As a matter of safety, and in the spirit of assisting fellow Quiet Journey members, I am obligated to post the following information about my recently completed trip, outfitted by North Country Canoe Outfitters (NCCO).  

My three friends and I, all experienced Quetico fishermen, planned a 7 day adventure from Prairie Portage up to Sarah, McIntyre, Burt, etc.  Straightforward stuff.  Push hard, set up a nice base camp, and fish until we are blue-in-the-face!  We switched from our previous outfitter, whom we loved, only for the sake of trying something new.  We chose NCCO, in large part due to the promotional information and DVD we received from them.

I was this year's team leader, and I was responsible for organizing the trip.  My initial interface with John Schiefelbein of NCCO, was very disappointing, and in retrospect, should have been enough of a "red flag" to make me immediately cancel any plans to outfit my trip with him.  He was rude, arrogant, and condescending as he criticized each and every point I made about plans and expectations for my trip.  He was unwilling to listen to what my team wanted.  I was a fool to proceed.

It was clear that no new friendship was to be formed during this process, so I minimized my contact with John as best as I could, but when I called on the morning of our entry permit submission, he made it a point to tell me how upset he was that I was tying up his phone line.  I was done talking to him at that point.

Fast forward to our trip.

Upon our arrival at NCCO, John greeted us, and we were hopeful that his attitude towards us had changed.  It had not.  During the brief trip-planning/mapping session, he was intent upon insulting us.  We mentioned our desire to paddle Isabella Creek, both to avoid two portages and because two of my team members had done it years ago and found it to be a beautiful route.  John's response was that we could not go that route because Canadian Rangers had blocked the creek with boulders to make it impassable!  "Why would they do that?", we asked.  His answer: "Listen, you are just visitors.  Why they did it is not for you to question, and besides, I got this report from someone whose opinion I trust a whole lot more than I do when I get reports from guys like you!"

After another simplistic food and equipment briefing by two teenagers, I decided it was time to put some distance between this guy and my team, so I paid for the trip quickly, and we headed into town to cool off.

The next morning brought horrible weather conditions (high westerly winds, raining, and cold!) but we were intent on getting the trip started. We do travel very heavy, so we were very disappointed when two Boundary Water kevlar canoes were presented to us for loading, instead of the Wenonah Champlain canoes we had been promised.  We took it in stride, once again, and set out on the water.

Conditions deteriorated quickly, and we took cover after only two miles, on Sunday Island in Bayley Bay.  We made camp, re-mapped a new trip, had a sandwich, and went to bed.  When we woke up the next morning, and started to make breakfast, we found that we were missing our entire utensil pack!  No forks, knives, spoons, serving spoon, cooking fork, spatula, fillet knife, oven mitt, pot holder, etc.  Not as bad as being without a tent, but a major omission, to be sure!  A satellite phone call to John at NCCO yielded the following response:  "It didn't get packed!  What do you want me to do about it??!!"  He is an outfitter.  He did not do his job.  Worst of all, he didn't care.  The winds were at 30 knots, the rain was driving, and it was cold.  He wouldn't bring us a kit (he said, "I don't have a permit."), so he told us to paddle back to Prairie Portage and he will leave one at the ranger station.  Angry, but with no other option, we returned to PP.  Now our trip was not going to happen in any way, shape, or form as we had planned.  Extremely disappointed, we set our sights on Isabella Lake, and made it there just before dark that night, in large part, because we had to take the much longer northern route John had mapped, due to the "boulders blocking Isabella Creek".  During our week on Isabella Lake we had the opportunity to ask passersby how they made their way to Isabella, and a gentleman told us that he simply ran Isabella Creek, as always!  No boulder blockade by the Canadian Rangers???  No, just the same tiny little "pull-over" that had always and forever been there!!  On our return trip, we confirmed, Isabella Creek was wide open!!!

John argued with me for an hour and a half when I returned to NCCO at the end of our trip.  He wanted me and my team to just go away, but I insisted he face up to his mistakes.  He was uncaring, disrespectful, and he didn't do his job.  I presented him with the packing list, which showed only that the items for our trip had been pulled, but none of them had been checked off as packed.  His defense was simply that each of the kids that he has pack his trips does it his or her own way!  I asked him if he ever checked the packs of any trip leaving NCCO, and he admitted that he did not.  He does not care.  My team represented dollar signs, not real people taking a real trip.

Begrudgingly, John agreed to refund a small percentage of our trip's price, after trying to make me believe that it was coming out of the pocket of the teenager who did the packing.  To the very end, he refused to accept any responsibility for the poor performance of his business.

For those of you, like me, who come from far away to paddle and fish the waters of Quetico, and need the services of an outfitter, choose carefully.  I feel awful because I did not heed the warning signs flashing before me about NCCO, and my team suffered because of it.  NCCO did not tarnish our love of the Q, but they did remind us to be careful with who we trust with our safety when venturing out into this vast, beautiful place.

is your axe sharp yet?

Thanks for the heads up, and sorry you were dissatisfied with your experiences with NCCO.  It is a great reminder that you shouldn’t just take the word of anyone when it’s your stomach/vacation/life on the line.  Check your gear and food!

I've had pretty good experiences with the Ely outfitters I've used for the last 10 years (Williams & Hall, Wilderness Outfitters, Red Rock Store, and Piragis) though I've never gone the complete outfitting route as I have accumulated enough gear over the years to outfit my needs.  Sometimes it’s just a canoe or 2, maybe a tent, pack or other item we needed due to group size.

My take is that you should feel like you are a valuable customer, your business is appreciated, and you are welcome to return anytime, whether you are getting complete outfitting, partial, or just need a place to shower & sleep.  If I ever get the nerve to become an outfitter, that’s the way I’d have to run it if I wanted to stay in business.  I don’t know John Schiefelbein, but it sounds like he didn’t agree that as owner he is fully responsible for whatever his company does.  The buck stops with him, unless of course he’d rather that buck be spent elsewhere, preferably where the owners appreciate the customer and will go out of their way to keep that customer happy. 

NHHawk wrote on Jul 7^th, 2009 at 1:24am:


This is where you went wrong, well before you even had a chance to ignore that little voice in your head. If you've found a good thing, then stick with it! It can be beneficial to build a relationship with an outfitter over the years. They can provide great advice, and if someday you only need one or two items, or just a place to crash, then they'll be happy to help.

Sorry to hear about your bad experience. I appreciate you posting the story here, as it may help others in the future. In this technology age, every business & product is subject to public review on the internet. And the consumers are the ones that stand to benefit from that!

Ranger

I have no interest in engaging in he said, she said nonsense.  I posted the facts of our trip and our experience, as they occurred, in an attempt to assist fellow members.  These facts are not at all in dispute,  Call NCCO at 1-800-552-5581, and talk to John.  He will tell you the same story.  He agreed to three things as I left him on Saturday, July 4th:  First, he agreed to examine the way he ran his business;  to take a vested interest in how completely and accurately trips leaving NCCO were packed.  Secondly, he agreed to my premise that he and his staff should strive to treat their customers like family.  They should be spoken to and respected in the same manner as they would demand for themselves.  Lastly, he offered to reimburse my team because "he had let us down".  He handed me $1000.00 in cash.  If there is another "side" to this story, it will be the first I am hearing of it.

My original post was made, not because there were "minor" or "common" problems with my outfitter.  The events were posted because they were, in fact, so strange and unbelievable.  I wish no harm to John Schiefelbein.  I am simply interested in preventing him from harming any of his clients.  As his business is currently run, greater problems than my team experienced are definitely possible.  If he outfits your trip, insist that all gear be inventoried in front of you.  Also take unconfirmed reports of route disruptions with a grain of salt.  I am looking to help everyone, not harm anyone.