Guided Trip - Input Needed

[Brian Moffitt]

All,

Before I go off half cocked I wanted to put the following situation to the board. While on a recent family vacation I went on a 1/2 day guided trip with a guide service I hadn't used before. Before scheduling the trip I looked into all their reviews (Facebook, Yelp, Google, TripAdvisor, etc). Overall they were incredibly positive (4+ Stars) so I felt pretty secure in scheduling a trip with them. My only requirements were that we not fish two rivers I've fished extensively on previous trips to the area. The person I spoke with on the phone indicated that wouldn't be a problem as they had plenty of water available to them. On the day of the trip I got to the shop at the requested time and met my guide for the day. He indicated I asked to fish a specific river (I hadn't), and that he thought fishing that river would be "tough" based upon comments he'd received from another guide. I indicated that wasn't a problem and what suggestions did he have. I was told the best bet was to "fish in town". Now here is where the issue started as I specifically stated when booking the trip that I had fished this river many times and didn't have any interest in fishing it on a guided trip (I do pretty well on this river without help), and asked what other options we had and I listed two other rivers I knew the shop can guide on. I was essentially told that neither were fishing well and our best bet was the river in town. I reluctantly agreed but honestly felt like my request to fish elsewhere was being refused under the guise of "other rivers are fishing better". I base this on having visited the shop a few days prior and getting the scoop on area waters. When talking to personnel in the shop all said, don't fish the river in town fish any of these other rivers (two of which were the very rivers the guide told me weren't fishing well). I'm not big on complaining and I was willing to defer to the guide that my best chance of catching fish was in town. Well the trip started out decently well with the guide seeming to know what he was doing. On the second cast I had a fish on and the guide netted it, and before I could even state I wanted a picture he'd released it. I commented immediately that I'd wanted a picture (it was a nice sized fish for the river) and he sort of apologized but stated "there will be others". Well....long story shorter, for the next 3 hours there weren't any other fish. Finally, in the last hour after having spent the prior 3 watching the guide go from one fly to another trying to find something the fish would bite on we found a hole where the fish were biting and managed to catch a few more really nice sized fish before our time was up. In addition when we returned to the shop and settled up I was charged for 7 flies, but I only received 2 from the trip and lost a single fly to an overhanging tree. There was no discussion of where the other 4 flies had gone (into the guides pocket I'm 100% sure).

So we come to the questions of the situation:
1. What did I as the customer do wrong? Did I misstate my preferences or should I have stuck to my guns and demanded to fish one of the other rivers rather than than fishing "in town" (in other words did I give in too easily)?
2. Should I bring this whole situation to the attention of the shop owner, or take it as a learning experience and not use them in the future?
3. Should I post my experience to the same sources I read reviews on so others are aware there may be "issues" with the shop? Or should I only post a negative review of the shop if, after contacting the owner, I don't receive a satisfactory response.

If before commenting anyone feels additional information is necessary please either PM me directly or let me know via the board.

Thanks,
Brian

[Marco]

Sounds to me like the gent had another half day booking and was reluctant to stray too far from the barn. I would let the shop owner know of my experience and judge my further action on that response. In any case, if the response is not satisfactory, I'd not use the shop and service in the future. I would not post a negative review . The misdeeds of ONE guide does not indicate the general attitude of the entire staff. It was once sagely written ( loosely quoted) " if you're happy with our services, tell your friends. If you're not happy, tell US". Chances are, if the /your guide persists in his "ways", he'll either see the light or be gone, in which case all should again be well with this shop.

Mark

[Eric-WD]

I would have told the guide, I knew that river and didn't need his services for it, if he couldn't come up with another I would cancel the trip and fish it on my own.

[Brian Moffitt]

Mark,

Thank you for the response. I'm curious though why you wouldn't post a negative (perhaps I should state fair but not 4-5 star) review? In re-looking over the reviews of the shop the guide I was assigned is mentioned many times by name and all reports are positive. Now I'm willing 100% to grant he was having an off day, got called in on what should have been his day off, or any number of other reasons for his suggestion to fish close rather than further afield. I'm not one for "elevator pitch" reviews so I'd be honest in my assessment that I requested and apple and the guide provided an orange. This is more of a "negative" for the guide rather than the shop, but my assumption is the shop should still exert some control over the guide and his actions.

That being said I'm more than willing to contact the owner of the shop and make my views on the trip known to him. At that point I'll consider whether or not to post a less than glowing review of the shop, or post a review indicating the owner made it right in light of a poor trip.

Eric,
Also, thank you for the comments. Unfortunately, your thoughts echo my own the more I've thought about it.

Brian

[sgallas2]

Brian,
Sorry things didnt work out the way you wanted. I think , though, the primary responsibility was yours for not sticking to what you requested.you had a contract that you were very clear about when you booked the trip and he was trying not to honor. you, being a nice guy, let him off the hook( so to speak) . I agree , wholehaeartedly with Mark, that a negative post would be inappropriate( or at least what I would be comfortable doing). I think letting theowner know is a necessary step and based on what happens there ,do what you feel you should do. Ive cancelled a trip because what we agreed on over the phone is not what was presented when I got to the shop.
Good luck in the future.
Steve

[Brian Moffitt]

Steve,

Thank you for restating Mark's point on the review, if his thoughts echo yours I understand where both of you are coming from. I do fully agree it is 100% on me for not refusing the trip as offered based upon prior commitments made during the booking of the trip, because, as you said, I was being nice in accepting the change.

Parenthetically speaking, I'm interested in general as to why nobody had touched on the flies I was charged for but didn't receive (or lose)? I'm not sure how shops do it as the guide service I normally use charges you for X flies before leaving the shop. At the end of the day the guide gives you whatever is left (generally they charge for a dozen and I take home 8-10).

Brian

[Marco]

Brian,
As to why I would not post a negative review. I would weigh very heavily my comments in such a review. Contacting the owner(s) would be much more effective and much less likely to cause collateral damage to the shop than broadcasting a bad experience . In this case, I assume the shop has been in business for a number of years, built a reputation and therefore must be doing most things right. A published negative review is a serious blow and should be carefully evaluated before submitting.
As to the fly situation, it would have been easy for you to specify the TWO flies you were given. Although relatively insignificant, it WOULD be a problem for me. But I would have solved the problem on site.

Mark

[Brian Moffitt]

Mark,

Thank you for the follow-up comments. I'm not going to post a review until I've had a chance to talk to the owner. Depending on that conversation I'll make a decision from there. I 100% get it that I have more than my fair share of blame for my dissatisfaction (I should have refused the trip unless we went where I wanted to go).

As to the flies, I didn't notice it until much later (about 3 days) when I happened to check my receipt and realized the trip wasn't the price I'd had in my head, so it wasn't possible to take it up with the shop right then. Perhaps I should have said at the outset that this where my real concern lies. I willing to accept a poor day on the water as being due to water conditions, fish not biting, etc. But charging me for something I didn't receive on top of the poor trip, that is where I start to feel cheated.

Brian

Brian

[Brian Moffitt]

Well it took a while but I finally was able to speak with the shop owner yesterday. We had a good conversation and to say he was audibly distressed at the outcome of the trip is an understatement. When I contacted him I was simple in my requests. I didn't ask for a refund of any kind. I merely asked for an apology for the day on the water not being what I'd asked for. What I received was a full refund of all fees paid to the shop (though I insisted several times they could deduct the cost of the flies I have (and the one I lost)). The owner was a stand up guy who 100% agreed with me that they hadn't provided the service I wanted and that he'd take it up with the guide I went out with. I'm going to continue my practice of not publicly naming the shop as I don't want to associate their name with the negative experience I detailed given they handled it beyond my expectations.

Brian

[spinner1]

I guided for 5 years.
If a client did not want to fish a waterway..we DIDN'T.

I always asked how many trout they averaged in the time out.
I asked them what their largest trout of the two prevalent speciesin the area were.My goals of the day were simple.
Catch their biggest brook trout and brown ever.Catch more than they had caught in time frame.
More times than not I turned them on to bigger and more fish.

I do NOT guide anymore.

Shop owner was very stand-up kinda guy to refund.