Steve's Meat Market, Inc — Attraction in Arvada

I have used Steve’s for over 25 years including numerous elk, deer and pronghorn. The last few times I used Steve’s I had a very negative experience with the drop-off crew. There was always some rude attitude, condescending comments or snide remarks. I vowed to give them one more try and am sorry I did. I will never use Steve’s again. I diligently made my reservation online and arrived a few minutes early. I was greeted by a staff member who was immediately rude and seemed to be looking for a reason to turn me away. He then handed me off to the other two staff members who made numerous snide and condescending comments about me, the person with me, my truck (brand new by the way), my animal, etc. It was an uncomfortable end to a great hunt week. The person with me had never been to a processor before and explained on the drive home that it kind of ruined the whole hunting experience. He said that if you have to go through that every time you get an animal then maybe it's not worth it. I actually got two elk, so we took the other one to a local competitor. What a huge contrast. Friendly, kind and professional. I’ve used many other processors throughout the state – Elevation, Crippens, Meat Cleaver, Ted Baker, Bear Creek, and others. I’ve never had a negative experience like I have the last four times with Steve’s. I encourage others to avoid this rude enclave and know that this is not typical. Don’t let this place ruin your hunt. I know the (new?) owner reads these reviews. Unless this attitude comes from the top, I highly encourage you to either consider a wholesale staff change or make sure you’re present for EVERY drop-off. Your staff is not earning you any future business. You have a customer service crisis. Things may seem good now, but even limited competition won’t save this business if the terrible service continues (see Andy’s Meat Market in C Springs as...

I'e used Steve's twice now for the deer I just bagged as well as the one last year.

As someone else pointed out, the prices are competitive. I spent $20 more having Steve's process my deer than I would have doing it on my own and a day less of my time. For that small difference, I'd rather put some money back into a small business and the Arvada community.

If you have a serious problem with being charged a late fee, it's you that has the issue. Hunting is NOT CHEAP. Many people spend hundreds or even thousands on their hunts, yet are too cheap to spend $20 for them to house it for a day or burn an hour of PTO to go pick it up when it's ready!?! Doesn't make much sense. Sounds like stepping over a dollar to pick up a dime to me.

In my experience, the staff was nice, the reception area was clean and smelled like a meat locker should (I've worked in the food industry practically my whole life). My meat was ready when they said it would be ready and I was in and out with my meat faster than getting a coffee from Starbucks. Try that at your local mega mart!

If I have one negative comment, it is: The ground meat.

Although the steaks and roasts were great on my last deer, the ground did not taste like it came from the same animal and was much gamier in certain chubs, not all of them. I understand that grinders are not cleaned to 100% after every single deer and there is going to be some carryover from one animal to the next, there is no avoiding that. So I chalk it up to that. I will worry about it if it's prevalent in this year's deer. This is the only thing that keeps me from giving Steve's 5 stars.

Other than that, keep up the...

Products are great - had a terrible experience with picking it up. I've used Steve's for the past 10 years so feel like I'm a loyal customer and therefore also had to finally say something about the service. The guys that helped in the receiving bay were great as was the lady who took my order. However, they tell you when you HAVE TO pick up your order and weren't willing to be flexible about that at all. Additionally, their hours are totally inconvenient, only open one day on the weekends (Saturday) - during hunting season!?! Are you kidding? On top of that they are only open until 1:00 pm on Saturdays! During the week they only stay open until 5:00 pm so plan on having to take time off work to pick your stuff up. When I went in to get my order the older woman that was working the counter was extremely rude and told me that I was going to have to pay storage fees because I didn't pick my meat up when I was supposed to. I pointed out that I was only a day late and that I had attempted to get it over the weekend but that their hours made it difficult to do so. She said that she didn't care and said that "Steve needs a life too" and if I didn't like it to "go somewhere else because we have plenty of other customers". Super great customer relations right? I know that their prices are the highest around so I don't have any problem taking her advice in the future. Net/Net = good products, but plan on paying too much and being...