- Report: #713316
Complaint Review: Sears Portrait Studio - Lakeland Florida
Reported By:
Mom in FL -
Lakeland, Florida, United States of America
Submitted:
Updated:
-
Author Not Confirmed
Why?
Sears Portrait Studio
3800 Us Highway 98 n Ste 500 Lakeland, 33810 Florida, United States of America
Phone:
(863) 859-8213
Web:
http://www.searsportrait.com/cpi/en-US/
Categories:
Business Rating:
(0)
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Sears Portrait Studio Sears lied to us in order to get us to purchase a more expensive photo package. Lakeland, Florida
We've used Sears Portrait studio many times to have pictures done of our family and children. This particular time the quality wasn't as good and when it was time to purchase the packages the photographer/sales associate lied to us about the packages.
We went to Sears portrait Studio to get Christmas Pictures done for our family (Mom, Dad, 3 year old and 6 month old). I felt like the photographer wasnt very experienced. She wanted to get pictures of my son sitting up even though he cannot sit up on his own just yet. He kept falling over. Many of our pictures were not centered correctly most can be fixed by cropping, but the cropping wasnt done to fix them all. The backgrounds on many of them were not smoothed out, so the wrinkles are quite visible. Some you can still see the end of the background since they werent all cropped. She had great potential shots, but lost the smile as she walked back to the camera even though she had the remote to get the shot.
After we got our pictures back we noticed our best family picture that has a chair in it was scratched (the back of the chair) and has something on it (food? spit up?). We didnt notice it on the tiny preview picture until we received our 8X10 and 10X13. When my husband said something about it they just replied that it is antique.
Our photographer directed us to a particular package in her book. We werent given the opportunity to view other packages. I specifically asked what the cheapest package that came with the CD was told that it was the one we were looking at. I remember getting a cheaper package with my daughters portraits in the past, but at this point, the 6 month old was hungry and the toddler was anxious to leave so we purchased the package and left ($250 + tax $270). Ive been told by several people that the package we purchased was not the cheapest one with the CD. My husband came back at a later date to look through the book and noticed that there are cheaper packages. We were lied to just to get the more expensive package. It came with a large fine art picture frame which I told the photographer we didnt need, but she said it came with the package and that was the cheapest with the CD.
In the "Fine Art" frame my husband requested that one of the pictures in it be flipped vertically so that he was on the outside of the picture (to match mine) and was told it is not possible. He found that hard to believe because almost all picture editing software can flip a picture. When we got the fine art the coloring on all of the pictures are off compared to the other prints we received. The fine art prints have a pink tint and are washed out a little. The Fine Art is just a large picture with a card board backing and a frame around it. There is no glass or acrylic over the front. It's not even a real frame.
We sent a complaint to Sears and they sent us a coupon for a free 10X13. The 10X13 is almost always free when you go in. There are coupon mailers for that all the time. We would have preferred to not have the fine art and the money back for the smaller package that we asked for. We will never go to Sears Portrait Studio again and we were regular customers.
We went to Sears portrait Studio to get Christmas Pictures done for our family (Mom, Dad, 3 year old and 6 month old). I felt like the photographer wasnt very experienced. She wanted to get pictures of my son sitting up even though he cannot sit up on his own just yet. He kept falling over. Many of our pictures were not centered correctly most can be fixed by cropping, but the cropping wasnt done to fix them all. The backgrounds on many of them were not smoothed out, so the wrinkles are quite visible. Some you can still see the end of the background since they werent all cropped. She had great potential shots, but lost the smile as she walked back to the camera even though she had the remote to get the shot.
After we got our pictures back we noticed our best family picture that has a chair in it was scratched (the back of the chair) and has something on it (food? spit up?). We didnt notice it on the tiny preview picture until we received our 8X10 and 10X13. When my husband said something about it they just replied that it is antique.
Our photographer directed us to a particular package in her book. We werent given the opportunity to view other packages. I specifically asked what the cheapest package that came with the CD was told that it was the one we were looking at. I remember getting a cheaper package with my daughters portraits in the past, but at this point, the 6 month old was hungry and the toddler was anxious to leave so we purchased the package and left ($250 + tax $270). Ive been told by several people that the package we purchased was not the cheapest one with the CD. My husband came back at a later date to look through the book and noticed that there are cheaper packages. We were lied to just to get the more expensive package. It came with a large fine art picture frame which I told the photographer we didnt need, but she said it came with the package and that was the cheapest with the CD.
In the "Fine Art" frame my husband requested that one of the pictures in it be flipped vertically so that he was on the outside of the picture (to match mine) and was told it is not possible. He found that hard to believe because almost all picture editing software can flip a picture. When we got the fine art the coloring on all of the pictures are off compared to the other prints we received. The fine art prints have a pink tint and are washed out a little. The Fine Art is just a large picture with a card board backing and a frame around it. There is no glass or acrylic over the front. It's not even a real frame.
We sent a complaint to Sears and they sent us a coupon for a free 10X13. The 10X13 is almost always free when you go in. There are coupon mailers for that all the time. We would have preferred to not have the fine art and the money back for the smaller package that we asked for. We will never go to Sears Portrait Studio again and we were regular customers.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Ex_SPS_Hostage
United States of AmericaLOL Nothing at SPS is an antique!!!!
#2UPDATE EX-employee responds
Thu, August 18, 2011
AN ANTIQUE?? Nothing in these studios are antique!! Your photographer said what she was told to say, which is the same thing I was told to say!! And, the vomit/spit? The MANAGERS (yes, those paragons of good...w/e) are supposed to do more than oversee cleaning, they are actually supposed to help with it. My ex-SM once shoved a bucket and a Mr. Clean eraser into my hand and ordered to scrub the backdrops, and I vomited after smelling what was on them, because they hadn't been scrubbed in years, and whatever was on them was not going to come off with a bucket of lukewarm water and a cheap piece of foam. The "antique" chairs are nothing more than garage sale junk that the company buys, gives a quick scrubbing over and ships it to the studios, where it is used for 15+ years.
I urge you with all of my being....go to a private photographer for a shoot. Sure it might cost a little more, but in the end, you end up with a REAL background, not a plastic sheet with a picture of a "happy little garden" printed on it. You also have the chance to have a say in how your pictures are enhanced, and not just sepia, black and white and cropped.
CPI Corp
St. Louis,Missouri,
USA
Please contact us for resolution
#3UPDATE Employee
Mon, April 04, 2011
Hello, I work for CPI Corp, the company that owns and operates Sears Portrait Studios. I saw your post and I wanted to reach out to you so we can help you resolve this matter. Im sorry to hear that your experience wasnt what you had hoped and that you feel lied to. In order to better assist you, please email me at [email protected] with your contact information. Thank you for bringing this to our attention and I hope to hear from you soon!
