Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

They sent out emails to all active accounts,  put it on social media, put it on the message board,  put it on their webpage....what more should (could) they have done?   

How would you have handled it? 

How to handle it...??? Stop all subscriptions and allow those who want the late model and early morning aussie sprint races renew by choice not dirtvisions choice. This is wrong in every way with no exception. Bad Bad business practices will catch up with dirtvision!! STILL WAITING ON REFUND!

Making a major change of what you are paying for on a monthly agreement does by no means give dirtvision  under any conditions the right to continue monthly charges regardless.  There must be laws against this

You could have read my post already on this thread - but you went 0/4 here. 

They buried it in an email. 

They didn't post anything remotely linking Australian coverage to the Fast Pass on social media until it was brought up. Go read the Twitter posts - they definitely post about the events, but they don't make any mention that it is an extension of the Fast Pass until mid November. 

They didn't post it on any message board I frequent, let alone the one we're posting on now.

They also didn't clearly post it on their webpage, and in fact, failed to update their terms and conditions until I pointed it out after the fact while arguing with them on the issue.

How would I have handled this? One of two ways:

1. Not stuffed it in a Fast Pass that a vast majority of subscribers signed up to watch World of Outlaws Sprint Car racing to try to generate additional revenue in the offseason.

or 

2. If I did choose to throw in the Fast Pass, automatically opt customers out who have signed up for the aforementioned service unless they specifically opt in. This would be communicated in two ways: First, by sending an email that makes 100% clear that the terms of the the Fast Pass are changing and unless you agree to the new terms, your Fast Pass will be canceled. Second, by using a prompt when customes logged in to utilze the service that clearly explained the changes and allows an option to specifically Opt In or Opt Out.

This isn't rocket science - a lot of companies have lost the way in this regard, putting revenue, and thus profit, over customer experience and satisfaction.

I've praised DIRTVIsion a ton since they launched Fast Pass, don't get me wrong - it's a great service and I very much enjoy it, and have no axe to grind with them, but they really kind of flubbed this one and it just irritates me given the overwhelming evidence that this wasn't simple incompetence but rather a calculated move to increase revenue.

Speedbump sounds like a dirtvision lawyer or rep!

He may be, but there is definitely one WRG/DV employee posting on this thread. Not going to identify them as I don't know if Hoseheads has a rule against identifying posters or not.

Nope,  just someone who is able to read and comprehend emails and notifications.   My bad for assuming that everyone who subscribes is able to read.  

Seems about right that you glossed straight over my reply about this.

Cmon man tell us who this person is so we can bury them with this scam!

Now speedbump is getting offensive. Why would anyone else see right in this scam?

Cmon speedbump , come out of the closet!

This sounds like a first world problem to me. Unsatisfied, just unsubscribe. 

Perspective, my co worker was just last week informed during the holiday season his 3yr old daughter has a brain tumor. He managed to stay positive & strong for his daughter to let her know everything is going to be ok. Suddenly out $40 and finding a simple solution isn't that hard. I guess sometimes people don't realize how good they have it & have to find something to complain about. 

Way to set up a straw man argument there.  You shouldn’t be upset over being charged $40 because your daughter doesn’t have cancer.  That is a ridiculous take.

It really is too.

I'll never understand why people are so quick to defend companies when the companies are clearly within the wrong. 

Well for one it's not my daughter, thankfully, as I said it was my co-worker's so learn to read before you complain. Two a straw man arguement implies what I said is a fallacy & it is not as that is something that no one should joke or lie about for the sake of arguing about on a racing message board. I stated this to add perspective as this is now the second thread where people are complaining like this is the worst scam since the first Ponzi Scheme. It's not and there really are worst things in the world hence the word perspective. Maybe I should have put that in another paragraph and lead with the word perspective, oh wait a second. Three the actual "arguement" or point was if you are unsatisfied then unsubscribe, not that hard.

Now let me elaborate on the actual point. This is now the second thread on this board about the same exact thing, and a lot of the people feeling that they were done wrong are people that are on here all throughout the year so I find it odd that people are still complaining about this. They did send emails as well and while some may think that it was "underhanded" or "shady" or "cover up" it is nothing different that hasn't happened before in the world of business. I am sure everyone on here has dealt with a cell phone plan, cable service, streaming service, gym membership, apartment or car lease agreement that was not very "upfront" if you will. Ever since I was 18 I have known that there is a responsibility of the consumer to understand everything and while it probably should not be that way, it is the way it is and coming on a message board every month is not going to change it.

See reply above about the perspective part. Also, I wasn't defending the company, just stating that if they are unsatisfied or feel that they are wronged don't use it. I wouldn't say that the company in this case is in the wrong from a legal standpoint, ethical/moral, could be a stretch but that is subjective. As I have said there is a responsibility on the consumer as well & whether or not it should be is a seperate arguement. And the reason I have always felt that there is a responsibility on the consumer is because I don not trust anyone especially a company that is trying to make money. They do not have my or anyone's best financial interest in mind, they only have their best financial interest in mind. The only way to really do something about it is to no longer give them money but in this case, I doubt it is going to happen as I am sure plenty of people are just going to resubscribe in Febuary or around the month or money as they did last year.

I agree the consumer can share their support or lack of support with their own wallet. It's a free democratic country.  However the individual person needs to assess if the $40 slight is worth  reacting to seriously or not. Sharing your disappointment is fine but fruitless. Not sharing you future money is fine and essentially fruitless if you are the only one who doesnt resubscribe. But resubscribing because you cant live without DV shows that your missing $40 doesnt truly bother you very much. Someone said that ethics need to come before finances. I would agree but to the individual finances should come before wants. Make your money talk the same story as your own ethics. 

Either that or forgive, move on and enjoy the races on the screen.

Even though I may not know you, I 
care what most of you think!

Perspective is fine...however this is a sprint car message board so it's going to be discussed here.  I understand the nature of business relationships, I understand that in a capitalist society that businesses are trying to make money, and will do all they can legally do to make that happen, often at the expense of the same consumers that are spending that money.

However, let's be honest, local/regional/even national dirt racing is a much different consumer atmosphere than most businesses.  It has a very provincial and loyal fanbase that vehemently and jealously defends its loyalty against the perception that the rest of the world doesn't understand why we love it.  This creates a bit of a different mindset, and while fans grumble and complain internally about racecar tech, rule changes, scheduling issues, the handling of rainouts, ontrack behaviour etc.  It typically remains internal squabbling.  We often act like one big dysfunctional family.  We defend the product externally, and I believe that brand loyalty makes it a little harder to swallow the pill when it is perceived that the thing we love and had a personal stake in decided to take advantage of those who love it, even in a small way.  

Dirtvision is a niche product that many of us got on board with and supported from the ground up, and as stupid as it may sound, I bet that many fans took pride in  being a part of Dirtvision's success.  Now it is felt that they took advantage of that loyalty....even if it is only for basically $80 for the year.  I think for many it is the principle that is more upsetting.  Does that make us as a fanbase gullible? Probably.  But, it also chips away at the loyalty of that fanbase a little bit, which is central to who race fans are.  That may sound hokey, but I think it is why some feel so strongly about something so inconsequential.  I know when February rolls around, I'll have to make a decision as to whether I want to resubscribe.  I probably will end up doing it at some point, however the fact that the thought of not doing it is a possibility, would have been unthinkable 2 years ago.

Big DirtVision fan here and I will totally subscribe again, but I don’t think there’s any doubt they weren’t as transparent as they should have been about this deal. 

They should have made it crystal clear the “well stop billing your card in the WoO offseason” stopped with the addition of this offseason deal. It was clear to me what they were doing but not every one can read between the lines. 

While I understand the frustration.... $39 a month to see 8+ races a month is a steal of a deal. Beyond grateful for DV and being able to watch every WoO race live.