PictureMe Walmart Photo Studios Killing A christmas tradition Poulsbo Washington

The people of PictureMe Portrait Studios have much to learn about real customer service.
During the Christmas season my family and I had gone to PictureMe for some inexpensive photographs to send out in our yearly Christmas Card for our family and friends. After a two week wait we finally got to go into our appointment on December 6th 2008 at store number 15272.
While the manager sat on her rather large tush we were hurried through a rather unprofessional session sitting atop broken down boxes and filthy props and my two year being brushed in the face with a yellowing feather duster(eich!!!!). Afterward my wife was run through a gamut of high pressure sales about various packages when our intentions were to get "The Deal" at $7.99. We walk out of the studio for a bill of 30.00( not too bad???) and were told "WE" could pick up our photos on the 18th of December.
As we live in western Washington state we are subject to erratic snow fall during the winter months. It snowed on the 17th, 18th, (5 inches, not much but enough) and on the 19th we had a break. I decided to go for it by myself as I did not really want to endanger my wife and child with the ride and my wife doesn't know much about driving in the snow. After a nerve wracking hour drive in my two wheel drive through icy roads and snow I got there.
They would not release the pictures to me. Photographs of myself and my wife and child they would not give to me. The had failed to inform us that we needed either; 1) My wife and her proper ID or 2)the receipt. I tried pleading that I had driven all this way and needed the pictures to send them out in our cards, I can have my wife call with the receipt number, the credit card number, anything! No. The manager stated that it was company policy to hold the pictures until one of those two things were furnished. No where was it displayed. Not one person during the process informed us of this. I have even looked on their website and cannot find it.
That night on the 19th it began to snow again and has not stopped. We now have about 13 inches on the ground and its supposed to keep on coming. We are not going to be able to get our pictures out in time for them to reach family and friends by Christmas. I was furious at the time and have since settled down.
Until today.

I called their customer service line and was told this:

"We can refund your money for a service fee of ten dollars" (what????),

"It is company policy to hold the photographs until proper id and or receipt is furnished sir."
Over a month after starting the process and we have no pictures and it is going to be Christmas in two days. They will not refund, discount or apologize for the gauntlet and ring circus they have put us through (perhaps for a small $10 fee).
I am a reasonable man and I know they cannot control the weather or what company policy may be but they should advertise and bring that ever-so important knowledge to our attention.
In the future I am going to go the extra ten miles and pay the extra $100 to someone who appreciates my family's time and business and works with us. I will never go back to any PictureMe studios or the like. This type of overrun policy is indicitive of these cookie cutter frachise outfits. All I ask is to have been informed and to work with me as an individual and a person in my own circumstance.

(Yes, I am on my way to go get the pictures, yes I am going to spend about $15 on gas and yes take the risk again so that I do not have to pay the $10. IRONIC huh?)





Eric p
Port ludlow, Washington
U.S.A.