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.