Skip Barber Racing School files for bankruptcy

[harristweed]

http://www.thedrive.com/news/10526/s...rk-1-2-million

Well this stings a bit; wife got me a gift cert for Christmas.

[mslevin]

What kind of weird harness is that guy wearing in the video in the bottom of the article? Looks like he's heading for a BASE jump right after the track day.

[ELVA164]

What kind of weird harness is that guy wearing in the video in the bottom of the article? Looks like he's heading for a BASE jump right after the track day.

It's just a different approach to neck restraint. Necksgen does a similar thing.

[lmtfi]

Reading 2-3 years of Trip Advisor reviews was painful. By those detailed, angry accounts they have been screwing customers out of their money for a long time (not to mention employees, tracks etc). Any business that operates like that needed to go a long time ago.

[harristweed]

Reading 2-3 years of Trip Advisor reviews was painful. By those detailed, angry accounts they have been screwing customers out of their money for a long time (not to mention employees, tracks etc). Any business that operates like that needed to go a long time ago.

Hadn't seen them, certainly wouldn't have thought to go to Trip Advisor for that kind of intel.

[lmtfi]

Hadn't seen them, certainly wouldn't have thought to go to Trip Advisor for that kind of intel.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUser...alifornia.html


I found this statement from the (alleged)"Owner at Skip Barber Racing School" to be :

"We sell non refundable seats and we have no interest in rescheduling our customers but issues come up that are not totally in our control."

Read in the context of the TripAdvisor customer complaints - it paints a very disappointing picture.

[harristweed]

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUser...alifornia.html


I found this statement from the (alleged)"Owner at Skip Barber Racing School" to be :

"We sell non refundable seats and we have no interest in rescheduling our customers but issues come up that are not totally in our control."

Read in the context of the TripAdvisor customer complaints - it paints a very disappointing picture.

I'm not sure my experience is of value to anyone here, especially given that no one in their right mind would sign up, but my wife found their customer service to be ... let's say mercurial. Nevertheless, I called in March to schedule time at Lime Rock - part of the impetus for the gift cert (the other being a cylinder failure in the track toy I'd rather not detail further) - and was given a bit of run around - that "give us a few weeks, we're trying to finalise details." I thought it peculiar that a track in such high demand would not have all its days scheduled months if not a year in advance (my nearest track, Roebling, has been reserving weekends for PCA groups for years). So I checked again, well outside the suggested wait period, only to find the website had no days available at Lime Rock. At this point, my wife called and was given a similar brush off. Then this news hit.

While I'm incredibly disappointed, I'm still gobsmacked as to why TripAdvisor would be the reviewing site of choice. Should I check yelp before scheduling with Bondurant?

[944CS]

Skip Barber owns Lime Rock...

[DocWyte]

Yes but Skip Barber hasn't owned "Skip Barber Racing School" for over 15 years. They're totally seperate companies

[BlackHawkRacing]

I'm not sure my experience is of value to anyone here, especially given that no one in their right mind would sign up, but my wife found their customer service to be ... let's say mercurial. Nevertheless, I called in March to schedule time at Lime Rock - part of the impetus for the gift cert (the other being a cylinder failure in the track toy I'd rather not detail further) - and was given a bit of run around - that "give us a few weeks, we're trying to finalise details." I thought it peculiar that a track in such high demand would not have all its days scheduled months if not a year in advance (my nearest track, Roebling, has been reserving weekends for PCA groups for years). So I checked again, well outside the suggested wait period, only to find the website had no days available at Lime Rock. At this point, my wife called and was given a similar brush off. Then this news hit.

While I'm incredibly disappointed, I'm still gobsmacked as to why TripAdvisor would be the reviewing site of choice. Should I check yelp before scheduling with Bondurant?

Any idea what's going to happen to the Gift Certificate? My mother got me one for X-mas and I haven't had time to schedule anything. Given they are in Chapter 11 i would hope they still honor it until the company is dissolved.

[19Spec3]

Just to clarify, Chapter 11 bankruptcy doesn't mean the company will necessarily dissolve and liquidate all of its assets. It's certainly possible but many companies go through a Chapter 11 and come out on the other side.

[harristweed]

Any idea what's going to happen to the Gift Certificate? My mother got me one for X-mas and I haven't had time to schedule anything. Given they are in Chapter 11 i would hope they still honor it until the company is dissolved.

All indications point to honoring the gift cert. My wife gave them a ring and after a "contentious" first ten minutes, says that I should be able to use the cert and have had the deadline extended through May '18. I believe most of their platitudes to be stalling techniques until proven otherwise. An extended deadline is meaningless with no hope of redemption. So I'll probably look for another private outfit with which to sample Lime Rock, and attempt to cash in on the cert as quickly as possible. With the location-specific gift cert and the expectation of Lime Rock availability, I was offered a potential upgrade depending on event size and location. I've never been to AMP and heard mixed feelings, so driving someone else's car is somewhat appealing. And track time is track time. I'll update

Were I in your shoes, I would call, state your case, and ask to be scheduled ASAP. Depending on the amount of your gift cert, they may offer to upgrade your experience or "make room for you" in an already full event. Either way, I'd be curious to hear your experience.