VIEW FROM THE PILLION SEAT
By Janice Lancefield
Focusing on track days
I am going to tell you about my
experience of organising a track day. It’s
a story that reminds me of the good old
days before “customer service” infiltrated
bike shops.
The saga began last October. I decided to
purchase a voucher for a track day at
Brands Hatch for Ian’s birthday which
falls at Christmas time. I did some
research and eventually I rang up
Focused Events
whose website
maintains that they
provide an excellent
track day experience.
My first impression
was that I knew more
about bikes and track
days than their
administrator. I asked
lots of pertinent
questions like: would
my 6ft, rather heavy
husband fit
comfortably on their
hire bike; did he have
to have one piece
leathers; how much
would it all cost?
Our administrator had
to refer to someone
else at each question but eventually we
got down to the nitty gritty: she couldn’t
tell me how much it would cost because
they hadn’t set their prices for 2009. So,
using 2008 figures for the hire of track
time, hire of bike, one-to-one tuition,
photographer, petrol and allowing for
‘inflation’, I let them take £500 off my
credit card (plus an extra £7 for this
privilege). I wanted to ensure that Ian
would not have to pay for anything on
the day. I asked for the voucher to run
from the end of December, although they
were welcome to my
money from October.
The presentation
voucher arrived
showing the wrong
date. I rang again.
Our administrator
was rather annoyed to
have to reproduce
another voucher, but
it was her error.
There was no number
on the voucher. I
queried how they
would know that it
was a bonefide
voucher when Ian
rang to book a date.
She said it would be
on her computer. I
hoped that the
computer would still be functioning in
2009.
Fast forward to February 2009 when the
dates for track days had appeared on the
website and Ian rang to book himself in
for 18 June. The administrator informed
him that although the cost only came to
£429, he would have to pay extra on the
day for the photographer. Why?
By June we had received no joining
instructions or any other communication
from Focused Events whatsoever and
alarm bells were starting to ring. I began
a merry-go-round of phone
calls.
June 1: administrator
says the instructions
are ‘being sent out
today’. She’ll ask
her manager
about the
extra
payment
for the
photographer
and will ‘phone
me back’.
June 2: administrator
doesn’t remember me
phoning the previous day but
had ‘left my query on her
manager’s desk’. He was not in the
office that day. No instructions had
arrived: she said they had been short
staffed.
June 3: I resorted to sending a letter and
email citing my concerns.
June 4: Received a phone call from the
administrator who said that the cost of
the photographer will be covered
although they ‘don’t normally do this’. It
will be put on the form to be sent to Ian
(this never arrived).
June 8: Received a letter from the
manager asking me to phone him so he
could explain things in detail. I phoned:
‘he was on the other line’.
June 9: I phoned again mid morning: he
would ‘phone me back’. And he did - at
around 4pm that afternoon. After a long
and inconclusive discussion, he sent the
joining instructions by email which,
apparently, the administrator should have
done several days ago.
I won’t bore you with the details of the
‘blame’ culture exhibited by this
company, suffice to say that if it was
indeed a different administrator I
originally spoke to in October 2008
and she had left, I quite understand
why!
Now you will see from
this saga that even
before Ian arrived
at Brands Hatch
for his
birthday
treat, it had
not been a
happy
experience. The
communication
between company and
customer should be an
easy, standard administration
exercise. People want to give
them money, they should be as
helpful as possible. I was beginning to
wonder if the actual track day experience
would be worth all this hassle.
