Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

Dear Sears Portrait Studio,
We are breaking up. I don't even have the energy to fully explain it all, but let's just say when I make an appointment with a particular photographer (i.e. the only one who is slightly decent at your crappy photo studio, and who also happens to be the manager), I expect to actually meet with THAT photographer. I don't want to meet with Miss Ditzy-Teeth-Missing-Hoochie who looks like she has never held a camera before. When I make an appointment with the good photographer THREE effing times in a month and every time (THREE!) he isn't there? Then, guess what? We are DONE. Done.

I haven't been just walking in. I have been SCHEDULING appointments. WTF?

How can the manager of the studio just not ever be there? How can he have appointments scheduled over and over and then just NOT SHOW UP? My kid is about to outgrow her dress that I want her photographed in!

God, I hate you Sears. I really do. You have made my life worse. I don't want to have to drive 45 minutes to the Picture People. I don't want to have to tell the Picture People to please zoom in and do some artful closeups. No. I want to drive 5 minutes to your store where your manager takes beautiful photos from interesting angles. Why is that impossible?

Maybe I'll give you one more chance. Just because you're so irresistable.

I hate myself.

Sincerely,
Your beat-down slave

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

Katie, aka beaten down,
Maybe you can find a private photographer that does not have a dress code and is not in a mall. We are trying to drive you away, it is our master plan.

Sears

Marie Green said...

Whew, that last comment was FUNNY! Do you think it's really from someone working at Sears???

EVERY TIME I go to sears portrait, I am PISSED. The way they run the studio SUCKS. I've waited over 20 minutes IN LINE for pictures that I'd ALREADY PAID FOR, while 2 TWO associates worked with ONE person on the phone. Um... HELLOOOO? Take a message, and deal with your brick-n-mortar peeps first, DUH.

I always feel bad, b/c it's not the people working there's fault. They just work there, under a SUCKY system.

So. I hear you. That's what I'm saying.

Marie Green said...

Also, anonymous, what do you mean by "does not have a dress code"? That made no sense to me...

Joel and Angela said...

Now Katie! You know you take better pictures than SEARS!!! Come on! I have had the kids pics taken at Target some. it is hit or miss there. But always inexpensive.

Anonymous said...

I have to wear a certain type of clothing to work to appear more professional. Real photographers are usually free thinkers and would not be caught dead in my pleated pants and tacky tie.

Sears

Anonymous said...

Sears sucks!

Try getting them to repair a water heater under warranty - 13 days of cold water.

I just love giving directions to my house to someone in India!

Anonymous said...

During those 13 days of no hot water, while waiting for SEARS to come fix the water heater (for the THIRD time) Mrs. Bevo takes a shower at the neighbor's house. And do you know what Mr. Bevo does while he is waiting for SEARS? He gets four huge pans of water and heats them on the stove for a BATH. This takes an age, but then so does SEARS - we hate SEARS!

Anonymous said...

PS
Dear SEARS,

Congratulations!! You are successfully implementing your MASTER PLAN to DRIVE PEOPLE AWAY!

Hook 'Em!!

Anonymous said...

SO-O-O-O SORRY , sOUNDS LIKE YOU'VE HAD A HARD TIME ,ANYWHERE YOU'VE LIVED ,BUT, TEXAS,photos , weather , freaky neighbors,eating joints,decorating, etc. , such is life , gotta say,you've got a beautifull daughter

Anonymous said...

o.k - you have no idea who I am - Christal Harris - sister in law of Angie Harris, you posted a comment on her blog and as I am bored and done with the crap of my day I clicked onto your blog. I was CACKING myself, seriously funny stuff! I read some of your comments to Brad who frankly didn't get it - which just made me laugh harder. Thanks for putting a smile on my face at the end of a long day.

Tracy said...

Are you kidding me? I just know he would do such a great job with Becca (of course she does make it easy on him being so beautiful to begin with!) When you reschedule, call before your appointment and make sure you talk to HIM before leaving your house. Tell him why you are talking with him and make sure he is going to be there for the next 10 minutes that it takes you to get there. Then get a HUGE discount. .Do you want me to come and back you up, I will get a discount for you?

Unknown said...

It's always nice to show up at Sears only to be told that the photographer just didn't show back up after his/her break. That's happened to us two or three times. I'm always, like, "WHAT? Call the mananger to come in!" Manager is always unavailable.

They suck. I've had better luck at Walmart, sadly.

Anonymous said...

If you have a good camera, flood your living room with as much sunlight as possible, hang up a sheet on the wall for a backdrop and shoot your own pictures or have Tracy take them. If you can get some help with the photoshop part, you can make professional looking photos that you take yourself. Send them in for matte finsh prints at Walmart or wherever and you've got basically the same result. You can do it!!!

Swistle said...

I broke up with Sears for the EXACT SAME REASONS, including--believe it or not--a bad photographer who was MISSING TEETH. Do we perhaps live in the same town?

Anyway, I have one word and two initials for you: J.C. Penney. MUCH MUCH MUCH BETTER. Also: they have 10x13s as "one sheet" (for the coupons that let you pay $7.99-9.99 for a package and $2.99-4.99 if you do it per sheet), which when we were at Sears, Sears did not do (10x13s were way, way more).

J.C. PENNEY. That is all.

Katie said...

I know I can take photos myself...but...the problem is my child. It is very hard to get her to cooperate and when I have tried to set up my own "photo studios" at home the results have always been pretty bad. Of course, sometimes I get lucky and capture great candids...but I really want to have a studio portrait--of just her chest/head with a professional looking background (i.e., not a wrinkled sheet) and the clarity they manage to get. Even when I sharpen on photoshop, I can still tell it is amateur. I am very picky about resolution and such! I think if I had one of those big lights they have in the studios I would feel differently!

Y'all are hilarious with these comments!

justme said...

please see this post http://mommyvents.blogspot.com/2007/05/ahhhhhh-venting.html
i had the same experience with sears. i even called customer service when i got home to explain how infuriated i was. honestly EVERY thing about it sucked. i had to take my 2 girls, 3 different times to get somethign decent. they suck suck suck. i even think i got some sort of 50 dollar gift card from them after complaining.

Anonymous said...

I took Saffran to the Picture People and they did a GREAT job! I think maybe you just need to drive a little bit further and visit the one in Tucson.

Angie said...

I understand about trying to do it yourself. We just had newborn shots taken, and they were not good. Of course, we can't just keep redoing them, since he changes all of the time. My first thought when I saw the photographer was "I have a nicer camera than you." Of course, I don't have all of the nice lights, but then the pictures were not good. We ordered a couple that were pretty good, but I wanted the big sister/baby brother shot, and I just could not pay the extravagant prices for bad pictures. Some of them were not even in focus, of just my baby. It isn't hard to take photos of a child that doesn't move. And, of course, this wasn't sears, they were far more expensive!

Anonymous said...

As the spawn of Bevo and Lost In Space, I can truthfully say that Sears sucks major balls. On one's vacation, one wants long, steamy baths full of scented oils and salts. Showering in the crappy apartments' of friends while wearing flip-flops is not acceptable. Ef you, Sears.

Andrea and Ben said...

Maybe next time you are in Texas, you could take a road trip to go see the picture people Noel uses. I saw some of Salem's photos and they were beautiful.

Anonymous said...

Come on Katie! You can do it! Let us live vicariously through your attempts at the perfect photo. Everyone who sees your photos knows you have a good eye. Use a dark blanket like Linda Lee did on Sundry Morning yesterday, and use some of the Pioneer Woman's photoshop tips, and you will have fabulous portraits!! Or there is the photographer that Amalah used - she comes to the house, but it's not cheap.

Anonymous said...

sears, target, walmart all are the evil empire!!