Complaint Review: Christopher Descano Photography

I'm just a guy who likes reading some of the posts here; that's what this site is for. 95% of the time the complainant has no case (browse some of the reports, you'll see what I mean).  But like I said, you don't come off very well in this one.

That being said, to the OP - you aren't going to the police. Even if he did take your purse (which he didn't, even though he seemed to be a jerk about it), there would be no way to come *close* to proving it. 

And by the way, why were you getting "corporate head shots" taken? You don't come off as a corporate type. 

Steve, who are you, and why are you commenting on a business transaction that you know nothing about? Ive literally shot about a thousand people, and have never had anyone dissatisfied to the point where they would actually go to this extreme. So to keep a score i'd say its 1000 happy customers to 1 unhappy customer. Thats a pretty good percentage in any business.

 Hi Everyone, as you can see, no further explanation needed. Imagine what it was like when she was my customer......Funny Ive been in business for years, shot hundreds if not a thousand people, and this is the first time a customer has ever gone to this extreme. Nightmare.

Dude, the fact that you called her a "nightmare customer" when it just seems like she didn't smile enough and sent a few emails (that did not look nasty at all) shows that you are more "artist" than businessman. Heck, she even said your pictures were good; so much for the "red flag" when she said she never liked any pictures taken of her in the past. Oh and by the way, having a hard time smiling naturally for a picture is not exactly a character flaw.

Given your tone here, I do not find it hard to believe the OP's claim that you made it clear to her you didn't give a sh1t about her purse. My guess is you are a prima donna that thinks a little too highly of himself, and thinks the world should be impressed because you can take a photograph. 

The work is not the issue. And if you cant see that then its unfortunate for you...take your blinders off and understand that its not all about the work its about the service and the property taken. you chose not to finish the job that i paid for in full, your customer service was poor to say the least, you were not on time, and your professionalism is like dealing with a child. i can go on and on.

there are plenty of people who have a skill in this world but not all can run a business if they cant deal with customers properly this was a business transaction Christopher and you did not hold up to your end and you also STOLE property that did not belong to you i gave you every opportunity to fix the issue and all i'm getting is lip service...I can and will call the police on you. I'm not playing this back and forth game any longer.

Hi Everyone, as you can see this customer has admitted she received great photos. That's what I do, I'm a talented photographer. But I'm also a business owner, and I understand when enough is enough. Sometimes you must turn away business, and after our shoot I decided to do just that. I chose to not retouch more photos she requested, which I charge for, which in turn made me lose money. And to be honest, even if she paid me triple, I wouldn't have done it.

I find it interesting that Mr. Descano feels that i didnt crack a smile since he left me standing outside when i arrived and he was not on time...anyone would be upset if they showed up for an appointment only to be told that they have to stand outside the studio doors until the photographer shows up. knowing that he had an appointment at a certain time he should have already been there...instead of keeping me waiting.

I never said the Mr. Descano wasnt talent just unprofesssional and unethical that i would like to see him deny because everything that i stated early was true and he knows it... he can add as many rebuttals as he would like but he knows what he is and what he's done...the email i've enclosed below is what i sent when i got no response from this so called businessman. he took it personal because he knows he was in the wrong. red flags PLEASE i'm sure im not the first person that he's done this to.

Good  Morning Christopher,
 
I'm not one to constantly contact a vendor for a service however i find my self continuously asking and waiting for a receipt that should have been given at the time the funds were provided to you during our first meeting and shoot day, which for some reason i still have not received.  I'm already a bit irritated at the lack of empathy or urgency in regards to my missing purse at your location that i now have to replace as well as all that was in it. i find this to be extremely unprofessional and disrespectful to me as a new customer.
 
I would kindly appreciate a pdf version of my receipt for the amount of $125.00 which was already paid in full forwarded to me by the end of business today as well as a time frame when i can expect the touched up photos so that we can conclude our business transaction. please forward an invoice for the remaining $70 for the work on the additional photos i requested. if you have any questions you can reply in an email.

Hi Everyone, I was looking forward to writing this because this client was one of those clients we business owners have nightmares about! From the very second the customer walked in my door the thing I noticed right off the bat was that she didn't smile. Even when I greeted her and introduced myself, stone faced. I'm usually pretty good at picking up on people being that I shoot them everyday, I knew somehow, someway, something was not right. Before we even started shooting she tells me she's never had a photo taken of her that she really liked. RED FLAG. So we start shooting and I ask her if she is a smiler, she says not really. OK.........She was right, she was very uncomfortable even cracking a smile, but I worked around it and got her some really awesome shots, which she agreed with. She even sent me an email afterwards stating that she loved the shots and she wants more retouched which I charge a fee for. Here is one of the emails she sent me:

Thanks Christopher,

yes i was aware of the $10 additional fee and I'm ok with the $70...all that i've listed are to be retouched. give me a call or email when they are done.
btw most of the pictures came out very impressive thank you.

please don't forget the small purse...


Apparently, the customer lost her purse that day. She called me two days after the shoot and asked me if I saw it. I said no, but would look for it when I would be back into the studio which would have been 3 days later as I was away on business. When I went into my studio, I looked all over for it, it wasn't there. So she lost it somewhere else, but insisted it was my fault somehow cause I didnt race around and look for it fast enough for her. Unfortunately its not my responsibility to mind other peoples belongings. Especially when they lose them outside of my business. She sends me another email stating that she feels disrespected over the ordeal. I told her the day of the shoot I would send her a receipt, which I did in a response email to the one she wrote above.
I then decided that my business with this woman had been concluded. She paid for her shoot, which she received. I wasnt going to let these shenanigans continue, and I decided that if she wants other photos retouched, she can have someone else do them. She probably would have found a problem with them too, and the nightmare would have never ended. Unreal. I'm so glad I didnt do them.