All,
This was more of a rhetorical question than anything else. The question actually came from someone who completed the race (their first HIM) and didn’t get a medal. She has contacted M-Dot multiple times and can’t get any response back. I simply poised it to see what public opinion was. Personally, I think someone selling their finishers medal is about as lame and someone buying it to say they did the race.
We had several people in our tri club that were racing their first half IM. Getting a medal was an extremely big deal for them. I saw one guy I know pretty well who decided to sign up that week and has done multiple IM and HIMs, wheel his bike off at the end of the day with a medal. I also saw another woman I know who trained for year, it was her first HIM and signed up almost a year ago burst into tears because she didn't receive a medal. What triggered it was one of the guys in the finishers chute saying "You should have run faster" to her after 7+ hours on the course. Then the tears came.
I didn't get a medal either (I was told I was the first one to finish that didn't get a medal. I received the same "You should have ran faster" response from a IM official on the course. Pretty lame.
We managed to get some of the first timers their medals within our group. I think M-Dot’s response is what the issue is for me.
For the record, I am not planning on buying a medal and will wait for the one I rightly deserved (and paid for) to be delivered to me. Not because I need it. I just think race medals are totally cool and some day when I am not able to physically compete in races any longer, I will break them out and reflect on what used to be able to do.
My personal view is that race medals are important. It is more important for various reasons and to varying degrees based on the individuals needs. This was not my first HIM. While I appreciate the offers from others to send me their medals, I would prefer them to go to someone who was a first timer that didn’t get one. I am certainly willing to wait. If this were my first HIM, I would probably feel different. I do like getting medals. Probably since I didn’t play little league when I was a kid and never received trophies for this sort of stuff.
However, I do think the question is valid. It says a lot about how Ironman Corp views their participants in races. Don’t get me wrong. I am a fan of IM branded races and the mystique that surrounds them. This is my first issue with M-Dot at all in several years of racing. The deeper I get into this one-time issue, the more pissed off I become.
I have called and emailed multiple times IM Headquarters without a response. It is as if their offices are deserted at all times. No receptionist, no race directors answer the phone. It is a total ghost town. To test this, I have called up a few times and had a few other people in our group that didn’t receive medals call as well. No response at all.
Poor customer service really pisses me off (regardless of the company). I paid a big chunk of change to do the race and completed it. They didn’t plan well and should have some form of customer feedback in case there is an issue. Silence is a horrible customer service policy.
I would think Ironman corp would pay more attention to their customer service but apparently they can’t be bothered. They could at least send an email apologizing for their blunder. There has been absolutely no communication from M-Dot on when the medals will be mailed out. I know several people who have called and emailed. So far, silence. The Chicago Marathon had a few boxes of medals stolen in 2012. Cary Pinkowski was on it. The people that didn’t get a medal were bombarded with emails, letters, phone calls, etc… because he knew that the Bank of America reputation was at risk. M-Dot seems like they could care less about their brand or reputation. Their races fill up without issue so maybe they don’t need quality control any longer since their product sells without too much issue.
My two cents.
