Scrutineering - Check your gloves or lose them!!
At Brands Hatch, I had my £140 Alpinestars gloves taken off me in scrutineering after a tiny (and I mean tiny) hole was found in the palm of one of them.
I was told that they HAD to conviscate them, because I was likely to use them if they didn't - nice to know trust exists in the race paddock.
Anyway, I forgot to collect them at the end of the day - You know how it is when you're packing up, saying goodbye etc etc
So, last Monday I rang New Era and spoke to Mr Plonk*. He basically disagreed with me when I said that, to me the gloves were still worth £140 and although they may have had a tiny hole in one palm, they were still perfectly funtional - AND THEY WERE MY BLOODY GLOVES! I got the impression that despite lining the pockets of New Era for years, they didn't care about my gloves as much as I did and didn't even know where they were!!
To cut a long story short, I had to call back again today, to find out who has them - New Era or Brands Hatch.
You may find this hard to believe, but New Era have a PILE OF GLOVES!
The lady I spoke to today was very polite and helpful, but in the background Mr Plonk* was moaning and I was told that in future all gloves will be BURNED if they're not collected at the end of the day.
You have been warned!!!
*Mr Plonk is a fictional character, as getting banned from clubs and associations can complicate issues - as I've found in the past!
[Edited on 19-9-2005 by domski]