Wal*mart Screwed up My DS Pictures.....AGAIN!!

[MOM2B2003]

Okay.....MAJOR VENT here!! My son is now 7 months old. Since he was 2 months old, I have been taking him to our local Wal*mart Portrait Studio to get his pictures taken every two months. He is growing so fast and changing every day, and I want to try to capture this transition. Weeellllll..........

When we went to get his pictures taken back in January for the 4 month milestone, low and behold they royally screwed them up. The photographer had somehow gotten her finger in the corner of the picture. I had ordered all kinds of extra greeting cards, etc. for Valentine's Day plus the diskette to email everyone his pictures. The diskette nor the monitor in the studio showed her finger in the picture. Well, instead of calling me when the pictures were getting processed, they went ahead and substituted a pose of THEIR choice for a picture he wasn't even smiling in!! (When there were several others that he WAS smiling in!) Well, needless to say, I would not accept that. After I fought with their customer service they offered to reshoot them AND send me the pose I had originally ordered. The reshoot went well and I did get my original pose......about a month and a half later!

So......About two weeks ago we went back to get his pictures taken for his 6 month milestone. I know that pictures tend to come back a week early, so I stopped in today to see if they were in yet. The lady pulled my package and laid out all the "proofs" for me. She started going into her big long salespitch about how if you buy each proof separately it is over an $80 value....... Meanwhile, I am seeing the "proof" of the picture that was supposed to be our package pose. I lost my breath and my heart stopped beating I swear! In the picture he was looking at the floor with no smile!!! THIS WAS NOT THE POSE WE HAD CHOSEN!!! Nor was it the image we had seen on their little computer monitor during his session, nor was it the pose that I have on the diskette that I purchased this time. I am asking the lady what the hell happened?!?!?!?! She THEN told me that the digital image you see on the computer monitor MAY NOT be the same one that the camera actually captures! :confused: WTF?!?!?! So what is the point of even SEEING them on the monitor?????? She said that MAYBE she could see if they could print one of the other poses instead. BUT!.....It is going to be approximately 6 weeks for those pictures to get done!!!!! I mean, he will be friggin' 8 1/2 months old by then....Overdue for my next "Two Month Milestone" pictures!!!

I was soooooooo Pi$$ed!!!!!!!!! Why is it that they mess up my pics ALL THE D@MN time???? They offered to reshoot, but now his is seven months old....I mean a kid is only a certain age for so long......And do they think it is EASY to get a child this age in for a great photo session?!?!?!?!

I ended up calling their customer service number again. She offered to reprint the whole package in a pose of my choice AND refund my money. BUT!.....I have to wait 3-6 weeks to get them! Like I told her, I should not have to fight for my pictures every d@mn time, nor should I have to wait nearly 2 months From the time that they were taken to get my pictures back!

*Ready to pull my hair out* Anyhow, I just wanted to let everyone know what my experience has been with their portrait studio. Wal*mart is like my favorite place, but I AM NOT going back to their portrait studio! I am going to either Target or Sears. Both are a tad more expensive, but if their service is better, it is soooo worth it! Plus Target takes 6-7 pictures and lets you choose which one of those poses you want the package to be made from instead of saying, "The first good pose is your package, now let's take 6 more to make you wanna spend a whole bunch more money."

Live and learn!! Thanks for listening!!!

SEE UPDATE BELOW!!!!!

[justinenycole26]

I like Sears and JC Penney, or if you have lots of $ to spend, Olan Mills. I would not let Wal-Mart or K-Mart take pictures of my dirty mop.

[PreciousDarlin]

I am really sorry that you have had such bad experience with Walmart's Portrait Studio. They are actually the ONLY place that has EVER taken pics of my son (he is 4 now) and there is only a certain photographer that I will take him to (she is studio manager and has been there forever). They have always done a great job.
And around here, Olan Mills studios are in KMarts. They do a good job (they took my daughter's pics once) but I still like Tina (Walmart studio manager) better. And if she ever struck out on her own, I would follow her, no question.

[HoustonGal]

I made the mistake of letting them process a roll of APS film for me, came back with finger prints on the pics. They tried to tell me it was my fault. You can't open an advantix camera with out the film rewinding first. After about an hour of complaining, this man walks up and agrees with me, they refunded my money and offered to do my next roll for free, I accepted the money, but told them they will NEVER process any film for me again.
These were pictures taken in the Davis Mtns. when it snowed last October. Shots that can't be replaced.
I was happy to take my son to Sears, great shots, no problems and a quick turnaround, plus I get clothes for him at the same time.

[Dolly<3]

I think candid pictures are better. They mean more than some pose and a memory of the hassle. I would buy a really nice camera (you'll save money in the long run b/c you won't be spending whatever walmart charges twice a month) and every two weeks follow him around all day taking pics of him being him.

[latestdish]

I am truly sorry you had to go through all that. I am really partial to JcPenney's, because they always do a first rate grade A job. They are also really expensive. However, I am happy to recommend them.

[MOM2B2003]

I am really sorry that you have had such bad experience with Walmart's Portrait Studio. They are actually the ONLY place that has EVER taken pics of my son (he is 4 now) and there is only a certain photographer that I will take him to (she is studio manager and has been there forever). They have always done a great job.
And around here, Olan Mills studios are in KMarts. They do a good job (they took my daughter's pics once) but I still like Tina (Walmart studio manager) better. And if she ever struck out on her own, I would follow her, no question.
Yes, I know what you mean by taking them to the manager of the studio. This is exactly what I did. She seems to do a very good job taking the pictures, but their equipment just plain sucks.

I think candid pictures are better. They mean more than some pose and a memory of the hassle. I would buy a really nice camera (you'll save money in the long run b/c you won't be spending whatever walmart charges twice a month) and every two weeks follow him around all day taking pics of him being him.
I do this, too. We have a ton of candid shots. Plus he seems to smile more easily at home or around me and my DH anyhow. But it is still nice to have them "professionally" taken at certain stages/ages to be able to have as keepsakes and share with the rest of our family. However, after my experiences, these guys ARE NOT "professionals"!!!

They usually do end up making good on whatever it was that was screwed up. But I have to WAIT an additional 3-6 weeks for them to "make good" on it. Plus I have to go through the initial furious state of being totally pi$$ed off that they flubbed up so bad!! I called the studio manager today and told her that I would not be back. It is just not worth all the hassle I have to go through. It SHOULD NOT be that way! Now I just hope that this "certificate" that they are supposed to be sending me to reimburse my money is not a "certificate" that is only redeemable at their Portrait Studios. I feel sorry for the person on the other end of the phone who takes my call if that is the case!!! :eek:

[Urban Cowgirl]

I am sorry you have had a bad experience, i can totally sympathize with you. I too have had some rotten experiences, mine were at target and picture people though. I love Olan Mills and they do often put a coupon on their website so you can get a package for around ten bucks and I have always been pleased with them. Hope you have better luck!

[MOM2B2003]

I just wanted to let everyone know what is going on.....

I was so furious on Thursday when I called the customer service number that I forgot to ask the woman I talked to her name and extension number in case I had future problems getting the reprint done that she had promised.

Well, I wanted to call back and confirm that the order had been placed in the system. Plus this would give me a good opportunity to see if they had even started it yet.

When I called I got a different person. She looked it up, confirmed that the reprint had been placed, it is in process, and she said that I SHOULD have them in my possession by May 5!!! She said they are actually going to overnight them to me once they come out of printing!!!

She then asked me if I would tell her why there is such a "hot rush" status placed on the order. I told her the whole story, beginning with the mess I had to go through LAST time and now THIS time. She apologized. I told her that because of that, I was NOT coming back. She then asked how long I had been a customer there. Well, I had been going there for several years because I had other family pictures done before my son was born. She looked that up. She said that seeing that I have been a customer for some time, she hated to lose me altogether. She said that she would send me a certificate to get my next photo shoot completely free with a free package, PLUS she is sending me a certificate to order extra photos from the session AT THEIR EXPENSE!!! She said this way it gives them the opportunity to have "one last chance", and I am not out anything besides my time getting my son there.

Is that not totally cool????? So, I am going to give them that "one last chance". Hopefully this time everything will turn out wonderfully. I really do like the people that work at the studio, especially the studio manager. And there is no other place as close as them since we live in the boonies.......

Keep your fingers crossed for me that everything will turn out okay with my "freebie"!!

[RNB16]

I too am having a terrible time with our Wal-Mart Photo studio. They have had to cancel my pictures twice and the time before that the lady made my daughter so upset that she was crying after putting a feather duster in her face over and over again when I said she didn't like that and to stop. Now I think I am going to go to Sears, which I like, if I can find my coupon for no sitting fee. I am glad you got something for all of your troubles though :o

[texasgander]

Sears is great and they always offer specials.....

[Tas]

I gave Walmart the one last chance and it wasn't worth it. Ended up buying the smilesavers plan at Sears and can get them done anytime I want for two years with no sitting fees. My Sears print the pics within an hour. They are just great.