If there is any question about the passion pervading Colorado’s big game hunting community, let it be put to rest along with licensing vendor , which failed its community for the second year in a row last week.
As big game hunters hunkered over their keyboards in an effort to purchase over-the-counter (OTC) with caps and unlimited OTC licenses at 9 a.m. on July 21, they instead ran headlong into the frustrations of failure almost . Sales were initially delayed for an hour, then for two more hours before impatient hunters were eventually allowed to complete their transactions in the afternoon.
A similar situation unfolded in 2014 as the so-called Total Licensing System created by Active Network crashed under demand for leftover limited licenses, OTC with caps and unlimited OTC offered for the first time on the same day.
The back-to-back collapse elicited scathing commentary from more than a few frustrated hunters, including these choice words that made their way to the contractor and the director of Colorado Parks and Wildlife, among others:
“You owe a personal apology to all the poor district and call-center employees who had to face the hunters (taxpayers and voters) and tell them that last year’s mistake was perfectly replicated again. It is the worst use of taxpayer money to miserably fail twice in a row. It is an unconscionable bureaucracy that repeats the same mistake, and cannot figure out how to remedy the problem. The lack of professionalism and competency is simply breathtaking. You should be ashamed to draw a salary in light of such incompetence.”
A full year after CPW announced its effort to overhaul and improve the licensing system, the agency was left apologizing once again for its shortcomings and assuring clients that it has “demanded a thorough incident investigation/report from the vendor.”
The challenge for CPW officials is that Active Network has essentially cornered the market on such licensing systems as the dominant license vendor nationwide. CPW signed a contract requiring the vendor to update the now 12-year-old system more than a year ago.
Meanwhile, the loss of consumer confidence is certain to continue taking a toll on the cash-strapped state enterprise agency that relies on license sales for the brunt of its budget.
Active Network will next be put to the test Aug. 5, when leftover limited big game licenses become available for sale online starting at midnight (smart consumers might consider shopping license agencies in person or by phone beginning at 9 a.m. on Aug. 4). Should it fail, drastic measures must be taken.
“We’re going to do whatever it takes, and it’s going to take a long time and a lot of effort to build the confidence back,” CPW director Bob Broschied said last year. “Unfortunately, (Active Network is) the only game in town, and they provide these systems nationally. (The 2014 demand) was such a huge load that it started crashing the entire nationwide system. Nobody could access the system, whether you were trying to get a fishing license or a leftover tag. In this day and age, there’s no reason that should happen.”
Once sales resumed last week, demand followed, and license purchases were reportedly processed without issue. The future loss in revenue from frustrated would-be buyers is impossible to calculate, however.
Director Broschied is correct in his evaluation that the failure should never have occurred even once, and certainly not a year later. A third collapse will demand much more than an apology.
