When Harry was a wee, pudgy, adorable baby, we had his picture taken ALL THE TIME. I can remember more than one occasion where I would take him down to the mall by MYSELF just to get pictures snapped at Sears. And they always turned out adorable. And I always used one of those cheapo coupons where you get a bazillion photos for $5 or whatever. It was perfect. This carried on from when he was about 6 months old (the first time I sorta realized I could actually get pictures done… what can I say? I was a first time mom!) until he was about two or three. I would get pictures done almost every month.
But then we started getting frustrated with the wait time. We would make an appointment well enough in advance, but it never failed that we would spend 30 minutes (or more!) waiting in the little waiting area with the germ infested bead coaster and watching a movie on the tiny television. Waiting with a toddler sucks, if you weren’t already aware. We were there for Christmas portraits and finally had HAD IT. We never felt like the photographer took enough time trying to get good pictures. Once they saw we had the $5 coupon, they would take a picture until we were relatively sure we got the shot we wanted and that was it. There was little to no personal attention. It was very disappointing.
It was around this time that Picture People was getting going in our local mall so we started going there. It was a bit pricier, but the customer service, quick turn-around and attractive prints made it worth our while. And, over the years, we’ve gotten less professional portraits taken. Harry gets school pictures done and since Liam and now Evie came into our lives, there just hasn’t been the time for it. And, of course, Picture People packed up and left town.
I decided to bite the bullet and made an appointment at Sears Portrait Studio, hoping that enough time had passed that their practices had improved over the years. We found out within 5 minutes of arriving that no, they had not. At least, that’s what I believed when we were told that they were very busy, several appointments had run over and that our appointment had been “bumped”. She meant to call us, honest! She could see about fitting us in later. Let’s see, it was 1pm… how would 7pm work? We’d only have to kill six hours at the mall with a surly third grader and two wee children. SURE, WHY NOT? We told her we’d think about it and made ourselves scarce faster than you can say, “Not on your life, sister!”
But my story doesn’t end there. After mentioning on my blog about my less-than-satisfactory experience, I was contacted by someone at Sears Portrait Studio. They wanted to make it right for us and would we consider giving Sears Portrait Studio another shot? They didn’t even ask for details on what went wrong with our experience, just that they would ensure we were treated well. What did I have to lose? Our local studio contacted us (the manager called me on her cell-phone to set up the appointment and assured me she would be there to photograph us as well) and we made an appointment. I started to get jazzed, hoping that FINALLY I would have a picture of all three of my children.
The studio manager called again a day before our photo appointment to go over the details with us. She asked what the children would be wearing, what sort of portraits we were hoping to get and other details. Before we even stepped foot in the studio, I felt like a very important customer. And when we arrived, that feeling only deepened. We never had to sit in the waiting area, as we were whisked back for our session right away. The manager and another photographer were there on hand to help us capture our children (no mean feat when you factor in Liam). I was still doubtful that we’d be able to get many quality pictures of Liam, at least, but I was game.
In short, we were taken VERY well care of. Liam wasn’t good for more than about two photos in a row, but the women were more than happy to go at his speed and let him take breaks as often as he wanted. Though I was stressed about Liam’s behavior, the women never made me feel like I had anything to be nervous about. The mood was very calm and relaxed and I appreciated that more than I can say. After the session, the manager went over the photos with us, helping us make our selections and giving advice where she saw fit. Of course they tried to sell us their most expensive packages, I would have been suspicious if they hadn’t, but I never felt like I was put on the spot either. The ball was entirely in our court.
We ordered our pictures and were on our way. Two weeks later when the pictures came in at the store, we were given a phone call. A few days later, a framed portrait we were given as an incentive came in and again we were given a call by the manager. We picked the pictures up and they are GORGEOUS. They turned out even better than I had hoped and I am so glad that I decided to give Sears Portrait Studio another chance. If you’ve felt burned by them in the past, like I had, I urge you to give them another shot. While we were treated like VIPs, I could tell that a lot had changed about their practices in general and I will be happy to return there in the future for more pictures (I’m thinking Evie will need some 1 Year pictures!). And check out this beautiful framed picture we got:
Not just a gorgeous photo but HUGE.
To give you some idea of scale… sorry it’s so blurry!
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Laura 11.28.08 at 8:03 pm
I had an awful experience today at Sears. We come year every year and I usually buy them all! My family consists of 5. Mom, Dad, 3 boys ages 16, 15, 13. We all dressed in matching tops and jeans. Easy enough right? We arrived promptly for our appointment and waited. No problem, it’s a busy day. During the shoot she (the photographer) kept the white sheet as the background and never changed it. Honestly, I didn’t pick up on it until after reviewing the photos. We waited for 30 minutes or so for our photos to be ready for viewing. Meanwhile, my family is getting restless. Teenage boys and husbands don’t appreciate this process as much as I do. Finally, our photos. What a disappointment. First rule of photography should be posing your subjects…if you can’t do this…why are you in this line of work? As I am looking them over I realize that I hate all of the “family shots”. I don’t order them. What about our holiday cards? The sales person shows me a card that has a couple different shots available. Okay, let’s try that. I find 3 shots that will make up a “family holiday card” $50 for 30 holiday cards. Next she crops in a couple shots and adds a background…okay that helped a little. I later discover her correcting them will cost dearly! I decide on 1 8×10- 3 5×7’s. She asks if I would like the disk for $39…I always buy one to put in a safe in case of fire. After another 10 minute wait at the ONE register..I about stroke when I hear the total of $173.40. For what? I look over to my family and can see that they are more than ready to go…(our appointment was at 10:30 a.m….it’s almost 1:00 p.m.) With several families in line behind me I decide to give her my card and figure it out after we are out of there.
I decide to go…let’s get lunch and look them over. We walk across the street to have lunch. I can’t get over how badly we are posed. My husband asked what I ended up with and about fell out of his chair when I showed him. I call Sears and explain my disappointment. The manager, Kim, tells me there is nothing wrong with the photos and she can only offer another sitting. Could I come back tomorrow? I explained I couldn’t because my step son (16 year old) is only here for the day and he lives 2 1/2 hours away. I call customer service and ask for the district manager’s contact information. Sorry, we can’t give that information out. I explain the entire situation to CS rep who states that is Sear’s policy. I can only get a refund for $40 (some prints) because now my disk will be $120 and they are not refundable. The disk with these horriable pictures cost me $120–what happen to the $39 dollars I was charged. That was with your portriat purchase. Now, I will pay full price. Don’t you think someone should have told me that? It wasn’t a secret that I didn’t care much for the photos when I was selecting them, again I was trying to make the best of it. We were never offered a retake then and there on the spot. No one has contacted me from Sears. I asked CS to have a district manager contact me. I’m extremely disappointed in my photos and the lack of customer service.
How did you get them to make it right for you? If you would like to see these pics…I would be happy to share them. EMAIL me at mcklatt2007@aol.com
Laura
Bloomington, Illinois
Silvia 01.26.09 at 4:02 am
Hey there. First of all I’m super glad to hear that you gave sears portrait another chance. I work at a Sears Portrait Studio and I must say that we really do care very much about the customer even though sometimes it might not seem like it. It’s kind of hard to give your full 100% when you’ve had appointments all day, have been running back and forth between the camera and the phone, and are now running late because jr. was screaming bloody murder and mom kept insisting to just try for a little longer because it took her for ever to get in for an appointment. If ever you’re not satisfied with your portraits just let us know. We are more than happy to accomodate you, and make up for any inconviniences we may have caused. The worst thing you could do is to do what Laura above did. We promise that our feelings will not be hurt if you let us know that you don’t like our picture and would like to try again or even if you just walk away. To Laura, Just ask your portrait studio to redo your pictures tell them you are not satisfied with your pictures and that you would like to reshoot. You’ll need to return all pictures and you probably wont be able to get the CD of your new pics because you had your old CD and even if you return it there’s the possibility that you hve them on your computer. But still you can have the old print replace print for print with the pics from the new sitting and if you like them enough then you might even decide to pay the extra for the disk. I think you should give it a try and see what happens. I hope you get a solution to your problem.
Sally 03.09.09 at 11:06 am
I”m glad you gave them another try! I have always used Sears w/ my kids growing up and thankfully have never had any problems. The picture you ended up w/ is gorgeous btw. From personal experience, I know my kids dont like to wait but they can also be the sit that puts everyone behind…..Babytime is such a pain
To Laura: I’m sorry that the sit left you w/ a bad taste in your mouth. Working in Customer service for as long as i have, I know that there are just some things that can’t be fixed w/ in company policy. Xmas time can be so crazy in these studios with new help ect. I frequent Bloomington now that management has changed over there and i find it to be wonderful, Personally I only allow Kim to do my pictures. You must have caught her on a bad day. Have you tried going in and talking to them ect. I know she would be willing to make things right. She always has for me.
Robbie 04.26.09 at 9:04 am
The way I feel is this. You get what you pay for. If you want someone to kiss your ass then you need to go to a professional photographer and spend between $250 and up. From: an ex- Sears Studio Manager
Ashley 05.10.09 at 7:40 pm
By someone that has an appointment scheduled on Saturday, I am truly back and forth on deciding to cancel. I have spent the last 4 days trying to do the pre-work for the lady in the studio by already having poses printed out that I would like to have done, just in case she just stands like duhuh, and doesn’t know how to do her job. I called today to get an idea of costs for engagement pictures, and the prices were nothing like the ones online. It sounds like no matter what, we will be spending $130.00 at the least to have our pictures taken with backgrounds from the 80’s and not as many sheets as I feel like that price should include. The above comment by Robbie kind of makes me sick, because thats what you are if you work in a studio is a professional photographer, are you not??? ( Probably why your an ex- Sears Studio Manager). And that price is a huge chunk out people’s paychecks in this economy. Maybe if you live in LA you should feel that price is nothing but in small towns that is outrageous for 2 people to get some shots taken for the local paper. I’m already scared that the pictures might look bad but to have to sit there and wait, or for them to not make the pictures look like a professional should make them look, it makes me have a headache before I even get there! A friend tells me they just went to Wal-Mart and got their pictures done for $30! If thats the price at Wal-Mart then I would imagine I could find a REAL professional as Robbie suggests and probably be satisfied with my pictures afterwards for around that same price! Honestly I’m surprised Sears even feels comfortable pricing their pictures that way. I have sold cameras for years, and the quality from them now are sooo professional I can’t even tell a difference! My best bet is to just ask my mom to take pictures of me and my fiance’ with my 8 megapixel camera at the local park with the poses I have already picked out. I could just crop them and have as many shots as I want without a copyright release! The paper would be all I would pay for in my own printer! So how can Sears afford to price these so high and why shouldn’t I just cancel the appointment? Just save myself some time, some money, and a few goody powders?
Robbie 05.11.09 at 6:25 am
To Ashley, the reason I am an “ex studio manager” is that I got tired of making them money and opened my own studio http://www.mildunstudios.com. Wal-Mart “Picture Me” studios and “Sears” portrait studio are the same. They are both owned by CPI Images. We were told Wal-Mart is for low income and Sears is for middle-class. Our goal from each customer at Sears was AT LEAST $110.00 and if we didn’t get that, then we we briefed and in some cases wrote up for it. Thats the reason that employee at Sears quoted $130.00. If her average goes below $110.00 for 3 weeks you are taken off of the schedule and replaced. Sears is ALL about $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$. And Fast $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$. Just like a Doctors office, that is why they schedule 15 mins appointments during Christmas, to get as many ppl in the door as possible, they don’t care how long the customer has to wait. The training for a so called “photographer” at Sears and “Picture Me” is 30 hours. and that’s another reason I left I didn’t want my education as a professional photographer and my background be tarnished by somones image of a crappy photographer at Sears. We were told that if a customer spent less than $110.00 that they would rather not even have them as a customer. “Picture ME” and “Sears Portrait” are like the fast food of photography. A real professional photographer being filet mignon and “Sears” and “Picture Me” being something from the dollar menu at Mcdonalds. You get what you pay for. Sorry this is the harsh truth.
sasha 06.25.09 at 9:46 am
Do you even realize what a “Photographer” at SPS goes through? Especially one that is booked every 15 minutes and with only ONE camera room? We empathize with you, trust me. We hear it all the time. But ya know….there really is NOT much we can do about it.
We are ROBOTS. We don’t eat, we don’t use the bathroom…and the more dedicated ones? Well, we work 20 days in a row from open to close without a break. CPI..the company we work for doesn’t care at all about their employees..they care about the MONEY.
We are FORCED to badger our customers with outreach-aka telemarketing because they are too cheap to put our number in the book or even advertises.
And that cheap coupon you use? Do you realize how HARD we work for you to take beautiful pictures for you to spend 5 bucks on ONE pose? Yeah..we get wrote up for that.
I think you need to work a Christmas season for your local SPS. You will then realize why things are the way they are.
sasha 06.25.09 at 10:06 am
Also. I quit working there..after only 10 months of being a manager and putting in 3 years all together… I have turned into the invisible mommy. I never saw my kids. I was always at work.
The prices are what they are. We can’t help it. We are told to charge x amount of dollars for x item.
I hated to push the expensive collections on my customers…but if I didn’t..I got wrote up..it was even worse when the district manager came to visit.
Do you realize how many times I cried at work? Do you realize that our jobs were in constant danger? Like they say above.. No one can afford those prices in this economy..especially NW Ohio where the jobs are really scarce. Well, we can’t afford to lose our jobs.
We are professional photographers..but the ones that charge 60 dollars a sitting and another 100 for clothing/pose changes are the ones we call “Prime rib’ photographers..they can charge what they want..it is their business.
SPS is “steak” and PM is “hamburger”.
Even the BEST photographers have bad days. I had been taking a families portraits since their 3 year old was a baby..and I had the humiliation of taking crappy photos..wanna know why? Cause her 3 year old was acting up..screaming every time I put him down and got behind the camera to take his pic only to have him MOVE! We were 30 mins behind and only ONE camera room. I felt HORRIBLE!! I had to make a choice..continue with the crappy pictures or just get that kid OUT of there so we can continue down the production line….
It got to a point where I put up a sign….”All appointment times are approximate, to better serve you we run on KID time” Most customers appreciated it.
Sometimes we got 10 minute Johnny who listened, did all the poses we were required to do, plus what his mother wanted and had no problems..or we got 40 minute Susie who was shy and needed to be reassured. *shrug* That is just the way it is.
Just be pleasant always..and if you need to complain.. do it nicely.. and to the studio manager. Most of them are more than willing to “break the rules” for a customer who is calm and nice.