Inside story of how Albion helped fans in lockdown

Communication will have been a handy skill too when he was captain.

The former Seagulls skipper has been putting those qualities to a very different use this year as the club did their bit during lockdown.

Crofts, who now plays and coaches with the under-23s, is one of several club employees who phoned elderly or disabled supporters.

Somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 phone calls have been made in a scheme was originally down to Jenny Gower and her supporters services department.

They also collected shopping or medical supplies for some fans.

The club are now up for a prestigious European award.

Jenny Gower

They would love to win as recognition for their hardworking staff.

At the same time, it does not matter that much in the bigger picture.

They are proud of how they put time and resources to good use once it became clear last March that the usual flow of ticket enquiries and the like would dry up with the season on hold.

With no calls coming in, they turned the tables and started calling fans. And, as the initiative grew, Crofts was among the people in the thick of it.

Albion chief executive and deputy chairman Paul Barber said: “Andrew Crofts was amazing.

“He struck up a relationship with a couple of elderly people who really looked forward to Crofty calling them.

“He maintained this regular calling all the way through lockdown to make sure they were okay.

“Crofts is a great guy but his job is as a football coach. This was way over and above what you would expect but he did it happily without being asked twice.

“We didn’t even know he had maintained contact. It just became such a regular part of his life during lockdown that he just got on with it.

“He didn’t feel the need to keep telling us he was making the calls.”

The response to first few dozen calls by the supporters services team convinced Albion more members of staff should get involved.

Tony Bloom and Graham Potter were among those who phoned fans.

Most calls were hugely uplifting for everyone but there were tougher moments too.

Barber said: “We agreed if we sensed professional help was needed we had to alert each other to that.

“But I never felt there was a situation where I was out of my depth.

“There were a couple of calls I made where I was quite concerned about the person.

“I made one call to a chap who was in hospital and he had Covid and was struggling.

“He was breathless at points in the conversation and I said at a couple of points it was probably better if I left him to rest.

“But he said, ‘No, no, I want to hear more about Bobby Zamora and how you got him back’.

“I was reassured by the fact he was in hospital and there would be people around to look after him.

“That particular chap left hospital a few days after I spoke to him but he was later readmitted and sadly passed away.

“We got a very nice message from the family to say how much he had appreciated the club calling him when he was in hospital, how much he had enjoyed the conversations and how grateful they were.

“I called an elderly couple and didn’t get an answer.

“I called a second time and still didn’t get an answer so I reported back to Jenny’s deputy that I was quite concerned.

“We were in a lockdown so where could these people be and they were quite elderly so should we be alerting somebody?

“Eventually I was sitting there one evening and the phone rang and an elderly gentleman said, ‘Who’s this?’ “When I explained he said, ‘Why have you been calling me?’ “I told him I’d been trying to check on him.

“He said, ‘Okay? Yes, I’m okay, we’ve been out on the garden in the sunshine’.

“They had heard the phone ring in their house but they were in the garden, enjoying the sunshine so why bother getting up to answer it?

“All the whole I’ve been worried this couple were somehow in trouble and they were sitting in the sun!

“I ended up having a great chat with them.

“You end up having incredible conversations. There were some sad ones as well where some people were clearly very lonely and very vulnerable.

“You thought you were making a two-minute call to check on someone and you ended up on the phone for half an hour.

“It was quite humbling to hear what people had been through in life and how they had supported the club and now it had come to this, where they were locked in their homes and struggling to get out.

“People were saying, ‘Would you mind giving me a call next week as well?’.

“So a few people ended up with a regular call. Our supporters services team are still making those calls now.”

Albion have been shortlisted for the Giving Something Back prize at the European Contact Centre and Customer Centre Awards.

READ MORE: Potter set to give player updates ahead of Villa trip

Some of the biggest companies across the continent are up for prizes, which will be awarded in March.

Barber said: “Jenny Gower and her team deserve huge amounts of credit.

“Not only have they served the club well by increasing and promoting our reputation in the community, I think they have genuinely done a great service to those people who would have been on their own.”