On November 13, my mother and I were shopping at K-Mart on 67th Ave and Bell RD. We had just checked out and were on our way to the car when we were approached by an employee inside the front entrance. She was asking us to check out a special on pictures that Olan Mills was having for Christmas. I am unsure if the lady was employed by K-mart or by Olan mills since she was dressed in street clothes and not wearing a name tag.
We were interested in the portrait package displayed. It was only $7.00 for the package and came with one 8x10, a few 5x7's, and several wallets. Pretty good deal. (or so we thought) The street dressed lady made an appointment for us for the following Sunday at 3pm.
Sunday rolls around and we had my nephew dressed nicely for his Christmas pictures. We arrived inside the portrait studio in K-mart at 2:30pm. Our appointment was at 3. We found that there was only ONE employee... The photographer, to take photos, check people in, view photos, answer phones, and handle picture pick up. We were not even acknowledged until a quarter after 3. Again, our appointment was at 3 pm. (Not fun with a dressed up three year old without a nap!) While we were waiting, we noticed that the photographer was photographing a group of at least 15 people. She was taking group pictures as well as individual pictures of EVERYONE in the party. I am all for "Kodak Moments", but there should be a limit at some point. Obviously no one cared to ask the group how many people would be photographed when making the appointment.
While we were waiting, another family had joined us in our quest for photos. Upon griping over the grusome wait time, (it was now 4 pm, did I already mention our appointment was at 3?) we discovered that this family had the EXACT same appointment we did, booked by the same person on the very same day. When we asked for a number to complain we were pointed to a sign mounted on the wall. The sign had the district office's phone number. (Apparently they had been tired of writing it down so many times they had to actually make a sign!!!)
To make a long story seem short, around 4:30 pm we were FINALLY called back to the portrait room for pictures. The photographer took a few shots of my nephew and then we were off to the "photo viewing room". We had selected the pictures and sizes we wanted, and paid. ($145 bucks later) We were told by the MANAGER/PHOTOGRAPHER, that we could check back in a week to pick up our package. We were satisfied, and happy the whole ordeal was over. That happiness didn't last very long.
I returned to the Olan Mills on Sunday, November 27 to pick up the pictures. The "Manager", Cathy, was again the only one working and before I could even tell her my name or who's pictures I needed to pick up she snapped at me and said, "they're not ready" I asked her how she even knew what I was wanting and she said, "We didn't receive any deliveries today, and your pictures will take 3 weeks to get in"... Uh excuse me, did she just say 3 WEEKS??? Yes, that's exactly what she said. I asked her why we weren't told that before we had paid for the pictures. She stated that she ALWAYS told her customers that it took three weeks to get the pictures in. Yeah, I'm not stupid, why would I order Christmas pictures if they would barely be ready by Christmas? I then told Cathy that this was unacceptable and that I wanted the pictures asap or my money back. She again pointed me to the phone number mounted on the wall and said there was nothing she could do, I would need to contact them. I asked if I could call her throughout the week to check on the status of the pictures, and she said, "We don't answer the phones during the day because we are too busy" What kind of customer service is that? I left furious and angry, but was obviously not getting anywhere with the so called manager. I called the district office number that had been pointed out to me, only to get a voicemail. I left a message and have yet to receive a call back.
I went to the portrait studio again today, November 28th, only to find that they were closed. I have no pictures, no money back, no customer service, and still NO RESPONSE FROM THE DISTRICT OFFICE. This is absolutely unacceptable customer service. Do not use Olan Mills Portrait Studio. They advertise smoking deals, promise awesome turn around times for portraits, but charge an arm and a leg if you want anything outside of the 7$ package, and they won't speak to you when you want the pictures your hard earned money paid for. Do not use Olan Mills... You will be scammed, and left in the dark!!!
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