Grimmer Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Not sure if any of you heard but Three Bears was open this year and running strong this winter. Our friend Brandon was in good spirits and we had a great experience there about a month ago. We missed Kelly but still had a great time despite her absence. We are planning a trip again this weekend and called 3 bears to book a cabin and apparently Brandon from 3 bears is back in the hospital so they had to cancel all stays this weekend. I decided to give Shining Tree Camp a call and the guy (Derek) was a complete ass on the phone. Rude and in general just complaining. It was obvious he's no fan of sledders! Derek, if you are reading this read this...... We will NEVER stay at your place or do we need gas or anything form you!! You will not see a $1 from us and our group I promise you that. If and when 3 bears re-opens and Brandon is ok (hopefully) we will always be loyal to him and as far as Im concerned and I speak for my group, 3 Bears put Shining Tree on the map! This guy Derek is a piece of work! As a business owner, I could NEVER treat my customers the way you do. Good luck staying afloat buddy! We wish 3 bears and Brandon all the best and pray for a speedy recovery! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revrnd Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Please post your reasons for your statements. Otherwise your post is baseless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimmer Posted March 4, 2015 Author Share Posted March 4, 2015 Sorry Revrnd.... It seems like lately in the past few years it's open season on sledders by a lot of these lodge operators especially where we ride North of North bay. The sportsman lodge is no different, he won't even serve lunch anymore!! We ride North of North Bay and have been for 20 years. Typically do about 4-5000 kms per year and we respect everyone we run in to. What happened with this guy is becoming more common. When I am talked down to and made to feel like he's doing me a favour and I'm asking too many questions and taking up his valuable time it really pisses me off. Anyways, Brandon at 3 Bears is a very good friend of ours and he somewhat was disrespectful even towards Brandon who's laying in the hospital. You would think this guy would be willing to help out instead he decides he's going to be an ass. I have no time for these guys and they don't deserve our money. He even went out of his way to tell us he just plowed the "C" trail down to bare road and maybe we should re-consider. Who would ever say that? For the first time ever, our group of guys are all buying Quebec trail passes next year in addition to the OFSC ones. OFSC trails will become secondary to the Quebec trails. They are pristine and well groomed always. Ontario can learn a lot from the way Quebec runs their trail system. At least over there you are welcomed and made to feel like your business is valued. That entire area of Ontario is really going down hill and it saddens all of us who have ridden there for all these years. At the very least the lodge operators can try and make us feel welcome because the business will slowly die. To you lodge operators: If you think you only need summer business to survive you better re-think your business strategy because a lot of us "winter guys" are also summer customers and if you piss us off, our friends hear about it too. An old saying in business......Bad News Travels 10 times faster than good news! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Saul Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Sorry Revrnd.... It seems like lately in the past few years it's open season on sledders by a lot of these lodge operators especially where we ride North of North bay. The sportsman lodge is no different, he won't even serve lunch anymore!! We ride North of North Bay and have been for 20 years. Typically do about 4-5000 kms per year and we respect everyone we run in to. What happened with this guy is becoming more common. When I am talked down to and made to feel like he's doing me a favour and I'm asking too many questions and taking up his valuable time it really pisses me off. Anyways, Brandon at 3 Bears is a very good friend of ours and he somewhat was disrespectful even towards Brandon who's laying in the hospital. You would think this guy would be willing to help out instead he decides he's going to be an ass. I have no time for these guys and they don't deserve our money. He even went out of his way to tell us he just plowed the "C" trail down to bare road and maybe we should re-consider. Who would ever say that? For the first time ever, our group of guys are all buying Quebec trail passes next year in addition to the OFSC ones. OFSC trails will become secondary to the Quebec trails. They are pristine and well groomed always. Ontario can learn a lot from the way Quebec runs their trail system. At least over there you are welcomed and made to feel like your business is valued. That entire area of Ontario is really going down hill and it saddens all of us who have ridden there for all these years. At the very least the lodge operators can try and make us feel welcome because the business will slowly die. To you lodge operators: If you think you only need summer business to survive you better re-think your business strategy because a lot of us "winter guys" are also summer customers and if you piss us off, our friends hear about it too. An old saying in business......Bad News Travels 10 times faster than good news! Do you really think lodges close in the winter just to piss you off? If it costs money to be open in the winter I see it as a best business decision to be closed for the winter or I wont be here to be open in the summer, Some people think there is a line up off sledders with cash falling out of their pockets, As far as George at sportsman, do you know how hard it is to hire help 30km in the bush off the highway, Not every one is out to piss you off, please don't paint us all the same color, Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimmer Posted March 4, 2015 Author Share Posted March 4, 2015 Don't get me wrong. Maybe you aren't understanding my message. I am not saying anything about ALL LODGES OWNERS or painting any with the same brush.....and I am never pissed off if you're closed ! All I am saying is don't be "open" and treat your customers like crap! Every business in the world survives on customer service. Customer service is #1 in all businesses and if you're open and treating a potential customer rude or disrespectful, the natural orders of business will take care of itself. I am sure that running a lodge is very difficult and challenging but guess what? I DONT CARE!!!. That's not what it's about. I am on vacation from MY JOB and spending MY money at your establishment. I don't really care how much your bills are and how other sledders have mis treated you in the past etc. If you don't like it, find something else to do in your life. Close your doors, no problem. We'll just go elsewhere to someone who knows how to treat their customers. Don't think for a second that because you are one of a few lodges around that you can afford to be rude. Business is business. I have owned a few and as much as my customers have pissed me off, I always stay focused on where the $ comes from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildbill Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 everyone has a bad day now and then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToSlow Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 looks more like a personal attack rather than a bad business Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PISTON LAKE CRUISER Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 looks more like a personal attack rather than a bad business X2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwill2cruz Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 So what's open up there now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DARKSIDE Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 We are open. I don't know why the name change on the post an in the heading. But it was not Spruce Shilling Camp op was talking to. so please correct it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimmer Posted March 5, 2015 Author Share Posted March 5, 2015 Not sure why it was changed either. It's SHINING TREE CAMP not Spruce Shilling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whiskywizard Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Simmer, you still haven't stated clearly what your issue was exactly, and now we see you may be railing about the wrong lodge!?! You need to clarify or apologize. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DARKSIDE Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Well after getting over being upset and going back and reading, I now see why the heading and the wording in the post was changed. It was done by a Global moderator "revrnd". Why he would do that is beyond me. Because he didn't get permission from the original poster. And revrnd, you should make sure that your info is correct like you tell everyone else to do. And the changes you made couldn't be further from the truth. So go back and correct it now. Leon....Spruce Shilling Camp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Sledder Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 I'm very confused over this entire thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DARKSIDE Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Oh wow! That didn't take very long. My phone has been ringing off the hook. But the two phone calls that were most important to me are the ones below. Had a group of 4 from Timmins booked for Friday and Saturday. They just cancelled thanks to your unwarranted name change revrnd. Had another group of 3 from Sudbury cancel after reading that post. He came right out and said he doesn't want to stay at a place like that. So once again.....thanks revrnd for slandering a business that had nothing to do with this. Are you going to reimburse me for the money you just cost me? If you are, let me know and I'll tell you how much. And where to send the money order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawnj Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Yikes. This went from bad to worse. With any luck, the folks that seen the original post will see the correction and re book with you. They must be members here and if there anythng like me, I'm lurking on here various times per day/ night and will see it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revrnd Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 My apologies for the name change. I was only aware of Three Bears and Spruce Shilling Camp being located there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DARKSIDE Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 ok now get my name out of the post . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revrnd Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 ok now get my name out of the post . Done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blake G Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 An honest mistake on your part, revrnd. People who take the time to read this thread should be able to draw their own conclusions about the degree of respect shown by and due to anyone involved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToSlow Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 might have been a mistake, but should he be changing the title on someone else thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuvMyViper Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 might have been a mistake, but should he be changing the title on someone else thread Yes, He is a moderator... Especially if there is a problem with the title.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kered Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 To those it may concern; Hi, my name is Derek and I’m the owner of Shining Tree Camp. It seems this forum is allowed to just post gossip without a lot of fact base. We’ve read these for years but just chuckled because of the inaccuracies in our area. Fact - I’ve volunteered for the club from 2002 until present. The past five years has been nothing but me from “C” trail North of Wanapite bridge to Mattagami Lake and into Shining Tree via L142. That goes for brushing, signing, grooming & groomer repairs and maintenance. 160 km of trail. Fact - Only club member in area. Fact - Moved trail from Three Bears laneway to Shining Tree Camp and staked down to lake for people to go to Three Bears. That was done because premium fuel was a hit and miss and now is always available which we donate 10 cents a litre back to the club. Regular fuel is still available as always if you want to run 4 kms down the highway to Spruce Shilling Camp. Fact - It cost us $150 for signage on the trail to advertise fuel. Fact - “C” trail North of highway 560 to Mattagami lake has been plowed by the TFAI, that’s forestry, without notifying me so I could move signs and break trail for a lake run to avoid it, I’m presently working on that, if you need updates or details feel free to call me @ 800 551 3899 for I will be the first to know. Gossip - John, AKA Simmer called me to book a cabin. Told me of Brandon in the hospital and how bad that is, AGREED. Wanted me to hold a cabin for his group until he decided whether they wanted it or not. I told him it required a deposit which he would not do. When he told me how they used to always do that @ Three Bears for him, I made the comment that “that’s probably why they are out of business and I’m not”. That’s when it went South real quick. The previously mentioned plowing of the “C” trail was just me trying to warn him off of getting trapped. Sorry I mentioned it. Derek. PS- if this gets posted, check the bottom to see if it has been altered before taking it as the original post. Happy sledding. Derek. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
02Sled Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 Taking a deposit to hold a reservation sure sounds reasonable to me and pretty common. I am also familiar with varying deposit policies which vary from non refundable to % refundable dependent upon how far ahead you cancel. Last minute cancellation.... you lose the deposit for sure. I don't have a problem with the concept and sure don't know why anyone else would. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blake G Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 Kered, it is awesome to hear of all the ways you support snowmobiling. It's people like yourself that make this sport so great. Thank you. I've been using this forum for about three years, and there is definitely a positive emphasis in terms of the types of postings being made. Not always, but most of the time. Obviously Simmer was unhappy and he decided to share his feelings publicly. The moderator thought Simmer had made a mistake in the name of the business, so he tried to "correct" it, and mistakenly named another business. This was unfortunate, and was corrected as soon as it was pointed out, and an apology made. Now you have made the effort to explain the situation from your side, and I for one appreciate the effort you have made. Hopefully Simmer and his riding friends will still be able to find a place suitable for them, even though I guess it won't be your establishment. Best wishes to all, and happy sledding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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