Hyperfest registration is open

[bimmerboodle]

Workers get hotel rooms. Rex and I stay at my parents, and I know Allison and Pete usually stay with her mom. So there is usually a decent amount of room available in the hotel rooms.

Camping at Hfest if you are working/driving is a recipe for no sleep.

[D_Eclipse9916]

I would like to work or ill do a little Hyperdrive for fun.

[bimmerboodle]

I would like to work or ill do a little Hyperdrive for fun.

Hyper drive registration is open.
<!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.nasaracing.net">www.nasaracing.net</a><!-- w -->
if you want to work, email laura at nasaracing.net

[white_2kgt]

I will talk with Laura about how to make it easier for the entrants. This event has a butt load of extra details to work out.
I think Laura tried tickets the first year and it was a disaster. The entrants "forgot" them, etc....

I was helping out with this the first year when we mailed them out and heard all kinds of excuses as to why they didn't have their passes and therefore had to pay at the gate. I even know first hand of a situation where they didn't forget them, they just gave them to friends so they could get in for free and the participant complained to us till Laura gave him the refund. Other than that:
Entrants "forgot" them.
Flat out said they lost them.
Gave us the wrong address to mail them to.
Got pulled off the wait list at the last minute and therefore couldn't get them in the mail in time.
Etc
Etc
Etc

This current process is a pain in the ass, but it's the only surefire method of guaranteeing that those who shouldn't be paying to get in aren't. You start emailing out passes, or mailing them, and people will start duplicating them to give them to friends. This way NASA has complete control over the situation. Participants know this going in, and they know the procedure for being refunded, if they or someone on their crew can't find the time to go up there and get the money owed to them during the time they're allowed to that's their own fault.

Not that this is the place to hash this out, but, make the process harder on those that 'forgot' and easier on those that 'didn't' is called customer service. Since you already have a process in place to check a 'list' of entrants via refunds then it should be pretty easy to verify actual tickets against duplicates just by putting a check mark next to a name. If dups are issued to 'lost' tickets make them pay on friday/saturday then issue refund to those people if the ticket isn't used by sunday lunch. Just a suggestion. Last thing I want to do is stand in line for a refund when I suppose to be getting a car ready for a race. If I were a synical person I'd say that is built into the Hyperfest budget and count on X% of people not showing up for a refund, but I'm not that synical .

[bimmerboodle]

I will talk with Laura about how to make it easier for the entrants. This event has a butt load of extra details to work out.
I think Laura tried tickets the first year and it was a disaster. The entrants "forgot" them, etc....

I was helping out with this the first year when we mailed them out and heard all kinds of excuses as to why they didn't have their passes and therefore had to pay at the gate. I even know first hand of a situation where they didn't forget them, they just gave them to friends so they could get in for free and the participant complained to us till Laura gave him the refund. Other than that:
Entrants "forgot" them.
Flat out said they lost them.
Gave us the wrong address to mail them to.
Got pulled off the wait list at the last minute and therefore couldn't get them in the mail in time.
Etc
Etc
Etc

This current process is a pain in the ass, but it's the only surefire method of guaranteeing that those who shouldn't be paying to get in aren't. You start emailing out passes, or mailing them, and people will start duplicating them to give them to friends. This way NASA has complete control over the situation. Participants know this going in, and they know the procedure for being refunded, if they or someone on their crew can't find the time to go up there and get the money owed to them during the time they're allowed to that's their own fault.

Not that this is the place to hash this out, but, make the process harder on those that 'forgot' and easier on those that 'didn't' is called customer service. Since you already have a process in place to check a 'list' of entrants via refunds then it should be pretty easy to verify actual tickets against duplicates just by putting a check mark next to a name. If dups are issued to 'lost' tickets make them pay on friday/saturday then issue refund to those people if the ticket isn't used by sunday lunch. Just a suggestion. Last thing I want to do is stand in line for a refund when I suppose to be getting a car ready for a race. If I were a synical person I'd say that is built into the Hyperfest budget and count on X% of people not showing up for a refund, but I'm not that synical .

I hear you on the customer service thing...anyone who has had to deal with me knows this. This is Laura's call and based on past experiences probably the most efficient way to do it. That said, it is not definite that this will be the way it will be done this year as it has not yet been discussed.

[.RJ]

If you already have a list why cant the list just be put at the gate? If you're on it, and you show up between certain hours (like friday evening, very early saturday), you dont pay for your wristband. If you come in at a different time, you pay, and ask for a refund voucher from the gate which you can redeem in tech.

[Kaan]

NOT at TECH... at registration.

[.RJ]

Shut up, you dont do any work in tech anyways

[Dragon]

The reason the list isn't put at the gate IIRC is because Summit Point refuses to take responsibility for that. Basically they don't want to delay entry into the track just so they can run through a list of entrants and crew members. Not every driver shows up with all his/her crew in tow, so it makes it difficult to keep track of all that.

While the current situation isn't optimal, you have to cater to the lowest common denominator, aka the retards that are going to forget their passes and whine and bitch about it. The year we did send them out over 1/2 of the people showed up "forgot" their passes, so the decision was made to not bother with that again since the majority had spoken.

No-one wants to go stand in a line to get their refund when they could be getting their car ready, but that's why racers have crew and or friends/family they trust to go get their refund(s) for them.

[Mike]

so have someone set up with a list BEFORE the SP gate? give out wristbands there?

[Dragon]

Trust me Laura realizes that mailing them out would make things a lot more convenient for those of you who actually read what comes in the mail to you and would actually bring your passes. It was tried before and it failed horribly, in a few cases it was our fault, but in all honesty for the most part because the participants didn't follow through on their end. Because of that those of you now who have common sense enough to look through the entire packet that shows up in the mail for you and would have brought those passes with you must suffer.

[Mike]

was that reply to me? maybe you didn't udnerstand what i was saying... have a nasa official standing IN FRONT OF the official gate where they collect money. that person could have a list and likely roll through people faster than the real gate. if someone is on the list, wristband them.

[.RJ]

He's not talking about mailing, he's talking about having a nasa person at the gate entrance getting people wristbands before they come through the gate.

[Dragon]

My second post wasn't a reply to Mike. It was an afterthought to my first post.

[white_2kgt]

Trust me Laura realizes that mailing them out would make things a lot more convenient for those of you who actually read what comes in the mail to you and would actually bring your passes. It was tried before and it failed horribly, in a few cases it was our fault, but in all honesty for the most part because the participants didn't follow through on their end. Because of that those of you now who have common sense enough to look through the entire packet that shows up in the mail for you and would have brought those passes with you must suffer.

G&W/Synergy racing manages to pull it off...I have no idea what they do with those that 'forgot'. I imagine they tell them to piss up a rope or pay $20. DO IT.

Or damn, give me my $$$ back at registration when I pickup my wrist band, and either hand me 2 crew passes or refund them on the spot as well, but for gods sake, don't make me stand in ANOTHER line.

[Dragon]

so have someone set up with a list BEFORE the SP gate? give out wristbands there?

You're still going to cause the same backup that having SP do it at the gate would do, which was one of their main arguements for not having it done at the gate.

[.RJ]

Thats why it should only be done at certain hours, i.e. when the crowd isnt showing up - friday night and before 7-8 am saturday morning.

The rest have to stand in line for a refund.

[Dragon]

G&W/Synergy racing manages to pull it off...I have no idea what they do with those that 'forgot'. I imagine they tell them to piss up a rope or pay $20. DO IT.

When we did it we were telling over half the people to piss up a rope or pay $20, so to save ourselves the trouble of having to repeat ourselves so many times, not to mention the time and effort involved in sending out all those packets with the stuff this is the method we've gone with. This isn't to say that should enough complaints come down about it that the mailing won't be tried again, I'm just telling you why things are they way they are now.

Or damn, give me my $$$ back at registration when I pickup my wrist band, and either hand me 2 crew passes or refund them on the spot as well, but for gods sake, don't make me stand in ANOTHER line.

Not everyone has to come through registration though, those that pre-register and don't feel the need to double check when they get there and just plan on getting their wrist band from their liason never even have to come to the registration table.
Before it gets suggested, the reason the liason isn't given the money then to refund the participants, because not everyone has to go to a liason. The line is a central point of control for this procedure, and as I said before, it's not the individual that has to stand in the line IIRC, any member of their crew, family, or friend can collect the refund.

[Dragon]

Thats why it should only be done at certain hours, i.e. when the crowd isnt showing up - friday night and before 7-8 am saturday morning.

The rest have to stand in line for a refund.

Which is a very good suggestion and I'll pass that along to Laura. IIRC she did try something similar to this in the past and it worked out pretty well.

[.RJ]

Well most of us dont have crew, and our significant others/friends/etc dont want to stand in line when its 112 degrees out to get the refund.

Sure it sucks for everyone involved, and if thats the way it is, we'll do it of course but I just think a list at the gate is a better idea. For the $$ the event brings into the track that weekend, I would hope they could deal with a minor inconvenience of a list at the gate.

Edit: Thanks for passing along the suggestion. Love you long time.