Complaint Review: Chell's Creative Photography

In repsonse to Tara's complain, she is a repeat client of mine. I photographed her at another glamour party a few weeks before Christmas. It was clear to the host of the party that the delivery of the images would be a week before Christmas because of her last minute booking. The portraits were delivered On Time to the host.

I went above and beyond what was asked of Tara to digitally edit her photos.  Coming from a professional, Tara's photographs needed extensive retouching. She loved her pictures so much that she booked her own party. So if she was unsatisified with my work or service then she would never have booked her own glamour party. Just a spectulation, but I am sure if she was unsatisfied with the digital work she would not have been able to get people to want to come to her party either.  

It is an agreement with hosts and myself that in order to book a party you must have no less than 10 people participating and having portraits made. Tara did not have 10 people until the last day and she wasn't even sure if they were all getting their pictures taken. We had a severe snow storm that morning. School and businesses were closed due to this storm. However I still planned on photographing the glamour party. I had slid off the road and got stuck in a ditch trying to get to the studio to get my equipment. When I got to the studio almost 2 hours later, I contacted Tara immediately and told her the situation. She lived about 45 mintues away and the roads were iced. I asked her if there was anyway we could reschedule and I would make it up to her and her guests buy giving them all an automatic FREE Retouched 8X10 and this would also give her a chance to get more guests to her party as well.

Tara became so irrate and told me that she has spent all week cleaning her house and even went out and bought window blinds, curtains and made some other household improvements to her house just for the party. She proceeded to put her husband on the phone to threaten at me that he knew people and would destroy my reputation. Tara works at the credit union that I have accounts with and I was threated that everyone at the bank would know who I was and what a scammer I was. When Tara got back on the phone she told me that I was going to pay her for the money she spent in food and I would be reimbersing her for her cost in her window treatments and other household improvements she made in order to get her house looking nice for the party.

Tara never complained to me that she did not recieve the correct photos nor did anyone in the party that she attended. So she has no evidence that was brought to my attention that guests did not recieve their correct order. I am a human being and I do make mistakes, my policy is that if I do order a wrong size print(s), the client keeps the print(s) and I will re-print and deliver the correct ones within a few days.

For Tara to say that I am "an alcoholic" is ubsurd and she has absolutely no evidence to prove this. My relationship with Tara was completely professional.  Althought some host do serve alcoholic beverages at ther glamour party, I maintain professionalism and do not drink alcohol at any time. So I have never had consumed alcohol in the presence Tara or have I ever spoke about consuming alcohol to her. I am considering bringing charges to her for slander on these grounds. 

This client also has no idea how I conduct my wedding photography business because she has never been to a wedding I have photographed nor booked a wedding with me, so the statement she makes saying, "If she is asked to do your wedding, she may not even show up to that!" is completely untrue. In my 12 years of being a professional photographer and studio owner have I ever missed or even showed up late to a wedding.

I am no longer operate my own personal business due to a terrible unforseen divorce situation, however I still contuct photography in the Burton, MI area.