Not to hijack the thread but, Mike you guys do a great job. Anytime I'm in the area at 9:30pm I always try to find a place to park and watch the show.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled thread.
NHRA Responded to my Letter to Them... (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter farmje
- Start date
Not to hijack the thread but, Mike you guys do a great job. Anytime I'm in the area at 9:30pm I always try to find a place to park and watch the show.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled thread.
JAG
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Jim,
I agree it is still a good value for most of us. Just as an example, we go to Topeka on Fridays. The total ticket cost for the 4 of us was $168. Mind you, we don't do GA anymore but choose to do the reserve seats. I still think that's a good value, but then considering a Chiefs game is $300 for the 4 tickets..lol.
I think it's great that an answer was sent. Congrats to NHRA for showing some concern. But, one of the answers just drove home the point about poor or no planning when it comes to the Nitro situation, at least in my mind. I'm not even in the business, but I pay attention and knew almost a year prior that China was going to shut down these plants and limit exports of such types of products. Seems that anyone in the fuel (Nitro) distribution business should have been paying attention too.
I just received my tickets for E Town I have reserved seats TOP row Sec 4 (just past the 60' clocks)...
Total cost $163.00 for 3 days.. my buddy bought the same (same price) and we chip in and buy 1 child seat (under 10yr) no kid is in it but it gives us a little extra hip room..
We've had those same seats since E Town build the new stands about 10 yr ago...
Total cost $163.00 for 3 days.. my buddy bought the same (same price) and we chip in and buy 1 child seat (under 10yr) no kid is in it but it gives us a little extra hip room..
We've had those same seats since E Town build the new stands about 10 yr ago...
.
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Wow, it's refreshing to see he leaves the door open for future communication.
That's good!
Are ya gonna keep writing, Jeremy?
That's good!
Are ya gonna keep writing, Jeremy?
Wes
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Customer service??? It is very easy to say (or type) that you understand the importance of or provide customer service but is an entirely different thing to actually offer it. Let's break that down.
There are multiple customer types at an NHRA national event. For simplicity we'll look at the two mainstream models-the fan in the seats and the racers in the pit area.
From the fan's perspective, how often does the average fan actually have any face-to-face interaction with any member of the National Hot Rod Association staff? I would venture a guess at never. The ratio between NHRA staff and track provided staff at such an event heavily favors the latter. In fact, in most cases, less than two-dozen track employees have any direct interaction with a full-time, salaried NHRA official. Most of the folks you see running around with a cheap Polo-shirt with NHRA identification silk screened there within are individuals hired by the track to work that event alone. The fan sees track staff in the parking lot, ticket window, turnstiles, concessions, grandstands, picking up trash, cleaning toilets, and in security roles, to name a few. So, any level of customer service a fan directly enjoys is the responsibility of the host track.
Where NHRA (or even IHRA for that matter) has "contact" with the fan is mostly through electronic means. The PA system is the most common. NHRA is mostly tasked with staffing the announcer's booth. There are some exceptions but for the majority of the time no announcer is on the mic without approval of NHRA. Secondary is what the fan sees on the big television. NHRA is responsible for event scheduling. They plan when each class will be on track, in what order, when the event with commence and conclude, and keep the show moving. From a customer service standpoint, none of the above meet the criteria. The phrase indicates that if a customer is dissatisfied with the experience that the provider can directly take steps to make it more enjoyable or provide some form of reimbursement. Can you imagine the answer one might get if he/she were to ask for a refund because the track-prepped sucked and resulted in a lackluster quality of competition? The fan has no recourse in that regard. All they would have the power to do is get up and walk out...not unlike paying $8.50 to watch a terrible movie. You might get a discount from the movie theater, but never from the studio, director, actors, or writers. A drag racing fan might be able to get some sort of perk from the host track for a future event but never...well...you get the point.
From the racer's perspective, they have more interaction with NHRA folks, but the majority of them are divisional employees that do not work for the company full-time. At a given national event the full-time tech and race control staff is relatively small in comparision to the number of racers, or customers, that are in the pit area. The divisional director and tech director are almost always in attendance (in that given geographical division) along with several "part-time" tech inspectors, race officials (staging, scales, fuel check, etc.), and other key personel. Personally, I have raced at said national events in the past and run the gamut from having very, very little direct contact with anyone associated with NHRA to more than I want to recall. It varies due to your class of competition, event situations (weather, parking, delays, etc), and, most importantly, attitude. As has been demonstrated and documented, getting any kind of true customer service as a racer is as common as a cold day in L.A. It truly is NHRA's way or the highway.
The racer sees the greatest amount of smiles and hears the majority of "thank yous" from the temporary staff hired by the host tracks. While sportsman racers aren't actually racing, they are fans, too. So they are in direct contact with the employees hired by, you guessed it, the track.
Throwing the customer service phrase around is easy to do. Corporate double-speak and marketing buzz words are a dime-a-dozen these days. But, actually walking the walk is far more difficult to perform than claiming the provide it.
There are multiple customer types at an NHRA national event. For simplicity we'll look at the two mainstream models-the fan in the seats and the racers in the pit area.
From the fan's perspective, how often does the average fan actually have any face-to-face interaction with any member of the National Hot Rod Association staff? I would venture a guess at never. The ratio between NHRA staff and track provided staff at such an event heavily favors the latter. In fact, in most cases, less than two-dozen track employees have any direct interaction with a full-time, salaried NHRA official. Most of the folks you see running around with a cheap Polo-shirt with NHRA identification silk screened there within are individuals hired by the track to work that event alone. The fan sees track staff in the parking lot, ticket window, turnstiles, concessions, grandstands, picking up trash, cleaning toilets, and in security roles, to name a few. So, any level of customer service a fan directly enjoys is the responsibility of the host track.
Where NHRA (or even IHRA for that matter) has "contact" with the fan is mostly through electronic means. The PA system is the most common. NHRA is mostly tasked with staffing the announcer's booth. There are some exceptions but for the majority of the time no announcer is on the mic without approval of NHRA. Secondary is what the fan sees on the big television. NHRA is responsible for event scheduling. They plan when each class will be on track, in what order, when the event with commence and conclude, and keep the show moving. From a customer service standpoint, none of the above meet the criteria. The phrase indicates that if a customer is dissatisfied with the experience that the provider can directly take steps to make it more enjoyable or provide some form of reimbursement. Can you imagine the answer one might get if he/she were to ask for a refund because the track-prepped sucked and resulted in a lackluster quality of competition? The fan has no recourse in that regard. All they would have the power to do is get up and walk out...not unlike paying $8.50 to watch a terrible movie. You might get a discount from the movie theater, but never from the studio, director, actors, or writers. A drag racing fan might be able to get some sort of perk from the host track for a future event but never...well...you get the point.
From the racer's perspective, they have more interaction with NHRA folks, but the majority of them are divisional employees that do not work for the company full-time. At a given national event the full-time tech and race control staff is relatively small in comparision to the number of racers, or customers, that are in the pit area. The divisional director and tech director are almost always in attendance (in that given geographical division) along with several "part-time" tech inspectors, race officials (staging, scales, fuel check, etc.), and other key personel. Personally, I have raced at said national events in the past and run the gamut from having very, very little direct contact with anyone associated with NHRA to more than I want to recall. It varies due to your class of competition, event situations (weather, parking, delays, etc), and, most importantly, attitude. As has been demonstrated and documented, getting any kind of true customer service as a racer is as common as a cold day in L.A. It truly is NHRA's way or the highway.
The racer sees the greatest amount of smiles and hears the majority of "thank yous" from the temporary staff hired by the host tracks. While sportsman racers aren't actually racing, they are fans, too. So they are in direct contact with the employees hired by, you guessed it, the track.
Throwing the customer service phrase around is easy to do. Corporate double-speak and marketing buzz words are a dime-a-dozen these days. But, actually walking the walk is far more difficult to perform than claiming the provide it.
clwill
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And the third paragraph beings with a sentence that has no verb. And he says "As our the 24 others that don't send emails." when surely he means "as ARE the...".
But if we were grading for grammar, most comments here on the Mater wouldn't fare very well either...
(ducking for cover...)Jim
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Compare the cost of an NHRA event to baseball, football, hockey or basketball.
I'll pick the Philly area because that's where I am from and will do it for a family of four. I will pick Sunday and will use the most expensive seats for each event, but I did not use premium or luxury box seating. The cost will be the total cost for two adult and two tickets for children under 12:
NHRA National Event at Maple Grove: $170.00
Philadelphia Eagles: Not available - premium seating only available
Philadelphia Phillies: $200.00
Philadelphia Flyers: $384.00
Philadelphia 76ers: $460.00
So even with the price increases, a day at an NHRA national event is still a good deal in comparison to other sports.
Jim
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compare it to drag racing though. I paid $30 for my 4 to go to the IHRA nationals at Milan a few weeks ago. Granted that was at a very special price but the normal $60 for the family deal. Its still a better price than the $150 it would to be at Norwalk this year. (I think thats a bump from last year as I thought we paid $120 when we went) Regardless between that and the price of gas, thats why I went to IHRA over NHRA this year.
Plus to the kids they love jets and wheelstanders, they get to both at ihra.
Of course in comparrison to the NFL and other sports it is still a much better deal. But those sports also draw more people and the demand for those tickets are higher. I have tried getting newbies to come to the races and they've been interested but its hard to shell out 40-60 dollars just to try something. For 20$ though, well it looks like I will have 6 newbies with me at the next ihra race in Michigan.
farmje
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Yes, Paul.
I am going to continue to dialogue with them, and will keep all of you updated as to the progress of it.
And the third paragraph beings with a sentence that has no verb. And he says "As our the 24 others that don't send emails." when surely he means "as ARE the...".
But if we were grading for grammar, most comments here on the Mater wouldn't fare very well either...
I didn't make it that far. I read the first paragraph, typed my response and fell asleep.
Jim
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Why compare the price of one drag racing event to another? When NHRA or a track is trying to draw fans to an event, they are not competing against IHRA or other track. They are competing against all the other forms of sports and entertainment in that marketplace.
So in a couple of weeks, the people who go to the event at Englishtown made the decision to go to the drag races instead of going to a Yankees or Mets game, the beach or to see a movie.
Jim
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Ok maybe I missed something its ok to compare it to some sports but not the same sport? Market area isn't as big of a deal here as people tend to travel further to go to a race.
I've been to a ton of mlb, nba, nfl and nhl games but all in Detroit. Drag racing through I've covered everything from Michigan to Florida to the East coast. So comparing market area isn't the same as the market for racing moves.
Jim
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Hardcore fans may travel to go to races but the majority of fans in the stands only go to tracks in their local area. I live just outside of Philadelphia. I am an hour from Englishtown and an hour from Maple Grove. The nearest IHRA race to me is Budds Creek, about three hours away. To go to an IHRA race, I'd have to drive a lot farther and pay for hotel rooms. The price differential between the IHRA race at Budds Creek and the NHRA events at either of the tracks near me is inconsequential when I consider the additional costs.
And fans do travel to see the stick and ball sports. The Phillies, for example, routinely draw fans from three or four hours away. That's one of the reasons that baseball teams make an effort to get the game in on rainy days.
Tracks are not just trying to get hardcore drag racing fans in the stands. They need the casual fan who goes to one or two events a year, when they are nearby.
It's the same as when you decide to go to an NBA game. You decide to spend the money to see the Pistons play or you do something else with that money. You're not deciding if you want to see the Pistons or go to Milwaukee for a Bucks game because tickets are less expensive there.
Jim
