having been the former Head of Sales at Aston Villa having been with the club for over 13 years and before that was a manager of a Virgin Media contact centre.
Nicola found some fame earlier this year when it was revealed she was one of a number of senior managers to get a bodyguard at Villa Park for her own protection. Former Villa employee Elaine Rose told the Birmingham Mail that “It’s like working in Beirut now, to be honest,” referring her time at Villa.
Elaine went on to say “Tom Fox, the Chief Executive, has two bodyguards. The others who now have a bodyguard include Paddy Riley (director of recruitment), Charlie Wijeratna (chief commercial officer), Hendrik Almstadt (sporting director) and Nicola Keye (head of sales). Players now have to stay behind for an hour after matches in case they get attacked. Meanwhile, so many good employees have been forced to leave and have been replaced by agency staff who often don’t know anything about football.”
Nicola should feel right at home with our recent troubles but hopefully she won’t require a bodyguard here at the London Stadium and will find us fans a nicer bunch of Claret and Blue people.
In 2014 Nicola spoke to the Daily Mail about the relationship between the ticket office and fans:
“Our contact centre staff are now genuine ambassadors for the club and they appreciate that even a simple phone call is a connection between a supporter and their club and that they can make that experience special, We’ve been taking this a stage further. So if we know that a fan has enquired about tickets for a particular match or about coach travel or a stadium visit and we have some information that we think would interest them, we pick up the phone and call. We hope that, for many fans, getting a call from Aston Villa gives them another positive connection with their club. Aston Villa is a great example of a business that has looked forward, recognised that it needed to change, and put customer service at the heart of its new direction.’
Wise words from Nicola, let’s hope this appointment is a positive step in the right direction with better customer service and communication soon to come . The club will soon announce the the end of the hated Premium rate ticket office number after a successful campaign and petition started here on ClaretandHugh which is another step in the right direction.
West Ham’s previous Head of Ticketing and Retail, Gavin Stanley will now concentrate on the retail part of his job.
Good Luck Nicola and welcome to West Ham.