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Old 11-06-2004
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dalyduo dalyduo is offline
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Re: Indoor Kart World Championship 2005

Before we nail the coffin closed on this baby, one last thought:

I find this quote noteworthy:

Carlos Quote #1:

"Though the comparative marketing approach Racingschools.com uses on it's website towards its main competitors (Petty and Barber) is quite aggressive, it is just true information. I personally would probably not chose to display and word it in the manner it is, but that is not my department, or decision. Petty and Barber have literally threatened us, in an attempt to have that removed, but it is my understanding that they have no recourse since it is just true info. It is my understanding that R.Prevost is perfectly open and willing to change any info that may be incorrect, as the intent is certainly no to post incorrect information."

End Quote:

He positions racingschools.com as the victim of Barber and Petty threats over negative statements that he also later admits only exist to hurt business for them! Wouldn't you expect Barber and Petty to look for recourse against unprovoked negative attacks like that?

What I find interesting here is the unwritten message that they don't consider themselves to simply be agents or brokers for racing schools that choose to work with them. They consider themselves to be de-facto master agents of the racing school universe, and anyone who doesn't see it that way had better prepare to be pissed on by them as punishment. Very classy. My question is... Who died and made them god of the racing school universe?

Racingschools.com isn't a racing school with a big investment of money, equipment and people all working their tails off to survive. It's a service business that makes its living off of the hard work of those who do put themselves at risk. I'd be appalled as a racing school to be represented by a broker who did business this way.

Carlos goes on to admit (rather arrogantly) that if their "competitors" were smart enough to stop holding exclusivity on the services they sell, racingschools.com wouldn't have to put so much energy into steering people away from them with their bogus negative innuendo "facts". In fact he even admits that if he could start having commissions for selling Skip Barber services again, all the negative stuff would simply go away! (see quote below)

Carlos quote #2:

"Again the best solution, which I'm sure anyone with half a business brain would agree, is that SBR should be an option to be sold at Racingschools.com. The competition for sales between the two companies would seize to exist, and Racingschools.com could start sending SBR more business instead of putting effort in steering it away from SBR. SBR has only to gain with that move: more $$$, more new individual and corporate customers, and the negative info would go away. SBR's current position seems to be more based on stubborness than business sence."

End Quote:

Carlos is confirming that he'd love to be representing Skip Barber services now, and racingschools.com isn't fair to Skip Barber on their web site because they consider them a "competitor." Wow! How wonderfully honest and damning at the same time. No conscience, no shame.

Perhaps the Skip Barber "stubborness" he refers to is more linked to SB not wanting to be associated with a business lacking any moral conscience or business ethics.

When Carlos revealed that they used to sell Barber services and lost money when the company went bankrupt I first thought, Ah Hah! Here's an understandable reason why these people have been grinding the negative axe. But that's not the case.

They put out negative garbage on any racing school that won't sign an agreement to pay them a commission as a matter of policy. And if they do that to the biggest most successful names in the business, what do you suppose they do with the little guys who don't have much leverage when they approach them to negotiate terms and sign an agreement?

It all smells like a bad low stakes episode of Arliss.

My only axe to grind here is that I've been around agents all my professional life and recognize the difference between the majority that have a moral and ethical conscience guiding them to do the right thing, and the minority whose hungar for power and money override morals and ethics. In my book, lifes too short to hang with people you can't trust.

We all have a choice about who we want to be and who we want to play with.

I don't know Carlos and Robert at all and only wish them well. I'm also not employed by Skip Barber or have any authority to represent them in any capacity. But, if I got to play Skip Barber LLC for a day, my response to racingschools.com would be, "Don't smile and tell me we should be business partners and you'd like to enjoy a piece of my profits representing the longest running most successful brand name racing school in the business, while your pissing on my leg."

Last edited by dalyduo; 11-07-2004 at 01:28 PM.
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