CVS Caremark Corporation Photo Center Distraught Bride & Groom CVS Photo Center Destroys Honeymoon Photos in Royal Palm Beach Florida Woonsocket Rhode Island
These are the letters I have written to the company which explain everything in detail
Bride and Groom ..A letter I wrote to CVS CorporateTuesday, August 19, 2008 3:18 PM
Mr. Ryan and all VIP associates,
I live in Royal Palm Beach, Florida and frequently use the CVS store here in my neighborhood on Royal Palm Beach Blvd. An incident has occurred in your photo lab department there that has my husband and I very mentally and physically upset. Here is a brief scenario of what has taken place.
I was married August 8, 2008.The day after returning from our honeymoon in Vegas August 15th 2008 I was very excited in seeing the pictures we had taken there in Vegas. We worked very hard to save up for this honeymoon by my new husband putting in tons of overtime to pay for it. Maybe not much to you but for us it was difficult with still raising now 5 kids .The honeymoon was $3,000.00's. Ok...here is my problem...
The digital camera we had taken with us malfunctioned and we could not use it. But that's irrelevant... So we had the only alternative to purchase a throw away camera in one of the stores there in Downtown Vegas. Well upon returning home I took that camera / film to CVS Pharmacy's one hour photo for developing, which I said I would pick up the next day.
Come the following day I went to CVS to get my photos so that I could make my scrapbook of Vegas and show all the kids and family the pictures of Vegas and the Grand Canyon along with Hoover Dam etc...that we had taken. As I stated to the Lab Supervisor Gabby who was working there who I was... Melissa Wexler to pick up my photos, she turns to a little child who was behind the counter with her ( maybe 10 or 12 yrs old ) who was there also the night before when I dropped off the film . She says to the child " Is this the film that Miguel screwed up" the child nods "yes" She then pursues to call Miguel on the phone to ask him where my pictures were....everyone employee wise is whispering looking around bewildered...I have no clue whats going on.
Then she approaches me saying that Miguel was a new employee and had only been there at the store less then 1 week and he "screwed up" my photos by opening the machine while the negatives were still inside and ALL THE PICTURES/NEGATIVES WERE ERASED .
I started to cry and told them that those pictures were of my honeymoon. Her face became shocked/speechless and didnt know what to say. I called my husband to explain the situation. He was furious and came up to the store. I was so upset at the loss of my memories and photos of my honeymoon that I had to leave the store. Because to me photos of a Wedding,Honeymoon or Birth of a child are priceless and irreplacable and they stole that from me by the employees negligence or improper training. Well things only got worse once I left.
They insulted my husband by offering him a $25 gift card in replacement for the pictures they destroyed of a $3,000 honeymoon. The guy Miguel who erased all my honeymoon pictures came up to the store due to he was off that day and approached my husband without even an apology. My husband wanted some explanations as to how and why this was to of happened. The stores employee Miguel said to my husband " Well Sir, memories should be in your brain anyways and not on film" My Husband was so furious he had them get District Manager on the phone.
My husband informed the DM of the employees comments and my husband said if that was the case that "memories should be in our brains and not on film" that CVS should place a huge sign with such a caption reading "memories should be in your brain anyways and not on film" and place it up to the one hour photo processing sign that also has a big sign for their photo processing that says " 100% customer satisfaction guarenteed" Which we did not get. The DM asked us to wait over the weekend while he did an Internal Investigation who then came back to us on Monday with an offer of a $100 Digital camera.
Now needless to say again we felt insulted I have cried all weekend long and my husband who is a insulin dependant Diabetic has been furious and depressed as well over the negligence of CVS employee and their comments to where my husbands blood pressure has been high which he takes medications for , his insulin has been off and making him physically ill and vomitting. This Honeymoon meant so much to the both of us and we now have nothing to show for it .
The employees actions and comments were insulting and my pictures are lost forever and can never be replaced or recovered. Its not like we can jump right back onto a plane and redo it all tomorrow. This was our HONEYMOON a first and only one time thing shared between a new husband and wife. I feel robbed by them ,something I can never get back . I truly feel as if something needs to be done. Im sick over it all. In my eyes the pain they have caused me and my husband and the expenses we put out for our honeymoon and now have no proof of it within our photos because CVS improperly trained and the negligence of an employee wiped away all memories that can never be recaptured again in those photos bewilders me and I just cant swallow it. Im sorry...but to just chalk it up and move on I cant do.
To me I have been personally injured by an employees negligence and insulting actions/words.I am 40 yrs old ,I was divorced for 12 years I waited for the right man to be back in my life and my childrens. CVS truly physically/mentally and materially destroyed one of the most meaningful things to me. MY HONEYMOON MEMORIES....GONE...Im so sick inside. Im so upset,depressed. It may sound silly but this was priceless to me, to us. It truly is making us physically ill. Im very hurt beyond.
I feel as if CVS owes us not only another fully paid Honeymoon back to Vegas so that I can at least try to recapture the pictures they stole and robbed from me by their negligence,along with the original digital camera they tried offering to us to begin with, on top of the expenses we put out for the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam tours. All of which were on film that they destroyed.
To me that all is an Economic Loss and beyond any sort of Emotional Distress w/special damages. CVS's employees and non chalant attitude offering of a $25 gift card & a digital camera as compensation was insulting to say the least. Is that what your Honeymoon was worth to you Sir ?.....Is that what anyones hard work is worth ? To go to a place they dreamed of going to and sharing that together, working so hard to reach that goal and save up for and use that money and time as your special week as husband and wife for the very first time and wanting all those memories and things you did together photographed to always have and cherish and remember ...to share with your children, family and friends. You come home , your excited, happy,anxious to pick up your photos and start your scrapbook of your honeymoon ...only to find out that some employee carelessly opened up the machine with your negatives in it and totally erased every picture,memory you had captured.
It makes me sick to my stomach honestly Sir. Those pictures were priceless. Maybe not to you, not to your employees but they were to my husband and I . How would you really feel. I have cried all weekend long. I have nothing of my honeymoon....NOTHING.... I would like to come to a conclusion but dont see how. I just wanted you to know the circumstances and service that I was provided and the irreversible damage it has caused to me. I am also corresponding in regards to these matters with two attorneys LaBovich & LaBovich along with Lesser,Lesser & Landy along with letters to 2 local news stations. I understand none of this was done by your hand Sir but what has taken place to my husband and myself to me is a disgrace.
Im very distraught over this loss as silly as pictures to some people it may seem. But we worked so hard for this and have nothing now to remember it." Oh yeah ....except the memories that should be in our brains and not on film"
Sincerely,
Melissa
momel105@yahoo.com
Then I was contacted by one of their managers and insulted even more and sent to them this letter...
To Whom it may concern:
This letter is in response to a call I have received from one of your customer relations manager Tracy 1-866-222-9438 ex. 4492 Tuesday morning in reply to a letter I had sent regarding the negligence of one of your Royal Palm Beach,Florida photo lab employees who destroyed my honeymoon pictures by opening the machine while the negatives were still inside and totally erased every single picture of my honeymoon that was taken. Although I appreciate the some what efforts CVS has tried to do. I feel completed insulted by every gesture they have made.
First a $25 gift card for a $3,000 dollar honeymoon as if that could ever replace my captured memories. On top of being told that my memories should be in my brain anyways and not on film. Then I get this call from Tracy who offers to me ...now get this....she offers me ...pictures from one of her co-workers trip to Vegas as a compensation. OH MY GOD !!!! The more I tend to deal with CVS the more I become insulted and realizing that CVS must have the most ignorant,low-class,asinine people working for them. CVS has taken from me by their negligence and not mine something I cherished with my whole heart. MY HONEYMOON MEMORIES....At every turn I am being slapped in the face.
This is weighing on my mind and heart so heavy that no one seems to understand any of this. Every time I think of it I cry. I am so furious,hurt at the comments and gestures that have been made to me ,along with the actual negligence of my photos being destroyed that I cant even sleep at night due to it weighing so heavily on my mind at the injustice that has been given to me. This was not only about pictures from Vegas. I can download pictures from Vegas off the net. Let alone why on Gods green earth would I want a co-worker from CVS's Vegas trip photos? My husband and I would not be in any of these pictures together like we were in the ones that your employee destroyed very carelessly. These were pictures of us at the Grand Canyon together, Hoover Dam, The Freemont Experience at Downtown Vegas,me at the Golden Nugget swimming by the shark tank,pictures of my husband and I together in front of the Bellaigio Fountains and Paris tower etc....
Yet I get a call by one of your other employees offering me one of her co-workers vacation trip photos of Vegas. Needless to say I was once again insulted at the disrespect of such a gesture. I am beside myself with disgust over the customer care CVS has shown. Attached are pictures of the 100% satisfaction photos your company offers to thier customers with money back gaurentees. CVS has shown no remorse or any sort of an apology for their negligence.
Im physically,mentally sick and drained . To everyone within the company its no big deal but no one seems to fully understand the meaning of what I have truly lost here. A honeymoon is a special memory you share with your new husband,starting your new life together,taking photos to cherish and have for all times of that experience. CVS took that from me with the improper training and negligence of one of their photo techs. Im truly ill by this ....you have no idea.
Sincerely,
Melissa
Melissa
royal palm beach, Florida
U.S.A.
8 Updates & Rebuttals
VampyrSlayer76
USAA tip for traveling with film
#9General Comment
Sun, November 15, 2009
I'm sorry this happened to you, and I'm not saying the photolab isn't at fault, but let me just give you a tip. When traveling, if you must purchase a One-Time Use Camera, or any film for that matter, get it processed before you come home. If you traveled by plane, you must've gone through security which may include a metal detector and/or some kind of x-ray security for yourself or luggage. X-rays and metal detectors can potentially damage or 'erase' unprocessed film. If you suspect this may happen, you need to let the ticket/gate agent know. They have ways of inspecting film without damaging it, then they place it in a special protective container/bag. I'm not saying this did happen to you, but it's a possibility, and something to look out for in the future.
Jason
East Providence,Rhode Island,
U.S.A.
Odd
#9UPDATE EX-employee responds
Mon, June 22, 2009
I am curious why the off-duty employee would take it upon himself to come in without pay. My guess is that it would be to apologize, but since your upset husband also came down, I think maybe you left out the part where your husband insulted him first or threatened him, etc. I know the last thing I would do is come in on my day off and deal with angry customers.
That said, it is unfortunate that this happened, unfortunately part of dealing with humans, even in the best organizations, is occasional human error. The $25 gift card is about the best they can do for you, as you say it doesn't compensate you for your memories but what will?
Lisa
LasVegas,Nevada,
U.S.A.
Yes they handled it very badly, though there is a disclaimer
#9UPDATE Employee
Tue, March 17, 2009
I'm a Photo Dept. Suprivisor at a CVS in LasVegas NV. I agree that your local store handled your situaion very badly. Nothing is more upsetting then having once in a life time photos ruined. Nothing will ever replace the lost. When you drop film off at your local drug store or processing center there is a disclaimer on (depending how and where you drop it off) on the evelope and/ your claim ticket. Stating more are less the following...
that by leaving your film here you understand and agree that if anything goes wrong with the processing resulting in the distruction of your film and/or photo you are only entitled to replacement film and free processing.
I know most people have never looked for or read this message. I am the one who always have been the one to explain to the customer how and why their pictures do not turn out. Sometime it was a macanical problem sometimes someone makes a misteak. It always sucks when they happen to you. I wish there was something I could do to make things better. I just wanted you to know that not all CVS would handle this so badly, and don't waste your time or money on a lawyer. There is a disclaimer....
You have my sympathy....
Peter
Pony,Alabama,
U.S.A.
Sounds like you could use some professional help
#9Consumer Comment
Sat, October 04, 2008
If mere 'pictures' are causing you to be physically and emotionally drained, then perhaps you need some professional help to deal with your anguish.
What is most important about your honeymoon is fond memories of quality time spent together, not photos from a throw-away camera.
May I recommend counting your blessings and finding more important things to be anguished over? If you are becoming so extremely debilitated over photographs, you will not be able to handle the challenges of marriage, hence one day in the near future you won't even want those honeymoon pictures anyway.
Lad
King Of Prussia,California,
U.S.A.
If its important, why use 1 hour photo?
#9Consumer Suggestion
Fri, October 03, 2008
1) If these pictures were so important to you, memories that needed to last forever, why would you drop them off with a one hour photo? One hour photo services are meant to be QUICK, not good. The employees that work it get paid less than someone working for a burger stand, and don't know how any of the machines work. They know how to push a button, that's about it.
2) It is IMPOSSIBLE to erase negatives, period. Did you get your "erased" negatives back? If they are black/dark green, then they weren't erased, they were over-exposed. That usually means someone opened up your film w/o using a dark room/dark bag, and the light destroyed everything. If your negatives are a clear brown, but you don't see any images, then the photo lab did nothing. The disposable camera you decided to use to capture your memories of Vegas was broken and never took a single picture.
Either way, they were asses as CVS. However, there were several steps you could have taken to make sure your pictures didn't end up the way they did.
Robert
Irvine,California,
U.S.A.
Interesting..
#9Consumer Comment
Fri, October 03, 2008
Something seems a bit strange.
According to you one of the 3 most important days in your life is the Honeymoon, along with the other 2 your Wedding and the Birth of a Child. Yet for a 7 day Honeymoon you got one replacement disposable camera, that I have never seen one with more than 30 shots, with most at about 27. So these 30 shots included not only you and your husband, but you and your kids in Vegas, the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam?
It seems as if this was one of the most important days of your life you would have gotten more than one disposable camera or even replaced it with a basic digital camera. Especially if your goal was to create a "Scrap-Book". Vegas is a big town and it would have been very simple to find a digital camera for under $100(I have seen real basic ones for less than $50). There is also two famous words in Vegas where you could have probably gotten a very good deal "Pawn Shop".
Now, I am not saying it is not bad that your film was destroyed. However, when you turned it in they are only liable for the cost of replacing the film. You were actually lucky that they have offered what they did. You are never going to get anywhere near the $3,000 for the cost of the Honeymoon. Personally you should just move on, the amount of damage you are letting it do to you is not going to be worth it in the long run. Look at the positive, you did have a good Honeymoon and at least you have the pictures from your wedding to keep.
Cory
San Antonio,Texas,
U.S.A.
Kind Of Odd
#9Consumer Suggestion
Fri, October 03, 2008
You had all of the kid's pictures, the family's picture's, the pictures of Las Vegas, the pictures of Grand Cayon AND the pictures of the Hoover Dam, ALL on ONE "throw away camera"? What about the pictures of the wedding? I mean really. The throw away cameras I've seen have either 24 or 27 shots on them. How many shots did this ONE camera have on it? Those throw aways usually cost $4 or $5. I guess if it had been me, I probably would have spent $90 or a $100 and bought a new digital camera AND a couple of throw aways. Years ago, when my brother got married the first time, the "professional" photographer they hired, his picture didn't come out. The ones I took, DID and they were the ones they had to "cherish and have for all time". As the other person posted, they are only liable for the cost of the film and/or throw away canera. NOT the $3000 for a "ruined" wedding.
R
Turlock,California,
U.S.A.
Sorry to hear what happened but....
#9Consumer Suggestion
Fri, October 03, 2008
I am so sorry to hear what happened. I work for major retailer's one hour photo department and I would feel sick and terrible if something like that happened in the lab on my watch.
The thing is what is their policy about damaged photos or negatives? You may want to check that. It would be on the fine print of the claim ticket or the envelope. Usually the policy is that if the film is damaged by negligence (which was this in your case) or mechanical failure. The lab is only responsible for the replacement of the damaged film. That is all. You may want to check what CVS policy is on this.