Muley Hunter

Well, you didn't word your post the way you thought you did. You did say you collect the deposit from the hunter, and deduct your fees from that. Isn't the hunter paying you directly?

SJAdventures

I don't owe you any kind of explanation.

Muley Hunter

I didn't say you did, but all we can go by is what you said. Since you don't want to explain. We'll just believe what you said as the truth.

Blackelk

Most outfitter booking agents have never meet the sponsored outfitters nor been to their hunting camps. Most of them have only corresponded through phone and email. Your taking a high risk enough just booking a hunt through an outfitter.

If I were to book a hunt:
1. Talk to the outfitter you plan to hunt with.
2. Check out the outfitters references.
3. Call forest service to insure license is up to date.
4. Call Division of Wildlife to check on reputation or any criminal activities.
5. Get a contract in writing for your deposit.
6. Ask numerous questions so there's no misunderstanding between you and your outfitter on the details of your hunt.

If you have done this then and only then do you have a legitimate complaint. If you haven't done this then get ready to be scammed. It could happen to the best of us. There's all kinds of fly by night hunts out there and myself personally would be very cautious before spending my hard earned money. Good luck.

SJAdventures

First off it is not we or we'll it is you. Second: I have 100's upon 100's of references from our past clients that can verify that what I say is the truth and that is all that matters. See ya.

Muley Hunter

WE.... as in all of us that read your posts.

I never said you weren't honest. You read way too much into my posts that wasn't there.

Topgun 3006

SJA---Nobody, including myself, said that you were not honest. However, you aren't helping yourself on this thread that is being read by lots of people who may want to do business with you. You DID NOT answer my question and it was asked just like a person wanting to book a hunt through you would or should ask! I will ask the question once more and how you answer it will either cause a lot of people to either leave you on their list or cross you off as a potential agent they would do business with. Would you or would you not refund your commission to a customer if an outfitter you booked the customer with did not follow through and take that person on the hunt that you sold? Plain and simple question that can be answered with a yes or no and you can expound on either answer if you wish. Thank you for your time! PS: Your statement about the 11 page thread not involving you may be accurate but it should be read because this outfit is going to kill a lot of you in your profession and you're not helping yourself at all on this thread with the attitude you seem to have!

headhunter353

SJA did answer in his first post "NO"
This Jeff Blair is going to kill the booking industry, If I was in that business I would be watching this closely.

Topgun 3006

I know that he said no refunds and the customer needs to read the contract on his initial response before we actually started having some dialogue. I want to see if he will give a yes or no now based on what I asked with specific reference to selling a hunt he represents that doesn't go forward. He has stated he takes his cut before the rest of the initial deposit is even forwarded on to the outfitter. It's the perfect system to CYA whether the hunt goes on or not and if that money isn't returned to the customer as a good faith measure it tells me he is no better than Blair!!! The only difference is that the customer is getting screwed by two people, rather than one! He might say the outfitter is paying him, but in actuality the hunter is paying him and the outfitter just isn't getting as much on the hunt for having him do a lot of the initial work to attract that customer. By saying that he does all the work to insure the customer has no worries right on his home page of the website he is saying exactly what Blair says on his and that may be the way most advertise to ease the doubts of a prospective customer. When push comes to shove, it is still the personal integrity of the agent you do business with and I can guarantee I would never sign a contract like he mentioned if it specifically says "no refunds". That tells me he is taking no chances and I might as well roll the dice directly with an outfitter if the agent has that type of an attitude and does business that way. In essence, it's BUYER BEWARE when dealing with a booking agent with that in a contract just like it would be dealing direct with the outfitter!!! The whole reason for working with an agent is to lessen that gamble! IMHO he made a big mistake coming on this trhead and making that initial post because no matter what he says now I've made up my mind about him and I would bet that anybody that reads this thread has too!!!

SJAdventures

Jeff Blair if guilty is like any other business. You have great booking agents you have bad booking agents, you have great outfitters and you have crooked outfitters, you have great mechanics and you have crooked mechanics, you have great plumbers you have crooked plumbers, etc, etc, etc. Booking agents can be a huge asset if you use the right one or it can be a nightmare if you use the wrong one just like it will be if you use the right outfitter or the wrong outfitter, the right mechanic or the wrong mechanic, etc, etc, etc. If you use a booking agent ask for references for them just like the actual outfitter. If you book a cruise through a travel agency on a Carnival cruise line ship do you actually think that travel agency will be held responsible for the actions of Carnival Cruise Lines during that cruise? That would be like holding the nurse responsible that checked you in at your Dr's office for mal-practice if your Dr does something bad. If the booking agent has fulfilled everything stated they are obligated to fulfill on their signed contract then I am not sure what anyone expects. If I receive a commission FROM THE OUTFITTER and then the outfitter and their hunter has some issue come up between them I am not going to give our commission paid to us BY THE OUTFITTER to anyone. If there is a legitimate refund owed to the hunter by the outfitter then the outfitter is responsible to pay the entire refund and the outfitter not the hunter is out our commission. I cannot vouch for any other booking agency out there but every outfitter our agency sells hunts for is personally checked out to the best of my ability to ensure of their legitimacy, honesty and the quality of their services. I do this by hunting with, visiting or personally calling several of their past hunters and talking in length with them. We sometimes sell hunts for over 70 outfitters located all over the world so it is not logistically possible to hunt with every one of them (honestly I get to hunt with very few of them) or to even visit their operations so references and past history is all we have. I have had outfitters who gave us extremely good services for years but for what ever reason in their personal lives their services turned totally unacceptable without warning. Unfortunately you never know this is going to happen until it does and some one is going to get a unsatisfactory hunt or poor service. Our only recourse is to terminate using that outfitter but for the hunter that isn't much consolation. It is not an easy business to be in especially if you have a conscience and are trying to offer a honest and legitimate service. And you can take this to the bank out side of a very, very, small select few, being a booking agent is not what you would classify as lucrative. Our contract is very clear that our agency is not responsible for any refunds of any kind. If a hunter reads it and signs it then they should not be surprised if such an issue arises. I have gave commissions back to the outfitter when the situation called for them to issue a refund to their hunter but we do not issue refunds to the hunter/s.