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An Open Letter to the Saddlehunter.com Community

Vtbow said:
An Open Letter to the Saddlehunter.com Community:

First I'm going to apologize to @redsquirrel because this should probably be in the General discussion, but I didnt think enough people would pay attention to it there .... Also, I apologize to everyone for the rant.

Saddlehunters and Saddlehunter newbies-

I have not been on this site that long, but have been somewhat active and have communicated pretty regularly with some of the innovators, originators, hard-core long time hangers, and learners like myself. This has been a very inviting and supportive community. Members have given me phone numbers, I have had extensive conversations with them about saddle hunting, and gear, hunting in general; it has been great. This is not an attempt to call any specific person, or situation out. In Fact, it is to call every Saddlehunter.com member out.

Lately, I have been disapointed to see the amount of back and forth on the site between members, mostly about Tethrd gear and such. I understand we all have different opions, expectations, and personal relationships with everyone involved. My goal here is to hopefully offer a little perspective and just make people take a step back and think a little- this is not directed at anyone specific, and I am not taking sides in any way. My goal is to try to contribute to the site to help it maintain the awesome atmosphere that @red has worked so hard to develop over the years with help from many many contributors.

@g2outdoors and @Erniepower have worked hard to put together products to help fill a niche in the hunting world they ( and a lot of members) really felt needed to be filled. If I remember correctly, one of their goals was to inspire new saddle hunters and promote saddle hunting in general and provide a one-stop solution to saddle hunters. I believe they have accomplished this and come up with a product a lot of new and active saddle hunters are REALLY excited about. With this creation comes a transition for them and some of the Tetherd team. They transform from being personal ambassadors and innovators of the saddlehunter community to business owners and developers for Tetherd. They have contributed a TON to this site and the community in the form of resources, info, help, support, etc, etc, etc. They have developed personal relationships and enjoy helping and teaching. Here itself begins the problem. How does one maintain a personal presence so strong on Saddlehunter.com and still work to become a leading business in the saddle and hunting retail field? It is not and will not be easy. This is a balance they are going to have to figure out and their presence here will continue to change.

I have a pretty extensive retail, wholesale, and hands on background in the outdoor industry. With this in mind I understand much of the frustration with the current situation coming from all parties involved. I'd like to help provide some potential ideas to help people get their needs and concerns addressed- please take it for what it is worth to you, or don't, it is up to you...

So... Here we go, please read it all before you jump to any conclusions about intent.

Saddlehunter.com is not a Tethrd retail site. I think it would be helpful for everyone it people directed issues, comments directed at Tetherd, adding to orders, changing orders, tracking all that fun stuff to the correct channels. This in my opinion would be the Tetherdnation.com and the Tethrd Facebook page. If the owner of Lone wolf was on this site and we were looking for updates on our order would we PM them on saddle hunter, or would we go through there website, call customer service, etc. Same thing with smaller companies like Wild Edge, Bullman, Etc. The more places companies have to look for communications, the better a chance something goes missed. This would streamline communications and I bet customers needs would be met faster and with less headaches. I totally understand that as a customer if I send a message and don't get a response in 24-48 hours on a business day, I want to reach out to the company in a diffferent way- Call, Facebook, whatever I can. But I don't search out the owner on Facebook and send them a personal message. I think we are forgetting that on this forum, that is a pretty equal parallel to sending a PM to Greg or Ernie. Think about your work(whatever you do). Would you be psyched to come home and have 50 messages in your personal email or facebeook messages about some part you were supposed to deliver or report you were supposed to email and it didn't happen for whatever reason?

And the Flip side: It's not new saddle hunters fault that they are super excited about a product which they are hoping to fit all their needs. Heck, that was one of Tethrd's goal right? Ok. So, as easy as it is to come up with other alternatives to a commercial product in order to wait out the delay, not everyone has the means. More gear may require more time, more money, more effort, more. We are not all the same. We do not know the situations others are in. Maybe I"ve been wanting to saddle hunt for years, I've been reading this forum, this great product comes up, I sell all my stuff to afford it. I trust the company to deliver because of the personal relationships I see on this site and the backings of some of the most well-known members. I put all me money in one basket. Now what? Ut oh.... I'm frustrated. I feel betrayed. I have no money, I have no hunting stuff. Sure, I could fab something, or try to find a used saddle, but I have 2 kids, am working 2 jobs, just blew the engine in my car and need to replace all the brake lines in my truck. Man, this is a bummer- Hunting is my escape, my relaxation, and I was really excited about this. Please put yourself in others shoes before we make assumptions. Some people's reactions my seem unreasonable, but are they really given their situation?

Lastly, please think of @redsquirrel a little here. This puts him in a difficult situation as moderator(and someone with personal relationships with folks at Tetherd). He hasn't had to "Moderate" a whole lot in the past because we have moderated ourselves. Lets try to make things a little more fair on him and keep his goals with the site and the atmosphere a priority. Honestly, I believe the thread "A secret" should be locked. We should move on. People should deal with the company Tethrd directly with issues, questions related to orders, situation specific questions. Functionality, mods, how-to, reviews, etc(regardless of the product) should be welcome.

Lets get back to saddle hunting talk and having a good time! I want to be excited and get pumped for the season when I come here, not dragged down with negativity, and I"m sure most feel the same.

If you read all of this, thank you. I appreciate your time and thoughts. I'm just asking people to please take a step back for a moment. I"m not going to partake in debating, but feel free to flog me, tell me to piss off, whatever you feel based upon my long boring post. I have plenty more comments, but really just want to get back to prepping for the season, throwning some arrows, and enjoying the outdoors. Don't you?

Cheers,

-A bow hunter getting antsy for season to start.

P.S. @redsquirrel No offense will be taken if you feel this is out of line and would like to delete it.
Click to expand...
 
I think I reposted the whole thread ^^^
Sorry, I’m a new guy who’s been trolling around the form here and there for a couple of weeks.
Coming from a brand new guy, this post is great! I hope to learn some things and make some friends here. Good luck this season everybody!
 
Thanks to Vtbow. I'm another newbie saddle hunter. So new that when I made the decision to get into it, Aero Hunter was already evacuated for the fire. So, I knew whichever way I went, there would be a wait. And that's OK. I've still got the API climbing stand.

Try dealing with projects on Kickstarter or IndiGoGo! I've learned a lot of patience from backing projects on those sites. Even the ones run by good folks have issues and delays. But it's almost always worth it in the end. Because they wouldn't have those delays if they weren't trying their hardest to get a quality product out.

So, I'll piece together a Sit Drag while I wait and then I'll have a saddle for my son to use when he feels like coming out. That's a win-win for me.
 
Vtbow said:
An Open Letter to the Saddlehunter.com Community:

First I'm going to apologize to @redsquirrel because this should probably be in the General discussion, but I didnt think enough people would pay attention to it there .... Also, I apologize to everyone for the rant.

Saddlehunters and Saddlehunter newbies-

I have not been on this site that long, but have been somewhat active and have communicated pretty regularly with some of the innovators, originators, hard-core long time hangers, and learners like myself. This has been a very inviting and supportive community. Members have given me phone numbers, I have had extensive conversations with them about saddle hunting, and gear, hunting in general; it has been great. This is not an attempt to call any specific person, or situation out. In Fact, it is to call every Saddlehunter.com member out.

Lately, I have been disapointed to see the amount of back and forth on the site between members, mostly about Tethrd gear and such. I understand we all have different opions, expectations, and personal relationships with everyone involved. My goal here is to hopefully offer a little perspective and just make people take a step back and think a little- this is not directed at anyone specific, and I am not taking sides in any way. My goal is to try to contribute to the site to help it maintain the awesome atmosphere that @red has worked so hard to develop over the years with help from many many contributors.

@g2outdoors and @Erniepower have worked hard to put together products to help fill a niche in the hunting world they ( and a lot of members) really felt needed to be filled. If I remember correctly, one of their goals was to inspire new saddle hunters and promote saddle hunting in general and provide a one-stop solution to saddle hunters. I believe they have accomplished this and come up with a product a lot of new and active saddle hunters are REALLY excited about. With this creation comes a transition for them and some of the Tetherd team. They transform from being personal ambassadors and innovators of the saddlehunter community to business owners and developers for Tetherd. They have contributed a TON to this site and the community in the form of resources, info, help, support, etc, etc, etc. They have developed personal relationships and enjoy helping and teaching. Here itself begins the problem. How does one maintain a personal presence so strong on Saddlehunter.com and still work to become a leading business in the saddle and hunting retail field? It is not and will not be easy. This is a balance they are going to have to figure out and their presence here will continue to change.

I have a pretty extensive retail, wholesale, and hands on background in the outdoor industry. With this in mind I understand much of the frustration with the current situation coming from all parties involved. I'd like to help provide some potential ideas to help people get their needs and concerns addressed- please take it for what it is worth to you, or don't, it is up to you...

So... Here we go, please read it all before you jump to any conclusions about intent.

Saddlehunter.com is not a Tethrd retail site. I think it would be helpful for everyone it people directed issues, comments directed at Tetherd, adding to orders, changing orders, tracking all that fun stuff to the correct channels. This in my opinion would be the Tetherdnation.com and the Tethrd Facebook page. If the owner of Lone wolf was on this site and we were looking for updates on our order would we PM them on saddle hunter, or would we go through there website, call customer service, etc. Same thing with smaller companies like Wild Edge, Bullman, Etc. The more places companies have to look for communications, the better a chance something goes missed. This would streamline communications and I bet customers needs would be met faster and with less headaches. I totally understand that as a customer if I send a message and don't get a response in 24-48 hours on a business day, I want to reach out to the company in a diffferent way- Call, Facebook, whatever I can. But I don't search out the owner on Facebook and send them a personal message. I think we are forgetting that on this forum, that is a pretty equal parallel to sending a PM to Greg or Ernie. Think about your work(whatever you do). Would you be psyched to come home and have 50 messages in your personal email or facebeook messages about some part you were supposed to deliver or report you were supposed to email and it didn't happen for whatever reason?

And the Flip side: It's not new saddle hunters fault that they are super excited about a product which they are hoping to fit all their needs. Heck, that was one of Tethrd's goal right? Ok. So, as easy as it is to come up with other alternatives to a commercial product in order to wait out the delay, not everyone has the means. More gear may require more time, more money, more effort, more. We are not all the same. We do not know the situations others are in. Maybe I"ve been wanting to saddle hunt for years, I've been reading this forum, this great product comes up, I sell all my stuff to afford it. I trust the company to deliver because of the personal relationships I see on this site and the backings of some of the most well-known members. I put all me money in one basket. Now what? Ut oh.... I'm frustrated. I feel betrayed. I have no money, I have no hunting stuff. Sure, I could fab something, or try to find a used saddle, but I have 2 kids, am working 2 jobs, just blew the engine in my car and need to replace all the brake lines in my truck. Man, this is a bummer- Hunting is my escape, my relaxation, and I was really excited about this. Please put yourself in others shoes before we make assumptions. Some people's reactions my seem unreasonable, but are they really given their situation?

Lastly, please think of @redsquirrel a little here. This puts him in a difficult situation as moderator(and someone with personal relationships with folks at Tetherd). He hasn't had to "Moderate" a whole lot in the past because we have moderated ourselves. Lets try to make things a little more fair on him and keep his goals with the site and the atmosphere a priority. Honestly, I believe the thread "A secret" should be locked. We should move on. People should deal with the company Tethrd directly with issues, questions related to orders, situation specific questions. Functionality, mods, how-to, reviews, etc(regardless of the product) should be welcome.

Lets get back to saddle hunting talk and having a good time! I want to be excited and get pumped for the season when I come here, not dragged down with negativity, and I"m sure most feel the same.

If you read all of this, thank you. I appreciate your time and thoughts. I'm just asking people to please take a step back for a moment. I"m not going to partake in debating, but feel free to flog me, tell me to piss off, whatever you feel based upon my long boring post. I have plenty more comments, but really just want to get back to prepping for the season, throwning some arrows, and enjoying the outdoors. Don't you?

Cheers,

-A bow hunter getting antsy for season to start.

P.S. @redsquirrel No offense will be taken if you feel this is out of line and would like to delete it.
Click to expand...

bumping this thread due to recent issues - a good reminder - I really think there should be guidelines on how vendors and their customers should conduct their affairs on the forum. The vendors do us a tremendous service and should absolutely provide updates about their products, but once a transaction happens - this site should keep to honest reviews and the inevitable modification threads. Issues and concerns with a vendor need to go to the vendor. Certain threads should not have even been allowed to go on and on as they were simply no longer constructive. My .02 Happy to have us back
 
kelly.jayp said:
bumping this thread due to recent issues - a good reminder - I really think there should be guidelines on how vendors and their customers should conduct their affairs on the forum. The vendors do us a tremendous service and should absolutely provide updates about their products, but once a transaction happens - this site should keep to honest reviews and the inevitable modification threads. Issues and concerns with a vendor need to go to the vendor. Certain threads should not have even been allowed to go on and on as they were simply no longer constructive. My .02 Happy to have us back
Click to expand...
I like that suggestion Jay. You worded it very well. Thank you.
 
kelly.jayp said:
bumping this thread due to recent issues - a good reminder - I really think there should be guidelines on how vendors and their customers should conduct their affairs on the forum. The vendors do us a tremendous service and should absolutely provide updates about their products, but once a transaction happens - this site should keep to honest reviews and the inevitable modification threads. Issues and concerns with a vendor need to go to the vendor. Certain threads should not have even been allowed to go on and on as they were simply no longer constructive. My .02 Happy to have us back
Click to expand...

Very good idea.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
redsquirrel said:
It's honestly way beyond my expectations when this all started!
Click to expand...
If it wasn't for this site there would be alot less people saddle hunting because they wouldn't have the information that's provided on this site. Some of us started saddle hunting a longtime ago and we were very much on our own . It's great to see saddle hunting expand the way it has and this site has played a huge role in that happening. I'm thankful to have this site and the people that are on it. I've had some great interaction with members on here and it's thanks to one person who had a thought and made it a reality that we all have benefited from. Thanks Red
 
I have had personal interaction with many Ontario saddle hunters or potential hunters.. even one southern saddle hunter because of this forum. It is great and I would not have fine tuned my saddle hunting without it. Thanks Scott.
 
I enjoy this site a lot. It’s revolutionized the way I hunt and the gear I do it with. Meeting these guys at saddlepalooza has been great the last couple years. I enjoy all the gear mods and diy. This is the only forum I visit regularly. To see the innovation that goes on here is amazing. I appreciate everything Scott has done to help make this site what it is today.
 
For my 2 cents worth, I wouldn't even be considering trying saddle hunting without this site. I didn't even know this existed and would have to settle with carrying a 22 lb climber everywhere I went and catching every branch along the way. I haven't had to chance to try saddle hunting yet, but definitely looking forward to it! You guys rock!
 
I am often coming up with little ideas on how to modify things or make something that fills a need for me. Heck I even had a patent at one time. But when it comes to hunting I always shied away from DIY and mods.... Until I found this site. Seeing the genius and creativity of you guys and how absolutely willing people are to share ideas and offer constructive help it has given me the confidence to try **** I would have never dreamed of.

Thanks to all who make this site what it is and to @Ontariofarmer for being so outgoing and patient with my ridiculous schedule.

Sent from my LG-H831 using Tapatalk
 
A couple years ago I went through a period where I'd really got tired of hunting the way I was hunting. It just didn't seem fun to me. Sitting somewhere looking over a corn pile or feeder or even just the same stand over and over again because they were such a pain in the butt to set up, take down, and move. I also got tired of the leases that I had tried to be a part of. Too much bickering and wanted to try public land and do it on my own. If it wasn't for this place, and a lot of the guys who post here, some also making awesome videos, I don't even know that I would be bothering to deer hunt this year. Instead I'm grabbing my saddle, some new climbing gear, a recurve bow and hitting the woods. I'm so ecstatic about this coming hunting season that I can't wait. And as much as I enjoy killing deer I'm just as excited to be in the woods climbing trees and having fun again like when I was a kid. I know this site and saddle hunting in general are specifically responsible for that. I believe if there's ever a saddle Hunter Hall of Fame RedSquirrel should be the first person inducted. Thanks to this site and its members there are countless numbers of guys that are going to be introduced to saddle hunting. If it wasn't for you Red, building this site and running it, that would have never happened. And I might still be sitting out in the woods not having fun. So thank you!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk
 
Thank you for all of your kind words guys. Running this site has always been a labor of love for me. I have got to meet some great people that I now call friends and I have gotten to experience all the DIY revolutions that we have come up with. It has been a fun journey!
 
I just want to say thanks to everyone also. I’m not a person who shares a lot but this site has changed the way I think for the better.


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