Anyone who engages with the CBSO is committing to being part of a culture that values compassion, respect, and joy.

As audience members, supporters, players, staff, visiting artists and participants, we are all accountable for how we behave. We should all consider how our actions or words may affect others and embrace the joint responsibility to ensure that everyone feels welcome, comfortable, and safe.

As an organisation, it is our aim to provide the best service we can, and we are also responsible for protecting our staff from abuse, hostility, and violence.

Everyone has a right to be heard and to be understood, and we will make sure that happens in a fair and consistent way. We understand how frustrating it can be when you feel that something is not right, and we support your need to express these feelings.

However, we expect everyone to act with courtesy and respect in their communications and actions, and we take a zero-tolerance approach to abuse of any nature (either in-person, over the phone or online) towards our staff, players or anyone working on our behalf.

Offensive behaviour can cause distress and worry, or even frighten and have a serious impact on mental wellbeing, which can impact on the service we are able to provide. Therefore, we do not expect any of our employees to feel they must deal with anyone who shows threatening, abusive, or violent behaviour.

Making a Complaint

We will always acknowledge and investigate complaints or concerns raised, and our complaints policy clearly explains how this process will be handled. However, that does not mean our staff, players, or others working on our behalf, will tolerate unacceptable behaviour under any circumstances.

These are the kind of behaviours we consider to be unreasonable or unacceptable:

• Physical abuse, aggression, or violence.
• Verbal abuse or aggression either in person, over the phone, via email or through any other digital platform (including derogatory or discriminatory remarks, shouting and rudeness).
• Excessive letters, calls, emails or contact via social media.
• Unreasonable demands (such as expecting a solution or answer immediately or taking up so much time that it impacts our ability to provide our services to other customers).

What we might do in the event of unacceptable behaviour:

If our staff, players, or anyone working on our behalf, are faced with unacceptable behaviour we may choose to end the conversation (either in person or over the phone) or stop engaging / responding (via email or social media). We will also document the interaction and escalate it to a senior member of staff.

We will always try to reach an arrangement which stops us taking formal action, including explaining why this behaviour is not acceptable and asking the person in question to respect our staff, players and anyone working on our behalf, at all times.

However, in extreme or continuous circumstances, we reserve the right to cancel tickets and/or stop someone attending or engaging with future CBSO events.