Monday, September 15, 2014

Avoiding County Lockup- What a Picture!


I swear I almost ended up in County Lock Up last week!
Really, I could see it happening
and a jury of photographers would have never convicted me
if it went to trial!

I stopped in at a Very Well Known Mass Merchandiser Big Box Store
to use their photo department.  I generally don't print too many pictures
but I was giving them to someone else and needed prints.
I used one of the banks of machines along the row, 
got my receipt but decided to stop in the next day for pickup
rather than wait the hour.


The Next Day
I arrived at the store and proceeded to the photo checkout counter
where I had to push a touch screen which would alert personnel
that someone needed assistance either with photo or a merchandise pickup.
After about 10  minutes someone finally asked if we needed help.
Yes. Why else would we be waiting in the line all by ourselves?

 When an employee arrived, he had no idea how to ring up photos.
He couldn't find the bar code and didn't know how much to charge.
"What about that huge blue sign above the counter that shows pricing," 
I suggested.  Ohhhh yeah, that works.

Except I had a 5 X 7 and there was no pricing to be found.
Not on the board,
Not on the receipt,
Not on the machines.
I think it displays only on screen but doesn't provide a summary on the receipt.

After three employees gathered to decide what to charge me,
one of them finally discovered the barcode.
Yipee!
I paid and took the photos out to view them.

Wait, I said, something is wrong.
Three of them (which I have printed before) turned out horrible.
They asked me- which machine did you use?
 One of them along the long bank of photo machines.
Where did they print out?
What?  How would I know?
Was it one of the printers in our back room?
Really?  You're asking ME which printer in the back room might have been used?
I have NO IDEA! 

Oh, and the 5 x 7 is fine but it cut the head off one of the chickens 
on the  4 x 6.
Oh, that's because you got a smaller size!
No, it doesn't work like that.  Photos are reduced keeping the proper size ratio.
Do you think they just cut the edges off to make it smaller?
Would your 8 x 10 of Aunt Lucy be reduced to a photo of her belly button
if you selected a 4 x 6?

See my two photos posted here?
One is BIG and the other SMALL.
The edges are still intact.

These are the people managing the PHOTO department?

I had about HAD IT by this time.
Please give me a refund for the four photos that are bad.
I will print them at Walgreens tomorrow.
(Which was a bad idea because they were 3 times the price).
I was Stressed to say the least - I have time constraints on these photos
and I thought getting them over the course of two days would be
sufficient for 1 hr photos.
I was wrong.

I did manage to control my temper
and avoid causing a scene that could have
left me pacing the floor behind bars in
the county lockup.

I signed up for Shutterfly.
Let's see if this goes any better, other than my horrible upload speed!













8 comments:

Sunnybrook Farm said...

I don't print any other than from a printer at home, I went paperless so that is even a rare event. No way will I go to get prints in the big box world. If someone wants a print, they are out of luck.

Lady Locust said...

Have had the same issue. Kodak online is evidently a good source also.

Kristi said...

Oh, dear! I can just imagine the employees telling you, "Yes, we always recommend poster size to avoid this very problem. If you want to make sure the heads are visible, order posters!"

LindaG said...

There are still a few places that actually develop pictures. But they are hard to find.

Sorry you had so much trouble.

HIBISCUS HOUSE said...

Kathy you did have some day. It seems to be a reality in retail that no one is training. Sad situation..You know me I would have had to write company talk to someone at that big box store...Hope your pics come out great with other service.

Kathy Felsted Usher said...

Normally I don't print unless it gets framed but this was a super special reason to print. Walgreen's worked but too expensive. I am selecting my 50 free shutterfly prints now plus making a photo book of Bird's short but sweet life.

Harry Flashman said...

You are running into the same kind of frustrations I have experienced in the last two days. It exhausts a person and makes them feel angry and frustrated. I can empathize with this experience you've had.

Patty Sumner said...

Being part of a regular ministry to jails/prisons..I just had to laugh when you said you had avoided County lock up....lol I have so enjoyed visiting with you...You have a great ability in your writing to bring a smile.. Have a great day.. Blessings!