Dear Friends,

I am an avidbowand rifle hunter and that depends primarily on publicly drawn lottery tags to hunt. Due to the amount of paperwork involved, deadlines and a busy work schedule I decided to enlist the help of Cabela’s and their “T.A.G.S.” program to help me manage my ‘hunt portfolio’. I thought the promises offered and the reputation of Cabela’s would ensure this was a good move to get applied for my precious hunts. I even talked my best friend from childhood into joining the program with me. We paid our entry fees and applied for several archery-only tags in Arizona and New Mexico. What a mistake I made.

When we decided to entrust our application submittals to Cabela’s we were entrusting a lot more than a couple of hundred dollars and a chance for a hunt, we were entrusting our dreams.

Cabela’s failed us miserably. I can understand not getting drawn to hunt. That is part of life. But what I cannot understand is how Cabela’s failed to properly submit us. Cabela’s failure and attention to detail denied us any chance at all in the Arizona Archery elk drawings for which we requested and paid to be submitted. Unbelievably, Cabela’s failed to sign the applications properly and thus they were rejected.

Cabela’s did not even call us to tell us of their failure. Instead I was informed by my best friend that Cabela’s had dropped the ball for us (he is an Arizona resident). When I contacted Cabela’s I was offered an apology, though it was far from contrite or sincere. Cabela’s did offer us our money back. They also offered us coupons for discounts for T.A.G.S in the future! Why they would think we would set ourselves up for their failure again is beyond us. We are outraged. There is no chance we will use Cabela’s again as they cannot pay attention to details for something that is so important to us.

Not only are we out the chance to hunt in two states for 2005, but we also lost the ‘bonus points’ that come from these states when you do not get drawn. This means our chances for the upcoming years are diminished. I caution all readers and hunters out there to think twice about letting someone else manage what is important to you. Do the cumbersome and monotonous paperwork yourself; otherwise you may not ever have the chance to do the ‘fun’ work that comes with getting ready for a hunt. This stings.

I hope you never have to feel like we do.

Sincerely,

Rick Thompson

Sorry to hear about your misfortunes! This sucks about your preference points! [:@]

Quite a disappointment indeed. Cabela's is a reputable company and I make no excuses for them. Unfortunately they're run by staff and some individuals just doesn't take the time, or even 'care' about how important things are to others.
In your case you've used a company that you have/had trust in to assist in all the paper work/application and they've failed you miserably. That's sad indeed. I cannot understand how in the world would they think that 'an apology' can heal all the wounds--when in fact you've lost out on so much, because of an employee's negligence. Most unfortunate!!
I would not like to be in your shoes today--I wish you better luck in the future--obviously you've already shown, you have learnt from your mistake.
Just stay positive, it can only get better from here on. Keep the faith!!!

Thanks for the responses. I have written to several magazines in a futher attempt to inform the hunting community of my struggles and make people think twice about out-sourcing the paperwork part of lottery hunts.