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Re: Wal-Mart Hurst Store Manager, Picture Me Studio Corporate Manager & Picture Me Experience Customer Service:
Due to the my recent experience, I am highly upset and agitated in regards to the treatment I received from your representative at the Picture Me Studio located in the Wal-Mart Super center store number #5080. The behavior of the Picture Me representative, Mary, was shocking, ludicrous, incomprehensible and absolutely unacceptable. On this occasion an acceptable standard has clearly not be met. I have detailed the chain of events of this terrible experience below and expect nothing short of:
- A full and formal apology from Mary and Picture Me Portrait Studio
- A full refund of all monies paid to Picture Me Studio for the photo’s of my children
-A formal apology form Wal-mart
- An explanation of how an employee such as Mary could be allowed to interface with customers in this manner
I attempted to resolve this dilemma by contacting the corporate customer service; however I am still offended by the actions of your employee. I will be reporting this experience to the Better Business Bureau, Wal-Mart’s Regional & Corporate Offices and will seek to pursue legal action as necessary. At 11:20am on October 2, 2007, I arrived at Wal-Mart on Precinct Line Road in Hurst, Texas to pick up my photo package. I patiently waited for a couple of minutes because Mary was conducting a photo session with another patron.
Once their photo shoot was finished she completed the transaction with that patron. At that time, another man and I were still in the studio. I handed my receipt to Mary. She located my pictures and pulled up the order on the computer. She did not tell me that there was a difference in the totals on her screen verses my receipt before; I gave her my credit card. The representative just swipes my card and proceeded to speak to the male patron in the studio. When the representative handed me the credit card receipt to sign, I told her this is not my ticket because the total was different. The representative said that is my total according to her screen and that my receipt is wrong. I stated that is not the case. At that point in time, I asked for a refund. Mary stated she does not give refunds in her studio and I would have to call the customer service number on my receipt for the refund. She stated what is on her computer is my total and I would have to pay for the product received.
Mary left the counter to assist the same male patron that was standing at the counter. At that time, I called the customer service number on the receipt. I was explaining the scenario to the first customer service representative on the phone. Mary is assisting the male patron. She then, starts making rude comments about the conversation I am having on my cell phone to the customer service lady. I told her I am on the phone and that she needs to stop talking to me. She starts yelling and acting belligerent. The customer service representative asked to speak to her. I advised her I was on my cell and that she had to contact her on the business phone. The representative puts me on hold twice and attempts to call the store. When she comes back on the line, she informs me that the line is busy and asked what is the representative doing? I said she is just standing there. Then, Mary starts yelling that she is working and that I am being rude in front of other patrons. I told her to talk to the other patrons because I am on the phone and I am not speaking to her. At that time Mary completes the transaction with the male patron in the studio and he leaves. Then she directs all of her negative energy toward me. I am still on my cell speaking with the first customer service representative. The customer service representative puts me on hold again to attempt a phone call to the studio and I am disconnected from the line.
When the line was disconnected, I called the customer service line right back and was connected to Fran. I explained my situation to Fran. Fran was asking me a series of questions and whenever I commented, Mary would comment in the background as well. I tried to continue to focus on my conversation with Fran however Mary kept interjecting rude comments in the background. I am astonished because this situation is escalating over a .77 cents refund.
Fran asked to speak to Mary and I informed her that she would have to call her on the store phone. Fran puts me on hold and calls the store. While Fran is speaking with Mary, they are going over something on her computer screen. When Fran comes back on my line, she says the representative will give me a refund of $1.37. Mary states she is not going to give me a refund that Fran would have to complete that transaction. Fran puts me on hold and calls Mary back. When Fran comes back on my line, I noticed that I did not receive all of the portraits in my package. Fran asked if I could fax my receipt to her and she proceeds to give me the number. As I am writing down the fax number, Mary starts writing the number to Amy’s store on my receipt that is sitting on top of my portraits. I asked her why is she writing on my receipt. Mary starts yelling that she is trying to be nice to me. I told Mary again I was on the phone and not to speak to me. Mary becomes theatrical and starts yelling for me to get out of her studio. I asked Fran is she hears all of this because this girl is going crazy. I continued to converse with Fran on the phone to resolve this matter. Mary threatens to get security if I do not leave her studio. I am still in the studio on the phone with Fran and Mary leaves to go get security. There was no reason for Mary to get security involved in this matter since, the corporate office was attending to the issue.
When the security personnel arrived, I was still standing at the counter on the phone with Fran. Mary came back in the studio, snatched my portraits, and stated I could not take the portraits because I have not paid for them. I reminded her that she had already swiped my card. I asked Fran if she could hear all of the commotion going on because Mary was acting psychotic. Mary then started running around the studio and yelling that I had not paid for the portraits. I advised Mary that she had five seconds to hand my portraits back to me. At this point, Fran said she would send me the two pictures I was missing, a $5.00 refund check. I starting looking in the portrait package for the receipts. I put a big X on the receipt and walked out.
I can not believe a simple task; such as, picking up my portrait package escalated to this extreme ordeal. This simple task which should have only taken a couple of minutes, instead it lasted almost an hour. Mary’s dramatic actions could have landed her an Oscar if she worked in Hollywood; however, she is employed at Wal-Mart Picture Me Studio. No one should have to tolerate Mary’s irate behavior. This is not the way you are suppose to treat your customers. What happened to good old- fashioned “CUSTOMER SERVICE”? I believe Picture Me Studio owes me a formal apology for this incident. Actually after all I had encountered in the studio, I should receive a full refund for my entire purchase!
I have been a patron of Wal-Mart picture studio for the past 11 year to take portraits of my children. I have previously used this particular studio twice in the pass. After the nightmare I experienced, I will never take pictures at this location or any Wal-Mart studios again. This was a very demeaning and embarrassing experience. Never in my life have I been treated in such a manner. I will become an advocate by encouraging others not to use your studios.
Regretfully a very dissatisfied customer.
I'm guessing you probably waited until the middle of December to have your pictures taken. These things happen when people are overworked and have to cram 30 families in on one day.
So many comments, so little time.
1. For $0.77 you overreacted in the extreme.
2. For $0.77, if Mary behaved as you say, she overreacted in the extreme as well.
3. Mary is probably underpaid and overworked. She probably does not have co-workers that help her very much.
4. She probably had to skip her lunch break because the company does not allow them to turn any walk in customer away, even if they come in on her lunch hour. So Mary is probably already tired and hungry before you walk in.
5. You probably were very impatient with her while she was trying to complete the other customer's photo session, which can take up to 45 minutes or longer. Most customers are not very patient with the reality of the session times.
6. You calling customer service in front of her and another customer over a $0.77 dispute was basically the equivalent of spitting in her face. How rude.
7. Wal-Mart is not the company that owns the photography studio. The company rents space from Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is the landlord, and has no other authority over the portrait studio or its employees.
Wow. I think you and Mary both need your heads examined.
$0.77 is not worth you getting your blood pressure up so high and you trying to get Mary fired.
Do they realize there is no such thing as a Claim Session button on the website? Haha. That's my only compliant. Emporia, Kansas Walmart always does an okay job. They had a very rude manager long ago that screwed me into buying a ton of pictures for more than I could afford. BUT happy to report they have a nice girl that did my son's 4 year pictures and manages the place, her name is Jamie. Kuddos to her, thanks for a wonderful job!
Well since i used to work for picture people i have to disagree with someone else's comment on them i cried when they closed up all their studios in my area. I have used picture me several times and rarely had an issue until now. I don't know if i would of cared about .77 cents but its the matter in which it was handled that would of decided my behavior. I recently took my nephew and son to have photos, before the manager took the pictures i explained i was moving away and would need the pictures mailed to me and by a certain date as they were part of a special gift. I was assured they would be delivered on time. I called the day they were suppose to be and was told they were sent as promised. I waited 10 days with no pictures. I called the store and was told there was an error and my photos did not get mailed but this would be corrected right away. Again 10 days later no pictures. So i call again and get machines, I left a message every day for 2 weeks with no return calls. Well its been 3 weeks and still no photos. Still be promised they will be mailed to me. Call customer service and was told they would look into the situation. Gee how does this help my son who is waiting to give his 99 yr old great great grandmother a special photo for her 100th birthday? I think this will be the last time I personally use these studios.
As a PictureMe employee I want to say I'm totally shocked on how people have been treated in some of our studios. Very unprofessional to say the very least! .77 cents...If its the customers then give it to her. She has a right to complain if shes being charged unfairly or missing pictures. In a way I'm glad they do call the customer after their visit to one of our studios and ask them how things went and if they were treated great and did the studio act in professional manner? Were they offered everything possible to make their experience a pleasant one? These surveys make or break the Associate or manager involved. Surveys impact pay raises and such!
I have had customers on the other hand treat me with undo respect! Late to appt, bring sick children...sometimes raging fevers, bring friends and children to (HELP) make baby smile, Bring their cell phones, (and talk thru the whole session)or(try to take their own pictures with their phones). Bring comments like I'm not buying anything except the special so dont ask...OR come in for pictures then say OH I have to pay for these today? I thought I pay when I pick the pictures up? Hmmm Do these same people go to McDonalds order food and NOT expect to pay what they order? Sometimes they make us feel like we are the inconvience to them. I have had lots of people come in and get about an hours worth of service (They request so many poses, and you think OK I have 10 Perfect ones now, but they still want 10 more!) then tell me I cant make up my mind, can I bring my hubby in to see and help make the decision? Ok I cant twist their arms to make them order or pay but then for them to never return! RUDE! They have just wasted precious time, that I could have used for a person whom has been wanting in at a certain time but couldnt cause someone hogged the studio and then blew us off! OR they fill up our sat appt book and with no real intention to come in...a NO SHOW every Sat until they find a good day for them. Hmmm I could go on and on... For the most part I do love my job and what I do. CPI has been very fair to me and I have learned alot...I thank them for investing in me and allowing me to learn more everyday about photography.
Sometimes people have good days and Bad days but for the most part I have terrific days and love working in our studio despite the paperwork!
Signed,
A Great Photographer!
I have as well had an extremely unpleasant experience with BAD customer service with Walmart Studio's and since word of mouth goes a long ways, I intend to spread the word of my horrible experience.
This experience was my first family portrait of our family and our photographer, swore at first at the number of members that were in our family, six, I think the exact words was holy [censored] and this language is definitely not intended for appropriate use for any ages in any service industry. Then topped off with heavy sighs when I asked too many indepth questions, like the difference of backgrounds, enhancements and packages.
If you really don't like your job or dont like what you do and since you already quite know that you are not excelling in the customer service field, get a job somewhere else.
as a former employee i know all of the rude and crude things that others do, i truly loved my job until it became more about getting peoples money and less about taking AMAZING pictures. When i first started it was all about get the images that are going to last a lifetime, make those memories and now its all about you better make your profit your digital catalogs better be correct and regardless of the economy you need to rape the customer for every last penny you have and don't forget to do all of your paperwork before you leave at night. I don't recommend any of Picture Me! Portrait Studios to anyone, the company treats its employees unfairly and they do not deserve your money. I also do not recommend Sears Portraits as they are sister company's. If you look they have the exact same things just different prices. if you are needing your childrens' portraits taken look up a jc penny or Portrait Innovations THEY ARE SO MUCH BETTER!
Seriously...don't go to those terrible corporate "photography" studios...
Photography is supposed to be an art and reflect you and your families personality. They don't give the photographer time to take the pictures or be artistic at all. Or unique. All they care about are the sales.
Just go to a freelance photographer. There are sooo many. It's totally worth it.
Ok guys dont base one experience on all studios. For one i work at Picture Me Studios and i do not act like that. And 2. .77 cents is not worth all that crap. You should have just left. I mean you could have found 77 cents in the parking lot on the way to your car.
Personally I love Picture Me Studios... Especially the one in Lewisburg PA, and my favorite Photographer is Jenn. She is wonderful with kids, and great at her job. Even my two overly hyper little boys follow her instructions and she produces winning pictures everytime.
The only thin I do have a problem with is WALK INS. I make an appointment for a reason, cuz thats the time that is convenient to me. Yet when we arrive at our scheduled time, there is always a WALK IN right in front of us. Now I understand, a parent of a baby does a picture when they can, its hard to make an appointment for a baby, who knows what kind of mood they are gonna be in... but still, If I have a scheduled time, that WALK IN should not be taking up MY time. It was 30 minutes into my time when Jenn finished with the walk in, and as we were just starting our session, yet another walk in came in and asked if she was almost done...which maybe made her hurry up a little with our session. Personally, I think they should have one room for appointments and the other room for walk ins... the other room is just used for junk. Why not have another camera there and hire more people? I only ever see one person working at a time other than the holiday season, but even then, they still only have one camera room. In my opinion, WALK INS should not be allowed.
Wow, I only thought I had a negative experience until I read some of these other complaints. I think my problem was them overbooking. It wasn't so much that the lady was rude to me, it was that she was so rude to the people who made their appt after mine & didn't get to start till over 30 minutes after their appt time & some of them were on lunch break. Oh wait...yes, she was rude to me. I have a 2 year old, 8 yr old, and 12 yr old. So, she was working very hard on getting the 2 yr old to smile & by the time she would get her to smile the older ones had lost theirs...so, I simply reminded the 2 older ones to smile & the lady turned to me and said "Be Quiet Mom"...it was not in any type of joking way either. She also forgot to post my pictures online. I wouldn't say it was one of the worst experiences in the world, but it was not good either.
As far as the original comment with the .77 is concerned. If it could have been a tax issue or an issue of it being an estimate or if the receipt needed to be compared to the computer then wasn't it the trained professionals job to point any of that out to the customer & not the customers job to come up with her solutions to the problem for her? I agree there could have been a better way to handle it, but I firmly believe it was up to the professional to take charge of the situation and handle it appopriately & she did not.
I have taken my granddaughter to the Picture Me studio in the Dorman Center Wal Mart in Spartanburg, SC many times for pictures. Every time was a very pleasant experience. Natasha, the photographer was very nice, friendly, and professional. She was also patient with my granddaughter who is only 15 months old. Natasha also explained all options available. I also must say that the quality and price of the pictures are exceptional.
A happy customer
77 Cents! That is a huge problem that could have easily been avoided. I work at a PictureMe studio and also am a frequent visitor or our surrounding studios and I can promise you that 77 cents is not worth arguing over. It is very true that we are limited to our refund amounts and in many cases, are not entitled to give one at all. So she was in no way out of line by instucting you to call customer service. She never said No to your request or a refund, just instruced you to follow the proper process just the same as every other customer needing a refund. Take a look at this case from another perspective, are you the only customer an associate has to deal with on a weekly bases? No, so is it not understandable that when you (along with anywhere from 75-200 other customers) orders are placed every week, that a mistake may have been made? Are we not human too? And the other male customer in the studio, your upset about "Mary" helping him? Because for some reason you deserve her sole attention? That the other customers do not? (and you ask mary why she is writing on your reciept, she answer's, and you tell her not to talk to her because you are on the phone?) AND DO NOT EVER TRY TO MAKE IT SOUND LIKE YOU ARE BETTER THAN SOMEONE WORKING AT A PICTUREME PHOTOGRAPHY STUDIO. Walmart is nothing but a contractor to our PictureMe studios and we are just as well off as im sure you are.
For the record I do not work for this company nor do I take pictures, however I have my daughters pictures done in the Picture Me Studios often. I've never had any complaints about the staff or the pictures to be honest. We have always been treated well and professionalism is at it's best every time I have been there.
My comment is in regards to the .77 cents. Really? You want a full refund, an apology and... a free car?
Let's look at it this way, in truth I am sure you were not the graceful lady you are trying to paint yourself out to be. I am sure you got angry and was rude and obnoxious as well. I am almost positive you treated Mary with disrespect and one lacking in station compared to you. The comment about associates being trailer trash should sum up the typical customers attitude "I am better than you". Though in reality they are not, they simply live meaningless lives and the only thing they gain from their boring day to day existence is to be demeaning and rude when they feel it fitting. I do so love the" you owe me the world" attitude.
I have been in costumer service all of my working adult life and I know exactly how this works. Rude customer, but the associate should smile and be nice and understanding while the customer calls you every name in the book.
Had this situation happened to me I would of simply pulled a dollar from my pocket apologized and gave it to you so you would have happily left my studio. I mean That would of made you smile right? You just made .23 cents profit off of a mistake that " I " the associate did not make. After all that is good customer service, give them what ever they want to shut them up. Smile and agree to everything they say so when they leave they feel like they are special.
Long story short there is nothing that annoys me more than a customer that complains and is handed refunds and free merchandise only to come to a public forum threaten legal action and demand more free stuff. One small step away from con artist in my opinion.
I'm a manager of a PictureMe! Portrait studio, and I'm truely shocked by some of the responses coming from our associates and other managers! How can any of you expect a customer to take into consideration that we are having a bad day? A customer should never know that we are having a bad day, because we should never take it out on our customers. Our customers are there to have a great experiance and get photos that will be around for a lifetime, why should we burden them with our problems? It's just unprofessional, and I don't blame people for not going to your studios.
On the other hand parents, there are a few things that you should understand that may change your mind about some of our studios.
1. If pictures arrive late, it is not the associates fault most of the time. We just take the pictures, put them on the computer, and try to enhance the photos to bring out your childs personality. We do not send anything to the lab, but if we are lucky enough to find a computer glich, which is rare that we do, there are steps we take to try to get those portraits in on time. Anything other than that we don't have any control over so please do not take it out on us.
2. Customer service does not always know what they are talking about. So when you call and complain about something we did or said just look over the fine print on flyers. A few clarifications on things: We are suppose to have moniters turned toward us, not the customer, that is a COMPANY POLICY. I personally like this rule, because to many parents pay to much attention to thier photos on the tv screen and not enough attention to their wobble little one sitting on the table. That is a safety issue. Don't worry that we didn't get something good because we should know what to look for, and if you are unlucky enough to get one of those rotten photographers, I'm very sorry, but you will be able to look at those photos once we put them on the computer. If you don't like them at that time, ask your photographer to reshoot the ones you don't like. If your photographer refuses call customer support, but if your photographer is backed up with customers try to understand and reschedule if possible.
3. Different studios may have different specials, but currently I believe that if you have more than one person in the one pose package (usually the 4.99-7.99 package) that there is a $5 subject fee. It is a one time fee which would take that $5.99 package to $10.99 no matter if you have 2 people or 5.
4. We do work on "baby time" if we have you set at 12 o'clock but are still with a customer at a quarter after we are very sorry but we want to make sure to capture a special memory for that family just like we will do for yours. Just be patient and we will get to you as soon as possible, and give you the time we need to make your child happy as well.
5. Please do not bring your child in if they are sick. We as photographers are just human. We get sick too, but before symptoms may start to show we can carry viruses. As we know to stay home when we are sick, you should also know that. If you don't care about our health, I hope you care about the children that we come in contact with daily and may be getting sick. Plus, why would you want professional photos of your child with a runny nose? Save that for the snap shots.
6. Sometimes kids just don't want to deal with us. Don't get upset at them for that, and don't get upset with the photographer unless that are provoking your child to act up. Some times there are factors that we don't see, your child may not feel well, they may be hungry or tired, they may be scared to the tables that we use, or they may just be feeding of of your attitude. Kids react to their enviornment, so be understanding with them and us and whatever you do stay calm.
Hope this clears things up. The website does provide helpful tips on how to make your visit more enjoyable. Such as:
Bring light snacks like cookies or carrots, or an extra bottle.
Bring a change of clothes, babys drool and spit up, alot!
Try to avoid collars and overalls for infants, although cute, they tend to bunch up around face.
Bring a magazine for yourself and a coloring book and crayons for children just incase we are running behind a little. Please make sure your kids don't color our walls, you wouldn't want them to do that at home.
Please remember that your photographer does everything in the studio. We are photographers, comedians, clowns, sales people, cashiers, office managers, and alot of us are parents too.
Please be kind to us and we will do whatever we can to help, and if any of you doubt what I'm saying just try us out.
Trista Goode
Studio Manager
West Branch, MI
I too, am a Studio Manager at a Picture Me Portraits. I started working there when we were owned by PCA and were film, and now I am working for CPI. I agree yes that customer service is everything, but disagree that the "customer is always right". I have been in customer service for years now (even when working for prior companys). I think that it is very unfair that customers are so quick to get on here and complain that the photo session before them was taking to long. Like other Picture Me Portraits managers and associates, I let all my customers know that I work on "baby time". Every one is so quick to sit here and judge, but yet when it comes to them and there babies, you better make sure you delay the next apt to give them the time they deserve. To me you are really calling the kettle black! For those who think that we are the bottom of the ###, "white trash", I am offended, horrified and ticked off. What right does anyone have to call anyone white trash. Do you tell your trash service they are white trash, or how about your lawn service company? Better yet how about the young girl that you hire to watch your kids? You sit here and say that the person doing your pictures was rude and unprofessional, but do you ever stop to think about what that person goes through on a day to day basis? We are not only dealing with kids that are worn out, tired, hungry, but we also have kids that are sick. Parents have no regard for the employees! Sure you want those pictures of your kids, but come on! We have parents that bring in there children when they have snot poring out of there noses, they are holding a trash can up to them while they vomit, feed them and leave the food all over their face and clothes and in the mean time expect us to give them glamor shots. I personally have cleaned up more messes than I can count, and yet the parents are making us out to be the bad guys. YOU BRING IN YOUR CHILD LOOKING LIKE A $3.99, 5.99 OR A 7.99 BABY THEN THAT IS YOUR FAULT. I have had moms come in and throw their kids on the floor because they flat out refuse to have their photos taken and then turn around and kick toys so hard that they have come out of the photo room and almost hit a new born, being held by the parents, all because she could not get her way, so tell me where was that customer right? Or how about a parent that comes in with her 7 children all dressed in P.J.'s and their hair not brushed and gives her 3 year old a full bottle of soda and allows that child to throw it on back drops, then put her kid in a shopping cart and let their child then throw the soda all over the counter, then with no disapline turn around and walk away with out a appology or a "here let me help you clean that up". Mean while you are on the floor trying to clean everything up. So where in all of that was the customer right. So before one starts opening there mouth and saying how we all suck and we do not know what we are doing, just imagine for a minute what we have to go through. So just realize there are times, that things happen that put people in bad moods and not everyone means to take them out on the people around them, we are all human and we all make mistakes!
I have taken alot of pride in my work, my studio and my customers. On a daily basis I am asking my customers what more I can do for them to make there experince a more pleasurable one. But I have also realized that no matter how much I bend over for my customers, there is nothing in the world that I could do to make them happy. So please before you say that you will never go back to a place, just remember that maybe that person was having a bad day and not everyone in this company is bad, and maybe there is someone out there that could give you a much better experience.
Picture Me Portraits
Studio Manager
P.S. those of you that have worked for this company that has nothing but bad to say, you could of made your employment a joyable one but you choose differently, so why the heck are you complaining? Or maybe this was just not the right profession for you, so how does that make a company bad?
My experiences with the Picture Me Portrait Studio in Walmart have been horrible. When I went with my sister last year, she had her kids' picture taken and I had my daughter the same day. The manager who took the pictures told us our pictures would be ready on a certain day which would've been the same day for me and my sister. When she went to pick her pictures up, hers were there but mine were NOT. When mine finally did arrive, they weren't all there.
Yesterday, my sister and I had another appt. at 5 pm to get our kids together for Mother's Day coming up. They didn't even have us in the computer for an appt. They accidentally booked us with Sears Portrait studio which probably would've been better. Now, hopefully when I go to pick the pictures up, they will be there since this portrait studio is closing down...surprise! I can see why they're closing . I even told the lady who worked there yesterday that they are so disorganized. Also the manager at the one I went to is not friendly at all...and she is one of the photographers that work with the kids. That shouldn't be allowed. Very cold person. How can you get the kids to smile ..or anyone for that matter with an unfriendly person like that? I would never go back there even if they were staying open. That place is horrible.
Thirdly, Picture Me does not hire professional photographers. They hire remote control button pushers. They do not hire well paid professional photographers, they hire barely over minimum wage trailer trash. They do not hire artistic photographers, they hire people who can half way decently imitate the same poses of the remote control button pusher that trained them.
---** I can't believe that you would say something like that.. Yes it's true that all the employees do not have the traing like top end photographers... when photographer are hired they are givin so many training hours that they have to complete and if they do then they are good enough to work for the company... I can not believe that you think that they hire trailer trash. That's way to harsh. I have been with the copmany for a year and some odd months... i love my job and i take pride in every picture that i take. If i do not think that the picture is good and we can get a better one.. i make sure that i take another. It's crazy to even think that about the employees. I am so upset with you for even suggesting this. Have you even been to one of the Picture Me Portrait Studios yourself and see how we work. Maybe there are some bad seeds in the company, but the good employees out shine the bad ones. Yes i may only be a college student who needed a job, but i found one that i love and take pride in, and i thank the company for hiring me and giving me the chance to shine. The company gives us certain poses that we have to do for example, Full body, Close up, extreme close up, tummy and arms, ect... You must also remember that we do run on "baby time"... if we have a three month old child we are going to take our time. You would want great pictures yourself, think about how that person feels.
Also i can not believe you made such a big fuss over .77 cents.. that is crazy. If you would have handled your self in a better professional matter then maybe there would not have been such a problem...
I do need to start this comment off by stating that I am a PictureMe! Portrait Studio manager here in Oregon. In a recent coffrence call that I had with my market manager she suggested that all studio managers "hop online" and type in a search for PictureMe! Portrait studios. With that said I am absolutly in SHEER SHOCK that this Mary person of the store in Texas would cause such a fuss in a studio over a diffrence of a balance. I will admit that there have been diffrences in the computer to a customer's reciept in the instance of a balance, but it is something that could very VERY easily been fixed. I might be able to understand if the diffrence was something like $10 or more, but for $.77?! Aparently this Mary person has some issues with her sales (in my opinion) and thus was so worried over $.77.
I have personaly worked in my studio for going on 3 years now and have been the manager for over 2 of those years. I ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS have tought my staff that the customer is always right! First and for most in my oppinion the associate should have been talking with you through out the transaction as she was bringing up your order onto the screen. I always am sure that if my customer has a balance that the balance be circled or highlighted on their copy of the recpiet, then before even taking ANY kind of payment from them I pull the entire order out of the envelope to review WITH my customer that the order was placed correctly. Then after all that step of the transaction is "said and done" I verbaly confirm the balance with the customer. In your instance had their been missing sheets, I would have investigated on the customer order card (our hard hand writen copy) to insure that that was indeed what was to be ordered... and honestly either way! 2 sheets? Come on...! There have been times that new associates haven't ordered something or clicked on the correct pose on the ordering screen or the studio is overly full of people and I have missed something (I am only human...) but in each and every instance I have re-ordered the pictures that were missing with at least 2 or 3 extra sheets and some kind of coupon for their next visit to try to insure that they return.
In the time that I have had with the company I have never nor have any of my associates had to have a customer call the service number. I personaly feel that if you like your job you will A) do your job right the first time B) have fun with your customers and thus create a positive energy that will last not only through out the session and sale, but also as well as the delivery. I am so sorry to hear that this happened to you. Even if it is only $.77 or "only" 2 portrait sheets those are things that you were expecting (or in the case of the money you were not expecting) and they should have been done correctly the first time.
PS: I do have to agree with the comment listed by "Nikki" stating that "If you don't have patience, find another job"... working in a portrait studio isn't just a job to have to pass the time. EACH and EVERY time you step behind the camera you are capturing someone's memories of their baby, their child, their family... the pictures (with lack of a less "corny" way to say it) are a memory that honestly last a life time. If you had a bad experience when the pictures were taken even if the photo is your MOST FAVORITE pose and your MOST FAVORITE smile ect. every time you look at the picture or every time someone makes a comment about the picture you are going to either think to yourself or say "yeah, the picture is so cute but the experince was horrible..."
I am a Picture Me Photographer There are a few things I would like to clarify to our future clients. We understand you scheduled an appointment but sometimes we run behind. 99% of the time it is because we are working with difficult children and we make every attempt to get great pictures. We would do the same for you so please be patient. Unfortuntely not every child sits and smiles immediately. That would be perfect but this isn't Walgreens.
Any order inquires ARE emailed. In cases of emergencies, there is a toll free number for us to call but we are put on hold for a very long time. There are times your orders do not go through to the lab. We do not know why, but at OUR studio, we double check each night to make sure they do go through so we have no errors or delays. Yes, there are people working at these studios who should not be working with children or the public but for the most part we have people who love the job and do their best everytime we go to work. Please understand that our job is extremely difficult. We deal with screaming kids, children who break our props or equipment, irate parents etc but yet we have a smile on our face the whole time. We are bitten, kicked, cussed at, and thrown up on but we make jokes to keep the atmosphere calm. We are not doing this job for the money (which is very little), we do this job because we love what we do. Next time you walk into one of our studios, you should admire the photographer for their skill and remember they are human and errors do occur.
In closing, it is very unfortunate that some of you have run into bad employees. I apologize. Getting your pictures should be a fun and memorable time. We hope to serve you soon.
I would just like add my two cents in on this. I graduated with a
graphic design/photography degree from the east coast. I do most of
my own photography but sometimes just need a break from it, so I pay
someone else to photograph my daughter from time to time.
When she was 3 weeks old, we had the PictureMe Portrait Studio in
Mexico, MO, photograph her with her older brother and they were
fabulous.
At christmas that year, we had Moberly, MO, do our pictures. Closer
to where we live. No problems. And mind you, each time we paid over
$100.00 for portrait collections so we would have enough for our
families. The lady (supposedly the manager at the time; she is no
longer there)talked us into this 'secret' deal of getting these matt
frames for free because she liked our daugher (wink wink), which when we went back to get them, she had no idea what we were talking about, so we let it go...
At one year, we had her pictures taken again at Moberly, MO. No
complaints. Again, she's a baby. I don't expect hollywood pictures at
all. I know I get what I pay for so I don't complain about the
photos.
It's the people you deal with at these places that make me shake my head. Having worked in customer service for four years I know they should act a little better.
I went to get her pictures taken with my mother-in-law the other day.
I had scheduled her an appointment two days prior and paid in advance $9.99 for a free collage to be done of her pictures the day we get them done. Sounds good. It's the same Moberly, MO, portrait studio so things should go good, right?
Well, it's a thursday in March and we're the only appointment for the
day, but are told even though we have shown up 15 minutes early that we will have to wait until the exact time of our appointment. Hmm, ok. No biggie. So we walk around a bit, come back and she's ready.
We're dealing with the manager, mind you. I stop to pull up some lose
strands of my daughter's hair before we head back and I should have
known that things weren't gonna be good. She asked if I was going to
need to do anything else before the pictures started and I said 'no,
we were fine.' Hmm, shouldn't have been a big deal. No line or anyone
else waiting. Why get annoyed that I want my daughter's hair to look
good in the photos?
Anyways, we start the session, and my daughter has to sit on one of
those platforms with a towel over it. She stares at it and I can tell
she's uneasy. Obviously I have taught her you don't sit on tables or
boxes because you could fall and hurt yourself, and I can tell this
is what she's thinking. But I reassure her she's not going to fall and
she trusts me.
We take a few pictures and the lady goes to adjust my daughter. From
there, let me tell you, things went downhill. The towel/carpet starts
sliding out from under her and she gets uneasy. She starts saying 'no
fall, no fall' and I again assure her she won't. The lady moves her
again and again my daughter thinks she's gonna fall. By now, my
daughter is getting scared. She doesn't want to sit on this
box/platform at all. The towel has almost slid off and you can see
the metal box thing under it. It scares her. She refuses to sit on it at
all. Who would blame her? I mean, you try getting your child to sit
on something that you've taught her NOT to sit on and see if your child doesn't resist a little?
But the lady is getting annoyed. Offers no help and bends down and
talks to my daughter like an adult and tells her that she needs to
sit still. OK, she's 2; do you actually think she's understanding you?
But my dauther will have none of it. The box/platform scares her and
when the towel starts sliding again we can't change her mind. While
I'm trying to comfort my daughter, the lady is repeating constantly
'do you want to reschedule cause I can't shoot her with her acting
like this.' So it's my fault for instilling in my daughter the
value of staying off of tables and high places because you could
fall? My mother-in-law just shakes her head (she's a sweet and considerate 72 year old lady) and I'm completely embarrassed of how this is going.
Ok, since that's all she can say (rescedule reschedule reschedule) we
agree. We walk back out to the lobby and my daughter's in tears with
my mother-in-law holding her. I mention the coupon I have already
paid for and what do I do with it if we can't get her pictures done? She tells me no problem, she can refund it if things don't end up working out. Whew! Great. We reschedule and leave. I think on it and decide that perhaps my daughter just isn't ready for that platform again. I come back to get my refund of the $9.99, and even apologize to the manager for how my daughter acted, even though her actions where due to her being frightened, not because she was unruly or bad. The manager is suddenly untrained on how to do refunds and says she has a customer waiting in the lobby, can I please come back when she can focus on it better. OK. No problem. I'll be back.
I come back two days later (earliest I can get there) and manager's
not there and the lady present has no idea of what I'm talking about.
She makes a call, not to the studio manager but to a WAL-MART service manager (I thought you guys aren't affiliated?), and she's told I
can't get a refund at all because that's the store policy and it
should show on my app. card no refund for the $9.99 offer. Hmm, so I
paid $9.99, have no pictures to show for it and can't get a refund?
STORE policy, they say to me. I can try rescheduling (there's that
word again), and have a month to do it. So what happens if I can't
get them done in the next month? I'm out $10.81, that's what, I'm told.
I called PictureMe's customer service hotline and plan to again. The
day we had the pictures taken, I was told the background I wanted was
not available with the package I wanted to order. I am told black or
white ONLY. She points to the sign to prove her point and the picture
shows a BLUE background. Seeing she's making a fool of herself, the
manager says 'ignore that picture'. Again it's STORE policy, only
black or white. Hmm. I tell the customer service lady this and she
says I am allowed to use whatever background I want! She makes a note of my complaint and tells me to call if I have ANY further problems with them. Also, while they take the pictures I am not allowed to see ANY of the pictures. I ask why because in the past we are always allowed to see them. What if my daughter doesn't smile or I don't like the shot? The manager tells me 'well, you will just have to trust me.' Again I report this to the customer service lady and she says she should not have told me that and that I should have been allowed to see the pictures as they were being taken.
So right now I'm up against a brick wall, whether to go and try to
get my daugher to sit for these pictures or be out $10.81. Do you think
that when I signed up for the offer that that guy explained the no
refund policy. Nope. Didn't mention it. But can I have him tell them
that? Nope. He's gone now, they tell me. Transferred. Hmm odd. Also,
when I went for my refund, the day the manager feigned ignorance on
how to do refunds, she tried desparately to get me to reschedule
instead and only at that time did she tell me that my daughter could
have sat on the floor to do the pictures. Oh really? Why didn't she
offer this the day we were there on her appointment? I mean, we all
knew she didn't want to sit on that platform contraption. Why didn't
she offer to let us sit her on the floor then?
So now I am out $10.81 and can get no refund for no pictures that
were taken. It's not the price that bothers me (OK, it's $10.00). It's the fact that I have nothing to show for what I paid. Nothing in fine print was explained, backdrops that I should have been allowed to use were not given to me, and only after I go to get a refund does the manager finally offer SOME feeble help to try to get me to stay. Customer service was helpful with this the other day and I plan to let them handle this matter. I can't ask for the same
photographer to do my daughter's photos because every time we go to
get them done, there is a new bunch working there. I have never seen
the same photographer there any time we have gone or if I have gone
with someone else.
I just think that no refund policies should be explained up front.
Especially when you are forking over money BEFORE any pictures have been taken. Don't always be quick to blame the client. I have heard so many people say bad things about kids being unruly and such; my daughter didn't want to sit on a platform where the towel under her was falling off. She's taught not to sit on things like that anyways. And if there was another solution, it should have been offered that day, not when you're about to lose a customer. Don't make promises you can't keep (i.e. refunds you aren't allowed to do). I haven't had a problem before, but all it takes is one, and now I shall not take my daughter back.
Since the incident: I went to JCPenny in Columbia, MO, and they did a great job with my daughter instead. I even got to bring a few of her favorite items to take her pictures with (which I have never been offered at PictureMe, which could just be a STORE policy I guess). I spent about $150.00, and I am satisfied.
There are 3 sides to any story. In this case, yours, Mary's, and the true story, without embellishment on either side. From what you state, Mary appears to have overreacted and then some. Of course, what is missing is what your specific response was, including attitude and demeanor when you responded to Mary. Others have said it in this forum; you get what you pay for. I use them for passport photos only and they are more than adequate. For anything else, go to a professional studio. And folks, the poster called "professional photographer" is just a troll and appears to have been fairly successful.
I had my daughter's first portraits done at Picture me when she was 5 months old. The photographer was very professional and my daughter had a blast when she pulled out the stuffed rabbit to get her to smile. They were wonderful pictures and our photographer was very professional curteous. When we picked up our photos, there was one sheet missing. They replaced it, no questions asked. I am taking her tomorrow for her 1 year photos. I am confident that they will be fantastic. If you want the whole perfect experience where everything is right, take your family to an expensive photographer. Picture Me is affordable and fast. If you want something better, go elsewhere. This is walmart! And it far exceeded my expectations.
Did you really take all this time and effort to ### about 77 cents? What a loser!
I was once an employee of Picture Me! and know for a fact they treat their customers badly. At the studio where I worked, only three (counting myself) of the employees were worth dealing with. The manager and her little lackey were nothing more than pure devils to customers who only ordered the special or only a few sheets. They also treated myself and a fellow co-worker (the two they didn't want working there) like some sort of road kill found on the side of the road several days after it had been hit.
We were always rushed and never got any assistance, even when we called the manager. Better yet, Corporate would always call and tell one of us to go home. Keep in mind, we were both still in training. Of course, this never happened to the lackey. No, she was treated with as much regard as the manager herself. It also seemed as though the particular studio I worked in is very sexist because you never see a man working there, just middle aged women with bad attitudes most of the time. Even now, the manager still works there, though I've yet to see the lackey. I don't know what's been going on with them since then.
Another thing that they did to me. I would make big sales yet the manager would put her number into the computer to ring up said sales so I (and one other employee) would not get the 'spiff' (or tip) off of the sale. If I was to call Corporate, they'd not say or do anything. They acted like it was the normal thing that went on.
To sum this up, not only are a lot of the photographers ### to customers, most of the managers treat the employees like crap. It seems if you're nice, you're pushed to the side and left for the wolves.
I used the studio about 2 years ago to get pictures done of my children done for our company website. The experiance was just awful, so i vowed never to go back. I mean between the time of our session and the day the pics were due to come back there was a differnt employ who couldn't find my order. it took nearly 2 months to get the pictures and i had to pay a $20 dollar reorder fee. since then i have taken my children to olen mills in our local belk. the pics cost alittle more but not that much, and the service is great. the photagrapher is always the same and she knows just what to do to get the best pics of my three boys. but this past v day i wanted to get pics for my mother of all of her grandsons. as i have 3 boys and my brother has 3 boys thats 6. i wanted to get the pics a little cheaper and picture me does not charge seperate sitting fees for extra people so i went to the one in knoxville, tn(i live in maryville, tn) regardless of my past experiance this on was great. out of 6 boys 3 were under 3 years of age (1 of mine and 2 of my brothers) the lady was very patiant and she took extra time to get the best shots. my 6 year old got upset and began to cry. she not only took the time to calm him but she also waited for the red to leave his face before proceeding. she also waited on them to go into the store and pick out their own props. at the end i spent $200 dolars on packages for myself, my mother, and my brother. but i didn't feel pressured to spend this money. i picked what i wanted to by not what someone thought i should buy. i guess my point is i will contenue to use my regular photagrapher at olen mills but i have learnt that there are some good ones at picture me too. you just have to find them and not hold your past experiances against them. my pics are due back on march 5th. lets hope they come. i'll let you know.
If you look up Picture Me (corp office is in Saint Louis, Mo) you will see that they have a "F" rating.
There is a reason that they rank so low.
Perception is reality. I have worked in the studios before. I would not have made such a big deal about a refund...I mean come on. 77 cents? Seems ridiculous on both sides. I do believe that the company has unrealistic expectations and pressures the employees to pressure the customers. Where else can you get a 10x13, numerous 8x10, numerous 5x7's, 3x5's and wallets for $5? It cost more than that to take them yourself and cost of prints. Many of the customers are only willing to spend $5. As a photographer that has been dedicated to my work for almost a decade, it was insulting to have customers wanting only to take advantage of the introductory offer. I put my heart into taking wonderful portraits. Some customers refuse to take part in the remaining session because all they want is their $4.00 special. Remind you, this is what we make a living from. I became very frustrated working there because some customers didn't appreciate my hard work and the company just wants you to take a full session of seven great poses. There have been many times where I work for 20 minutes to get a child to smile only for a $4 sale. By that time the child doesn't want to sit still. Who is making out with a good deal on that one? So, I feel for the employees. You may have been mistreated. I can't say the company is perfect. When wanting professional photography it may cost more than $4. Try a professional photographer and be prepared to spend more money...
My name is Kathy Locklear i vist your Studio at 5070 Fayetteville RD Lumberton, NC 28358 And i was very Disappoint with my service I Have been taking my family pitures sence 1999 and the speail has always been 5.99 no matter how many you have in your family.I WAS CHARGE 25.99 for the speail i paid 5.99 for each person .So thats not a speail i thank that is fasle information.I have a family of Five and i always take our picture there.I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT YOU NEED TO EXPLAIN ON YOUR SPEAILS THAT ONE PERSON IS 5.99 & EACH OTHERS IS 5.99 ALSO.
It is not that serious! I cannot believe that this whole argument was over 77 cents. If you could not afford the extra then u shouldnt be spending your money on pictures. I know she should have told you there was a 'minor' difference than what was on your reciept but, 77 cents?! This is ridiculous! Mary should have maintained her professionalism, no question about that. However it is 'obvious' that you were having a bad day to start complaining about a refund of 77cents... get over it!
I am a customer of Picture Me Studio in TN. I have had 3 different sets of pictures made. The first set was of my niece and I several years ago and they were great. The second was of my two girls and I and I had to choose the first picture taken as the package photo. I just ordered more of the other poses I liked as well. The third time was 9 days ago and I was told the pictures would be ready by the 28th. I got a call today by the same lady that took the photo's that they were in and ready. I was not able to pick them up tonight but called her and I will pick them up tomorrow. I was running late the day of my appointment since I had to work over, pick up the girls, and drive 30 plus minutes to get there, so I called to cancel. She told me to come on up and she would stay. She was wonderful during our session, very professional, sweet, and patient! I mentioned the first pose as the package deal and she said no you can decide afterwards. The girls are 2 and 3 yrs old and she let my family and I help make them smile. She let me do alot to get them situated for some of the poses. She let me pick out several different backgounds and gave great advice. We were the last customers of the day and she stayed almost an hour over to take and order the photos/enhancements. I purchased the $156.00 package including the disk that I can print off my own with and paid in full that night. I will request her any time I want to get pictures made again. I ordered alot because I was very satisfied with my session, the poses, and her friendly, professional attitude. Thank You Ryan for a job well done!
Being an employee I think that the customers would be beter off if they thought maybe the photographer has had a bad day maqyme just maybe the world around me has collasped. You yelling at them and expecting them to give you the world free is unrealistic. We or should I say at least I do my best everyday, but you do get those customers that no matter what you do you cant make them happy. With this job I have seen and heard a lot. You cant blame the associate for something that they have no control over. Its not our fault that the pictures are late, its not our fault that they come back wrong. You are shown what they will look like when they do get printed and they come back the same way and then you want to assume that the photographer did something wrong. Yes the philosophy the "customers always right" is a good one but trust me its very far from true. Its just like Dawn said if they hired the professionals then the prices would go up. Yes we are mere associates but we try. The training that they claim they do is nothing more than teaching the associates how to point and shoot. Everything esle is trial and error. Give us a break, this for most of us is a job not a career, we have a family to that we are trying to support and it would do everyone a lot of good if they just treated people the way that they want to be treated. Keep that in mind if any of you decide to go back and try us out again, just give us a chance to show you that we know what were doing and that we want you to be happy with you life long memories.
I was a former employee of Walmart Portrait Studios (which is not owned by Walmart) before they were bought out by another company and became Picture Me Studios (also not owned by Walmart) They simply have permission to use the Walmart name. This is why the Walmart Photo lab can not reproduce the Studio photos. The studio products are copyright protected. I can understand some of the complaints above, but I have run across a lot of customers that expect too much from a cheap studio. If you knew how much they pay employees there, how little they get it in commission (only from the larger packages, which hardly anyone buys), you might be more sympathectic. If they were to use professional photographers, you would not be able to afford the photos, due to the sitting fees, processing fees, delivery fees the company would have to charge you in order to compensate the payrolls of such employees.
Plus the studio associates are not the only ones that work on your orders, they are simply your photographer and first customer service rep. The orders are sent once a week, via computer link to the lab at the home office, hence the computer glick mentioned above, can happen, and store associates would not know until the photos did not come in on time. This could have been resolved sooner, by simply rescheduling a new session at no charge to fill your previously lost photos. The studios are not given the number to the lab, because this would tie up the labs time in dealing with complaints from all the their studios, and not processing the orders that come in. All studios are give the same customer service number to call too.
I hope this does not deter a lot of people from using Picture Me studios. They do give out a lot more in product than they receive in value compensation.
It sounds like the photographer didn't order your portraits properly. Had none of them shown up in time, it would've been a computer error, but since you received some, but not all, then it was photographer error.
If you complain to corporate, they will give you a discounted session for your next appt. Go to www.pictureme.com and click "Contact us."
I wish I would have read these comments before I did business with Wal-Mart's Picture Me Portrait Sutdios. I have never had such poor customer service in my life, and I work in customer service! They screwed up my pictures, and then want me to take the time and gas to take them back, get them fixed, and then have to do it all over again to go pick them up. I will NEVER do business with them again! Diana who took my pictures was great, and understanding. However, it is out of her hands on what they can do. I had to call the corporate number, and speak to someone in customer service. After discussing my situation with them, and not getting anywhere. I asked to speak to a supervisor. She refused to let me speak to one, and she also told me she would not forward my information to her supervisor. She then proceeded to hang up on me.
Now being that I have worked in customer service for years now, I stayed calm the whole time, because your not going to get anything accomplished if you are yelling at the agent. I called back and spoke to Meagan and told her that I wanted to talk to a supervisor, and that I was very upset about the customer service I had received from Nicole. Meagan told me she could not gurantee that a supervisor would call me back, but that she would forward my information. She also told me that I could take my stuff back to the studio, for a refund.
When I call the store to make sure that this is going to happen, I was told that they were not going to honor that. It has been one hell of a ride, and I strongly recommend you get your pictures taken elsewhere. It is not worth the hassle that you are going to receive if something comes back wrong.
I just took my children to have their pictures taken for Christmas. When i first got to my appointment both of the photographers were arguing with each other. They continued for about 15 minutes not even acknowledging that i was standing there with my children. Finally the one photographer greeted me and started taking down my information, then started arguing with the other photographer again! She walked out and said that she quit. The other photographer tried taking my information but decided she was going to leave too. Long story short another photographer came in and tried getting the pictures done. By this time my children were not wanting to have their pictures taken. This process took almost 2 hours. Which ran into other appointments, which when those people came in were not very happy either. I will never go to that place again.
I have always had such good experiences with Picture Me. My son is special needs and the studio that we always go to do a wonderful job of helping to capture a smile and I know how hard it is with a child that has both vision problems and profound hearing loss! I think that the studios success rate seems to be different at each location. It is ashame that this happens but I do believe some people are probably not fit to work around the public. I for the most part have been very lucky, touch wood and continuing to touch wood. One year for my son's first christmas we decided to go to JC Penneys (Riverview, FL) to have photos taken and NEVER AGAIN! The manager was rude and the photographers were very uncooperative with helping to get a good photo. They were quick to get us out of the studio and said that all the bad photos were great. NEVER AGAIN. They ruined my son's first christmas photos. So for me fortunately Picture Studios at Walmart were Awesome and half the price of overpriced JC Penney's.
I didn't read all the reviews, but I have read enough to know that I will be cancelling my appointment with Picture Me studios. Pictures of your children are so important (they grow so fast) that I am not willing to take any chances with her pictures and my hard earned money. Thank you to all of you that posted your negative experiences - you may have saved me from my own.
It looks like I will be returning to Kiddie Kandids - a little more expensive but well worth the customer service! I have never had trouble with my appointments or the employees. All my daughters pictures are great!
Thanks again!
I dont think I would complain about .77 cents however, I know that they are supposed to deal with the customer they started with by taking the gentlemen was rude to you. Then arguing with you about it when it could have been settled in the store. Just as a reminder Picture me is NOT part of Walmart. They have nothing to do with it. They get a rent check from them that is all. To the person who CLAIMS to work just because you have a Degree in photography and what not does not mean that someone who is trained on the job which gives you the experience and commitment to that job, and plus you dont start working the camera's till you pass your picture tests, means that you are less of a person. I worked for them for a while and oh I did photography on the side for years unless you can back up what your saying about it get over it. When you make one person mad there is 7 more that will know about it, so think about it lose one lose 7 make one happy they keep coming which is more productive?