Lifetouch Photography — terrible service, no refund received
Lifetouch - www.lifetouch.com
In early September I purchased school portraits for my son. The photographer screwed up and mixed up some orders. My son was to have a grey background (he picked out a dark green shirt). What arrived had a dark blue background which made th picture way too dark. I followed th instructions on how to return it-to the local Lifetouch Office. I sent it on 9-17. On 9-24, they charged my credit card the $36 for the portraits. I called the local office and wanted to know what was going on. She said my refund would be coming "any day now". I'm still waiting. Emails to the company have fell on deaf ears. They have no customer service whatsoever. I want my refund. I will be filing a dispute with the credit card company.
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I am one of the owners of Kids At Heart Photography, kahphoto.com. I would love the opportunity to submit a proposal to photograph your child's school. We pride ourselves in quality and service. I am also one of the photographers at every photo shoot. You can reach me at 1-800-438-0083 (office), oe 215-378-7997 (cell). I am available for any meeting at your convenience. Thank you for your time, Jim Stewart
I agree, Lifetouch is the stereotypical "too big for their britches" company. Bad customer service and rude employees. I even worked there for a brief stint! And I can say that the internal affairs are no better- the office I worked in was full of perverts and the managers would do nothing about it. Photographers dating (or should I say groping) out back and in the schools, mismanagement, nepotism, etc. Stay far, far away from Lifetouch!!!
How dumb can a photographer be? My daughter has this beautiful dress on her smile is gorgeous and her position is perfect. So why is #1 her collar all messed up! Which I would be able to overlook, had her belt not been completely undone. Just hanging there! So obvious it is sickening to think these idiots even deal with my children.
Lifetouch is a scam. They set up a deal with kickbacks to the schools. Here the schools with hold grades and particpation in school events unless you pay for picture packages they send home every six weeks. I don't even have to agree to let my child be photgraphed. They just herd them all in and snap the photos. Send home these huge packages of pictures and then a month later demand payment or else...and the school is now a debt collector for Lifetouch. Its shamelful and criminal.
Yeah, well they BLEACHED my kid! He is a pretty dark-skinned native american and they made him peachy-pink!
I emailed them. The ysaid they would get back to me but of course did not.
You should check this out - they screwed up big time.
http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=511196
When I was in high school I was on the yearbook staff for my school so I can imagine how much stress that caused. That company should be shut down.
As someone who favors Lifetouch I feel I should reply. Before you angry folks get all bent out of shape because I'm going to stick up for this company, hear me out.
My child was one of hundreds of thousands of children who die from cancer each year. For her funeral, we wanted a large portrait to place by her casket. Thankfully, Lifetouch photographed her school.
We first contacted a large portrait company that we had do our family portraits. They were willing to provide a portrait, at regular price of course, but they did send a coupon for our "loss". When we contacted Lifetouch, we were surprised to say the least. Not only did they send us a large portrait but they sent several photos along with a heartfelt letter. They didn't charge a dime, and instead let me know how thankful they were for having been able to photograph my daughter. Inspired, I did some research, and found that they do this for families all over the country and take it very seriously.
Since then I've become a member of my local schoolboard. We use Lifetouch and I can assure you, there are no "kickbacks". The company does, however, make donations to schools for fundraisers and special events. So I ask, what's wrong with that? Herf Jones does our yearbook and does the same thing. Oh, and Kids at Heart does my nephews school. I'm sure Mr. Stewart runs a fine business but I must say I prefer the quality and service of Lifetouch.
My husband, who just got back from Iraq, read your comments with me and made a really good point. When he got back, a lady at the airport asked him if he was proud to be a soldier. Of course he said yes, to which she replied shame on you. So because my husband had a bad experience with one person, should he hate all people? Of course not. People are human, including employees at Lifetouch and other companies. My sister had a poor experience with her schools photography company that is not Lifetouch, but isn't bitter about it. She never got the problem fixed and had to go to JC Penny to get my nephew's photos done. People will make mistakes, and that's to be expected. Life is too short, believe me, to be so angry for such petty things.
@Sheila Macnamara That's funny because JC Penny is owned by Lifetouch! Yes the school gets kick backs as we asked the yearbook advisor, and she said they give them 15%.
I myself have just had an issue with Life touch. While I understand ONE person was happy with something they did, her situation is an extreme. She had a child pass away. Of COURSE a company would do a wonderful job for her and most importantly - take their time on it. I understand people make mistakes, BUT while owning a company, it it their job to not only do the job right, but to help when there is a problem, NOT ignore it or just "say sorry".
Here is what just happened to me today - I go to the end of the school talent show where I find my very emotional 6th grade daughter crying in the hallway. Today is the last day of school, she waited all year to get this year book they all get (which I may add is LATE to boot). Guess who was left out of the year book? Yep, My daughter. Was she a re-take you might ask? Was she absent picture day? NO and NO to that. We actually got very lovely pictures AT THE CORRECT date and time as every other student, BUT somehow she was left out of the year book.
Who cares some of you might say? Well, to a 6th grade girl (whom most are emotional wrecks at this time in their lives) this is a HUGE deal. The rest of the school days was planned so each kid could visit other teams and classrooms to get their books signed. This school is also a transitional school. There is only ONE sixth grade school building, then the kids get mixed into 3 other middle schools. She will never see some of her friend again and the thought of not being in the class page was very upsetting to her. My daughter still to this day enjoys looking back at her Elementary school year books and seeing how people look and or changed year to year.
Life Touch's offer was to refund my money OR send me a sticker of my daughter that SHE could place in her year book... Uh... why would SHE want a picture of herself? It's the 300 other kids books she wanted her picture in..
Anyways.. NO, i don't expect the company to re-print the WHOLE book for everyone or anything like that, BUT being a person who is into photography and digital imaging... I can tell you this.. Those pictures were taken MANY months ago. The year book should have never been late to begin with AND the problem could have been taken care of so that my daughter could have had a whole sheet of many little stickers of herself to give out to friends who could then have put them in their books OR even given to the whole school with each yearbook to stick in themselves IF the book had been on time or even done earlier in the year. Those school pictures were taken WAY back in September.
The 2 sets of photos taken at our school this year have been slightly blurry or fuzzy so I have not purchased them. I took my kids to another photography shop (Picture People) and got great photos of the smile with missing front teeth. You don't get much time to catch that smile in life!!! I did get my refund for the first set (Fall), but I'm confused as to why the focus problem continues with Lifetouch studios. Olson phtotography did our Tball photos and they came out clear, bright, and beautiful.
If my doctor was supposed to take out my appendix and took out my liver instead, he'd be fired to say the least. I'm not sure who decides to hire Lifetouch - a school board or the principal, but I'm going to write both a letter and suggest that you do the same. Maybe a decrease in business will get their attention? Okay - it may sound naive, but complaints to the company fall on deaf ears. Ugh.
I've have had my children's portraits taken by the local Lifetouch photographers for 20 years and they have always taken excellent portraits, had excellent customer service, and have been very easy to work with. There are great advantages to working with a large company especially one who provides 100's of jobs in and around our community, provides lower prices for our portraits, and give back immensely to the communities it serves. I suggest people do a little more research on the company before they pass judgement.
It seems to me that accidents happen regardless of all preparations to avoid them and mistakes can be made by anyone - whether it is a missing picture in a yearbook, or a slightly fuzzy picture, or even customer service issues.
As a photographer, I can say that I do the best job I am able to ( even when I don't feel like it ) because that is what being a professional is all about. I also do IT work, and in the past did things like work on miltary aircraft - and regardless of whether you flip burgers, count beans, or work with your hands - all of your customers expect the absolute best from you, and even though you do your best - mistakes and errors happen. Sometimes they are minor, sometimes they are not, and sometimes they aren't caught until later when it's too late.
My point simply is, that everyone wants to assign the blame on someone, and nothing is easier than assigning the blame to a large company like McDonalds, or Dell, or Nestle, or in this case Lifetouch. Companies are easy targets because they are large and encumbered to move slowly due to their size. Lifetouch is a particularly nice company since they are owned by employees. In the end, the things which caused tears for a 6th grader, or angered someone due to improper color corrections, or an undone belt - are all errors made by individuals, and not truly by a large personified incarnation comprised of a company.
I am not invalidating your claims, nor pointing the fingers at anyone; however, as a photography professional I am fully aware that it's unbelievably easy to miss one thing or another. I hear people who are riddled with problems and personality / professional inconsistencies constantly bad talk other professionals calling them dumb or incompetent or listing long complaints. In the end, I am certain that for every insult any one person can cast at another professional, there are many professional rebukes easily being directed towards that individual, because in the end - the internet is the perfect way to point out the flaws in others nearly anonymously so as to detract inherent and unseen flaws within oneself.
Just my nickel's worth.
PS - I think it is deplorable that some jackass saw fit to screw with pictures of a yearbook, and I am certain that not only was that individual identified internally, but terminated. As for nepotism - the worst cases of nepotism are in privately owned companies.
I am a professional photographer and have been for over 12 years. Lifetouch, Herff Jones, Prestige are my best advertisements!!! As far as corporate photographers, they are pretty much the same. NO service after they cut the deal. (BTW, It's NEVER the photographer's fault, either. So please don't say that the photographer was an "idiot", they have no say in what the company does or lets them do creatively. Most times they are never allowed to touch the student even so much as to straighten a collar for fear of lawsuits.) They get paid diddly-squat and get no health insurance or even discounts on their own kid's pictures. The other employees hide behind the corporate phone number and email so you never know who you're talking to when you have a problem. They don't hire anyone with previous photo experience, they like to train them "to their style" so nobody gets uppity and artsy - or steals their precious business strategy. I know, I have associates who have worked for and been turned down by their recruiters. If you are not happy with them, take your kids to a real professional photographer after picture day. Locally owned businesses stake their livelyhood on happy clients and you'll get superior personal attention and keep your money in your community.
Stay away from LifeTouch. My daughters pictures were paid for and taken this past August. I still have not received them and on top of that, they illegally ran an electronic debit through my checking account yesterday (Oct. 7) for the same amount as my check which they had already cashed back in August. I am having no luck with their customer service department. I don't know where to go from here - charged twice for pictures I haven't even received. I will never use them again.
Stay away from LifeTouch. We were railroaded into buying pictures after sitting for a "free" picture as part of the new church directory project. From out outset I was not happy with how he was directing us around and his brusque manner didnt encourage us to smile a lot for the pictures!
No re-takes were offered even though I was not very happy with the pictures. We ended up ordering one picture just to get out of there! When I asked about glass on the picture frames I was told "they have discovered now you dont need glass" When I pushed it and asked how one keeps the photos clean he told me to wipe the photo with a damp cloth!
I have called my credit card company this am to cancel the charge - we are in CA - where there is a 3 day cool down period after signing a contract.
Upon leaving our church, our son remarked that the guy was "weired" and that comment confirmed my uneasy feeling about him from the outset. No way in hell would I have left my son alone in the room with that photographer.
I wish I had read this site yesterday - but hey, you live and learn. My advise = ask you friends and neighbors who they use; use a local photographer who has a reputation and a business to maintain in your community.
Ah, now Ive vented!
It's October 2008. My son turned in his order envelope two hours after he had his picture taken, and it was TOO LATE. Nothing can be done. He has to wait for re-takes. There's no way to access his picture on the internet?? Surely the photos are digital, I said. The representative was very excited to tell me that yes, this year FOR THE FIRST TIME (at least in our area), they are using digital technology. What????!! Everyone teases me about my lack of technological know-how, but I've had a digital camera for at least seven years. A PHOTOGRAPHY CORPORATION is seven years behind me in photograph technology?! This company is ridiculous! I've only been ordering school pictures for the past few years because of tradition, nostalgia, and the feeling that maybe some of the money goes to the schools. Even with my lack of technological expertise, I can take download a picture of my child, choose formats and sizes, and print out the sheets on glossy paper--and I won't end up with photos with my child's eyes closed! If Lifetouch refuses even to be polite or reasonable, why, in this day and age, would I POSSIBLY want to deal with them???
Lifetouch is a very large company with many photographers of all kind. They take thoundsands and thoundsands of photos of school children who are being rushed through the lines for their year book photos. The school admins. wants the job done quickly and photographers are pushed to move quicker at many large schools. Once in awhile the gel for the choosen background will be miss, the auto focus of the camera will go out, a student will hit a light and move it an inch out the correct area, students clowning around with their expressions... etc.. Many things can happen and most them or caught before the next 45 students come for photos. However, they do happen. This is why Lifetouch offers retakes. I have found many parents not taking the advantage of having retakes.
If you are having customers service problems with your local Lifetouch office, contact the corp. office in Minnesota. My experience with Lifetouch is costomer service is very good and they do aim to be postive.
lifetouch should be banned from doing business. Did you know they send out postcards to senior parents/students with pre appointed photos shoot times & dates?! that is happening here in georgia in our counties of fayette & coweta. did you know their requirements for a photographer are to have a car & drivers license?! this company is ran by business sharks & photography is secondary. they actually stole a school contract from us by saying they were a yearbook rep. they then heard our prices & underbid us as a photographer! all professional photographers need to get together & let there schools & schoolboards know these things! we have
Life touch was rude to my sister & rushed her through her senior portraits C/O 09 we have called & complained twice but after reading these reviews they probably won't call us back! They overlooked her bangs in her eyes in alot of pics & in her personal pic which she paid extra for the gentleman was weird & made her uncomfortable & she said he reeked of booze! Maybe 3 out of 24 pics look beautiful. She & our family are highly upset this is suppose to be a magical year & they screwed it up! For the price they charge for the pictures they should pay alot more attention too details & not be rude to these kids & make them feel rushed & be rude & unprofessional!
Lifetouch called my sister back & apologized & made things right we are happy now!
I worked for life touch for about 2 yrs and recently was let go because of family issues and even tho I was always on time for the last 2 yrs they needed someone who could be there all the time and not have to take off cause of the issues that I had. The last two yrs I was waking up at 3am and getting to the schools on time and being a great photographer to all students getting the best smile possible, I might add getting a very crappy wage per hour for the last two yrs. Cause my boss lost over $300.000.000 dollars in one yr cause of some the photographers that were not doing there job loosing schools. I was in the New Ulm Mn office. They then turned the office in to a "hub" where you could pick up supplys and drop off things but if you needed to talk to the Boss you had to call Minneapolis, Beyond that they kept a known thief at the office. Alot of things changed after that happened and granted I'm still upset with the way that the company changed. The training turned in to no touch don't fix the hair dont fix the necklace, don't wipe the face if its got something on it, don't touch the clothes. This is a no touch photography company. You can ask them to turn the necklace, hair, face, clothes was not to be helped. It got to be impossible to do this with children under 9yr and sometimes older the poses got to be a royal pain as well if the child didn't get the pose you had to guide him or her to the pose and you could not touch them your only allowed seconds with each child to get them threw the line and yes that means 5 secs or less, alot of these children felt as if they were cattle being waved threw what a joke. Has anyone ever asked there child what is said to them when there getting there picture took, see if this sounds right, Hi "Lynn" and how are you today well you look so pretty today did your mom pick that out for you tell her she has great taste. so what did you want for Christmas well that is great you have a good Christmas see ya That is taught to you from them that is to set up they say is repore BS if you ask me. Think about that I did have a great time with the students that I had that was before the touching thing became a issue. fixed there hair, told them that the necklace was crooked, said something that made them laugh and took the best picture possible I LOVED my job and miss some of the students that would put a smile on my face as well. Yes Life Touch needs to change there name N T S ( Not Touching the Student )and don't worry not our problem about your childs shirt or hair, can't touch em..and the part of the employee owned not really.. I feel bad for the price that you all pay for the pictures that you receive some are very bad I was the one who they sent back for retakes. IF there is someone in this area and thought the pictures for 2005 and 2007 were better with the retakes thank me I didn't do all the schools but I did some. Thanks for reading
Has anyone else had this problem? Our son just had his school photos taken. When we got the prints back LifeTouch had placed the date and their logo on the front of the picture. They really stand out and look awful. I'm sure they put the logo on for marketing purposes, but it has no place on the front of a picture. It and the date should be on the back. When I called LifeTouch about it and asked if they could give me prints without the disfiguring remarks they said it was impossible. Well, of course it's possible. It's just a digital stamp. They just don't want to do it You would think with the economy in the tank at present they would want to make sure lots of customers are happy, not unhappy and asking for refunds, which is what I'm doing. I'm also encouraging the school principle not to use them anymore.
I want to share my side from what I see as a longtime employee at Lifetouch. First, I work inside the lab and try to make the pictures as pretty as possible because I know that I would want the same done for my children and grandchildren. From what I know about picture day, the school gives the photographers a set amount of time that they can be in the school so you might want to ask your school to allow more time. I believe the pricing also comes from what the school sets as their profit. I have noticed that some schools packages cost a lot more than say a school across town.Those higher priced schools are the ones who have the school profit. There again, if the school is getting a huge kickback then they should be allowing the photographer more time in the school.
We in the lab were complaining about how crappy a job the photographers do, especially on the preschool jobs, shooting them off backdrop etc. He said that it is because they are giving them off the rack cameras and paying them barely minimum wage, so they count on the lab to fix the errors. Which we try to do. But we aren't paid all that well either. We got a whopping 15 cent raise this year which they will turn around in March and go up on our insurance which will take it. They have initiated a new attendance policy in which we get points for everything that is not prearranged and in which we use our paid time off for. So even if we have always had excellent attendance, now, even if we have a wreck on the way to work, and are late or absent then we get points. If our children are sick, we get points. We are so stressed out trying to work and manage our families and have to worry about getting points and we still try to give you the best product we can. They allow no flex time. Those who have had it for years, now can't have it. There is one young mother who always was able to come in a few minutes late due to babysitting issues, now can't. Her mother has to meet her in the parking lot, and she has to take her sleeping baby out of one car to the next and now it is frigid cold, just because they will not allow any flex time. This girl has been at Lifetouch for about a decade now, and is a great worker and really knows her stuff and she is treated this way. Another mother who has also been with the company for almost as long, and is always at work, and I see her working in all areas of the plant because she has crosstrained in many areas and they take full advantage of it, anway she was in the bathroom looking really stressed recently when I was in there because the plant manager told her that although she is a good employee, that she should look for another job because she needs them to allow her a couple of hours flex time on Wednesday nights to go to church with her child. I asked her did she remind them that Lifetouch would go out of business if it weren't for all of the Christian schools? She said, she did, but it didn't change their minds.
Right now it is slow at work, some of us travel close to an hour to get to work just to not have anything to do and we have to go home after not even being there long enough to pay for our gas because the ones in charge who are salaried and not affected by short hours don't care enough about us as employees to call us and tell us not to bother to come in.
But most of us still try our best to give our best and give you the best product. The thing is that no matter how hard we try, with such stress and knowing that we are not valued by management and that we are looked at as being disposable items, we are only human, and mistakes are going to happen.
Another problem with Lifetouch is because of it being seasonal, we have a huge turnover, and management doesn't seem to see that they need to treat us better to make us want to come back each year. A lot of temps I know, after they have driven 30 minutes or more to get to work to just turn around and go back home after not getting much time in because management is too disrespectful to call and tell them they don't need to come in, and then if they are getting points because they or their kidz are sick, then they don't want to come to work at Lifetouch fulltime. This causes a lot of inexperience in the plant and in the field. The best thing that the consumer can do is to continued to educated themselves about the companies they do business with and flood management with calls and emails. Get your local offices phone numbers and ask for management and call them. Remember that customer service reps are like the rest of us. They are overworked and underpaid and can only do what management says they can. All the problems start at the top and that is where they need to be addressed. Hope this clears some things up for you.
I find it amusing how personal people take messed up cheap photography sessions. These types of shoots have been going on since I was litte, and it's like a heard coming in for pics. They aren't all going to be perfect due to the fact that it's commercial photography, not painstaking art. If you want more for your buck then go hire a personal photographer that will charge you 400-1000 dollars for a package rather than 29.99 or whatever it is. You get what you pay for people. People in costumer service are going to mess up and you aren't always going to get exactly what you want. Such is life.
Today we recieved my daughters pictures and they are too dark. We had the same issue last year with this company and sent a note asking to use proper lighting. I have had pictures taken at her daycare in previous years that was done by falcaulty members that were better then these "unprofessionally done pictures" by lifetouch. As a professional they should go beyond your run of the mill quality picture. If a professional photographer doesn't provide excellent service they are not valuable. I do expect no mistakes every time, if not get out of the business.
I worked for Lifetouch as a photographer...and I have a degree in photography. I think Lifetouch is an evil company they don't cared about their employees and they screwed me over. But in regards to the photographers give them a break. I would love to see most people get up at 3:30 in the morning drive two hours to a school and photograph 1200 kids in six hours while the admin. is breathing down your neck to go faster, teachers treat you like you are a peace of ###, and the kids can't follow simple directions such as not knowing their right from left and how to spell their own name (i'm talking middle school kids). I also loved the notes from the parents on the kids flyers. Such as "make sure Johnny doesn't have a fake smile", lady how am I supposed to know if your kids smile is fake or not. With regards to kids not smiling I do my best to get kids to smile but you try get a middle schooler to smile when they have this thug mentality where they are too cool to smile and trust me they look terrible without a smile but I don't have all day to try and get them to smile because I have the admin. still breathing down my neck. Also I love the parents who want change back. Do I look like a bank or carry a cash register no. No wonder the kids can't follow simple directions the parents can't even read. The order form clearly states no change, have exact cash. No wonder why Johnny's picture sucked I had to dig around in 40 order forms for 20 minutes to find a ten for change. As a photographer of Lifetouch you are also a punching bag for the students, the admin, the parents and for Lifetouchs' own sales people and mangers we get blamed for everything and we are the ones who do all of the work.
Lets please remember that we are humans and we are not perfect mistakes sometimes happen we may hit the wrong button on color changer and you didn't get the background color you ordered, I'm sorry about that. But if your pissed off at the pose we choose for you because you didn't fill out the order form how is that my fault maybe you should have taken the time to look at the poses and actually a choose one yourself.
To the lady who's daughter was left out of the yearbook. Lifetouch did their job they took her picture the person you should be mad at is the person who puts the yearbook together at your school that's the person who didn't place your child's picture in the yearbook.
All I ask is that people should try walk in other peoples shoes once in a while. Being a photographer is not easy it's early mornings, long hours, a lot of driving, lugging heavy equipment, dealing with rude people and you get paid really ### wages. I did enjoy most of the kids and going to different schools but it was hard work.
Hello,
Has anyone worked with this company in Canada? Do they have the same issues. I appreciate your feeback
MO
Hi, has anybody worked or dealt with Lifetouch - Canada (Edmonton or Canadian Cities) ? Do they have the same terrible service ?
Your quick reply is appreciated
MO
I was a former employee of Lifetouch and all the complaints are true. The company sucks and only thinks about money. The RI territory manager has to be the greediest person I ever came across. He underpays staff and screws the loyal workers that deserve better pay. The man is a true psychopath by its very definition. Their products are hurting because everyone that works for them feels like a slave.
Just so you know, When you do have good pictures one year and request that photographer back for the following year because they did an awesome job, don't expect to get them back, most likely they were fired for some stupid reason like not having a black sharpie marker with them one day, or for leaving home at 3:00 am just to make the drive to your child's school and then not being able to make it on time because the road flooded and they basically had to take a 1.5 hour detour.
So to all of you parents, and schools out there:
Find someone who cares...
Fire lifetouch.
Their photographers are overworked and underpaid, worked too long, forced to work too fast, and then let go for the stupidest ### after they get decent at the job, (the real reason they are let go is because the company is full of greedy ###, and they want to get rid of anyone who has any vestment in the company so that the greedy ### on top get more money.)
And if your looking to apply at lifetouch, work at lifetouch, or just got hired. You should go look for a new job.
And if you don't take my advice on that one, go get your self a beat up piece of crap car for working in, or else that nice shiny new car that you just got is going to become a beat up piece of crap car.
so yea...
ex-lifetouch employee of 6 years.
CONTACT YOUR LOCAL BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU.
I am currently a lifetouch employee and agree with SPROCK112. The km pay is low and the starting wage is crap which I only found out about after I got the job. I would like to know what other photographers in Canada are starting out as. Please let me know or where I can find that information. I feel very ripped off.
My Wife and I have three kids at two differant schools all three of the packages we paid for the primium touch up at $12 each and not a one of them were touched up. After my wife spent hours on the phone they still want us to send theses wrong pictures back on our dime.I DONT THINK SO!!! NOT HAPPENING!!! Just start giving paople what they pay for or IM tinking CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT!!!
Lifetouch uses the philosophy of building on bones they Can not keep help and instead of paying the good ones they accidentally hire they replace them with cheap labor so you never know who is taking your pix.
I worked for Lifetouch photography and I realized it is a billion dollar money making SCAM!
with bad Management. I would not recomend anyone to Lifetouch...
I've never had any issues with lifetouch. The one I have gone to seems to have great customer service and whenever there has been any issue come up they take care if it quickly. It seems like all those who say they "use to work for lifetouch" and now claim that they are just a "scam" are just upset at the fact that they were canned and can't get over it. I have seen some here and there that just didnt seem to get it and didnt last that long with them. Its pretty clear and simple to take this company as what it is. Its not a hilton photography kind of place but if you want to spend cheaper money than other places and get quality pictures then id go with them.
I just had me first experience with Lifetouch and it was awkward and bad. I'd never go to them again. It was through the Church Directory program. We went in expecting to take a single photo for the directory. We were more or less bullied into purchasing $200.00 in photos. This is what we got: 2 sheets (each of 3x5's) and one "storyteller" thing that is basically a large framed artwork piece with 3 photos of your choice. We were not given ANY price breakdown or package options. She rushed through some sort of mumbled speech about saving "points" the more we ordered. We left with the understanding that we were getting the storyteller art piece, the 2 sheets of 3x5's, one 8x10 and one sheet of wallet sized photos. We were given this magical number of $200.00 plus taxes and handling for this. When I asked for more info about cost breakdowns she danced a tune and never answered and we were so frustrated plus dealing with a crying infant that we just wanted to get out of there. We weren't even all that happy with the photo options. When the photos arrived I immediately wondered where the hell the 8x10 and wallets were because they were specifically ordered as christmas presents and were the family portrait we'd gone in for in the first place. So I called. waited 30 minutes to talk to someone who said that was not on our order and she couldn't do anything about it. Because the receit does not break down costs, just says $200, its now my word against the sales reps about what we did in fact order. The whole process was rushed annoying and the sales rep was particularly shifty. We were not at all impressed and honestly upset with the church for basically dictating that we all needed to go through this process for their new directory. I've spoken to some other families who had similar experiences and we're all pretty annoyed and unhappy with Lifetouch. This is Canada, by the way. After reading this forum I'm not surprised and just wish I'd gone into the session armed with this knowledge. I wish I'd demanded a proper cost breakdown and price list (which is magically unavailable) and refused to pay anything until I saw it. Seems like they were just out for a quick buck and we have no idea where she came up with our price based on our order. I'm so peeved about not getting the photos I wanted and paying that much. I WOULD NOT recommend this company to anyone.
Our school hired LifeTouch Photography this year for the first time. When the salesperson came in to meet with us she practically promised us the moon in exchange for our business. Since we were going to be shorthanded due to a maternity leave, I was assured that I didn't have to do much of anything - LifeTouch would handle everything from the monies to flyers for the parents. Of course they published the flyers to post, but supplied us with stickers for the students to notify their parents that "tomorrow was picture day", which didn't work for one of our days as it was the following Monday. I had to make up separate flyers for the parents for the Monday picture day. In addition, they wanted these little cards filled out with the child's name, teacher, session, etc., etc. I told the salesperson outright that I was not going to do this as it was too time consuming. She then suggested I have the teachers do this. I refused to do this as well - I wound up making labels for each card with the information that was needed. I will not have writer's cramp! Not all of the parents viewed the pictures on the "viewing" day, so LifeTouch left all the pictures in the office with instructions to collect the money from the parents and distribute the pictures. What ever happened to "you won't have to handle any money, etc., etc." The individual "sticky back" pictures that we place in the student's folder did not have names, just a number so small to match against a list that I literally had to use a magnifying glass to read the number in order to match up the student to their name on the list. This is unexcusable! As a busy school office, I simply do not have the time to do this. Many of our teachers filed the photos themselves as they knew the children for the most part. I e mailed our salesperson regarding this and I have yet to hear back. I am sorry we ever went wtih LifeTouch and we will not have them back next year. I do have to say that the photographers were very nice young ladies, however they spent much too much time with each individual student, resulting in a delay for some of our students having to have their pictures taken the next day when they were scheduled for that particular day. They need to get their act together and train their salespeople to tell the truth and not promise what they cannot or will not deliver. Never again!
I just got our pictures back we paid $200 dollars to this company what a total scam. To take the glare out of my husbands glasses they erased his eye lids he had no eye lids and half of his left eye was missing yes I said missing. This is a horrible company and I have tried to get my money back. The photo shop they did was insane a two year old with a marker could have done better.
I ordered pictures, Lifetouch cashed my check 9/21/09, never received pictures. Called on 10/30/09 company rep. stated would resend in 2 to 4 weeks and received confirmation number. Pictures were supposed to take 2 to 4 weeks (would have been prioir to Thankgsiving). Still no pictures and it is now January. Where are they or refund my money?? Tried to call but of course they are closed for nearly 3 weeks and I needed pictures for christmas. Very irritated with that company. Will never order again. My daughter is in 10th grade and no way will I have them do any more pictures including the senior picture.
I have worked for this company. Lifetouch in Southern California, more precisely Riverside county does not abide by State of California Labor Laws. What makes you think that they would give customers anything better than unsatisfactory service? I recommend that anyone considering using them to look elsewhere. You may think that I am bitter or something, but I have proof of the violations and these are being presented to a court of law. Anyway, steer clear of this company