Mini pooper (sorry, I don't know who you are by name). Thanks for your response.

Yes, a nationally advertised event gets a public overview. As I can tell most events posted here get public reviews. Sorry, if you don't like it. Be that as it may, my responses to you are as follows. Boy, whatever happened to the customer's always right?

1. Accessibility. Bull. I've only been injured for 8yrs but I've traveled the world via my w/chair. Your event gets an D in accessiblity. Handicapped parking, bathroom access, curb cuts, etc. were terrible. Your fault? No. But please don't try to placate me with the fed'l ADA comments. It was bad. I offered dialogue through phone conversations but to be honest the only thing I felt that you guys wanted to hear was that my reg fees were paid in full.

2. Website flexibility. Not a personal affront to the web designer mini pooper. Yeah, I'm sure she's a nice, hard working person. But, sticking with the facts, as I've said, the website graphics were great but it was cumbersome and difficult to navigate. Did you try to print anything from the site?


3. Signage. Really? As you pulled up to the guard kiosk on Treasure Island there were signs pointing to the event and car wash. E-mail updates? Wow, I must've missed the updates because I didn't get one. Maybe it was sent to REME members only?

4. Fees / cost. The bartender charged us $2 each for 1/2 can of coke. That's $4 according to my math. You owe me 1/2 can of coke.

On the sign-up sheet for the Andretti tour it was written down by Jesse on the day of registration: $40. It wasn't posted until then.

The minimania MMMT overview:
http://new.minimania.com/web/Display...s/ArticleV.cfm

some text: "
Also for those that wish we will have Mini Cooper Day at Infineon Raceway. For the entry fee of $20 we will be able to enjoy the “Pinks ALL-Out” drag races which will be telecast on SPEED TV. Infineon will provide a MINI only corral and perhaps (time permitting) some parade laps around the picturesque 12-turn 2.2 mile racetrack.
The racetrack is located right at the gate to the Napa/Sonoma wine country. For those that wish to visit the lush Northern California wine country and stop by and sample some of the finest wines in the world, we will provide maps with locations and routes.

Sounds to me like you were offering for $20 Mini Cooper day at Infineon Raceway? Possible parade laps, etc.

Giants game. Thanks, you've admitted the problem and the mistake. Again, communicating the information you just posted prior to the event would've been helpful for those of us traveling 1000+ miles to your event.

Vendors. I apologize for my count but stand by my assessment. If there were 17 vendors then 11 of them were virtually unseen or had nothing to really get my attention (and I was looking to spend $$). Yes, that was my point, the economics probably didn't help them given the travel expenses, etc. Maybe offering them free advertising space on your site, the t-shirts, etc. would entice them in the future.

Btw, mini pooper, I did give your club kudos on a great effort. You're execution, as I said, needs some tweaking. You're welcome for my $170+. As a customer, it's nice to be thanked and appreciated. Reading your response, I guess that speaks volumes.

Happy Motoring.

 

Chris,

I am sorry that this event did not live up to your expectations. I just spoke with Jesse and she did have that wrong about the fees for Andretti and she is sorry, she misunderstood. It was $20 per person.

Jesse did enjoy meeting you and Stephanie.

As far as the ADA issues I must admit that I have never been handicapped and therefore would not have your perspective. We did asked and were told that this facility does meet ADA requirements. I have since asked them again after your comments and they stand by their positition.

Website: OK I did not.

Signage: There was signage put on at the Deli (Gate). I watched the store owner tape it up myself. However when we went back, we did notice it was gone. Someone must have grabbed a souvineer.

Please look back through the postings I have made here and you will see that the changes to "Pinks All Out" were posted here and on the event website. There again Infineon Raceway was more than happy to have us there and provide the corrall and more. It was the producers (Michel Christensen) of Pink-All-Out" that put the "cabosh" on it. That being said I think it was best for everyone.

The Giant's did honor the package and price. AT&T Park is still a great ball park. It was easy to get to and plenty of parking. The Giants did play poorly that night, but perhaps there were some Pirates fans who enjoyed the game.

Rest assured we did offer as much advertising as we could for vendors.

In closing I may have been a little defensive in my initial response., but please read back through your posting, terms such as "half-assed", "nightmare", "cumbersome:, "unapologetic", "whipshawed with contradictory information", "weak, weak weak", "boring", and others tend to indicate more than just a "critique".

Enough said, we did try to put on a good event, and feel we did. Not everything went perfect, but nothing about the "bad" issues were intentional.

 

Truce. Best of luck with your event next year mini pooper.

 

Hello to all the REME folks, who organized the MMMT event.

After 3700 miles round trip which took us through six states, along spectacular coastlines, mountain passes, the giant redwoods, beautiful forests and even miles and miles of sage brush in Nevada and SE Oregon we are back home in Calgary with a ton of pictures and lots of fond memories. We would do it all again with no hesitation.

We would like to thank everyone for putting together an admirable effort in hosting such a large event. We were greeted warmly by everyone we met, managed to renew acquaintances from AMVIV earlier this year and created some new friendships that we hope to stay in contact with and hope to meet again at AMVIV 6 coming up.

Our highlights from MMMT would be meeting people I have spoken to on the forums and can now place a face to the name. Seeing all the participating cars, (I got some new ideas for mods to my car, even though my friends figure I couldn't possibly do any more with the car). The Sun Kings did an excellent job, having seen McCartney twice in concert, this was a very close second. The Steve McQueen run was a blast, I wish I could get an arial view over Lombard Street between the crooked street and Coit tower, as there were Minis going in all directions!

One day our club would like to host an event like this and have everyone come and see us in the Calgary area, (I can hear a lot of you saying "Don't do it!!", I do believe that once the hangover wears off there is a great satisfaction of the accomplishment). We may not have as many twisty roads to offer, we do have some very nice scenery in exchange. You can see pictures from our runs on our website at www.minicalgary.com which hopefully will tempt you to come.

"The Canadians"

 

I am up for Calgary! Do it! Just set a date. Maybe in conjunction with the Calgary Stampede Rodeo or even the Calgary Police Rodeo. It's time for Canada! I was working on a run from the north bay area to Vancouver then to Calgary and back, going thru 7 states and 2 provinces, but I could't get the run under about 16 days... then the economy went sour... but maybe in 2009.

 

Here is a link to an article written by John Sowell, that appeared in The News-Review, Roseburg, OR.

http://www.nrtoday.com/article/20080...INI%20vacation

Thanks John nice article.

 

Try this link as the other is not working any longer: http://www.nrtoday.com/article/20080...profile=search

 

Here are some MMMT photos from SUnday. Courtesy of Byron


http://www.pacificdesigners.com/fotos/

 

Mini Magazine from the UK has recently published an article on the Magical Mystery Mini Tour.

http://www.redwoodempiremini.com/mbb...tachmentid=493

Here is the contact if you are interested in getting the magazine.

Craig McBeth
Production Editor
Mini Magazine
01225 442244 (ext 2002)

www.minimag.co.uk
www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk