game cutter beware

[stixnstones]

my buddy and i were able to cash in our leh cow/calf elk draws in september.We decided to take our meat to cliff just outside of kimberly on hwy93? That was the biggest mistake! i tried to make arrangements with him on sending it down.We tried even waiting to c if another person was coming this way. I phoned him up about three weeks ago to get it shipped by greyhound to the coast. He then told me that he had given away our meat away to the food bank without our consent. He said the season was over.There was two weeks of bow season still i think left. I dont care if it was over or not i wanted our meat. Glad to help the foodbank with our donation of 210 pounds of meat.Has this happened to anyone else before?:evil:

[mikek blacktail]

sad to here he should have gave you a warning .

[bighornbob]

Just a question here to get clarification. If your draws were in Sept, so say you brought it to him on Sept. 30 and you called him say the end of November. That is about 2 months that he has your stuff. Dont you think that is a long time for him to be holding your stuff? The way you have written it, it sounds like you were waiting to find a way to get the meat to you. That is not the butchers fault. If you did not come to some sort of agreement on how the meat would be picked up/shipped, thats your fault. Butchers cut meat, they are not shippers. I am sure he has some policy that meat must be picked up in a certain amount of time. I know a few butchers that dont have the room and will only keep meat a week once they have called you.

If you had an agreement that he would ship to you or hold it until you found something that is understandable and I would also be pissed. But I would also not leave my meat at the butchers for close to 2 months either regardless if he said he would hold it for me.

BHB

[Gun Dog]

Around here they're so busy they don't have room to store meat. Once the meat is cut and frozen it's out of there. Still sucks. On the other hand, you probably haven't paid your cutter either.

[BIGHUNTERFISH]

I have to agree with Bighornbob,there are always two sides to every story,but to come onto a forum like this and publicly trash this mans buisness is not a good practice.This man may have spent years building his buisness and should be able to defend his actions with his side of the story.I feel sorry that you lost your meat but reading between the lines it was not clear how the meat was going to get shipped to you.

[eastkoot]

Ever heard of cooling the meat for a few days in someones locker and taking it home to get it cut.. Your fault if I'm reading it right..

[3kills]

i have to agree with everyone on here...i m a meat cutter i dont run my own shop as of yet but i know whats its all like cuz when i was at school we custom cut for people all the time and u dont have much room in ur freezers...but one thing i will say is...did he call u and tell u its done? did he give u a time to pick it up by? did he call and say come get it or its gone? if he didnt do those things then ya he is in the wrong but so are u for not pickin up ur meat its a pain in the ass when u have to wait months for some one to come get there stuff when u got stuff backin up in the freezer....

[StoneChaser]

So let me get this straight.... 2 months your meat sat in his freezer (likely not paid for) and you only called him a few weeks ago, and now you're pissed?

Look at it from his point... time passes, the meats in the way, no contact from the hunter....may as well give it to those that will appreciate it.

Your fault... end of story!

StoneChaser

[stixnstones]

he said he would hold it til we figured out on how we could get it sent out.he was supposed to get it all figured out.how much?who ?when it will be sent? and get back to me.this was our agreement.

[bighornbob]

I dont see why it took so long to figure out the shipping. Load the frozen meat into a styro cooler, take to Greyhound and ship collect. We send meat all the time to relatives that way, never a problem with it melting or coming close to dethawing.

I am just speculating but the way you wrote it sounds like you were trying to find a cheap way to get the meat to your place Quote "We tried even waiting to c if another person was coming this way" Why didn't you just tell the butcher to ship it?

BHB

[Fisher-Dude]

My game meat is too precious to me to leave it sitting for 2 months. When it wasn't on its way to me in 2 weeks I would have got on the phone and arranged the whole thing myself. Or better yet I would follow Eastkoot's advice and bring it to my home town after hanging it for a few days in the cooler. Your fault, buddy got tired of tripping over the damned stuff.

[~T-BONE~]

Sorry there guy! But in my years as a butcher I've seen this happen many of times wether the customer has paid or not.. Ultimatly it is up to you to find arrangments to pickup your product! You can not expect the buthcher to do this for you unless u had made prior arrangements. The butcher also is more than likey swamped this time of year and needs to make room for customers! The butcher really does not make that much on cutting alone, therefore they can't be bothered with the extra hassle.

[Kechika]

Sounds to me like someone should of done a little better planning

[elkguide]

being from Kimberley I know Cliff, I agree He had no choice in the matter...should have retreived your meat quicker

[BCLongshot]

Sorry brother

You should have this all figured out before you even go up there, that's what we did.

You can't leave it there that long regardless.

[tuchodi]

I would have been on the phone to get my meat home ASAP as that is what I hunt for. "T-Bone" you said the butchers dont make much on cutting but I disagree at $1.00 a pound which is what we had to pay this year to cut up a couple of elk cost us $700.00 and I know he could do that in about 6 hours or less. I wish I made that much per hour. I normally do all my cutting myself but circumstances made us get it done commercially. I still have no problem with paying that it is part of the hunt.

[~T-BONE~]

I would have been on the phone to get my meat home ASAP as that is what I hunt for. "T-Bone" you said the butchers dont make much on cutting but I disagree at $1.00 a pound which is what we had to pay this year to cut up a couple of elk cost us $700.00 and I know he could do that in about 6 hours or less. I wish I made that much per hour. I normally do all my cutting myself but circumstances made us get it done commercially. I still have no problem with paying that it is part of the hunt.

Game cutting is seasonal. Kinda like farmers only makin hay when the sun shines! I don't know where you took your stuff but generally (locally) it is about $0.49lb. (without making sausage) I can see it being that much in an area like Dease lk. because of the demand! Not too mention the cost of using a locker just to hang. (people with money will pay!) Tuchodi what do butchers do between X-mas and easter? Besides making a little sausage that they don't get done in the fall if they don't send it away.. Most of all the butchering is done in the fall! Domestic and game!

[sawmill]

I know Cliff well,I`ve taken meat to him before he is a damn good butcher and damned honest man.I live here ,I know him.From Sept.on he is up to his asshole in alligaters,same as all the butchers here,the harvest in this area is incredible!He has wrapped and frozen and shipped meat a thousand times to every where you can think of,including the U.K and Germany.How dare you slander him for giving you free storage while you screwed around for TWO MONTHS .Ever heard of Greyhound or Loomis?
I`m real pissed with you.:mad:

[Will]

How dare you slander him for giving you free storage while you screwed around for TWO MONTHS .Ever heard of Greyhound or Loomis?
That's kinda what I thought when I read this Post :|

[oldtimer]

I don't know the butcher but I agree 100 % with Sawmill .
Why would you leave that valuable a commodity for that long ?? Better planning young fella is all I can say. Mike

[puppychow]

Michaellw, it is your responsibility to retrieve you meat. I don't know Cliff, but he sounds like a great guy. But let me play the devil's advocate, my butcher in Honeymoon Bay calls me as soon as my meat is done. Similar to my mechanic when I get my truck repaired. However, there are two sides to the story, waiting 6 weeks before making arrangements to retrieve your meet is a bit much. In concillation, your meat went to a good cause. Next time, have your meat frozen for a couple of days and have it butchered locally.

[Byson]

I agree there is 2 sides to the story, Space is the big factor with meet cutters. hanging your game in a cooler till your ready to come home getting it cut near home. greyhound i would never send my meat through them. Killing an animal is easy knowing what to do next is the key to good meat buy a video on field dressing a animal and use game bags i have watched lots of videos and can debone my Animals right where they die bring them home and cut it up

[tuchodi]

T-BONE I don't disagree with you it being seasonal last year they were charging $1.00 in Ft Nelson and this year it was the same in Ft St John were we took our elk. Yes there is some who charge less up in that area but they are not full time butchar's and those cheaper ones up there are not as well equipped or as clean. Yes it was our choice to take it to a good clean butchar as that is just a small price to pay in the bigger sceam of things. "The butchar that did ours goes on a holiday between Christmas and easter because he made so much money off us". I still stick up for Cliff as it is our responsibility as hunters to look after "our meat".

[mrdoog]

Sigh.
I'm guessing someone was given a quote, couldn't afford it at the time.
My Dad was ran a private business, he told me it always better to approach a business owner and be honest.
Most small businesses don't want to swallow a loss. My Dad was open to payment plans.
If you can't afford to have your game cut up, learn to do it yourself.

[mainland hunter]

space is a big thing with most butchers during hunting season im sure, however it sounds like the butcher had said he would make arrangments for shipping it, he should have at least notified him before giving the meat away. take it as a lessoned learned i guess

[johnes50]

Most service businesses give you 30 days to pick up your chainsaw, lawnmower, whatever. After that they OWN it. Read the fine print.

He did you a favor holding it for two months. Especially after using up his very valuable freezer space during hunting season.

No offence, but you've just been educated on how the butcher business works. Lesson learned, I assume. John

[Nails]

Interesting post by all, Micheallw don't beat yourself or get too worked up from the post, take it as learning curve and stay with it. Glad to have you on the site.

[stixnstones]

he said he could find someone to bring it down .

[sawmill]

he said he could find someone to bring it down .
I`m sure he did,trying to make a customer happy and for that I`ll personally give him shit.BUT a butcher is not a taxidermist that you wait on for an extended period of time to get your trophy back from.If Cliff said he would get it to you for free then he was talking outa his ass ,I`m thinking that he figured if another hunter was going to your area they could take your meat with them and deliver it,and that IS horseshit.I would never entrust a clients product to a stranger for delivery,thats just so wrong on so many different levels.They could walk off with your meat and who`s the wiser?I apoligise for being so harsh earlier but it really is up to you to follow up and pay whatever it costs to get the meat home.After all,you had enough money to get all the way over here to hunt.....factor in the cost of getting the prize home next time.
By the way,I have my own bandsaw and grinder and if you are here next fall I will personally cut your game for free if you help me wrap and drink many beers and talk hunting stories:lol: Joe.

[Bow Walker]

he said he would hold it til we figured out on how we could get it sent out.he was supposed to get it all figured out.how much?who ?when it will be sent? and get back to me.this was our agreement.
Get real here!:mad: :mad:

It's your meat not his! It's your responsibility not his! You worked hard to get it in the first place! You spent a bunch of $$$ to go out and get the meat! Take care of it yourself - don't let others do your work for you!

BTW, I agree with Todd (Nails)....get over it and welcome to the site. It's just too bad about this unfortunate incident.

[sawmill]

Ease up guys.As I said,next time you are over this way,look me up.I`m gonna eat all the T-Bones though:)

[3kills]

T-BONE I don't disagree with you it being seasonal last year they were charging $1.00 in Ft Nelson and this year it was the same in Ft St John were we took our elk. Yes there is some who charge less up in that area but they are not full time butchar's and those cheaper ones up there are not as well equipped or as clean. Yes it was our choice to take it to a good clean butchar as that is just a small price to pay in the bigger sceam of things. "The butchar that did ours goes on a holiday between Christmas and easter because he made so much money off us". I still stick up for Cliff as it is our responsibility as hunters to look after "our meat".

u also gotta factor in the cost of running the bussiness..it really isnt that cheap to do...i agree chargin $1.00 a pound is high and those guys up north are makin more profit then the guys that are charging between .40 and .50 cents a pound....

[Jetboater]

Dont forget the cost of living up north is going up pretty quickly and these boys can get on the oil rig business for a lot more money than they make cuttin meat.
No Butcher makes 100K a year where as a lot of the kids welding do. you hjave the choice to pay it or not.

his year I helped a freind who is a butcher in FSJ and he turned away more meat than you could imagine. he was backed up by 2 weeks easily.
you bring the meat in and you pick it back up...

[tuchodi]

blacktail3113: I have a good friend (also a butchar in FSJ) his name is Terry. Do you mine me asking who you know as I mite also know him as I used to live there for many years.

[GoatGuy]

Butcher's can charge whatever they want - that's part and parcel of running a business where demand exceeds supply. Sometime's you've either gotta pay the piper or do it yourself!

[stixnstones]

will take u up on the offer sawmill thank u