Prestige DFW Lifetouch Photos

[Gertie2u]

I hate to totally pan someone like nothing else, but this company is so shady I really felt the need to warn all the best people. Of course that means my friends here at HCW. I will try to concisely detail what has happened to date.

We got in the same day's mail a postcard from Prestige DFW and a different postcard in DD's report card. Though they were different, they extolled basically the same deal - $15 for any of 3 types of sitting, a free t-shirt with sitting, and sign up online as they're doing this in just a few short days due to an early due date for our yearbook.

I go online. Even after signing up, no pricing available for packages. Although only the three $15 sittings are available as choices initially for your photos, at the end if you happen to open the drop down, it shows a free option for just the yearbook photo. Way to hide the free. There is a link that purports to be pricing, but just has a link that says "email us". When I click it, it wants to connect to my gmail, which seems dodgy as I don't know these people. I say no and it goes to a blank page.

I call the phone number on the card. The girl I get after navigating an extensive voice mail h*ll tells me she can't tell me her name. When I ask for pricing, she says if I need help affording my DD's pictures they have payment plans. I explain this is insulting as I have plenty of money to buy whatever pictures I deem appropriate, precisely because I don't commit to things without knowing the full expected costs. She directs me to the pricing page. I tell her I see no pricing, and she directs me to just click the email link. It still goes to the blank page. She says she has no idea how the website works.

She says she can't give me pricing info over the phone, but if I send all my personal, private info and all of my DD's in an email to their general CS email address, they will email it back. We discuss how unreasonable this is and how shady it sounds. She finally agrees I can just send my DD's confirmation number from the booking. She makes a big point of repeatedly telling me they have a contract with my school and no picture can be in the yearbook from another commercial photographer, so I will just have to work with them.

A day passes. No pricing. I call again. I listen to more of the messages this time and figure out I can talk to someone in a different office. This time I get a very nice older woman who says her name is Leah, she totally understands how this could all look very shady, but assures me the company is a long-standing national school photo company. She seems genuinely surprised I've never heard of either Prestige Photo or Lifetouch. The only Life Touch I know is a diabetes monitor. She takes my email and promises to send me full prices, but explains the cheapest is $199 and gives me 2 - 5'x7' and 32 wallets.

I gasp, choke, then ask how much to just buy say 3 of 8'x10' photos. She assures me I don't want to do that and slyly moves to explaining their $450 pack, which she says is the least expensive that comes with two of that size and also one only of a larger photo. She throws in that although they are not supposed to tell customers this, the disc of photos with that pack is poor quality and can't be used to print out photos. By this time, I am pretty much but I suck it up for DD.

I tell DD about the appointment. DD is unhappy as she doesn't want to bother with a yearbook photo and certainly not in summer. She tells me she has no plans to buy a yearbook as it is exorbitantly priced, anyway. Last year it was $80, they've been told to expect a large increase. I guess that explains how they paid for the free t-shirts.

I wait a week. Now it is the day of DD's appointment. I check my email and still no pricing. I call and hear that all of the studios in my area are closed on Monday in summer, but I can talk to their 800 line.

The 800 line turns out to be the over-arching corporation in I believe the girl told me Indiana. She also tells me the local metro group has not passed their pricing on to the corporate 800 line CS group, but packages normally start at $100. I tell her about having been told all packs start at $199 and I can hear the oh spit I just goofed up in her voice as she back peddles as hard as she can. She tells me she will take my number and get someone from the local to call me. I point out they are closed, but she assures me she'll get hold of someone to help me. It is now, as I post this, after 1 pm the next day, and still no return call.

I call DD's school and get a message no one is answering phones as they're all on summer vacation. I call the District Superintendent, who tells me he has been getting the same complaint from other parents and will be discussing it with the yearbook teacher.

The hour of my DD's photo shoot is fast approaching and still no info. I call the 800 directly and press buttons until I get someone on the line. She agrees with me it is ridiculously unreasonable to ask me to commit to something I have no idea of the expense, the poses, or any other such pertinent info, but explains she is in another state and the local hasn't given them any info. No way to get it as they are closed. She is very nice, and I feel bad that I am snappish with her.

She agrees management should know and puts me through to her manager, Susan. Susan hears me out on all I have gone through, and says she doesn't blame me. She assures me she's sending an email to management about how shady the local is making the company work. I note she doesn't seem at all surprised, more like she's heard this all before, and that there is no offer to in any way straighten anything out for me. The only offer of help she gives in the whole long convo is that I can trade 8 of the wallets in a package for 1-8x10.

Suddenly, she gets kinda furtive. She tells me 'this is just me' and she could 'get into a lot of trouble for saying this' so she 'hopes I will just keep this between us', but if it were her, she'd just go elsewhere for pictures. Then go to the yearbook head at my school, explain the situation, and hope they'd be understanding and let me use a suitable pic of DD in our local yearbook.

About that time DD comes down ready for the appointment in the tank top suggested for the false formal they are going to put on her for the yearbook photo. We suck it up and go. They've got six photogs, about 8 photo stations, assorted receptionists, dressers for the false tux and formal, and several people sitting around doing mysterious things with laptops. That explains the $199 cheapest picture set.

The false formal turns out to be a strip of black cloth that isn't even seamed on the edge, just cut in a v in the middle. They wrap it around my daughter's shoulders with a metal clamp-type paper clip. I ask about pricing and get a card that says they'll be mailing us proofs with pricing in a couple of weeks, so I still have no certain idea of the prices.

As I sit waiting for daughter, I begin to overhear murmurs among the other parents. Turns out most are just there at that time for the freebie yearbook photo and are taking their kids to a local photographer's where $200 buys a large pack of photos. I called today and got an appointment for my daughter.

[Nascar88]

Very Shady.....

I think No extra Pics to be purchased from that company and the school needs to fix it before anyone takes a single pic....

Or maybe the school is in it for a % of every package bought....

[jhfoto]

Being a photographer, and owning my business, we hear these complaints about LT all the time. Our local high schools have contracts with another company, and people are fed up with him as well. But the kickbacks that he gives the school will not allow anyone else to submit a photo for the yearbook.

My daughter went to him for the yearbook photo, and the hired gun for him forgot to put the memory card in the camera.

These types of businesses are just factories. Move em through. When we do senior photos, we take the time, and let the senior be themselves. I still run into kids we photographed several years back, and always inquire about their lives. To us they are someone, not just a number.

Sorry you had this experience, but not uncommon from LifeTouch or photo factories.

And Nascar88, there is definitely a kickback from these guys. They may even do the layouts for the yearbook staff of the students, saving the teacher time. Sad thing is that the school districts almost expect you to give a kickback of some sort to do business with them.

[Jen1]

My kids school has the lifetouch photos, but I think the average price for one of their packages is $49. I would definatly look into this more. Maybe start some questions with your kids school.