Complaint Review: United Studios Of America

I was approached in a Grocery store lobby and asked if I wanted to have photgraph taken. I paid $7 and was given a schedulked appointmnet. My wife, two grandchildren and myself arrived at the appointed time was told to go to the grocery store lunch room. In the lunch room, which was dirty, untidy and in general dissaray, we presented our slip and was told where to stand for the photo. The room was dimly lit with the makeshift studio arrnaged in one corner. The photographer took a photo, quickly showed it to us via the view finder on the camera and asked if we wanted another. We had two more poses taken, Same procedure as for the first. A very quick look and on to step two. Step two was to give the photographer another $6 for the session after which we scheduled a time to pick up the photo.We arrived for the photo and went to the same dingy employee lounge/lunchroom. The room had a couple of employees of the grocery store eating lunch and noisily watching footbal on TV. This was a Sunday. We were asked to sit in a very small area facing a very small table with some kind of portable folded display. The display was a tri-fold to three sides were exposed. The display was about 24 inches high and had a sample photo on each panel. The photos were very nicely done in a canvas type medium.
As the three of us, myself, my wife and the sales person huddled together behind the panel, the sales person brought out a paper sack and removed several sets of photos and placed them on and around the panels. He then immediately went into a sales pitch highlighted by the cost of a package including a canvas phot. Price, $299. Wow, we were taken aback because we thought we had already paid, apparently for only one photo. We looked at the photos and was pleased with the poses but the quality was very poor. They were washed out and extremely light, Faces looked like gohst and the back ground was pale blue. We under a lot of duress in a very dimely lit area selected a package, paid $270 dollars and went home. Upon reviewing the photos, we discovered they were even lighter and more washed out in full light. We returned to the store, about 2 hours later and was told no refunds, we were stuc. We talked on a cell phone to a manager who reluctantly agreed to refund onlt the amount the canvas photo cost. I protested but to no avail and was told I had probably scanned the photos in my 2 hour absence and was trying to rip of United Studios of America. Wow I was being called crooked.

Later in the day, I phoned the manager and asked for a meeting. Was told she was busiy working several grocery stores in a four state area and did not have time to deal with me. She basically told me no refund for the same reason, I probably scanned the photos and needed to accept them becasue I took them out of the store. I insisted on a meeting becauase they listed a local studio and was told to meet Leo at the Best Western Motel the next morning at 8 am but not to expect anything in the way of a refund. I will go to the designated meeting place tomorrow morning and see what I can do or find out.

I guess this is a good learning experience about trusting people.

Beware of "United Studios of America"

Later in the evening I phoned

Jim
Lakeland, Tennessee
U.S.A.