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Ottawa grand fondo - no jersey almost 3 months later & no response to emails

4K views 11 replies 6 participants last post by  GranFondoOttawa 
#1 ·
I was a late registrant for the ottawa gran fondo this summer.
i contacted the organizers to ask if I could still register a day or two before and was told I could and that they probably would even have a jersey for me - if not it would be ordered and I could either pick it up or have it shipped to me.
i registered and purchased an ottawa granfondo cap as well at the time of registry from their online store.
On the day of the event - I check in. No jersey - ok - I was told there may not be one for me - not a big deal.
no cap? Nope. I was told they didn't make them this year. Yet they were listed on the site and when I clicked to purchase it only 2 days before the event - my purchase went through. The sweet old lady checking me in just said there were none made and so I left it at that.

fast forward to the end of my ride -.i get back and send the organizers an email just to confirm that I will indeed get my shirt and to ask about the cap since I had already paid for it.
i got a prompt response telling me that the jersey could be mailed to me (I live 200 kms from ottawa) and since I had paid for the cap that they could use the payment for the cap to cover shipping. One offset the ther an it was a wash - I was happy with that.
ok.
this was July 20th.
i emailed Greg Capello who is the event organizer a couple of times since then to check in for an update and was finally told the jersey would be here in October. Sunday I emailed Greg - no response. Monday again - no response. I just emailed him for a third time and will hopefully hear back from him.

at this point it isn't even like I really want the jersey - it is a matter of having been semingly jerked around from "we'll probably have a jersey for you" to no jersey and no cap that was advertised and sold on their site store and now close to 3 months later I am no longer getting responses to my emails.
Has anyone else had to jump through hoops like this?

I will update this post when I receive my shirt from Greg Capello & gran fondo ottawa.
 
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#2 ·
I did receive a response from Greg Capello shortly after posting this here (funny how that works(!?!).
the response contained no information or responses to my questions as to when I can expect my jersey and his subsequent emails were rude and insulting - but still lacking any info. So to sum up - I was told there will likely be a jersey for me - but there wasn't. They had caps for sale on the site right up until the event that we're never even produced - and they continued to sell the caps anyway. But the minute I call him out on a bait and switch he calls me an ass. How professional.

I would think that an event organizer would at least respond to emails from people that are waiting on jerseys that are now 3 months late - and respond in a professional and courteous manner - at the very least don't tell someone that they are an ass for asking questions about when they will receive goods that were paid for 3 months ago.

I certainly won't give them my registration money next year based on this and other unpleasant aspects of how the event was run and based on a lot of comments that I overheard while I was there a lot other people felt the same way.
Anyone want to buy a jersey? i should have before the new year
 
#3 ·
He's a con artist. Very little improvement from a crap fondo last year to this year. Timing chips a no show this year and a very lame reason why. Poor signage, crap undersupplied water and "food" stations despite promises of improvement. Late email taking no responsibility and blaming others. Inedible food at finish. I hear he has removed negative comments from Facebook page. Stay away.
 
#6 ·
Inedible food at finish.
Inedible is an understatement. The food tasted like cigarette ashes.

I was in the front group doing the century that missed the last feeding station because, well, it wasn't set up yet. We went the last 40km with no water/food. Had I known, I would have filled up both bottles at feeding station #3.

I can't believe they ran out of jerseys. You would think a few days before the race they would have known whether they had enough for late registrants or not.
 
#4 ·
You know I hesitated to say anything about this - because I can understand that this is a huge undertaking to put on - so I cut them some slack - but enough is enough.
I have been more than patient with him up until this point. To not even bother responding to emails - to ignore someone who paid money to you in good faith, and after the bait and switch and to top it has the nerve to talk to me like I am pestering him - says a lot about this person's character.
You only get one chance to ruin your name - hope the 160 bucks was worth it.
 
#5 ·
In comparison Centurion Cycling put on a Niagara Training ride for free. It was well organized and the after ride $25 lunch was superbe. Steve Bauer answered questions.

I did four organized rides this year and they were all great value - Niagara, Collingwood, Caledon and the Ride for Karen. I also heard that the Halton ride was excellent.

I guess I'll stay away from Ottawa
 
#7 ·
Bringing this back up with an update.
Greg told me end of October was the date for the jerseys and to watch my email and Facebook page for updates.
i have had no contact initiated by Greg nor has there been any updates that I am aware of.
I contacted Greg last week and was told that I would be contacted by his assistant ASAP. I still have heard nothing almost a week after that promise.
Read into tis what you may - I think it is pretty clear what is going on - seems like someone is running a game here.
again - I contacted Greg prior to registering and was told that they would likely have a jersey for me. I also purchased a cap not he site that was for sale for anyone to purchase and pay for - that I found out the day of the granfondo - was never even produced.
So here we are - 4 months after the gran fondo - no jersey - paid for a cap that did not exist and being treated like a I am a pain in the ass when I ask for something I paid for and never received.
to be completely fair I will post here if I ever do receive a jersey - wether I receive it or not is of course entirely in Greg capello's hands. I do hope he is a man of his word - I'd hate to think that someone can be bought for a measly 100.00 bucks. But to be clear I would never again participate in the ottawa gran fondo nor would I have anything to do with anything that had Greg capello's name on it.
 
#8 ·
Somehow this forum has passed us by until recently, we apologize for not seeing it or replying sooner.
To set the facts straight, our website clearly noted that riders registering after the June cut-off would not be guaranteed a jersey for the day of the event. Given our supplier is in Italy and not a mass scale operation, they require a longer lead time than some suppliers in addition to shipping and customs delays.
While some large events can afford to buy additional inventory, as a smaller event and a small business we cannot afford to offer reasonable rates and buy extra jerseys and then sell them at a loss if we end up with extras.
Also, despite comments about cost (starting at $75.00), for what we offer including the Biemme jersey, FondoFesta and and 12 stocked Feed Stations (unlike as claimed by some) our event represents great value and again is not a high margin business that can take risks associated with guessing at potential registrations over the last 6-weeks which is why we encouraged riders to register before the cut off.
That being said, for those 300 or so who registered after the cut-off, we posted many messages on Facebook and via our eBlasts after the ride/event to ensure rider jersey exchanges could be accommodated before we put the follow-up order into Biemme. Our order was filled and the jerseys arrived in late September and throughout October/November, we again posted on Facebook and sent eBlasts to let riders know the jerseys had arrived. We sent inventory to Montreal and Toronto to best serve riders who wanted to pick up jerseys and had 2 options in Ottawa.
From that point foreword we have replied to every email and fulfilled jersey requests.
As a fellow rider who attends other events and pays money for travel and registration, we are all entitled to comment and provide feedback. In the case of GranFondoOttawa 2013, we feel we did many things better vs our first year although we did have some shortfalls which we have addressed for 2014.
Looking ahead, we have made arrangements with Biemme to help us with better inventory supply for late registering riders, our routes will be better marked, we will have more on course support and the food will be more in keeping with the plan set in place.
The fact that we paid a premium for quality product including the hand made Italian sausages and some sausages were indeed overcooked and the sauce for the pasta was badly prepared which ruined the pasta..... it is inexcusable and we were not at all happy with our Chef as we ate the food as well. Luckily not all of the food was spoiled and it is too bad riders who did get the bad lot did not return for a replacement.
In closing, anyone who did not get a jersey is encouraged to contact us so we can fulfill our end of the deal.
All the best in 2014, we hope to see you again as we work to deliver a better ride experience.
 
#11 ·
I did finally receive my jersey in mid to late November.
i received exactly zero "email blasts" and no updates at all about any of this unless I emailed the organizer multiple times. He had the nerve to cross examine me before sending it out demanding to know why I didn't receive it prior and even stating that he had no record of me being registered in the event. Either he was trying to irritate me or was just plain disorganized. I sent him a copy of my paypal invoice.

also there were items for sale on the fondo website that were never even made. I bought a cap and paid for it by paypal and when I was at the event the lady who checked in my registration told me there were no caps available. I thought it was like the jersey and maybe I was too late but she explained that there were none made and none available to anyone. Yet it was for sale on the site.
i was offered free shipping to cover the cost of the cap which seemed fair to me and I was also told that there would be some goodies in the bag to make up for the bs I had to go through to get my jersey. I didn't ask - it was offered. When the jersey arrived there as nothing but the jersey in the bag. No big deal - I didn't want anything and didn't ask for it but I asked since it had been mentioned. I was told that shipping from ottawa to Montreal is too expensive and that his TIME is worth something as well. Blah blah... Unreal.
finally if you read the organiser's post above - he states that people who got inedible food should have returned it and asked for food that didn't taste like ash. Really - it is the fault of those who don't complain. Go back and ask for more food and hope that is doesn't taste like an ashtray this time around. Unbelievable.
all I would have asked for is that the people running this be open and honest - tell me when I will get my jersey and I will wait patiently. I understand that I registered late - just let me know and be honest about it. I still would have entered. Instead it became this long drawn out bs and was very unpleasant.
I was also told by email by the organizer prior to registering that they will probably have a jersey for me the day of the event and this was one week prior to the date of e event as I had not yet registered. I still have the email. A classic case of bait and switch just like the caps that were never produced yet still for sale right up to the day of the event.
 
#12 ·
Again, please take the time to read the detailed information on our website regarding later registrations. If you missed the cut-off it was clear you would get a jersey but after the event. If you did not, it was not from a lack of effort on our part as we sent out numerous emails and posted updated on Facebook. We have had the jerseys since late October, which aligns with our re-order plans. If yo wish to send an email, the website has contact information. If we knew your name and email address we would gladly contact you and anyone else as need be. All of the emails received have been replied to, 100%.
 
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