Absolute Wedding Cinema- Video, does not treat clients with quality, courteous, professional service St. Louis Missouri

I would like to share my opinion regarding the company Absolute Wedding Cinema, and its owner, David Garvin. My fiance and I both feel that we have been treated poorly and unprofessionally by Mr. Garvin, and recommend to anyone who is considering booking Absolute Wedding Cinema to read about our experience before deciding whether or not to book David Garvin's company for their wedding day or other event, and then form their own opinion.

If someone were to ask us if they should book Absolute Wedding Cinema, we would recommend they go with someone else.

We first came into contact with David Garvin sometime early to mid-September of 2005. We inquired about Mr. Garvin possibly performing videography services for the wedding, as well as Mr. Garvin creating a special video montage for myself and my fiance. I spoke with Mr. Garvin on the phone, telling him the details of what we wanted, and Mr. Garvin was very kind and professional, and Mr. Garvin seemed to be willing and able to do what we wanted. In terms of meeting with Mr. Garvin to go over details of the videography for the wedding, Mr. Garvin explained that he liked to meet people in public places, and suggested the Barnes and Noble bookstore on Watson Road. Mr. Garvin also made comments about himself being a night owl, and that meeting in the evenings, as well as meeting on short notices, would not be a problem for Mr. Garvin. My fiance and I were impressed, especially after seeing the work Mr. Garvin did on his website, and decided to meet with Mr. Garvin in person to see if he could fit our needs.

We went ahead and met with Mr. Garvin in Barnes and Noble on Watson Road not more than a week after my initial contact with Mr. Garvin over the telephone. Once again, Mr. Garvin seemed to like our ideas, and Mr. Garvin seemed very eager and willing to help us. We explained that our wedding was on June 16 (we possibly told Mr. Garvin that our wedding was on June 15th, as that was our original date and we had to change the day), 2007, and we were planning ahead so that we could get the most important details of the wedding out of the way because we were students, and also so that we could enjoy our engagement. Mr. Garvin appeared, to us, to understand where we were coming from, and Mr. Garvin did not give my fiance nor myself any reason to feel that Mr. Garvin would be a difficult person or demanding person.
Plus, Mr. Garvin was offering us what we felt was a bargain deal in terms of videographer services, which was Mr. Garvin's Absolute Cinema package, including video footage of the wedding and reception, as well as still shots of special moments of the wedding. Plus, Mr. Garvin was willing to do our special montage for an extra $100. After the details of the package, as well as seeing Mr. Garvin's work, and due to Mr. Garvin giving us what we saw as a friendly and versatile impression of himself, we decided we wanted to book Absolute Wedding Cinema.

We sent Mr. Garvin the contract in the mail, explaining on the contract our needs and expectations, as well as a deposit of $150. Mr. Garvin received them, cashed the check, and we seemed to be moving along nicely. In our interactions with each other before sending the deposit and signed contract, my fiance and I told Mr. Garvin that we probably would want to start work on the montage within the year before the wedding.

Not long after we sent in the contract with the deposit, Mr. Garvin contacted my fiance, and instead of using our time frame for working on the montage, Mr. Garvin suggested that myself and my fiance meet with him right away, within the next two weeks, to begin work on the montage. My fiance and I both thought it was rather early to get started, however Mr. Garvin explained, in his own words, that it was currently a time of year for him in which he was not very busy. After my fiance and I discussed it, we decided to go ahead and meet with Mr. Garvin right away, and we set up a time to meet with Mr. Garvin on a Thursday, September 22nd of 2005.

Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond our control and a hectic schedule that week, it did not look like we were going to be able to meet with Mr. Garvin, so I called Mr. Garvin in advance of the meeting, and apologized that we would not be able to make that meeting, and I asked Mr. Garvin if it would be alright if we moved the meeting to the following Friday night, on September 23rd of 2005. Mr. Garvin had a conflict that Friday night, but Mr. Garvin suggested that we move it to the Thursday of next week, September 29 of 2005, which I agreed to since my fiance and I were both free that night, and we would meet.

Mr. Garvin gave no indication that our situation was causing him any hardship, nor did Mr. Garvin indicate any current or foreseen problems with us regarding this. In terms of meeting on Friday the 23rd, I was a little surprised that Mr. Garvin wouldn't be able to meet, but only because Mr. Garvin had said he was someone who could do things on short notice, and Mr. Garvin's suggestion to move it to September 29th seemed to me to be in conflict with his availability on meeting with people.

In between last speaking with Mr. Garvin and missing the meeting on September 22nd, my fiance and I spent a good 15 hours looking through photographs, selecting them, and gathering the raw video footage so that we would be well-prepared to meet with Mr. Garvin. This process also would simplify Mr. Garvin's workload, and we had to work fast because we were not expecting to meet with Mr. Garvin so quickly, and it was taking us far longer than we expected.

We also wanted to do the best job we could in terms of getting Mr. Garvin the materials he needed, because my fiance and I were both very appreciative of the package deal Mr. Garvin was giving us. Unsure of whether or not we would be able to meet right at 8pm with Mr. Garvin on Thursday, September 29th (our originally scheduled time), the Wednesday before, my fiance re-arranged so we would meet with Mr. Garvin at 8:30pm at Barnes and Noble on Thursday September 29th, which Mr. Garvin agreed to.

When Thursday did come, my fiance and I were unfortunately running late to our meeting with Mr. Garvin, however we were only less than 8 minutes when we arrived and on the way to the location I called Mr. Garvin's home and left a message letting him know we were running late but were on our way. Mr. Garvin was nowhere to be found when we got there, so we decided to wait for Mr. Garvin.

We ended up waiting from 8:35pm-10:20pm, and left several messages on Mr. Garvin's telephone, asking where Mr. Garvin was and telling him we were waiting book store. I even called other bookstores attempting to have Mr. Garvin paged, just in case on the rare chance there was a misunderstanding of where to meet. However, I erroneously had both locations page David Garth instead of David Garvin, however in at least one of the locations, I did have David Garth with Absolute Wedding Cinema paged. After 10:20pm, my fiance and I decided to go home. When we arrived home, my fiance sent Mr. Garvin an e-mail sometime that evening, which read thus:

SUBJECT: Meeting Last Night- (my last name)

David,

Patrick and I are sort of curious what happened last night. I'm guessing there was some degree of miscommunication especially since we had to cancel last week, and we had asked to reschedule from 8pm to 8:30pm last night. It also didn't help that we were 5-7 minutes late. Patrick's niece is sick and we got out from babysitting a little late. But, even though we were late, we stayed put in the caf from 8:35pm to 10:20pm just in case the message during phone tag got warped.

But yes, if you could get in contact with either Patrick or I to possibly reschedule a meeting (during a person to person call that is, the voicemail thing didn't work out too well), it would be very much appreciative. We both have spent a good 15 of solid planning and preparation for this montage alone and we're eager to hear your ideas and also! share ours.

Thanks,
(My fiancee's name)
(My cellphone)
(My fiancee's cellphone)
(Our home phone)
(My e-mail)
(My fiancee's e-mail)
(My fiancee's school e-mail)

At 1:34 AM, when 5 hours before we were previously unable to get ahold of Mr. Garvin, Mr. Garvin sends us an e-mail, which read thus:

SUBJECT: Re: Meeting Last Night- (my last name)

Hi (my fiancee's name),
My wife and I waited for 20 minutes last night and concluded something must have come up on your end. So we went to dinner and upon returning home discovered a series of messages from Pat. You both seem like really nice folks and I'm not trying to cause you an issue, but this is the second mis-adventure already on a wedding that isn't scheduled to happen for a year and 9 months. This has already cost me more time and hassle than weddings scheduled 3 months from now. Since you still have a lot of time to find a videographer, I'm going to mail back a full refund of your deposit right away.
Thank you for taking the time to meet with me and for deciding to go with Absolute.
It's been my experience unfortunately that 20% of my clients end up taking 80% of my time and causing virtually all my headaches. This is not an attack on you fine people, just an honest peak into the life of a wedding videographer. Take care and all the best to you.

David Garvin

When we read the e-mail, both my fiance and I were shocked and disappointed. I felt, in my opinion, that Mr. Garvin's comments were highly unprofessional and even though Mr. Garvin says the comments about 20% of my clients taking up 80% of my time and causing virtually all my headaches are not directed at us, I feel they were, otherwise I feel Mr. Garvin would have no reason to mention them. My fiance and I both felt deserted, and let down by Mr. Garvin, since Mr. Garvin already took our deposit and then expressed what we saw as excellent enthusiasm to work with us. Plus, I felt it was highly unprofessional, and in my opinion, dishonorable, that Mr. Garvin chose to use e-mail as his form of letting us know that he did not want to work with us, rather than a face-to-face interaction or at least a phone call.

Upon receiving Mr. Garvin's e-mail, I called Mr. Garvin's home, and Mr. Garvin did not answer, so I left Mr. Garvin a message stating my disappointment with Mr. Garvin, letting Mr. Garvin know how insulted I felt and how Mr. Garvin's comments were unprofessional, and I told Mr. Garvin of all the work we put into this project so that we would be ready and prepared for when we met with Mr. Garvin, and that Mr. Garvin's job would be easier. I also expressed to Mr. Garvin that I did not like, nor was I impressed by, the fact that Mr. Garvin backed out of the agreement via e-mail, rather than call and tell me the things Mr. Garvin said in an e-mail. I ended by thanking Mr. Garvin for sending back our deposit, and angrily assured Mr. Garvin that we would most definitely not be using his services, ever.

A few days later, we did receive a check from David Garvin in the amount of $150, which we placed for the deposit. I deposited the check without any problem, so Mr. Garvin did keep his word about sending our deposit back. We have not heard from Mr. Garvin since.

That was our experience with David Garvin of Absolute Wedding Cinema. I feel that Mr. Garvin should have followed through with the agreement of doing our wedding videography and montage once Mr. Garvin accepted our deposit, and I feel Mr. Garvin is a poor communicator with clients on how things are working out; neither me nor my fiance had any idea Mr. Garvin felt we were causing him more time and hassle than weddings scheduled 3 months from now until Mr. Garvin sent us his final e-mail. Plus, it is my opinion that Mr. Garvin's explanation that he can work short-notice was not consistent with Mr. Garvin's actions, and I found this inconsistency, in my opinion, as a form of dishonesty. The entire experience with Mr. Garvin caused both myself and my fiance unnecessary stress and disappointment, and I feel that if anyone is considering hiring Mr. Garvin to do videography work, that, in my opinion, they would not receive quality, courteous, professional service from Mr. Garvin, as opposed to another vendor.

Patrick
Ballwin, Missouri
U.S.A.