Did Jim Shockey just go "full retard"???????? It sure looks like he did. I've got to say this is one of the worst articles and examples of CYA I have seen in the hunting industry.
The article is hundreds of words of self-absorbed excuses to cover up a mountain of bad decisions. I would have thought it was written by a teenage girl after seeing the results of her "First Response Pregnancy Test."
First I must address the biggest eye popper in the article. The Americans who didn't pay off the rest of their hunt cost before the hunt ever occurred or even could occur are all now unilaterally painted as "DEADBEATS". That's right. No matter what was going on in your life, and Jim knows that Covid 19 didn't effect absolutely anyone else's revenue outside the Canadian outfitter business
,if you didn't send him the money he DESERVES, then you are a "DEADBEAT". Hey Jim, here's some friendly advice. Work some PR classes into that extensive overhead of yours and refrain from referring to clients in the middle of a forced economic crash as "DEADBEATS".
Second, most of the rest of this is what I refer to a series of bad judgement. And bad judgement has varying levels of repercussions. Lets talk about all of our bad judgement first. Decades of voting in politicians with feel good policies and focuses on security and government provided entitlement instead of liberty and self sustainability, GOT US HERE. Now the governments, that most think provide for us, will throw a boot on your neck and not think twice about it. Its like the suicide prevention specialist that shoots the jumper off the top of the building. Hey the guy didn't kill himself so job well done. So Jim go blame you, your kids, your dad, and your dad's dad for getting the government you deserve.
The next bad decision is called scale. When the big brother comes and shuts your business down for 30 days, YOU PUT ON YOUR BIG BOY PANTS AND ROLL HEADS. If you have enough savings, I MEAN SAVINGS, NOT PETER AND PAUL'S MONEY, actual savings, you can decide to float the company for the thirty days if you want. If you don't have the savings, YOU make that company no bigger than you and your wife again. Just like it was in the beginning. I know it sucks to have to do it, but that is the reality of being the boss. When the government says you get to have a viable business again then you scale back up. That includes your two kids. Yep, they are going to have to go get real jobs for a little while. Let them know nepotism can continue once the business has gone back to normal. If they don't like it explain the part about the government to them.
So you mad some bad decisions. Now what? What's the plan? The inflation factor is real. Obviously hunts that were $20k in 2020 are going to be $25K in 2023 easily. I don't believe it is unreasonable to ask for another payment to cover the difference. BUT YOU HAVE TO GIVE THE CUSTOMERS A CHOICE. The choice is you give them all of their money back if they don't want to pay the difference. Have you been put in a bad position because of Covid, AND YOUR BAD DECISIONS??? You bet. Have they been put in a bad position because of Covid and maybe even your bad decisions??? You bet. In the beginning you offered them a hunt at a specific time for a specific price. The time changed so it is not unreasonable for the money to change. IT IS GROSSLY UNREASONABLE TO ASSUME THE CLIENT SHOULD RECIEVE NOTHING.
If you can not cover the costs of the people whom you have provided no hunting service to then your business has failed and regretfully you should not continue in business.
Taking people's money with a future expectation of service or product, and no service, or product is ever given after the payment is complete, IS EITHER THEFT OR FRAUD. If your business model is to take money from one person to provide services promised to another previous person, whose money is already spent then you are committing a form of theft called a ponzi scheme. I don't know about Canada but here in America you will be prosecuted for that.
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