Grochy Day!!! - DPChallenge Forums

04/02/2008 12:56:16 PM · #1

If you've seen my Chronicles of One Post you'll know the background to this so I won't go into it much here... never the less I deicded to write the client in question a letter rather than going thourhg phone call after phone call... is this a good idea???

------------------------------------------letter---------------------------------------

We have received the previous message from yourself and your aunt and have decided to respond in the following manner.
1. The threat of legal action is taken very seriously by us and as such we will be corresponding with you in writing only in order that all interactions between us be recorded properly. You may correspond with us either by letter to the above address or via email at info@dryeyealberta.com.
2. In response to the timeline in which we have provided our services. Though we strive to provide prints and products as quickly as possible, it is not always possible to provide all products in under a month. The retail industry routinely deals with backorders, shipment delays and the like, which may delay a normally quick turn around. In general a 6-8 week delivery time, which allows for editing, production, and delivery, is found to be standard. As your order was originally made on February 14th, 2008 we have, despite the delays, which we have informed you of, fallen within that range.
3. As this letter had been delivered with the remainder of your order, you may consider this letter as confirmation of completion.

We regret that you were not ultimately satisfied with your experience with us.

Michael M. Cudjoe, CEO Per/
Prairie Winds Photography Ltd.

--------------------------------------------------end---------------------------------------------

Message edited by author 2008-04-02 12:57:11.

Tamron 16-300mm Di II VC PZD MACRO w/Canon Nikon mount

04/02/2008 01:18:29 PM · #2

good idea bad idea... simply looking for some objectivity

JulietNN

Canon EOS R7

04/02/2008 01:28:49 PM · #3

Well, good and bad as you said.

You said that the stuff was coming in today and that you would be giving it to her today.

Then ''''maybe'''' by writing this letter you will make them even more pissed off.

Your job is to make everyone happy, as sickening as that may be.

You have to remember that she obviously has a mouth on her and will be bad mouthing you to all and everyone if you are not careful.

SO here is what I would do in this situation.

Call her up as soon as the photos are in.

Have a sit down with her and say; I know that you are disappointed that you didn't get the photos as quickly as possible, but this and this and that happened.

We tried our very best to get the order as fast as possible for you and we did get it within 6-8 weeks which in the photography world is fairly quick.

Now this is what I would do in your situation, I would make a couple of 10/12 prints that are your favorite of the shoot and frame them and give them to her and say.

As you where disappointed that the OTHER manufactures had your order of back order, I took the liberty of making these larger gorgeous prints for you to have as a present from US to you.

Remember, you may hate having to sleaze up to her, but also remember that WORD of MOUTH is going to get you very far in this business or it will SINK you!!

Think of it this way, she could bad mouth you to her friends, the Aunt will do the same, they will mouth off to their friends of friends, they could talk to the dress maker, the cater, the church, etc etc etc

More bees with honey than vinegar!!

Citadel

Nikon D7500

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

04/02/2008 01:33:48 PM · #4

I agree with Juliet. Maybe deliver the order in person and explain what you say in your letter personally. The extra prints would be a nice touch.

Just a thought, I notice that you are in Calgary. Have you tried Technicare for printing? I have heard that they are bit more expensive but their work is fantastic and worth the extra cost. They only deal with professional photographers (generally, I think students can use their services too). I haven't used them personally but I've heard nothing but praise for them. Again, just a thought...

pineapple

Canon EOS-5D

Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM

04/02/2008 01:34:20 PM · #5

Use diplomacy. That works every time. Talking a word like "legal" leads you to no good whatsoever. There are ways and means of helping people understand and in satisfying their hopes too. One people companies hiding behind titles like CEO and President is rather sad, IMO. The title has no power and if push comes to shove, lawyers can take you apart.

04/02/2008 01:39:51 PM · #6

Originally posted by pineapple:

thanks for the advice... like I said I'm having a very grouch day... and people threatening legal action against me (which they have no bases for) doesn't help...

that said.. .writing the letter was very theraputic... maybe I wont send it after all...

but 'm also no sending her extra prints... this was a severly discounted wedding in the first place (done for about half what I normal charge) I've alread made no money on this

Message edited by author 2008-04-02 13:40:52.

Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM

04/02/2008 01:42:01 PM · #7

maybe a gift certificate.... cause I'm sure they wont use it :)

oOWonderBreadOo

Canon EOS-5D

04/02/2008 01:42:24 PM · #8

I went back and read the situation but of course I don't have all the details.

Just try to think of her situation- trying to get all the thank you cards out timely. Did you have a delivery date on what you had her sign off on? I definitely wouldn't reply 'in general this is the timeline'- what does your contract say? Don't talk about backorders- that's not her problem, it's yours (or your lab's, which makes it your problem!) You probably shouldn't have mentioned it at all. Include any 'problem' time in your original contract timeline and there shouldn't be any situations like this. We all make mistakes and we have to update our paperwork from time to time when we figure the kinks out. :0)

Once you found they were back ordered you should have gone to another lab right away. And would not stay with a company that didn't tell me upon ordering that my printed material would be late. We are in a customer service industry. I would give the bride her order for free. I know you are within the how you put 'general timeline' but she seems to expected them much sooner. I'm assuming you gave her hope of getting them earlier? But, like I said I don't know all the details. I would give them to her free anyways.

(3. As this letter had been delivered with the remainder of your order, you may consider this letter as confirmation of completion. )
I'm not sure what you mean by this? Do you not want to work with her anymore? Might want to make that more clear.
And think a second about saying that she was not satisfied- instead try & make her satisfied :0)

I'm not sure I'd be posting this in a public (searchable) place, completely up to you of course but you might think about moving anything you don't want to be read by everyone to the members area (which gives you a bit of privacy)

I'm sure it will all work out. Maybe a phone call would be best. It can be so hard to read what people are really saying in e-mails. Just don't call angry hehe :0P

good luck!

Tamron 16-300mm Di II VC PZD MACRO w/Canon Nikon mount

04/02/2008 01:46:44 PM · #9

Originally posted by oOWonderBreadOo:

thanks... actually we were very loose with the timeline becauase I wasn't sure... I believe I told her verbally that from the time they approve the design it would be at aleast 4 weeks... the only thing I have in my contract is about when they'll see proofs... which they saw in less than 2 weeks...

JulietNN

Canon EOS R7

04/02/2008 01:48:29 PM · #10

Originally posted by Eyesup:

but 'm also no sending her extra prints... this was a severly discounted wedding in the first place (done for about half what I normal charge) I've alread made no money on this

Sleep on it tongiht and think about it.

I think you are shooting yourself in the foot here. What if she had 2 friends that are getting married and want a photographer. You really think that she is going to recommend you right at this moment???

You are JUST starting to get a shop together here, you want people bad mouthing you all ready.

You will have a ripple affect that will screw you faster than your head can spin.

I it all about customer service, if you can not handle this low cost, no money making wedding, then are you cut out for weddings???

You can not just pick and choose what you want right now, you have to take what you can and where you can so word of mouth spreads.

You really want bad rumours going around about you, or you want someone that says, you know what, even though this and this happend, they where so nice cos they did it at a fraction of the cost and look what they gave me as a wedding present or as a gift for having to wait so long.

You buisness your choices, but think long and hard about this before you go and send any letters or you regret any actions you take.

icu1965

Sony DSLR-A200

Sony 75-300 mm f/4.5-5.6

04/02/2008 01:49:18 PM · #11

Originally posted by oOWonderBreadOo:

I would give them to her free anyways.

There's no way I would give them to her for free! I recently got married and I understand how stressful it can be, but I never took it out on my photographer! I can tell you this, she probably just wants her cards and photos and just be done with it, and you're probably looking forward to the same. At this point it probably won't do you any good to try and kiss her butt, she's probably bad mouthed you already. Just get her stuff to her and chalk it up to one helluva good learning experience.

PapaBob

Sony Alpha a7 IV

Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS

04/02/2008 01:52:45 PM · #12

People are real odd at times, I agree with the bite your tonque and be polite comments made by others. And next time make sure you spell out expectations leaving enough room for error that way you will have every thing back either early in their eyes or at least on time. Another thing to remember is people getting something done cheaply sometimes feel the product is going to be inferior so if you are going to discount something make sure you put your normal charge down on the invoice and show the discount that way hopefully they appreciate what they were given.

Message edited by author 2008-04-02 13:53:36.

icu1965

Sony DSLR-A200

Sony 75-300 mm f/4.5-5.6

04/02/2008 01:56:39 PM · #13

Originally posted by JulietNN:

You really want bad rumours going around about you, or you want someone that says, you know what, even though this and this happend, they where so nice cos they did it at a fraction of the cost and look what they gave me as a wedding present or as a gift for having to wait so long.

She's not going to say anything nice at this point, even if you give everything to her for free. If she realized what a good deal she was getting she wouldn't be calling you everyday. I wouldn't let this bad experience stop you from doing more weddings. If you're a great photographer, your pictures will get you bookings. When I went to the local bridal show I looked at the photographers work and prices and based my decision on that. IMO I think brides want the best photos of their day, if you have the best photos it won't matter what some bridezilla said about you.

Message edited by author 2008-04-02 13:57:56.

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM II

04/02/2008 03:21:46 PM · #14

Well in the end I've settled on a compromiise... I've writen a letter apologising for the delay (with non of the rest of what I wrote). and I've added a gift certificate. I don't think she'll use it, but it's as much of an olive branch as I'm willing to throw at this point I think.

I don't think it's going to make that much of a difference to her attitude aat this point, and more so I'm not that worried about her bad mouthing me to her friends. she said she liked the photos and all the rest so I guess at this point if her whole thing is how long it took.. oh well.

I'm just going to move on to focusing on the rest of the weddings I've got booked this year concentrat on making those brides as happy with the photo's they get as I possibly can and just move on.

chalk one up to leaning experiance. I'm young, and just starting, and I don't think this is going to totally ruin me or anything... if anything it's taught me, and I'll just get better at it all from here.

On another note, thanks to all you guys who are willing to give your honest thoughts and not just let me do stupid things. this is one of the reasons I love DPC

PhotoDave

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

04/02/2008 03:23:55 PM · #15

Originally posted by PapaBob:

I would prob be tempted to take PapaBob's advise to heart, and to a number of the other commenter's where its prob better to suck up to her within reason as Calgary is a small city when it comes to gossip esp in specific industries...

-dave

_eug

Nikon D50

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D

04/02/2008 03:37:55 PM · #16

Originally posted by Eyesup:

maybe a gift certificate.... cause I'm sure they wont use it :)

That would piss me off more if I were standing in their shoes. "Why the hell would I want a ing gift certificate I'll never use? ing ity ."

You get the picture. ;)

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro

04/02/2008 03:45:00 PM · #17

Maybe... but then still this has been me as well:

"they're threatening to take me to ing court because their prints are a few days late? (and not even really) ing ity ."

You get the picture. ;)

I think at this point while I agree with you all on many points (thanks

dknourek and

JulietNNin particular) I'm looking to just cut my loses and move on...

Spork99

OM System OM-1

04/03/2008 01:04:01 PM · #18

If a deadline is not written into the contract, you could deliver their wedding photos on their 50th anniversary and still be OK.

rbryan22

Fujifilm FinePix S3 Pro

Sigma 28-70mm f/2.8-4 Compact High Speed Zoom for Nikon

04/03/2008 02:26:34 PM · #19

I agree with most people's points on here.

I can see how the gift certificate would be a questionable peace offering but enlarging some images could backfire just the same...what if she fancied images other than the ones he enlarged. With the gift certificate she can specify what she wants. You are the only place she can get the wedding photos and a gift certificate may be just the ticket to changing her entire attitude.

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM II

04/03/2008 02:58:56 PM · #20

Update:

So we did deliever her stuff by hand, and gave her the gift certificate... she wrote us an email basically saying you can take the gift certificate and shove it (which is what I thought) I'm not that bothered by that anyway.

So in the end learning experiance, no more discount weddings, and I've updated my contract to add a very clear timeline of at least 6 weeks (so it'll be a pleasant surprise when we do it quicker... which is usually the case)

PhotoDave

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

04/03/2008 03:31:11 PM · #21

Ouch sorry to hear that she was still like that, some people can not be pleased no matter what you do or say...

Spork99

OM System OM-1

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro

04/03/2008 03:46:54 PM · #22

Originally posted by dknourek:

Ouch sorry to hear that she was still like that, some people can not be pleased no matter what you do or say...

Some customers just aren't worth pleasing.

PhotoDave

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM II

04/03/2008 04:15:20 PM · #23

Originally posted by Spazmo99:

Originally posted by dknourek:
Ouch sorry to hear that she was still like that, some people can not be pleased no matter what you do or say...

Some customers just aren't worth pleasing.

This is true, I say we send Art in to burn her village...