Sears Portrait Studio Review

Overall 2.96 of 5 view all 27 reviews

mcklatt2007
Bloomington, IL

will never go back to sears for photos again

a pet owner, I believe in honesty, quality conscious

Cons

Coupons are misleading at best, Price shock at checkout, Over book appointments, untrained photographers, They don't stand behind product, Unprofessional and NO Customer Service, Pressure sales, inexperience, Managers are not helpful

NOV

2008

Sears Portrait Studio —

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 8x10- 3 5x7'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.)
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 Sears 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 horrible pictures cost me $120--what happen to the $39 dollars I was charged. That was with your portrait 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. Buyers Beware. I attached one photo...boys in the red. If you want to see more...email me at mcklatt2007 (aol) I'm happy to share if it means saving you time and money!

Laura

Bloomington, Illinois

Sears Portrait Studio is not recommended by mcklatt2007

Review inappropriate? Copyright violation?

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Comments about mcklatt2007’s Review

In response to jhaynes's comment from Dec 31, 2008 at 5:49PM:

So are you saying that when someone comes in to get pictures you have no idea what to do? do you make them pick all the backgrounds and props and pose themselves? Because that is basically what she is saying they failed to do.. So instaed of being a snot why not say yeah they are totally inexperienced and working there you should know they didn't do their job.. unless you are the same?

it sounds like you had an off day with sears. when selecting backgrounds for family photos- photographers usually stick with a 'theme' so that when you arrange the photos on your wall, the backgrounds will all match. similar to how you placed thought into what everyone was wearing, a photographer places a lot of thought into selecting a universal backdrop that will work with your color choices and in (most) areas of a home where you might hang your photos. furthermore, it sounds as if you had a very particular idea of what you wanted this session to look like. with that, i reccommend (with this company or any other) checking out their website first and printing off poses you may like to try.

as easy as it is to place the blame on the studio, you have to remember that A-women are very inwardly critical and B-photographers are not mind readers. what you think may 'not have been a secret' might have escaped your salespersons eyes.

and finally- i ABSOLUTELY AGREE in explaining all prices before you make it to the register so that you don't end up with a coronary. 'enhancing' the photos does cost extra, however if you had spoke up in the camera room about choice of backdrop and 'enhancement' would not have been necessary. when purchasing a cd from sears, remember- the CDs are HIGH RESOLUTION and come with a copyright release embedded on the disc. therefore, once the images leave the studios hands, you OWN THEM. reasoning why CDs are non refundable.

any more questions?? i may be able to help. my name is cindi and i am the manager of the sears portrait studio in bowie town center, MARYLAND.