Hi guys,
Long time since I’ve posted but I feel like this forum has many good opinions so would like to hear some honest ideas on how I go forward in my current situation.
In my opinion, I’ve probably just experienced the worst customer service/public relations situation I’ve ever seen in business. This is not my business, I am the customer in this situation and I’m absolutely baffled how I’ve basically been given the middle finger by this person and thanks for your money.
The situation:
I got married in August. One of the happiest days of my life, married life is great. With every wedding there are things that you need, such as a photographer to capture your magical day. Our photographer has become a nightmare and the sole black mark on this event.
We hired our photographer based on multiple 5 star reviews, a wedding location recommendation as a vetted approved vendor, we had a meeting with her, back and forth, preview shoot to see her style, etc. Everything was great. We have to prepay the whole fee before the wedding. Not a small sum of just under $5000. Not a problem, paid in full. Nice work if you can get it, we expect a certain quality and believed we would get it.
Big day comes, we didn’t have anything outside of what was agreed upon in style and how the wedding would go. All parties should be good.
Trouble starts in mid to late October. First problem is delivery time of our photos. Contract is stated as 8-10 weeks after the wedding, seems very excessive to me but I get it. Still will be fine. November rolls around, not a peep from photographer. We reach out, she is working on it. Shouldn’t be too much longer, we continue to wait. Mid November comes, we receive an email. “I am almost done editing, need a few more days, but bad news I’m going to Australia and won’t be back until December. Promise I’ll get your amazing photos by first week of December”. WTF. No we are pissed, what should have been an easy timeline to meet we are now worried we won’t have our wedding photos from August for Christmas?!? Do you think we got our photos first week of December? Lol, we did not. Another reach out by us, where are our photos and what are we going to do to compensate us for multiple deadline misses that YOU set? Crickets. Get an email a couple days later filled with excuses that it’s not her fault, emergencies, etc. Yeah, great but news flash you’re in F*cking business here and you haven’t fulfilled your contract.
Finally, we received our photos on Tuesday. What we received is still baffling to me, an amateur with an iPhone camera could have done a better job of organization, direction, quality, setting, etc. We got sent about 1000 photos, if there are 50 in there that are USABLE that we have to sort through ourselves to find, I’ll be surprised. My wife is embarrassed and emotional, we feel stolen from. The preview we did with our photographer did nothing to indicate that this is what we would receive. It’s like this is a completely different person we have dealt with. It’s wild honestly.
So now comes today. Figuring out how I’m going to deal with this situation. I try texting and calling our photographer, saying I would like to discuss this. We aren’t happy but I’m sure we can find a solution. I get basically stone walled and told she is busy and please email her so she can address our concerns and not miss anything. Fine. The email I sent was about as high of a road I could take, this is a business matter, trying to keep emotions out of it. Brought up the issues of delivery, and quality and that we feel a partial refund of $2000 would be adequate and we can both just move on from this. I just want this to be over. The response I got back was essentially a middle finger and thanks for the money, signed your photographer. Continued excuses why it’s not her fault the delivery and quality is what it is, there will be no refund. I’ve never seen such a one sided “this world revolves around me” b.s entitled business person in my life. I paid you, and I’m the problem? Your problems are all that matters and you keep my money? Not even asking for the whole thing, but now the hill this photographer wants to die on is $2000.
I’m beside myself. I don’t like dragging into the mud, shit talking online or anything like that, but eff me am I mad. Basically being told your opinions don’t matter, being gaslight into thinking you’re the problem. Wow.
Where do I go from here? I’m honestly considered a civil claim in court, I don’t know how I would go about it, maybe breach of contract but since the photos have now been delivered I dunno how that is gonna fly. It’s just an extremely frustrating situation that you never want to be in and I’m mad. It’s not the money, it’s the principle of it. To just walk away from this and the photographer gets exactly what they want feels like a crime.
Anyone had any similar situations and the way it was handled. I’m all ears.
Long time since I’ve posted but I feel like this forum has many good opinions so would like to hear some honest ideas on how I go forward in my current situation.
In my opinion, I’ve probably just experienced the worst customer service/public relations situation I’ve ever seen in business. This is not my business, I am the customer in this situation and I’m absolutely baffled how I’ve basically been given the middle finger by this person and thanks for your money.
The situation:
I got married in August. One of the happiest days of my life, married life is great. With every wedding there are things that you need, such as a photographer to capture your magical day. Our photographer has become a nightmare and the sole black mark on this event.
We hired our photographer based on multiple 5 star reviews, a wedding location recommendation as a vetted approved vendor, we had a meeting with her, back and forth, preview shoot to see her style, etc. Everything was great. We have to prepay the whole fee before the wedding. Not a small sum of just under $5000. Not a problem, paid in full. Nice work if you can get it, we expect a certain quality and believed we would get it.
Big day comes, we didn’t have anything outside of what was agreed upon in style and how the wedding would go. All parties should be good.
Trouble starts in mid to late October. First problem is delivery time of our photos. Contract is stated as 8-10 weeks after the wedding, seems very excessive to me but I get it. Still will be fine. November rolls around, not a peep from photographer. We reach out, she is working on it. Shouldn’t be too much longer, we continue to wait. Mid November comes, we receive an email. “I am almost done editing, need a few more days, but bad news I’m going to Australia and won’t be back until December. Promise I’ll get your amazing photos by first week of December”. WTF. No we are pissed, what should have been an easy timeline to meet we are now worried we won’t have our wedding photos from August for Christmas?!? Do you think we got our photos first week of December? Lol, we did not. Another reach out by us, where are our photos and what are we going to do to compensate us for multiple deadline misses that YOU set? Crickets. Get an email a couple days later filled with excuses that it’s not her fault, emergencies, etc. Yeah, great but news flash you’re in F*cking business here and you haven’t fulfilled your contract.
Finally, we received our photos on Tuesday. What we received is still baffling to me, an amateur with an iPhone camera could have done a better job of organization, direction, quality, setting, etc. We got sent about 1000 photos, if there are 50 in there that are USABLE that we have to sort through ourselves to find, I’ll be surprised. My wife is embarrassed and emotional, we feel stolen from. The preview we did with our photographer did nothing to indicate that this is what we would receive. It’s like this is a completely different person we have dealt with. It’s wild honestly.
So now comes today. Figuring out how I’m going to deal with this situation. I try texting and calling our photographer, saying I would like to discuss this. We aren’t happy but I’m sure we can find a solution. I get basically stone walled and told she is busy and please email her so she can address our concerns and not miss anything. Fine. The email I sent was about as high of a road I could take, this is a business matter, trying to keep emotions out of it. Brought up the issues of delivery, and quality and that we feel a partial refund of $2000 would be adequate and we can both just move on from this. I just want this to be over. The response I got back was essentially a middle finger and thanks for the money, signed your photographer. Continued excuses why it’s not her fault the delivery and quality is what it is, there will be no refund. I’ve never seen such a one sided “this world revolves around me” b.s entitled business person in my life. I paid you, and I’m the problem? Your problems are all that matters and you keep my money? Not even asking for the whole thing, but now the hill this photographer wants to die on is $2000.
I’m beside myself. I don’t like dragging into the mud, shit talking online or anything like that, but eff me am I mad. Basically being told your opinions don’t matter, being gaslight into thinking you’re the problem. Wow.
Where do I go from here? I’m honestly considered a civil claim in court, I don’t know how I would go about it, maybe breach of contract but since the photos have now been delivered I dunno how that is gonna fly. It’s just an extremely frustrating situation that you never want to be in and I’m mad. It’s not the money, it’s the principle of it. To just walk away from this and the photographer gets exactly what they want feels like a crime.
Anyone had any similar situations and the way it was handled. I’m all ears.
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