Holiday Photos

[Guest]

[sketchqueen]

This is completely irrelevant for everyone out there; but I need a place to kvetch, whine and moan. As many of you know, I'm a mommy with a 7 year old and a 2 year old (and a hubby too!) and we decided this year to go get family photos taken for the holidays. I started this endeavor 2 weeks ago, planned for an early am appointment so that the baby wouldn't be tired.

Got to "The Picture People - a subsidary of Hallmark" at 11am on a Saturday morning - where they took us promptly --- and had us using the area IN THE WAITING ROOM to get our pictures done. Mind you - there are other people in the waiting room; other kids screwing around, etc. and all mine want to do is get up and go play with all the other kids. After a while of trying to get them to sit down, they finally move us to a Room. But by then it's been too long - all of our patience is exhausted and I never even saw 1 picture from that entire sitting. So, they say, please re-schedule. Sure, whatever. Reschedule for the following Sunday a week later - this time at 4 pm.

Get there, I can already tell there's going to be a wait. 15 minutes they say. I remind them we need a ROOM. Okay they say. Go back, start with the family, but the baby isn't being very cooperative. Finally (I think) we get some nice shots - the baby's got his head resting on my chest, my husband and older son standing beside us - those were the last shots taken. The earlier shots were all kind of oddly posed. Come back in an hour they say ...

Meanwhile we go for dinner - don't get me started on that fiasco! Go back for our pictures and they bring us only a couple - one of just the boys that looks ridiculous and the earlier oddly posed picture. Where are the rest? we say... UMMM they say The camera broke. You can RESCHEDULE --- again??? I leave, virtually in tears.

Call the manager this morning fully expecting to hear the same rhetoric - reschedule, reschedule, reschedule - but instead am PLEASANTLY surprised to hear "What can we do to make this up to you?". Taken aback I say, well, I need something for the holidays but I don't think I can stomach coming back in .. Fine - the nice manager says I can tell which of these is the best and I'll send you out via FED EX some of them so you can have something AND I'll put a note in the computer to comp you another set of photos when you do come back in.

Wow... and to think I was starting to feel very jaded about the state of customer service in America

[RupT]

Wow, thats pretty darn cool of the manager.

Lets hope some of the pcitures they took before the camera "broke" turn out well )

My family did this a couple of years back, but im not just talking about mum, dad me and brother. I'm talking about every family member under my grandparents on my Dad's side of the family.... thats a total of 21 people.... and luckily all went smoothly enough!!

Do let us know how the photos turned out mate!!

[Roz]

21 people - 1 camera Rup? It must have felt like one of those school photos , only probably with more laughing and joking (and no teachers telling you your tie isn't straight or your top button is undone).

Oh poor you Joanna, and I have to admit that I probably have a shorter fuse than you but I'd have been annoyed at the first reschedule never-lo the second!!! But I am glad it has turned out ok in the end - it's amazing - a "Holiday Photo" to Brits is a picture that someone has brought back from their summer trip abroad I don't know how a couple of days off in  November and December have become the American equivalent of a summer holiday in the Mediterranean - ha ha - language is a funny thing.

[kbmum]

Joanna, I feel for you!  It isn't easy getting two little kids to look at the camera and smile at the same time, never mind adding all of the other problems you experienced.  I'm a bit surprised, since I've heard good things about The Picture People.  At least the manager is making things right.

The worst photo session we had was four years ago, just before the kids turned 2.  My mother-in-law and I took the kids to the mall to have their picture taken with Santa.  What a fiasco!  They were really excited -- until we got there and they saw the display and Santa.  Then they got anxious.   We managed to get my daughter on Santa's lap, but my son wanted no part of it.  The picture we got (the best of the bunch) is hysterical to us now.  My daughter has a "get me outta here" look on her face and my son is standing sideways next to Santa, looking off to the side.  What you can't see, because the photographer cropped it out of the shot before printing the photo, is me a foot away, crouched down like an umpire, trying to prevent my son from bolting into the mall.  Ah, the memories!

a "Holiday Photo" to Brits is a picture that someone has brought back from their summer trip abroad I don't know how a couple of days off in November and December have become the American equivalent of a summer holiday in the Mediterranean - ha ha - language is a funny thing.

Roz, you don't refer to Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa or New Year's Day as holidays?

[sketchqueen]

Santa pics went okay - hubby took them while we were waiting for the 2nd reshoot

The saddest (funniest?) part of this - yesterday we got back my youngest son's 'school' photos - OMG! is he GORGEOUS - he looks so angelic, such a big smile on his face that I almost fell over when I saw it. The hellacious time we had as a family, and yet, I'll still end up with really nice pictures to send out.

And I surely will scan it in for you all to see Not that you've not seen us all half a dozen times (if you read a certain non-sport magazine that updates you periodically...)  Then again, we're rarely all in a photo at the same time ..

[EmmasOneandOnly]

We did once Christmas picture and that was about 9 years ago

Now we wont do it because its like tradition to wear Christmas clothing for a Holiday picture and my sister doesn't want to wear anything with *quote* "bells and whistles" So we really don't do them

That was very nice of the Manager, I got a free CD case once from a manager because they said there was a fee for signing me up for a kit that helps locate you if you are kidnapped or abducted. My mom got the kit and signed me up, the sign said Sign Your Child Up for the Kiddy Kit for FREE, and they said it was a 10 charge for the kit. So the manager came around and sorted it out and gave us a free CD case