# Processing problem/question



## deadend (Dec 29, 2006)

I have a situation that I don't know how to handle.  We called a processor that is mentioned on this forum about making some wild pork into sausage.  We had less than 100 pounds of 90% deboned meat.  We asked for a price for grinding it into sausage and were quoted $75 flat.  When we were supposed to pick the meat up we were told that the price was now $300.

I have had sausage made before from live and dead whole hogs and it was less than $75 from other processors in the metro area so I thought the original price was a touch high but no big deal-everybody has to make a living.  However, I can buy Jimmy Dean from Kroger for $3.00 a lb so I can't see paying $3 to have my own meat made into sausage.  At this point we have no meat and my $70 cooler is still at the facility.  I plan to try to retrieve it tomorrow.

We were told that the price we were quoted would not be honored-flat out.  This is the exact story with no untruths or exaggerations.  Any suggestions about how to handle this?


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## Arrow3 (Dec 29, 2006)

I would also go get my cooler and insist that he honors the price he quoted...If he won't give you your cooler back, call the police and have them present when you go back to get your cooler...


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## deadend (Dec 29, 2006)

I will never do business with them again.  The meat is written off at this point.  However, I am out the perceived value of the meat and time and the whole hunting trip for that matter.  I can foresee getting the local sheriff involved if the cooler retrieval becomes a problem.  We have purposely waited much longer than we should have due to ill tempers and I'm trying to figure a peaceful resolution to this matter.


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## DS7418 (Dec 29, 2006)

I think you need to share the processor's name...
Either PM it to all of us,, or,, post that bad boy here on the "world-wide-web"...
 I think most of us hunters on GON would honor you decision to NOT do buissness with this place.
Thanks
Dewayne


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## deadend (Dec 29, 2006)

DS7418 said:


> I think you need to share the processor's name...
> Either PM it to all of us,, or,, post that bad boy here on the "world-wide-web"...
> I think most of us hunters on GON would honor you decision to NOT do buissness with this place.
> Thanks
> Dewayne



I would love to do just that but I will wait until after I have a face to face with the owner out of the kindness of my heart.  I would have paid double the original price just to have the meat but no offers were extended over the phone.

I take great pains to utilize every animal I take and the waste is unacceptable.  As a kid I was taught "if you kill/catch it you eat it" and I still follow that principle today.


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## bull0ne (Dec 30, 2006)

1. Go with a budy for backup for a face to face meeting with the owner........it's a lot easier for someone to be a bully over the phone.

2. Look around and/or ask for a pricing list of processing fees and compare the intended charges you have been informed of to the amount of meat you took there.

3. If all else fails tell the owner you will be calling the Better Business Bureau to have his practices looked into....

I would not give him 300 bucks though......i'd lose the cooler before i took that kind of hit on the meat.

If he tries to hold your cooler just call the law into the mess. IMO he should buckle into doing the right thing somewhere in the conversation.......


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## rshunter (Dec 30, 2006)

*Cooler*

Bottom line ...get your cooler back... If you have to call the police to do it, then do so. The cooler is your personal property and if he refuses to give it back it is a criminal matter. If he wants to argue about his services, that is a civil matter. Police dont care about civil disputes other than documenting the different side of the story for the involved parties. Its your property (cooler) if he wont give it up, take out a warrant for Theft by Conversion.


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## deadend (Dec 30, 2006)

The cooler has been retrieved from Mitch's Archery and Deer Cooler without incident.  The gentleman I spoke to refused to come to a reasonable agreement on the meat.  It is a shame.  Most matters of this sort are caused by "a failure to communicate" (a la Cool Hand Luke) and can usually be resolved with conversation on the matter.  

Using his logic and pricing scale we should have been charged $825 to make less than 100lbs of deboned meat into sausage.  The 100qt cooler had some portion of meat from each of 11 hogs killed on the trip.  He stated that he charges $75 dollars per hog flat rate.   The fellow we spoke to originally said that it would be $75 total.  If a compromise could have been made he may have even gained a repeat customer for deer processing as the shop is convenient.  The statement was made that we were never told $75 to begin with.  I know for a fact what we were told and his numbers don't add up.  

So now we are out a bunch of meat, time, and gas money.    I've had other hogs processed in this area without this much hassle and certainly not at that rate and they were hogs on the hoof or field dressed.  What gives.  Should I pursue legal action on this or just chalk it up to being screwed?

And one last thing-he left the cooler dirty and smelling like rotting pork.  Customer service at it's finest and being called a liar to boot.  I love it.


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## 60Grit (Dec 30, 2006)

deadend said:


> The cooler has been retrieved from Mitch's Archery and Deer Cooler without incident. The gentleman I spoke to refused to come to a reasonable agreement on the meat. It is a shame. Most matters of this sort are caused by "a failure to communicate" (a la Cool Hand Luke) and can usually be resolved with conversation on the matter.
> 
> Using his logic and pricing scale we should have been charged $825 to make less than 100lbs of deboned meat into sausage. The 100qt cooler had some portion of meat from each of 11 hogs killed on the trip. He stated that he charges $75 dollars per hog flat rate. The fellow we spoke to originally said that it would be $75 total. If a compromise could have been made he may have even gained a repeat customer for deer processing as the shop is convenient. The statement was made that we were never told $75 to begin with. I know for a fact what we were told and his numbers don't add up.
> 
> ...


 
Education, regardless of the institution, always comes at a cost.

Chalk it up to a good education, cut your losses and move on.
Oh yeah, spread the good news about this guy every chance you get.
Word of mouth can make or break a business.


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## killitgrillit (Dec 30, 2006)

deadend,  
 Check and see if he's liscensed to process hogs, or just doing it on the side.
 If he's not approved by the state to process hogs, I'd hate to see him get turned in. 
 I think theres a list somewhere on the state website


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## Grover Willis (Dec 31, 2006)

Mitch's Archery and Deer Cooler,115 Longview Dr., Canton, (770) 479-7004 

A name to surely remember during your processing needs!


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## DS7418 (Dec 31, 2006)

drsmileybee said:


> Mitch's Archery and Deer Cooler



ttt


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## Retired Army Guy (Dec 31, 2006)

Don't feel like your the lone ranger.  Last year "Peck's" deer cooler lost or gave away "2" of my deer.  Good thing they're out of business now.


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## FerrisBueller (Dec 31, 2006)

*Swapped Meat????*

Speaking of deer processors.........do you really think you get your deer back or do they swap it out in the processing line?   Makes me wonder when my processor always weighs the deer I bring in......


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## DS7418 (Dec 31, 2006)

I have noticed the deer i process at home, always seem to have more tenderloin in them...


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## creekrunner (Dec 31, 2006)

Another good reason to do your own.


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## deadend (Dec 31, 2006)

creekrunner said:


> Another good reason to do your own.



We were going to originally but time around the holidays is tight.


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## hunter_58 (Dec 31, 2006)

Retired Army Guy said:


> Don't feel like your the lone ranger.  Last year "Peck's" deer cooler lost or gave away "2" of my deer.  Good thing they're out of business now.



I know them very well. I hate to tell you this but, Not getting your deer back from them, was the best thing that could have happened. good luck in the future


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## merc123 (Jan 3, 2007)

Really kinda stinks.  I know the deer I got back from B&M Processing in Chatsworth, GA was excellent.  They gave it back to me in a huge garbage bag.  I must have had over 30 lbs. of meat.  It filled up half of my freezer (fridge/freezer upright).  I had them cape it for the deer mount and what they did was skin out the whole deer with head attached so I got a complete head with all skin so it'll be plenty for a shoulder mount.


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## gdaagent (Jan 3, 2007)

killitgrillit said:


> deadend,
> Check and see if he's liscensed to process hogs, or just doing it on the side.
> If he's not approved by the state to process hogs, I'd hate to see him get turned in.
> I think theres a list somewhere on the state website




I'll check with my office, the Department of Agriculture, to see if this facility is licensed to process hogs. There is a license that is required through the GDA to process wild hogs. Not just any processor can do this type of work.

If they aren't, we can make it hard on them.


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## gdaagent (Jan 4, 2007)

Oh, well. Mitch's is a licensed processor.

But I did discover some that weren't.


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## Goat (Jan 4, 2007)

Everyone going on the Pine Log Hog hunt next week should read this.


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## merc123 (Jan 4, 2007)

All those Pine Log guys (I won't be able to go) should check B&M processing in Chattsworth.  They are great and prices are competitive.  Shouldn't be too many deer in the cooler since the season is coming to a close so hanging some pigs should be easy.


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## deadend (Jan 7, 2007)

Well, we got a few more pigs this weekend.  Not enough to make up for the theft of our meat by Mitch's Archery but it softens the blow.  We'll spend tuesday doing it ourselves.

*To anyone planning on having meat processed in the future.  Be sure to get a written ticket when you drop the animal off so that you will have assurance of getting what you were promised.  Never go off of anyone's word because it may not be good.*


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## JerryC (Jan 7, 2007)

deadend,
Sorry to hear you had this experience. I have had nothing but perfect experiences with Mitch's Archery over the last few years. I have no idea what happened in your situation but it sure sounds like it was a one time deal. Sorry there was not a good outcome. -JerryC


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## Throwback (Jan 8, 2007)

You can buy a whole hog cut up pretty much how you want it for 300 bucks or about that at Clark Brothers in Roanoke, AL. 

No way would I pay that. All he was doing was grinding up what you had already cut up. He had a cheese job--easy money. 

The thing is, he'll turn around and sell that meat and get the money. 

T


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## Grover Willis (Jan 15, 2007)

That may have been his plan from the start.


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## REMINGTON710 (Jan 15, 2007)

Mitch  has been good to me everytime I have talked to him, and I am sory for what happened to you.


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## JACKED UP (Jan 16, 2007)

I dont live on that side of town, but I have some friends who do.  I will make a point to tell them not to go there.  One time is too many times for me.  Sounds like a snake in the grass.


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## Bowyer29 (Jan 16, 2007)

I am sorry you had a bad experience. I have dealt with Mitch for years and have never had anything less than excellent service and a very enjoyable experience.


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## deerbandit (Sep 7, 2007)

Sorry to hear that you had a bad experience with Mitch's. Never been anything but nice to me and friends. He has always given us quote on paper and keep his word. 

I'm not tryin to start anyhting but it is not the processors responsiblity to clean your cooler. If you put raw meat in it not in bags then you ask for what you get.


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## polaris30144 (Sep 7, 2007)

ttt


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## Allen Waters (Nov 24, 2007)

sounds to me like you had a mis understanding that makes plenty of since. the price was $75 dollars per hog, you said you had 11 hogs in an earlier post. hog or deer who expects to have sausage from 11 animals for 75 dollars


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## Scott Rogers (Nov 24, 2007)

Its still less then 100 lbs already deboned, so why would it mater if it was 1 or 5 animals????


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## knifemaker (Nov 24, 2007)

Throwback said:


> You can buy a whole hog cut up pretty much how you want it for 300 bucks or about that at Clark Brothers in Roanoke, AL.
> 
> No way would I pay that. All he was doing was grinding up what you had already cut up. He had a cheese job--easy money.
> 
> ...


Even though you're licensed to process, are you also licensed to sell wild game? I don't think so.


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## knifemaker (Nov 24, 2007)

AWBOWHUNTER said:


> sounds to me like you had a mis understanding that makes plenty of since. the price was $75 dollars per hog, you said you had 11 hogs in an earlier post. hog or deer who expects to have sausage from 11 animals for 75 dollars



100 lbs. of deboned meat from ten animals takes the same amount of time to grind as 100 lbs. of meat from one animal. I'll never go there.


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## t k (Nov 24, 2007)

Even though you're licensed to process, are you also licensed to sell wild game? I don't think so

 most of the processors we have used over the years will sell the meat if the customer doesn't pick it up for whatever reason to cover his costs.Whether it is illegal or not is a different story.


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## polaris30144 (Nov 24, 2007)

AWBOWHUNTER said:


> sounds to me like you had a mis understanding that makes plenty of since. the price was $75 dollars per hog, you said you had 11 hogs in an earlier post. hog or deer who expects to have sausage from 11 animals for 75 dollars



By your math he should have paid $825


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## Davexx1 (Nov 24, 2007)

When obtaining a verbal quote for anything be sure to have a witness and ask to be sure what you heard is what he means.  Something like;  "Did I understand correctly that you will process these 11 hogs for a total cost of $75?" 

It would be best to get an invoice made out to you with date, game animal, type of processing to be done, price, etc..

It always surprises me when something so simple turns out completely opposite than what I thought or expect.  I hate it when that happens but it is usually my own fault or my misunderstanding.

In this situation I can see where there "could have been" some confusion by one or both parties because the quote per animal was $75, but there were 11 animals involved.

Obviously we could not expect the processor to process 11 animals for the price of one.  He probably would not do 11 for the price of one if they were quartered, deboned, etc.

It is not an easy pill to swallow but just try to learn and never let yourself get caught in that kind of predicament again.  Good luck.

Dave


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## HUNTINGJUNKIE (Nov 24, 2007)

DS7418 said:


> I have noticed the deer i process at home, always seem to have more tenderloin in them...


thats why dad keeps the back straps and tenders out at home


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## deadend (Nov 25, 2007)

AWBOWHUNTER said:


> sounds to me like you had a mis understanding that makes plenty of since. the price was $75 dollars per hog, you said you had 11 hogs in an earlier post. hog or deer who expects to have sausage from 11 animals for 75 dollars



Make no mistake, there was no misunderstanding here.  We were very clear with the man on the phone before we dropped it off and when we dropped it off. He was crystal clear as well. We didn't bring 11 hogs in.  There was some portion of meat off of 11 different hogs in a 120 qt. cooler.    Less than 100lb.  He said no prob. it would be 75$ total. In addition, there would have been no way to discern how many different animals the meat came from without dna testing which I'm sure is above Mitch's head.  (I've paid less than this locally for more sausage made for the record)  When we went to pick it up the owner (who I'm guessing is Mitch) tried to pull the fast one.  He then said he'd take 300$ for it instead of 825$.  I made the observation that I can buy Jimmy Dean at Kroger for less than 3$ a lb. and was told to go to Kroger and get my meat.  I am not the only one on this board that has had this prob. with them judging by some of the e-mails I have received.  Nobody can argue for his reasoning and take his side given these facts.  Still waiting for Mitch's response but I gotta feelin' it ain't gonna happen.


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## deerbandit (Nov 25, 2007)

deadend said:


> Make no mistake, there was no misunderstanding here.  We were very clear with the man on the phone before we dropped it off and when we dropped it off. He was crystal clear as well. We didn't bring 11 hogs in.  There was some portion of meat off of 11 different hogs in a 120 qt. cooler.    Less than 100lb.  He said no prob. it would be 75$ total. In addition, there would have been no way to discern how many different animals the meat came from without dna testing which I'm sure is above Mitch's head.  (I've paid less than this locally for more sausage made for the record)  When we went to pick it up the owner (who I'm guessing is Mitch) tried to pull the fast one.  He then said he'd take 300$ for it instead of 825$.  I made the observation that I can buy Jimmy Dean at Kroger for less than 3$ a lb. and was told to go to Kroger and get my meat.  I am not the only one on this board that has had this prob. with them judging by some of the e-mails I have received.  Nobody can argue for his reasoning and take his side given these facts.  Still waiting for Mitch's response but I gotta feelin' it ain't gonna happen.




Can you tell me where you get it done locally thats licensed? I live in Marietta.


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## deadend (Nov 25, 2007)

Troup Farms in Dallas.  He was out of service for lung cancer for a while but I think he is up and running now last I heard.  Always great service and top notch product.


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## Acrey (Nov 25, 2007)

There is no way that it should cost 300 bucks for 100 lbs of deboned meat, he has a flat rate of 75 per hog and he wants to charge you the samething as some one who just guts it and drops it off. That is rediculous, I under stand that he has to add seasoning and grind it up but all of the foot work has been done. I hope that he looses alot of customers over this !!!!!


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## Acrey (Nov 25, 2007)

deadend said:


> Troup Farms in Dallas.  He was out of service for lung cancer for a while but I think he is up and running now last I heard.  Always great service and top notch product.



Where is he located at in dallas ?


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## Sylvan (Nov 26, 2007)

$75 a hog seems like a odd way to price prosessing. that means it's the same price for a 50 pound hog as it would be for a 500 pound hog.


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## BrewMonkey (Nov 26, 2007)

That story is a real bummer. As for processors in general, the last time I went to one for deer was about 5 years ago in Matt, GA. I took about 25lbs of deboned deer meat in to get summer sausage made for a New Year's Day party we have every year. I picked it up and tried it as soon as I got home - first bite was good, then bite after bite I had small bits of bone. I went back to the processor and he said that he doesn't just use my deer meat to make it, he uses several people's meat. No "sorry", no rebate, no nothin. I think most processors use several deer when processing, not just yours. That's the last time I'll EVER use a processor. I do my own now. I know where MY meat has been and how it was cared for. I don't trust the others when it comes to meat. Besides, it's more fun to do your own. I just made 18lbs of hot Italian  that came out great.


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## Jranger (Nov 26, 2007)

DS7418 said:


> I have noticed the deer i process at home, always seem to have more tenderloin in them...



Meat cutters won't put taper pieces with your full loins. Those trimmings are used for cube or ground meat. I have skinned thousands of animals, and watched thousands being processed. From my experience (can't speak for all processors) you get your meat back, and usually less than what most people expect to receive.
I recommend everyone quarter their own animals, that way they can have the loins the way they like them (always the biggest complaint), plus the cost of processing is nearly cut in half.


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## Jranger (Nov 26, 2007)

Acrey said:


> Where is he located at in dallas ?



Dallas Acworth Hwy  381 just down and across from the Paulding Library. Big church at the entrance to the road for Troup Farms. He is RED meat certified, but I would ask him about pricing up front as well. I have some extremely odd out the door prices over there over the years. Some deer were over 100.00  and they weighed less than 75 lbs. He does good work just be sure to agree on a price when you drop it off and get it in writing.


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## jody7818 (Nov 27, 2007)

Davexx1 said:


> It would be best to get an invoice made out to you with date, game animal, type of processing to be done, price, etc..



Best advice I've heard so far in this situation.    

Sounds like this Mitch fellow didn't like the fact he was getting deboned meat from several hogs.  If he's charging a flat fee per hog and you show him meat that was deboned from several hogs, then he's probably looking at it as if you're trying to pull a fast one on him.  Heck...if ol'Mitch is charging per hog, and I got several hogs that need to be processed, I would have deboned the meat as well and ask what it would cost to simply process the meat (which sounds like what you did).  If he wanted to change the price or underquoted you, then he should have called you before he even started processing your meat.  

There's been a time or two that I've personally underquoted a job and I just had to chalk up it and live with it.  I hate shady business practices.


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## DROPPINEM (May 11, 2009)

...How about everyone buy a meat grinder and cuber and do your own.They will pay for theirselves in a season.Go to your local grocery store and talk to the butcher.He will usually let you know what days they cut what and when to come in for the fat he saved for you.You would be amazed at how good it will turn out if you just play with the mixtures of fat and seasoning.....JMHO


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