DRF Focus Groups

[OTM Al]

Anyone else in the greater NYC area get invited to a focus group dealing with their web site? They are giving a free lunch and a free month of PPs for coming down for a couple hours at some yet to be determined date. I figured why not.

[kgonzales]

I agreed to take part as well. Same logic.

[Tom]

My invitation must have gotten lost in the mail! :rolleyes::D

[Murph]

You should go to the city and visit with your friends at DRF, Tom. They know how to host a party and this sounds like a great way for them to make some friends while getting their feedback "straight from the horses mouth" so to speak. You may be pleasantly suprised with their operations and you might even be able to help them find a solution for your general configuration.

If not, it would still get you (and the monkey) out of the house and into a non-cyber setting for a day of activities and enjoyment in your great state.

Seriously,
Murph

[toetoe]

I wish they did that here. :jump:

[saratoga guy]

Did anyone hear back on this?

I got my invite. Emailed back a positive reply. Have heard nothing...

[OTM Al]

Nope, heard nothing yet, though when they sent it out they still seemed to be planning things out

[hracingplyr]

Speaking of the drf, thought i read some where that they are going to be incorporating pace ratings in the form sometime this summer?

[OTM Al]

Did anyone get selected? Just got an email thanking me for volunteering which indicated that they had already run the groups.

[saratoga guy]

I just got the same e-mail.

I would have to consider that bad customer relations/PR in and of itself...

"Would you like to participate in our customer forum?"

"Why, yes, I would!"

"Uh, well, we don't really need you -- thanks anyway..."

Sheesh...

[mhrussell]

..What a bunch of f- ups these guys are. And I thought this focus group a great idea. I was talking with Kristian and was glad he was going to participate... then he tells me he has not heard ANY follow up from these guys at all. Too bad.

From YouBet, TVG, Magna, to the DRF, it never ceases to amaze me.
And we all get to face a 15-25% takeout AND pay these guys as well.

[the little guy]

Now, I don't really know much about the Focus Groups, but isn't it possible that they contacted a bunch of people to see what kind of interest was out there and got a larger response than anticipated and thus used only the number needed? I imagine this type of thing happens fairly often in these situations. Why exactly does this make DRF a bad guy...so to speak?

I understand people may have been looking forward to participating, and are thus disappointed, and I'm sympathetic, but this hardly means DRF somehow acted inappropriately.

[saratoga guy]

The original email opened with "You're Invited!" In large, bold, red letters.

The body of the email continued "...we'd like you to consider joining us for one of these get-togethers... Interested? Please e-mail us back and let us know and we'll work with you on setting up the specific details of when the meeting is."

That was received on May 11. I responded on May 12. After not hearing anything, I followed up on May 24. Still didn't hear anything until the "We would like thank every member who expressed an interest in attending..." email yesterday, June 14.

At the least it's bad etiquette. "You're Invited!", does not imply "maybe". I've never received an invitation to a function, RSVP'd that I would attend, and then been told that I really wasn't invited after all...

No big deal -- but again, it's just bad customer relations. And unnecessarily so.

Simply make it clear in the original email what the "plan" is... State that they're putting together a pool of people from which they will pick participants.

Instead, by stating, "Please e-mail us back and let us know and we'll work with you on setting up the specific details of when the meeting is," it seemed clear that if you responded, you were going!

[Tom]

DRF...continuity, continuity, continuity.
Was the invitation in Paksitani? :D

[WJ47]

I was invited to the DRF focus group too, but I'm in a suburb of Buffalo,NY so I wouldn't have been able to go. I never responded to the first email and received this email yesterday:
-------------------------------------------------------
Thank You.
We would like thank every member who expressed an interest in attending our initial forum to discuss DRF.com. The first of these informal meetings was extremely productive and will help us in our continued efforts to better serve our customers. We appreciate the willingness of those who wanted to attend but were not involved in this endeavor and want to let you know that we will be extending invites for other forums in the future. Until that time we encourage and welcome whatever feedback about DRF.com you may want to pass along.

Thanks for your time and good racing luck,

Daily Racing Form

--------------------------------------------------------

I think The Little Guy is right, they probably got more people who signed up then they needed. Alot of companies do this. I do a little mystery shopping on occasion and the companies are always emailing me opportunities. Most of the time, when I respond to do a job, they've already filled it, even if I reply within minutes.

Seeing I'm quite a distance from NYC, I think they sent the Focus group email out to alot of people in New York State in general.

It did sound like it would be fun when they sent the initial email and I would have definitely wanted to go if I lived close to NYC. So I can understand the disappointment. A focus group with other handicappers sounded great! It seems like they're planning on having more so maybe they'll invite people that didn't get to attend the first one.

[the little guy]

That you for printing the whole e-mail. It is funny what a different picture it paints of their response than the selected snippets posted in prior posts.

[Suff]

That you for printing the whole e-mail. It is funny what a different picture it paints of their response than the selected snippets posted in prior posts.

I don't think anyone was attempting to be deceptive in thier interpretation of the Focus Group solicitation.

we'll work with you on setting up the specific details of when the meeting is."


That would give me the impression that no matter what amount of response (s), they got, I would be in the loop to some degree.

I think what was missing was an intermediatte e-mail advising people that they recieved an overwhelming response and although they appreciate your interest............you have not been selected to participate.

In addition, it appears SG, and perhaps others, who followed up thier initial response , were not answered.

:ThmbUp:? :ThmbDown: ? Depends on how you look at it I suppose.

[Bruddah]

They are sending the company plane and reserved a suite for me at the Hilton. I haven't anything to complain about. I just hope the champagne is cold and the flight attendant(s) are hot! :jump: :jump: :lol: :D

I assured them this is the only way I could stay focused.

[saratoga guy]

That you for printing the whole e-mail. It is funny what a different picture it paints of their response than the selected snippets posted in prior posts.

Wha--?

How does "We would like thank every member who expressed an interest in attending..." paint a different picture?!?

I didn't even have a problem with the return email -- other than the date -- so why would I try to "fool" anyone about its contents?

And if you're implying that I left some context out of the original, heck, you can see that too! If you think it doesn't give the impression that if a recipient responds then they're in, tell me where I misinterpreted it...


You're Invited

Daily Racing Form will soon be holding a series of informal meetings with DRF.com customers and users in the Form's downtown Manhattan offices, and we'd like you to consider joining us for one of these get-togethers. The goal of these meetings, which will last 2-3 hours, is to get the best possible sense of what DRF.com needs to do to improve the experience of visiting the website, for both paying subscribers and free members. We'll be picking up dinner for you at the meeting, and we'll also set you up with a free month of online PPs, a $99.95 value, in exchange for your time and feedback. Interested? Please e-mail us back and let us know and we'll work with you on setting up the specific details of when the meeting is.

Thanks for your time and good racing luck,

Daily Racing Form.

[Tom]

I'd get a lawyer and demand the free month - they offerd it and you accepted. I think you have a case - class action maybe.
I agree fully DRF screwed customers yet again.

[kenwoodallpromos]

"Interested? Please e-mail us back and let us know and we'll work with you on setting up the specific details of when the meeting is."

When I hear something like that from anybody I assume it means youi have to bug them to get their act together because they have no set deal yet.
I would call and email every week or 2 to let them know you are available and ready to be a free consultant.
I wouls expect one of the YUM! Foods affiliates to do the catering!! :lol:

[the_fat_man]

I'd get a lawyer and demand the free month - they offerd it and you accepted. I think you have a case - class action maybe.
I agree fully DRF screwed customers yet again.

It's not just that 'DRF screwed customers yet again' it's the manner in which it was done:

you have all these dudes, hanging out, minding their own business, not even remotely thinking about DRF focus groups,


DRF goes to the effort of finding them,
makes them an clear offer

then basically discards them

not even with the courtesy of telling them their services are not needed, as better qualified candidates were found


so

they get approached
offered
and then REJECTED as NOT BEING GOOD ENOUGH :lol:

talk about getting BENT OVER:D

now, women are sometimes known to pull maneuvers of this sort
(on desperate men)


and some of you guys actually give DRF your business


now, that's laughable

[saratoga guy]

Actually I like the DRF and their products.

To me this wasn't a big deal. And the $99.95 product offer was nice, but didn't really factor into my thinking -- the train ride down made that offer a wash (although, granted, it might have meant more to people who lived closer).

I simply find it a slip-up in customer relations -- and something that's fixable if they take the time and interest to do so.

As I said, it was just kind of rude. Plain and simple. Kind of, "You're invited... Uh, wait, no you're not."

Suff made a perfectly legitimate suggestion that would have helped rectify the situation for me: A week after the initial email went out they must have had the vast majority of their RSVPs. At that point they should have emailed everyone saying the response was overwhelming -- and they would be notifying SOME people that would be picked as participants. Ideally the original email should have been re-worded -- but an email a week later that explained the situation would have helped. Rather than the "brush-off" a month after the fact...