What would you do when an outfitter completely doesn't follow his word??UPDATE

[millerwheeler]

Did you guys not hunt the whole time?

Left Friday so yes entire season last day hiked out

[Curly]

I'm still going to be nervous of ever going with them now after your story.

If reading all the way through this thread makes you nervous about using WPO then you shouldn't ever plan on doing a hunt where you pack into a wilderness area. I'm not affiliated with this outfitter or know any of his people, but I know others that run similar guide services. Running camps in areas where you have to use horses and you are on public land is a logistical nightmare. Sometimes things go south in a hurry and you're stuck trying to make a terrible situation into just a bad one. What separates good outfitters from bad is what they do after things have gone bad to try to make things rite. WPO got in touch with the OP and made things good enough the OP willing to give them another shot. Some might have told him tough luck or even worse, jumped in on this thread to bash the OP trying to defend his reputation. Instead WPO kept things private, didn't participate in any mud slinging, and satisfied his dissatisfied customer. If you want guarantees hunt from lodges on private ground. If you want wilderness play the averages (more good reviews than bad) and look for an outfitter that will make things good if your hunt goes bad.

One thing I did learn from this thread was to get things in writing. 

I did do a drop camp with an outfitter in a wilderness area several years ago and I wasn't too pleased with that experience.  We were supposed to be picked up early in the morning but we didn't get picked up until 8 hours or so later.  Their horses took off during the night.  We had to ride out in the dark and then I ended up missing the next day of work. 

Not a huge deal, but we never even got a "sorry" for being so late.  I still think they are probably a good outfitter but it did leave a little bit of a bad taste in my mouth.  Plus the horse I road was terrible.

If I ever decide to go with WPO, I'd be sure to PM millerwheeler and get the story, and call WPO and get his take on what went on in this case.  I don't know how WPO can really make things right after hearing that story.  Setting up camp 2 tenths of a mile in?  And then one of the guys telling them to hunt the wrong side of the boundary?  That's crazy.

But there are a lot of satisfied customers, so that does say something too. 

[Rainier10]

Sounds like a great ending.  We still don't know WPO's side of it.  Sounds like things didn't go well and he actually responded in pretty quick order if you figure in this has to be the busiest time of the year for him.

It was a muzzy hunt, which ended Friday if they were just elk hunting and Sunday if they were deer hunting as well. The OP said that he wanted to hunt until the end and pack out, that could mean Saturday or Monday. The OP then made his complaint here Tuesday afternoon and has resolution in the works that same evening via a text and by this morning all parties were satisfied via a phone conversation.

I think in the big picture WPO responded pretty quickly, best case in less than 48 hours and worst case less than 4 days and obviously with a solution that was sufficient for the OP.  Seems like pretty good response from a guy that is probably pretty busy getting people out of the woods and ready for the next round of guys going in.

Just my  and I am glad that you are happy with the resolution.

[JDHasty]

Did you guys not hunt the whole time?

Left Friday so yes entire season last day hiked out

In other words they did what they could to make the best of a bad situation.  I talked to the father on the phone a few times while they were in there (first call was the second day) and they were doing their best to figure out a strategy that would allow them to make lemon aid out of lemons.  They just didn't have much to work with.   They were not sitting their on their thumbs hoping on dumb luck and crying about it, they were working hard to try and salvage the hunt. 

I've been following along and given how this went down I think the OP handled things about as well as they could be. 

[Bob33]

A business’s integrity and character are often measured best when things don’t go as planned.

[jackmaster]

I'm glad things worked out for you.
What did he say about the wrangler  that told you nobody checks if you're hunting on the wrong side so it would be ok or was that not actually said?

It will be handled  I'm sure of that

sure glad it worked out to your satisfaction!! I was also wondering about the dipdunk that told it was ok to hunt in a unit not open to you  he sounds brilliant !!

[Rainier10]

A business’s integrity and character are often measured best when things don’t go as planned.

Sounds like that is probably the case here.  There are a ton of good things said about WPO, sounds like this trip went sideways.  It's bound to happen to someone at some point.  As long as they made it right with the customer this will just be a small bump in the road.

[losdaddy7]

Good to hear you were able to agree on a resolution.   

[Karl Blanchard]

Like has been said before, I'd like to hear WPO side of the story.  It seems to me like he got the bad end of the deal due to a shady packer.  If I was running that operation then that packer would no longer be employed by me.

[Special T]

A business’s integrity and character are often measured best when things don’t go as planned.

As a business owner I can say that your strongest relationships are forged by making thing right when something goes wrong. If they made the solution more than fair then that is all you can ask for.

[mdbuck5x5]

I can say that my experience with Kent has been great.  I can't speak for him here but i do know that he had quite a camps up there this year.  My guess is that weather got bad and couldn't use a trail system and had to think on his toes to get you guys in somewhere.  I am sure he will settle the score when he gets a chance.  I would give the guy a break.  He still has goat hunters/modern hunters going up, taking his camps down etc.etc.  I wouldn't have blasted the dude if he didn't get back to you within 48 hrs of you getting off the mountain.  I highly doubt he is just going to run for it.  But if it was me personally, and you got on there before actually talking to him and him flat out saying you aren't getting any money back, it wouldn't make things easier to pay you everything.  Give the guy a chance should have waited a few months to let him get done with hunting season and get all those camps off the hill.

Lol wow you must be kidding right? You're a hell of a nice guy if you shell out 3k, don't get what you paid for and have to wait a few months until you get some answer or clarification!

[Jek11688]

I ran into these guys (not the boss) Hiking up to Fifes Ridge on Sept 24, they were going in to get an elk out and proceeded to tell us about 3 or 4 others they where also hauling out. Seemed like nice guys, gave us their card, I would have called them possibly to pack out if I was ever deep in. Questioning it now.

If you were on Fifes Ridge, it is not the same outfitter as the one the OP is talking about. We used CPO this year with zero issues. 

So i wonder what outfitter is on the card they gave him then?

That is a very good question that I would love to hear the answer to.

I wan to apologize for my quick statement on the Outfitter. I was trying to point out they (possibly) were busy packing elk out. They did not mention any drop camps. I cannot confirm which outfitter it is until the end of the week when I can check the business card. I do remember is was mostly light blue/white.

If it was CPO I feel bad for posting something negative about WPO.

[millerwheeler]

A business’s integrity and character are often measured best when things don’t go as planned.

As a business owner I can say that your strongest relationships are forged by making thing right when something goes wrong. If they made the solution more than fair then that is all you can ask for.

Very accurate and great point there man

[puyallupaul]

Not to hijack too much but can someone tell me who operated the business out of Indian Creek Corrals in 2006.
Thanks

[sagerat]

The best part of this story is the client getting told to go ahead and hunt the wrong side. Heck maybe I can get the nod to go ahead and take a mtn goat without a tag?!