Can't Win

[Bill Babler]

Becky would have over a thousand 5 star reviews if I would just keep my mouth shut.   It is  a shame the way this country is, if someone can hurt you they will try as hard as they can to do so.

She got a 2 and 3 star review on all the major sites cause I would not let some A-hole push me around.

Dig this.  Last December 23rd. a guy and his wife booked for ONE NIGHT and we usually never take one nites at the lodge but she did as they seemed to be in a bind, so she said sure come on out.

Of course it was political.  Guy asked me how much money I made guiding and how much money we made at the Lodge.  "always a question."  I said we are doing fine.

At that time Trump had made a stupid tweet, as usual, and the guy mentioned it and made the statement that he needed to be impeached immediately and that democratic party and the unions had made the United States and we needed to get rid of all of the republicans.

I made the mistake of saying that I didn't totally agree with that.  He said "really."  I said my son and I both have never had great releationships with unions bearing in mind that my father was a union truck  driver, my mother was a union textile employee, my brother was a union mail carrier and my sister and her husband were in the Iron workers union.

As the very short conversation progressed under 10 minutes he asked why I had problems with unions, and I said I had problems at sports show with mishandled merchandise and untimely work being done in a timely and without breakage fashion.  My son a Chemical Engineer had problems with union workers  just not wanting to be there and costing their companies huge sums of money on his visits.  Where non-union companies did not encounter the same problems.  Right or wrong, I don't know.  At any rate 6 months after our conversation this guy is posting on multiple sites reviews that we are anti-union and that no union workers should ever go to  the lodge.

This is 6 months later, and he is posing  under assumed names cause I did not agree with his politics.  He has posted on 5 travel sites each under a different name.

I know I'm old, but I just cannot understand this.  It is almost to the point that I will have no interaction with our guests and what a shame that is.  if I don't totally agree with every opinion they have we might get a bad review. 

Rant Over.

 

[fishinwrench]

For the most part I think people take reviews with a grain of salt.  I always get torqued when someone gets upset about a business deal we had, and I'm always willing and anxious to disclose MY SIDE of the story......but nobody ever asks. 😅

Stars are for gazing at at 2:am, they serve no other purpose, and when a few go streaking across the sky and are gone forever it means nothing.   Piss on that guy and his opposing world views.    You couldn't have made him happy if you had given him lodging for free and washed his car while he slept...and good people know that.

Blow it off.  😊

[Carl W]

That’s sad that someone can’t be mature enough to realize that part of what made America great is that we are all different and we should all be allowed to have our own opinions. What a jerk.  BTW, I agree with you about the Unions. 

All that said, you are right politics just can’t be discussed especially in today’s environment. It’s too emotional with people.

[m&m]

29 minutes ago, Bill Babler said:

Becky would have over a thousand 5 star reviews if I would just keep my mouth shut.   It is  a shame the way this country is, if someone can hurt you they will try as hard as they can to do so.

She got a 2 and 3 star review on all the major sites cause I would not let some A-hole push me around.

Dig this.  Last December 23rd. a guy and his wife booked for ONE NIGHT and we usually never take one nites at the lodge but she did as they seemed to be in a bind, so she said sure come on out.

Of course it was political.  Guy asked me how much money I made guiding and how much money we made at the Lodge.  "always a question."  I said we are doing fine.

At that time Trump had made a stupid tweet, as usual, and the guy mentioned it and made the statement that he needed to be impeached immediately and that democratic party and the unions had made the United States and we needed to get rid of all of the republicans.

I made the mistake of saying that I didn't totally agree with that.  He said "really."  I said my son and I both have never had great releationships with unions bearing in mind that my father was a union truck  driver, my mother was a union textile employee, my brother was a union mail carrier and my sister and her husband were in the Iron workers union.

As the very short conversation progressed under 10 minutes he asked why I had problems with unions, and I said I had problems at sports show with mishandled merchandise and untimely work being done in a timely and without breakage fashion.  My son a Chemical Engineer had problems with union workers  just not wanting to be there and costing their companies huge sums of money on his visits.  Where non-union companies did not encounter the same problems.  Right or wrong, I don't know.  At any rate 6 months after our conversation this guy is posting on multiple sites reviews that we are anti-union and that no union workers should ever go to  the lodge.

This is 6 months later, and he is posing  under assumed names cause I did not agree with his politics.  He has posted on 5 travel sites each under a different name.

I know I'm old, but I just cannot understand this.  It is almost to the point that I will have no interaction with our guests and what a shame that is.  if I don't totally agree with every opinion they have we might get a bad review. 

Rant Over.

 

Bill, please provide the travel sites and I’ll personally post a rebuttal. Some people are just haters. 

Mike

[mixermarkb]

Bill,

Coming from a pro-union democrat, dude is way out of line. Being in the entertainment industry, I'll be the first one to admit that some of the guys you will run into loading shows in and out of the convention centers don't take anywhere near the pride in their jobs that they should.

Beyond that, healthy debate should be healthy debate. It's ok to disagree, hell, it's even good. What made this country wasn't the Democratic Party, or the Republican Party. It was people, who shared a common Big Idea, compromising and putting petty differences aside in pursuit of that greater good. 

Im sorry that guy couldn't have a rational discussion and enjoy a different opinion for what it is. It's a shame. 

[motoman]

My thoughts too m&m. Let’s counter that clowns trolling on those travel sites.

Those union folks know they’re dinosaurs going extinct. This kinda nonsense is their last ditch effort to cling to relevance. Folks at my wife’s work tried to unionize. But, the union folks intimidation and strong arm tactics did them in. Overwhelming majority of employees expressed the same disgust in their old world tactics. They’re their own worst enemies.🤦🏻‍♂️

[Jadesjigs]

Mr. Babler,

Your reputation proceeds yourself as an individual and as a business. The fact that this is bothersome to you proves how much you care about your customers. Please don't let this stop how you interact with your customers. 

I have never met you in person, nor have I been to your place. However, I've been reading your posts on here for years now.  You have proven time and again that you genuinely care for others. You unselfishly give so much Information to help fisherman like myself gain so much knowledge.   

I am blessed to have both a union and non-union job. There are definitely pros and cons to each. I support you 100% and will hopefully have an opportunity some day to stay at your place and fish with you!  Keep being who you are!

Joey Doza

 

[Bill Babler]

Appreciate it guys, and here is the deal.  I approached the show owners at St. Louis and they said if the union guys totally destroyed my equipment and my mounts there was not a thing they could do about it.  I should make sure to buy insurance.

At St. Louis you are not allowed to unload your booth or assemble it.  Mine was totally trashed and I saw the guys throwing $750.00 fish mounts to each other.  I took 15 mounts and 12 were damaged in the process and I was totally helpless to do a thing about it, as were the people that run the show without pickets and problems.

My son does extremely sensitive EPA testing as he is a Chemical Engineer/Environmental Engineer.  The non-union plants they work usually take about 2 days depending on the amount of testing and sampling they have to do.  The union plants take 5 to 7 days and cost as much at 5 times more.

He was in Oregon last year working a huge hydro power complex that used both water and coal.  Non-union.  This testing is over a Thousand an hour and they had a group of guys standing in line volunteering to assist Steve to hold cost down, everyone saying." This is our company."  Not going into name calling but he has also worked Eastern US union plants and the worker' say, "How much you going to pay me, and stick the company for the bill."

It is not up to me to say what is right and what is wrong, but in life there is a right and wrong way to do things.

After my 8 yrs. on the State Patrol I determined that I wanted to make my own living depending on no one else, and for sure not depending on anyone else to make or not make my livelyhood.  I just did not want to depend on anyone else.  Lots of people want to be taken care of.  I always figured I signed on to do a job for a certain amount of compensation and that is that.  I didn't have to do it I did it willingly.  If the guy that owns the company, borrows the money takes the risks and devotes his life to it and is willing to give me a job that I agree to, that is pretty much that.  Something changes hostalavista baby, I don't fuss about it.

Regardless my mouth got Becky in trouble.

[Bill Babler]

Thanks Mike, but that is not the way it works.  She is going to issue a rebuttal on google, facebook, twitter, bedandbreakfast.com , travelosity, and trip advisor.  He pretty much trashed her on every travel site he could find 6 months after their one nite stay.  He used a different online name on every site.

Again totally my fault.

[Lvn2Fish]

Nothing surprises me anymore. I almost hit a guy on a jet ski today who was texting 😤