Oh ya great, delete the post ... guess who everyone bitches at/about then! (Ya like I care.) Unfortunately, this thread needs to stay for the time being. I can move it or delete it but that would open a whole new can o' worms. Think about it from a few  different perspectives beyond your own. Hey lets dance!

This thread continues because I have the op's name and address on file AND because I expect, the outfitter does too. Duffers come and go you are all welcome to judge credibility and exchange rates by your own standards. Had this thread been started by a duffer it would have been deleted long ago. Personally, I'm still waiting to know the source for why fishing in the Q is down 20%.

The biggest eyebrow raiser for me here was the amount of the refund. Obviously that didn't cut it as it accomplished no meeting of the minds but then the only outfitter I've ever used passed years ago. His stuff sucked but his knowledge and experience will long be remembered and admired and I always stopped in just to say hi and see his paintings. He was an interesting sort and we had things in common.

jdrocks mentioned another thread cross posted (not here) about a deposit that got even more play. I have no idea what people think deposits are for. I always thought that was like a handshake. Seemed pretty cut, dried and smoked to me.

The one thing I do know how important my paddling time is to me and it took me a long time to realize why anyone would trust their trip to any variables they could not circumvent. That is the one reason I hate this new passport thing so much. My trip now depends on my ability not to loose this tiny piece of otherwise useless plastic crap.

I know how far NHHawk travels and his "I was this year's team leader, and I was responsible for organizing the trip" - spoke volumes to me as I'm in some odd virtual way feel gentlemanly responsible for this trip. You guys are my weather and the forecast looks stormy.

In any case, this thread helps QJ NOT. I'd be more than happy to delete it (with apologies to paw). At this point though, what it would take is both principles coming to a better agreement. And even once that portage was accomplished. There are still chilling effects to be considered.

Like anyone believes what they read on the internets. Tell some what they want or expect to hear and they gobble it up. It all presentation and there is no such thing as bad press. What would a #5 Google cost? Ya, it all depends on your perspective. How bout I simply lock this thread? If anyone has something new to say it could be spliced I suppose.

As long as I'm at it, I remember shaking some one's hand not too very long ago. He mentioned he thought he ought to man up one of these days. All show, no go. Hey I'm just saying that's what it looks like depending....

So for now this thread is locked. My offer to remove or move stands. I'd like nothing better than for it to go away. Your milage may vary. Just my opinion folks. (Ya like that matters.)

No "AYE" vote here !
I say that NHHawk goes to his grave, clutching that $1000.
Then, years from now, some grizzled old scout master can gather his troop around the fire, on McIntyre Lake, and tell the whole story...
"One of Johns ex employees, down on his luck, dug up the grave to get his $200...but took it all !
At camp that night, a fiendish voice rose from the woods, crying...."Who's got my 1000 grand...Who's got my 1000 grand"...closer & closer it came...."
             
Calm down boys...It's just an old legend....

I just got back from my trek with NCCO and it was one of the best experiences of my life. We were treated great and put first. ALL of our stuff was packed and i have heard Johns side of the story. If you choose to believe this fools warning post(that is missing many details) then your are going to miss out on a great trip with a great outfitter. Not everyone can be perfect and he even brought them a utensil set, and gave them $1000 dollars cash. NCCO care about their customers and i highly recommend them to any one who wants to visit the Quetico. When i visit again i am 100% sure that i will go with North Country Canoe Outfitters.

I'll cast that vote only if this man gives that employee his money back

Old Salt wrote on Jul 11^th, 2009 at 4:00am:


Aye!

I'm still not sure why anyone would be upset after getting $1K in compensation just for waiting one extra day for utensils.

I'll third that....but only if the op gives the money back!

Jackfish, I second your motion, all in favor say aye!

This thread is getting really old really fast.  Now we have what sounds like employees of NCCO making their first posts ever in response to this thread.

There's been enough mudslinging.  I cast my vote for total and complete deletion of this thread.

After reading the first post I still do not get why you are so upset about a mistake like this.  I just got back from a trip using NCCO, and I found it absolutely amazing.  John did not show any of this arrogance, rudeness, or whatever else you say he showed.  Forgetting to pack a utensil kit is certainly not any reason to cry about , lose sleep over, or, as a matter of fact, write a huge tirade slamming this guy over something that you don't know that it was his fault at all.  For all you know, you could have gotten it out at some point and, without knowing it, dropped it into a lake.  As proved through these many posts, it is possible to survive without a cook kit.  John did everything he could to try and make things right about this, even by giving you a $1,000 refund, and yet it is still not good enough for you: you wanted a refund of $1,800 !  Personally, I think that that was too much to even think about asking for.  I personally talked and listened to John about this story, and he personally admitted that his staff dropped the ball.  He admits this and has since moved on, so why can't you?  People aren't always perfect 100% of the time, and this was a rare instance where something just wasn't in the right place at the right time.  Out of all of the stories that I have listened to and letters of recommendation that I have read, I have yet to find more than one or two people who said that their trip was not the trip of a lifetime.  You need to grow a backbone, accept this for what it is, move on, and quit slamming this reputable man and a very profitable business and costing them all a lot of money!

I just got back from a trip to the boundary waters using NCCO.  We had a very good trip.  We heard about this story from John while we were there.  The staff only forgot to pack the spoons, not the whole silverware case.  NCCO also sent out a guy on the second day and gave them the spoons from what i heard.  The employee who packed the gear also gave up his pay check of $200 for the mistake.  When you wanted a bigger refund, John gave an additional $800 back.  John was not mean or rude to us at all during our stay.  All of our gear was packed correctly and we had a good time.   I don't think people should stop going to an outfitter because they made one simple mistake. People aren't perfect 100% of the time.