So......How was it?? The G2G

[Merland Park]

Jennifer and I were very sorry to hear that some of you were disappointed with your experience while staying at Merland Park this past weekend. Please know that we are absolutely concerned for the safety and comfort of our guests and we try to do everything in our power to ensure your visit with us is a positive one.

 

 

 

Unfortunately, the timing was not the best as I needed to be out of town this particular weekend. I did schedule three maintenance workers to be on site throughout the weekend in case any major issues needed to be responded to. As many of you know, Merland Park stays open late in the season to cater to our avid anglers but we often run the risk of pipes freezing in the cottages, slippery and even sometimes frozen docks, unpredictable weather which can involve snow storms, high winds and treacherous water conditions which often leads to boats filling with water and incurring major damage. The staff were on site to deal with these potential hazards as well as make sure there was an ongoing supply of wood available for the fire pit, propane for the barbecues, that the fish cleaning station was thoroughly maintained, garbage cleared etc. If at some point, a customer was not attended to properly I apologize and appreciate you bringing it to my attention.

 

 

 

New dockage was added to our waterfront this year to provide seven new boats spaces. We made this effort in order to try and accommodate the growing number of boats per cottage. There used to be a limit of 2 boats per cottage but we recently removed this limit in direct response to customer feedback. Unfortunately, we sometimes run into difficulty when a two-bedroom cottage filled with six anglers, each with their own boat, take up way more space than anticipated. New fees for docking were implemented this year and yes it was an oversight on our part that our website did not reflect this change. Please note that when we refer to guaranteed docking space in our website we mean space will be made available to you – not that it is guaranteed to be free. As changes are made we appreciate your patience as we learn how to best serve you.

 

 

 

As you can appreciate, it was completely beyond our control that the water levels were at a record low this November and this affected our docking spaces significantly. We do, at times, need to respond immediately to docking issues whether this means moving a Merland Park boat without notice so that another customer can park his boat. We always appreciate constructive criticism and apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

 

 

 

As well as new dockage, there have been ongoing renovations being done to some of our older cottages. In the past 6 months, new roofs have been put on, decks painted, new flooring, new kitchen cupboards installed, new tongue & groove woodwork on the walls, new ceramic flooring as well as quite a bit of painting. As most of you can appreciate, this upkeep is an important and essential ongoing process in order to ensure our customers are comfortable.

 

 

 

Another ongoing maintenance issue we try to deal with as best we can is the battle with mice. We do live in the country and as the weather gets cold the mice make their way into warmer surroundings. Housekeeping staff are aware of the problem and are instructed to pay special attention to this when cleaning. However, sometimes the cottages are cleaned and left for two days before the next customer arrives. We now realize this is not sufficient and we will be doing a spot check just before customers check in. Again, unless these concerns are brought to our attention how can we make the necessary changes?

 

 

 

As far as pricing for cottages, the OFC group were all charged our regular weekend rates. There was absolutely no differentiating between customers. On that note, there is a group staying with us who have booked their cottages for 5 – 6 months as they do construction work in town. They were quoted a lower rate because of the length of their stay and because they are staying with us in the low-season. If one of our OFC guests heard that rate quoted they may have been mislead. Other than that, we always strive to treat our customers fairly and make every effort to ensure their stay with us is a pleasant one.

 

 

 

We do take notice of this kind of negative feedback and try to respond immediately. As a rule, we get complimentary feedback, thank you letters and email from customers across Canada and the United States who have come to stay with us at Merland Park. We are a work in progress and we will take this feedback seriously and make any necessary changes to continue to provide our customers with the excellent service they deserve.

 

 

 

 

 

Sincerely,

 

 

 

 

 

Kevin Lavers

[lew]

I wasn't there this year Kevin, but it's good of you to come aboard and answer some of the questions that have been posted..

[Joey]

Yes, I appreciate your feedback Kevin. It shows you care.

 

Can you elaborate on the booking of a cabin and then the cabin not being available due to one of you "not writing it down." I appreciate the compromise you worked out for us, but what if another cabin had not been available? My holidays would have been of to a very bad start.

 

Thanks

 

Joey

[Gerritt]

I too would like to know what would have happened had I not called to confirm, noone went out of their way to call me after you saw the mistake (ileft all my contact info including my CC #). PS... I was the one that was organizing this Get Together and I was the one that got screwed..When I asked your wife about the charges for docking and I felt as though perhaps a break should have been given due to the mistake you made earlier with my reservation, I was informed we have to infact pay for both our boats.. She couldn't of cared less

 

Do cottages not come with 1 free slip anymore? why did we have to pay 40.00 then? for the two boats?

 

I would also like to know why you think it was appropriate for your wife to tell someone move my boat without first consulting me. If something had of happened to my boat I assure you, you would be liable. Luckly I noticed it was moved before it was damaged (it was tired to the very corner of the end dock and was on a 45 degree angle to the corner of the dock.

 

Why was noone at the docks with a map of the docks to ensure docking went smoothly

 

I do appreciate the reply you made here.. but i fail to understand how so many feel as though they have been wronged by your place of business, the problems run alot deeper then just this weekend as is evident from the posts on this thread.

 

Gerritt.

Edited November 21, 2007 by Gerritt

[irishfield]

You also lose half a day moving venues Joey and that ain't right when you're on a short fishin trip.

 

As for the "Chocolate sprinkles"...I did advise the maintenance man that the cleaning staff may need to look a tad harder next time. There was no delay between guests to cause this mouse mess...we had to wait to move in (which was fine as we arrived at noon) as our cottage still needed cleaning for us, so we went out fishing and moved in when we came back. Nothing worse than having a nice steak dinner all cooked up and then reach in the drawer for utensils to find them covered in s... !

 

All in all Kevin... it's a great spot to fish the BOQ from. I think the biggest issue that caused nerves to frazzle was reserved dockage. We only had one boat for our cottage, but no way I was going to get caught having to pull it out like last year... so I asked for a reserved spot. Not right that one cottage may have 4 boats and the cottage with only one boat has to pull at the end of a day in the dark! Our group had spots reserved/paid for only to come back and find your other (non-OFC) guests had taken them and knew nothing about reserved spots. Nor did your parents or your maintenance staff for that matter (we don't do that was the response). As matter of fact they thought it was a joke that we wanted to have them advise Jennifer that we'd switched spots for my 2150 baron as no way it was going in 6" of water in the dock closest to shore. "Who cares..just put it somewhere". The tempers really flared on Saturday night when your guest with the 2025 blew a gasket when Tracker tried to put his Starcraft in his (Trackers reserved) spot..and tied to the 2025 temporarily until he could find the guy and straighten it out. In this mess Gerritt's boat got moved by someone else. Nobody should be powering up and moving another guests boat.. period.

 

I'd never totally rule out a return to Merland Park. I've lived thru the in-laws having a campground and all the work that entailed for me...and know very well it's always a work in progress. Step one for you on the next sunny day...get some non-slip tape on those docks...or throw a bucket of paint and a pail of sand right afterwards! Next...gets some stones and fill in that "trough" beside the cement ramp...where my tires went..... cutting the inner side walls.

 

 

BTW...did you ever figure out what happened to the Princecraft's windshield?

 

Weird that the BOQ is so low...when the VHF radio is reporting Lake O above datum !

Edited November 21, 2007 by irishfield

[Gerritt]

My last post on this subject as I feel I am just flogging a dead horse here,

 

I should also add it was my truck that was damaged when it slide down the dock..as I was stepping out of the truck. luckily I was quick and was not injured, nor was my truck visually.. however something is out on the door now, and not shutting properly, I have mechanics in my family so no real worries there.. but someone NEEDS to be there to maintain that ramp. Things could have been alot worse.

 

Thankfully I had 3 guys on the dock screaming at me to get out of the way!

 

Gerritt.

[misfish]

Even though I wasnt there and probly would be peeved like many of you,I give Kevin full credit for coming on board to hopefully clear things and hope to make your next stay more enjoyable.Maybe even a free cabin or two to make amends?????????????

Just my 2 cents

Edited November 21, 2007 by misfish

[brifishrgy]

I give Kevin full credit for coming on board to hopefully clear things and hope to make your next stay more enjoyable.Maybe even a free cabin or two to make amends?????????????

Just my 2 cents

 

 

If you realized alot of people were peeved and it was gonna cost you money you would come here and say anything you could to change their minds .. as far as the free room friends of mine wanted me to go back and I said no way .. they offered to pay for the weekend and I still refused .. a free weekend away when you aint havin a good time just aint worth it

[Corey]

yep yep... A little work on the ramp, some non-skid tape on the docks and getting all the staff on the same page would help Merlands right along Kevin.

 

Unfortunately the way we saw things was that we were on our own once the money got handed over. With a group of 40 people, we expected a little more service. I can understand that you were out of town, but if you had 3 employees they were pretty much transparent. We saw your wife to give her money, we saw your father or F-I-L for a few little things, other than that nobody.

 

I was a little suprised when I found out we had to pay an extra $40 for docks. I told you we needed 1 when we talked on the phone, and your email to me indicated that my total bill included a dock space. In addition, another person had written confirmation from you for my cabin for the weekend. I understand they went into another cabin, but this seems a little unorganized to me... sort of a right hand left hand thing.

 

I would suggest updating the pricing on the website as this really is false advertising. If it wasn't for the fact that I was just happy to be with friends and trying to make the best of the weekend, it would have been a heck of an argument. I definately agree with the term nickel and diming for the docks. None of that was disclosed to me via your website, our telephone conversation or your email confirmation of my cabin and the total price for it. I thought it was pretty clear when I asked how much is this all going to cost, that I wanted the total cost, not just the cabin.

 

Unfortunately I have a hard time thinking I will ever come back to Merland Park. I feel deceived and ripped off, for only having been there once. I know you will pass this all off as you still seem to fill the place up every weekend, but in time it will all catch up.

 

Corey

[Gerritt]

yep yep... A little work on the ramp, some non-skid tape on the docks and getting all the staff on the same page would help Merlands right along Kevin.

 

Unfortunately the way we saw things was that we were on our own once the money got handed over. With a group of 40 people, we expected a little more service. I can understand that you were out of town, but if you had 3 employees they were pretty much transparent. We saw your wife to give her money, we saw your father or F-I-L for a few little things, other than that nobody.

 

I was a little suprised when I found out we had to pay an extra $40 for docks. I told you we needed 1 when we talked on the phone, and your email to me indicated that my total bill included a dock space. In addition, another person had written confirmation from you for my cabin for the weekend. I understand they went into another cabin, but this seems a little unorganized to me... sort of a right hand left hand thing.

 

I would suggest updating the pricing on the website as this really is false advertising. If it wasn't for the fact that I was just happy to be with friends and trying to make the best of the weekend, it would have been a heck of an argument. I definately agree with the term nickel and diming for the docks. None of that was disclosed to me via your website, our telephone conversation or your email confirmation of my cabin and the total price for it. I thought it was pretty clear when I asked how much is this all going to cost, that I wanted the total cost, not just the cabin.

 

Unfortunately I have a hard time thinking I will ever come back to Merland Park. I feel deceived and ripped off, for only having been there once. I know you will pass this all off as you still seem to fill the place up every weekend, but in time it will all catch up.

 

Corey

 

Agreed Corey... Word of mouth is the be best advertiser or destroyer of any business.....and 95% of us belongs to more fishing sites then this one.....

 

I know one thing unless things are made right to EVERYONE that had issues with Merlands last weekend I will actively campaign to prevent our next fall G2G from Happening there again..

 

 

I too feel cheated and lied too. I also feel Kevin's reply is nothing more then a list of excuses to keep some of our members coming back next year... as he has an answer for everything... but Zero solutions.... Besides... how can he have the answers when he was not even present? and is hearing all of this second hand, I dont think we saw his wife for more then 5 minutes the entire weekend.. how is it things were being addressed? certainly not by her or their employees.

 

G.

Edited November 21, 2007 by Gerritt

[misfish]

Holy FK ME.

I feel like Im the bad guy here. I just commented the guy came on board and tried to make amends.

 

Guess I feel the guy made an effort.

 

Im one of the nice guys.

[Gerritt]

Holy FK ME.

I feel like Im the bad guy here. I just commented the guy came on board and tried to make amends.

 

Guess I feel the guy made an effort.

 

Im one of the nice guys.

 

 

Brian, You are a great guy!... but had you had to endure what many of us did... well.. I think you may have just about snapped... to put it lightly.. Lets just say around the campfire we were not singing their praises.

 

But I dont see it as an apology.. just a list of excuses.. as is confirmed frmo people that have been their in the past.. and refused to join us this year.... now they are saying "Told you so..."

 

but you are a good guy brother.. but we all have our limit.

 

G

[Corey]

I think that if I saw reports of people being happy that the docks weren't a big slip and slide, that the prices were properly advertised and followed through on and some staffer came down to the docks/ramps during peak times I may be convinced to go back.

 

Our cabin was fairly clean, albeit the stove didn't work. The cabins might be done right with a little bit of leveling too.

 

It's unfortunate that some people feel that hunting is a priority over their business, but hey, that's just my opinion. I didn't feel that as a group of 40+, we were treated well. I already said that didn't I?

 

Either way... we have 10 months or so to decide where we are all bunking for next year. We'll see how things work out with Merlands over the next few months and we can look into other venues for us as well.

 

cd.

[Gerritt]

I forgot about the stove!! LOL! it was the least of my concerns ....

[Mike the Pike]

Yes Kevin thankyou for responding without complaints things will never improve.I think all cottages should include one doc space with the cottage.Who would want to pay $1500 for one week and not include one boat slip. I am OK with an extra charge for additional doc space.Your current problem is you must come up with a system for assigned docs.Put a name on a dock space or a cabin name or a matching number for the assigned doc space.In the case of our cottage ours sleeps six people(Mikey Big Fish Cottage)so we had 3 boats and purchased 2 doc spaces and one was pulled out every evening.If a cottage sleeps six then I don't see a problem with bringing 3 boats.Your story of 6 people in one cottage with 6 boats sounds a bit unreal.Why would six guys fish alone in their boats.

 

I did not have reservation problems but I did call back during the week requesting my confirmation.Another place that must be improved is the reservations too many incidents with mix ups.The first thing your staff says when there is a mix up is did Kevin take your reservation.Well bud that does not sound good to me.In previous years I have had no problems and enjoyed the fact that you came around to see your guests.Yes you were absent.Like someone said not once did anyone from your staff come around to see if all was OK.Time to get people more involved time for employees to ask questions put on a smile be a little more welcoming. Merland Park has been lacking a friendly atmosphere for awhile now.

 

As for the launch a little bit of digging and some rock removal would compensate for the lower water levels.I nicked my prop sunday because my assigned doc space was taken from me and I paid to be in a very shallow slip that I had no choice of taking.A good dumping of gravel stone wouldn't hurt on the roads and on the same road as the launch in the past couple of years we have been walking around in mud.

 

It took one person to disrupt the whole reserved docking system.

 

Not sure I will be back next year but the time has come to improve the above mentionned sucestions.

 

Your number one priority is to come up with a system so that no one takes ones reserved boat slip.

 

Thanks for your response and hopefully things will improve.

 

[Greencoachdog]

I for one thoroughly enjoyed my stay at Merlands for the G2G!

 

Yes it was a "Cluster-Flock" of Fishermen, boats, and vehicles... but it was a grand time!

 

Fish all day and Party all night... it doesn't get any better than that!!!

 

I dealt with the office a little during my stay, and yes... found them expensive, but wasn't surprised. They're in the tourism business and have to capitalize on peak times of the year. Just try to rent a beach cottage, condo, or motel room down on the Gulf Coast during Memorial Day, 4th of July, or Labor Day weekends and see what happens! Or try to get a room in Gatlinburg Tenn. during the peak of the Fall Colors!

 

... but when you figure in Merlands per unit pricing, as opposed to Lakairs per head pricing (still worth every penny) they're pretty economical if you don't mind doubling or tripling up... and with the kitchen and grilling facilities it gets even cheaper. The communal accomodations add to the Party atmosphere!

 

... as far as the $10 a day docking fee, I think I'd pay $20 a day not to have to launch and trailer my boat every day in that cluster-flock!!!

... btw, I rented a boat on Saturday (Merland days only have 12 hrs. in them... not surprised) and sure do hope I wasn't the one that screwed up all the docking arrangements for MTP and co.

 

... frost on the docks...you were born in Canada, you were raised in Canada, you've lived your whole life in Canada. There is frost on outdoor surfaces in Canada in November... get used to it, be prepared for it!

If an old Geezer like Wanyne can make it to the boat without breaking a hip... the young bucks like us shouldn't have any problem at all.

[irishfield]

LOL Glen.. but the ramp did cost me two Goodyear Marathon Radials to double my weekend costs PDQ!

[SlowPoke]

I have to take some or all of the blame for the docking fiasco. I was in Gerritt's spot that night and had gone into town to get gas when the poop hit the fan.

-Brian

[Steve]

For those looking for an alternative place to stay this winter, or even next winter, check out:

 

Perfect Vue.

 

I am staying there this December for 11 nights. Their price for 11 nights is almost HALF of what Merlands charges for a WEEK!

 

a little FYI for those who feel there aren't many other choices when it comes to december up there, and Sportsman Motel is closed, and TIp of the bay is closed for good.

[fishindevil]

Hey lets all pitch in a build our own place !!!!! well we will have to give it some thought for sure,as well as i think that the weekend should be moved up at least 1 weekend maybe 2....there was lots of fish there a few weeks ago too,and at least the weather will be a little better,what does anyone think of that?????

[lew]

Hey lets all pitch in a build our own place !!!!!

 

Count me in Shawn, I just got a new compound mitre saw for my B-Day on Tuesday

 

I'll look after all the corner cuts

[irishfield]

Hey lets all pitch in a build our own place !!!!! well we will have to give it some thought for sure,as well as i think that the weekend should be moved up at least 1 weekend maybe 2....there was lots of fish there a few weeks ago too,and at least the weather will be a little better,what does anyone think of that?????

 

There was still LOTS of fish there...they just had lockjaw.

 

 

Bet the fishing next week is top notch. It was the worst week of the year for moon cycles etc during our G2G'r and I'm startin to believe that was part of it.

Edited November 22, 2007 by irishfield

[misfish]

Wayne,I have the same Etch,n,scetch at home.

[Headhunter]

Boy those Sheepies were in thick eh!

H

[Gerritt]

Boy those Sheepies were in thick eh!

H

 

 

Sheepies? I thought they were Carp!