Picture Me Portrait Studios: Walmart Bait and Switch and innapropriate Employee conduct at Picture Me Portrait Studio: Walmart! Saint Louis Missouri

i also used to work at picture me portraits. Worst and best job i ever had at the same time. I loved taking pictures, enhancing them and watching the customers really enjoy them! i was great at what i did, until it was time for sales!
I didn't push anything on anyone! and for that my Dm came to my studio and told me i was being investigated for things not being rung up right and about why the studio hadn't been making $..Umm hello you guys trained me for 3 days, then i went on vacation for a week and was left alone! I wasn't stealing, i simply had no idea what to do when it came to the sas computer and prices! cpi and their "higher" up are horrible to work for!

I was told over and over how great my work is and how someones coming to the studio to help me in areas i needed help how i was going to be manager and she was going to give me 3 pay raises...never happend!! i was the only employee at this particular studio in iowa! i busted my butt off for them! So while on my suspension while they investigated me, my dm said she would call me and let me know their results! well a week n a half went by and she calls while im in a girl scout meeting. I know she txts she told me she does so i txted her and said i was in a meeting whats up? never heard from her she wouldnt return my phone calls, so what does that mean am i fired?

My dm was also very discrimnating also! she used the N word twice in front of me and told me to target poor looking people because they dont have money to get pictures done often so when they do they spend a lot.
I heard of a class action law suite how do i get involved?

Just a warning people do not work for CPI CORP!!!! my location was cedar rapids iowa!

I used to work for Picture Me. They are not owned by Walmart, they are owned by CPI Corp, the same company that owns the Sears Portrait Studios. As a previous ex-employee stated, the $4.99 package is a one pose package that they offer to get you in the door. Then the photographers are expected to sell each customer that walks in the door no less than $80 worth of merchandise. I started there before CPI bought out PCA (the original owners of Picture Me). And yes, your job is on the line if you don't have that $80 sales average minimum.

I started as a basic photographer and busted my butt nonstop to provide my customers with pictures they loved and it didn't matter because I wasn't taking every penny they had in their pocket. The District Manager I worked under actually told us to seek out welfare mothers and basically imply that they didn't need to spend their cash on food for their children, they needed to spend it on pictures. She would turn employees against eachother and hold your job over your head if she didn't like you. She'd never fire anyone because then they could file for unemployment. Instead she would cut hours down so you couldn't survive and force you to quit. This same district manager used to come in to the studios in her district, have pictures taken with her girlfriend, claim it was for "training" purposes, and coupon out the $199 package of pictures so she didn't have to pay a penny for them.

It didn't matter how hard you worked, what your pictures looked like, how many hours you put it. It was never enough. She would tell us right before the Christmas season to kiss our kids goodbye and tell them that we'd see them in six weeks because we'd be in the studio all day........while she sat at home on her duff and played with her little girl. We were required to shoot one session every 15 minutes without fail and we'd be written up or have our hours cut if we didn't.

I spent time in a studio (after being transferred against my will) and ended up doing all the work that a studio manager was responsible for after our studio manager took a leave of absence and didn't come back. I worked my a*s off day in and day out, missed out on breaks because sessions took longer than expected (I was even told I had to work for 2 hours unpaid because I went into overtime during the Christmas season and was told if I didn't I would be written up and possibly fired), went above and beyond the call of duty, and brought up the sales in a studio that was tanking. I had 1....yeah that's right one....week that I had a $65 dollar average instead of an $80 average, and I was passed up for the studio manager's position over a lady who had a hard time moving around, was overly pushy with customers, was rude, and had been complained about on numerous occassions by customers.

At that point in time I became one of the two district "floats". Basically, I had a home studio, but I was there for 2 days a week and it was only half shifts. To get 40 hours a week I had to travel as far as 65 miles one way to get to work. All I wanted was to take pictures that my customers would love. It was costing me more to go to work for them than I was making. I worked there for almost three years and in that time I was given a .20 raise because (according to the DM and corporate) my sales average didn't warrant giving me a raise. They don't factor in that I never called in unless it was an emergency, that I covered shifts when other employees didn't show up, that I caught another employee stealing from the studio by doing fake returns and helped the local authorities bring her into custody, that I cut my vacation short because the Asst. DM forgot that I was supposed to be on vacation and scheduled me (after flipping out because I said I was going to be working on my house while I was on vacation) back three days earlier than I was supposed to be, or that I was sexually harassed by two different employees (one who is still employed with the company after numerous employee, customer and Walmart employee complaints about inappropriate commentary, sexual harassment, and inappropriate touching and provocative posing of minor children)

What it comes down to is this. That $4.99 package is there to get you in the door so they can push you into a package that's $80+. Instead of being taken advantage of by this company, find a small private studio closer to you where the owner will actually appreciate your buisness. And they do, because they don't have 10,000,000 other customers out there. They have maybe a few hundred. Yes, you will pay more, but the quality is there, as is the customer appreciation.

Is this PictureMe location owned by walmart? Probably not...Dont blame walmart bc a company that rents space in their store made this experience horrible for you. Most walmart rent out space at the front of their store for other businesses. Subway, McDonalds, hair styling places, small banks, etc. I would suggest sending an email to PictureMe and see what they can do for you.

Then 'Google' this- BANK OF AMERICA COMPLAINTS SECRET LIFE INSURANCE POLICIES, and read about the MANT large Publicly Held banks that were taking out- 'SECRET LIFE INSURANCE POLICIES' on their customers! It looks as though WALMART was doing it too, right?

I agree that I personally will not take any of my children to a picture me studio ever again. We spent about 3 hours taking family pictures with a crazy lady that was obviously drunk and stunk of booze.  She was acting like a complete LUNATIC falling all over herself, dragging things down on her way. I called the complaint number and told them what was going on. They did NOTHING to compensate me for this obvious disgraceful 3 hours.  I was completely embarassed and totally shocked that she still had a job there!! 

with the person above. i recently quit the company and it's true it doesnt matter if you are never late, never call in, or any of that they have to maintain a 80 avg or risk losing there job. like last week we had a terrible windstorm blow through in indiana "indiana hurricane' anyway it shut off power to pretty much a good portion of southern indiana and we got in trouble for not shooting anyone. umm, hello no power means no shower. call the 1-888-picmetoo and report them

Point blank, that employee lied to you, to keep her PRS, or her average up. It's how associates keep their jobs. They're expected to sell the advertised package, the $4.99 you saw, plus an additional $80 to everyone who walks in, or they're fired. It doesn't matter if they show up for work everyday, or how great a photographer they are. These people are reduced to lying, cheating, whatever it takes to get that sale, or they're fired.

How many hours they work next week, depends on what you buy as a customer. How would you like to work for a company like that? It brings a whole new meaning to cut throat.

That $4.99 is a promotional package. It is real. It's meant to tease you in. You can buy that alone, and you can choose any photo for that package but it's a ONE POSE package deal. The fact that you got the $99 collection at 60% off is rather impressive. She must have been desperate for sales, as she's not suppose to do that. What you purchased at 60% off was a better sale for her, then just the $4.99 would've been.

The Next time you go in, ask about the $19.99 16x20 coupon. Or the $4.99 collage.