canoejack wrote on Jul 10^th, 2009 at 12:35pm:



So long too reasonable discourse, hello attitude
Part of the experience is dealing with "problems" no matter how they originate.  IF the guy had such "bad" attitude from the git-go, the missing cook set wouldn't of been a problem, because I would of walked out the door.
 2005 or 06, I was scheduled to go out of Stanton Bay early Sat morning. I arrived in Atikokan, noon Friday, had lunch, picked up permits, some beer and food and headed to QDaves home base on Warner Lk. Unloaded gear, loaded rental canoe( I did it myself) and got fishing license and paid for trip.
 THEN, I helped Dave do some things around camp, and then we retired to his deck on guest cabin for a barbecue/beers and catching up on what was going on in park.
 About 9 PM, the phone rings and its a big group that was going the full outfitting route to White Otter, informing Dave that they were coming in Sat morning instead of Sunday and they wanted a early AM start.
 Dave was upset, and I KNEW that taking me to Stanton and taking care of them was going to be a problem. When Dave got off phone, I said that I knew THEY were a big ticket group, and that WHATEVER he needed too do was OKAY with me?
He asked if I would mind going into Stanton that night and camping for a early AM start?
Mind you, I was feeling NO pain and it was damn near dark. I could of demanded to be taken care of first, I could of made a big issue out of it, but I can overcome/adapt to any situation so I opted too help him. The OTHER group apparently thought he should be on their beck and call and available for any last minute changes they needed.
I went in the other direction. I loaded my gear in his truck and we were off to Stanton Bay. He was very grateful for my "gesture", and I ended up setting tarp and Hammock up by flashlight and spending the night with another couple who an outfitter dropped off as well.
 It was a little inconvenience to me, a big help too him. It made for a good story and I know QD sees me as more than a simple customer.
 A grand for a missing cook set and canoes other than what you specified sure seems like an attempt too make good?
 The "truth" always come out eventually, your last post proves that.

I was amazed at the unbalanced negative comment of this post as we have been very pleased with our years of using NCCO for outfitting and(even after reading NHHawk's entry) are going to do so again this fall.  I am sorry that NHHawk had an unhappy experience but his report is NOT as he writes "Neither my team, nor I have ever attempted to harm anyone, and my post was simply aimed at assisting fellow members."  What he posted is cyberbulling!!!   The internet allows free speech, but this post seems more in the line of harassment.  I am pleased to see 5 pages of responses and my hope is that everyone will read beyond the original Warning About North Country Canoe Outfitters post and get a feel for "the rest of the story."
And for what it is worth, while NHHawk found John "rude, arrogant, and
condescending," we find him knowable, accommodating, efficient,
dependable,  interesting, pleasant, and with a great sense of wit.

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.

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.

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