Post history or count on this or any other forum says absolutely nothing about the poster's credentials.Originally Posted by bob carnie
As long as the information presented is truthful and accurate, it should be accepted as such.
- Leigh
Post history or count on this or any other forum says absolutely nothing about the poster's credentials.
As long as the information presented is truthful and accurate, it should be accepted as such.
- Leigh
If you believe you can, or you believe you can't... you're right.
Yea whatever .. I think it sucks all the same.
Attitude, poor quality and now I'm hearing from this thread they charge customers whatever they want any time they want with no notice.
Actually, they gave notice when they decided to go for the minimum order pricing. And, I certainly have had no issues with the quality of their product nor any lack of help or lack of graciousness on their part.
One thing is true, though, they give special treatment to certain people, mainly the "resident" photographers in Yosemite. Everybody else can go pound sand.
And you have incontrovertible evidence of this? Just curious.
Tarheel, if I lived a 1/2 hour from a small business vendor with whom I had valid issues, I would arrange for a meeting. Ten minutes of face to face discussion beats hours on the phone, or multiple e-mails, anytime.
Just my $0.02
--P
Preston-Columbia CA
"If you want nice fresh oats, you have to pay a fair price. If you can be satisfied with oats that have already been through the horse; that comes a little cheaper."
I live in Toronto, a few years back I required a West Coast Lab to scan a series of negs for printing. The client wanted to hand deliver his negatives and not send them by mail (he was located on the West Coast). We gave a few names of top quality vendors for scanning, West Coast Imaging was one. Our client delivered to them, I talked to the WCI technician and explained exactly what I wanted and they scanned, cleaned up the files and ftp'd to me 3000km away . When the files arrived they were exactly what I wanted and were used for the printing of the show.
I did not have to meet them personally, they were professionals who are use to working with clients knowing exactly what they want.
I have operated a small business now for 23 years, we have found that usually client trouble occurs when expectations cannot be met with images supplied causing
lunch bag letdown. This is a simple fact of internet/long distance dialoque and sometimes the photographer is much better going to a lab that can work with them better.
We see this all the time, Toronto has over 6 professional labs dealing with thousands of clients , We on many occasion direct people to the other labs and vice versa. This happens more than one would think as client expectations are a real concern and no lab wants to be working on projects that they feel they cannot deliver the goods that will satisfy the client.
During the Contact Photo Festival, we see work being required to be printed and framed in Toronto by international clients showing at local gallerys. This is all done by email, phone calls, dropbox and maybe a sample print in advance of the photographer traveling here. This saves the photographer thousands of dollars in shipping fees and crating.
Its all about good communication and mutual understanding.
West Coast Imaging is a professional lab with a worldwide reputation , and I would recommend them to my clients if they moved to California and needed high quality photographic service and I will leave it at that.
Great! More power to you. I had the opposite experience.
Yes, my own experienceOne thing is true, though, they give special treatment to certain people, mainly the "resident" photographers in Yosemite. Everybody else can go pound sand.
And you have incontrovertible evidence of this? Just curious.
When I pay someone to provide a service and a product, I expect prompt response and to be treated with respect and courtesy. It's one thing to get back-logged and delayed. Just let me know (They did not). When I call to inquire, I expect to be treated with respect and courtesy, and they did neither. THEN when the product comes in, it was terrible. I have no time to waste trying to get a business to master the simple things, like good customer service. I work too hard for my money to waste time with a company who has not mastered the basics of business. If they can't get the simple things done, how can I have confidence they can do the difficult stuff? And once more, they could not even offer a good product. Two strikes and you're OUT!!Tarheel, if I lived a 1/2 hour from a small business vendor with whom I had valid issues, I would arrange for a meeting. Ten minutes of face to face discussion beats hours on the phone, or multiple e-mails, anytime.
Just my $0.02
--P
Meanwhile, at MyPhotopipe.com and pprpix.com (much larger labs) in Atlanta, with whom I have been doing business for 7 years, my images are turned around in no less than 48 hours. I get notices on-line that my order was received, estimated delivery dates, which are almost 100% met. I get notices the order went out with links to tracking shipments. Once, one of my prints was damaged when I got it. I called, they apologized and got the replacement out within two hours of hanging up the phone. One time Atlanta had a big ice storm and they could not get prints out and I got an email apologizing profusely with estimated target dates for arrival and they got them to me earlier than projected. If I call them on the phone I get prompt answers, courtesy and I deal with someone who knows what they are doing. Now I ask you; who would you prefer to give your money to? Notice I have said nothing about price. WCI charges a bit more, but I was willing to eat that given they were close. Charge more, long turnarounds, attitude, poor results... Hmmm.... Next.
The moral of the story is that in any business, it's hard enough to get customers, then when you have them, you have to keep them. When a business acts like it is doing me a favor accepting my business, I move on.
So why did you not stay with MyPhotopipe.com or do you work there?
No, I don't work there, I live in California. I'm just trying to illuminate the difference between good and bad companies. And I found MyPhotopipe and pprpix.com after I gave up on WCI.
Let me start by saying there is no excuse for rudeness. I don't know why they were rude to you but they shouldn't have been.
However, you aren't comparing apples to apples. I've been in the printing business pretty much my entire life. There is a difference between a lab that prints what you send them and another which attempts to make exhibition prints in your style. I've seen all side of the business. I printed 60 5x7's in an hour. I've made the best prints I could from mostly incompetent commercial photographers in a b&w pro lab. And I've enlarged negatives and made platinum prints (and more recently, inkjet prints)(and soon platinum again) for photographers who need it exactly right. They are widely divergent business models. The people in them don't even look alike.
The commercial labs which do ok work, in a commercial look, are disappearing as the market grows smaller. It isn't right to assume that a lab who's model is volume is going to make a great print (they do on occasion, by mistake). On the other hand, it isn't right to imagine that a lab which prides themselves on quality workmanship is going to take a short time in getting the right print out to you. It takes time, and sometimes the print before yours takes more time than they imagined. They certainly should have notified you.
When it comes to these giant suppliers, you are comparing quantity with quality. WCI has always marketed itself as a quality supplier. They've done a lot of volume but the work they do well is quality. Photopipe couldn't make a print for me, or for any of my clients. $2.50 per scan doesn't get you any focus on the image, its just an automatic button push.
It sounds to me like you have a mix of styles here.... If you want Photopipe's quality, then by all means go with them. If you want a print in two hours, I wouldn't go to WCI, or Elevator, and certainly not to me. I'm more inclined to leave it overnight, let it dry and see if I still feel the same way about it the next morning before I send it out. Sometimes I make a few more adjustments, sometimes I'm pleased. Either way, the client gets the right print. It isn't a commercial photographer's model. It's an artist's one...
I hope this is helpful....
Lenny
EigerStudios
Museum Quality Drum Scanning and Printing
Maybe they're better off without your business ...
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