(Cont.)
He Tells You The Sky Is Black – Duck hunting over the past few years has become, not hit and miss, but has become mixed in its results. In waterfowl hunting, there are great days, average days, and skunk days. If all your guide is talking about is how black the sky is with mallard’s every day, you should go ahead and pull out your red flag and slam it in the ground! Even the best camps in the US have bad days and every ethical hunter knows there are bad days in duck hunting. I want that guide to tell me about those days at his service and what will be done if we have a bad day to keep me happy as a customer.
Common Courtesies– You can tell a lot about a person as a business person and their customer service from how they treat you on the first initial phone call. I am not saying you should be looking for a “How to Win Friends and Influence People” graduate. How did they treat you on the phone with all the questions you asked? Great guides are patient teachers that use the outdoors as their classroom. Patience to questions being asked should be a great indicator of how they will treat you on a trip with them. I know a lot of people that had great hunts at different places, but they didn’t go back because the owner or guides did not have basic common courtesies. If the owner or guide on the phone is causing uneasiness in your gut, you should know that is your red flag. If the person can’t give great customer service in selling you a hunt on the phone, how much better are they going to treat you when you get there in person?
Avoid The Fast Talker- My father taught me long ago to keep fast and smooth talkers at arm’s length. If they are talking smooth and fast, they are covering up something. Overcompensation is the word I think. They are overcompensating their good because of something bad. You know the five-foot tall guy driving the big foot truck, with loud pipes, and stickers. He does that because he is overcompensating for something. This article is about picking guides, so I won’t go there. In my phone conversations with potential clients, I tell them the good and the not so good. I tell my clients that I use as references to do the same.
Make sure to ask questions on the food, hunting locations, lodging, how most of the hunting is done (blinds, standing, layout blinds, etc.), and make sure it will meet your expectations. Make your next choice carefully and after doing some research on all your candidates. Good luck and I hope this helps you in picking your next duck guide.
