Sounds kind of cheesy, but it’s true. When it comes to adding new outfitters to the Outdoor Solutions line up, we do it for you, the client, to ensure that you are getting the experience you are expecting. We admit our inspection trips and checking out new destinations is the fun part of our job but we take it seriously and believe it has been the key to our success. Here is a brief summary of what our inspections entail.
Identify Your Needs
One of the things the Outdoor Solutions team does NOT do, is add additional outfitters just to add them. We add our new outfitters as the demand from you, our customer, dictates. We take a different approach from other booking services and intentionally keep our database of outfitters manageable and personable. By not adding hundreds and hundreds of outfitters that we know very little about, we are able to maintain a personal relationship with all of our outfitters, instead of just a list of places to send clients. These personal relationships benefit everyone. We know exactly who we are sending our clients to, and our outfitters know they can expect a well prepared client and the client has no surprises during or after the trip.
How We Find Our Outfitters
We do not just find outfitters at a trade show and then start sending our clients there; that would pretty much defeat the purpose of our service. With that being said, we have found some of our best outfitters at tradeshows. In fact, some of them have been with us for nearly 15 years. We have found outfitters online via forums and websites, outdoor publications and even from our current outfitters. By far, the majority of our outfitters come to us by way of referral or a high recommendation from industry friends or even clients that have hunted with a specific outfitter.
What We Look For
No matter how we find our outfitters our process is always the same. As previously mentioned there has to be a need or a demand from you, our client. Next, either in person (generally a trade show) or over the phone we have general questions we ask, review their website if they have one and determine if an onsite visit is warranted. We then set a date to visit their property and hunt/fish for an in-season species they offer. Yea, this is the fun part, and it’s hard to get people to understand that it is still work. It just happens to be work that we love!
Our main goal of the inspection trips is to make sure the outfitter is exactly what they say they are. If they market themselves as a five-star facility, we want to make sure that it is
truly a five-star experience for our clients. If it’s a backcountry, pack-in hunt, we look for condition of gear, guides’ knowledge of the area, quality and quantity of game for the area, toughness of terrain, quality of food, and much more. We want to experience everything you would experience so we can not only pass it along to you, but help determine if that specific outfitter is even a good fit for you.
What This Means For You
These inspection trips along with our consultation with our clients give us the ability to customize our recommendations for you. We feel the inspections are just one of the things that set Outdoor Solutions apart from other services. We pride ourselves on our customer service, which is apparent by the number of clients that rebook year after year with our team. We don’t just sell you a hunt and then leave you to fend for yourself; in fact our service is quite the opposite. Our other services that clients have mentioned they really appreciate include…
• Help with proper licenses and tags
• Driving directions and contact information for the outfitter you are hunting with.
• Arrangements for airport pick up at your outfitters destination (If offered by outfitter)
• Detailed “What to expect” sheet that will offer a day-by-day overview of what to expect on your trip, including average temperatures for the time of year you are hunting/fishing, how to get there, detailed gear list with proven gear from our partners that we personally use ourselves in the field (Most of the time at discounted rates) and even sample menus of what will be prepared while in camp. A phone call seven to 10 days prior to your trip to make sure you have everything you need and answer any last-minute questions you might have.• Follow-up phone call and email after every trip to hear all the details and hopefully about the one that did not get away. We want to hear your feedback about what you liked and if anything could have been better.
What Our Outfitters Say About Us
“I have been working with the Team at Outdoor solutions for many years now and have enjoyed a very effective and professional relationship. Always prompt with replies and ” Solutions” should any arise , they have saved me countless days, if not weeks, during the year booking hunters and covering correspondence with clientele in my absence, which is a lot due to other activities and obligations. Being in the outfitting business over 40 years teaches you a lot about people. The people at Outdoor Solutions are some of the best and I would recommend their services to everyone – hunters and outfitters alike!”
Colorado Buck ~ New Mexico
“We just can’t say enough good about our partners at Outdoor Solutions. It’s not everyday you become really good friends with a customer or vendor, but that is what happened with TCO and Deborah, Greg, and Lindsey. This has only been possible because the three of them are the most trustworthy, honest and genuine people you will ever meet. They do what the say they will do and follow up with all customers each and every hunt. There is no detail missing. We have been working with Greg and his team for the last six-plus years and I can honestly say we have never had an issue. I have been associated with other “booking agents” in the past and one of the key factors with OSC, is that they will stand behind and support their outfitters.
Charles Coker~ Texas
