I am so mad that I really need to vent and get it out. I apologize in advance.
So I wanted to get my daughters 3 month old pictures taken. As a child, there are ZERO pictures of me growing up, so it was important to me that I capture all her milestones on film. My idea was to get 3 months, 6 months, 9 months and a year because they change so much during this time.
So I called a pricey photographer. She is booked up a month in advance. My fault, I should have called sooner. Besides, she'll still be 3 months and 3 weeks old. So I make an appointment. I ask to double book another appointment for my SIL right after mine so we can get a shot of the girls together. This is an additional charge, but I am happy to pay it. I ask if she has any tips and tricks to make sure the girls stay in a good mood since our appointment fell right in the middle of naptime. She writes back "Would you like to reschedule for a different day at an earlier time?" Since I am coordinating with my SIL and she is not available, I can't do that. So I write back, "No, we'll just keep our original appoint, thanks!"
There is no further correspondence past this point, but I wasn't really expecting anything back from her.
I buy the outfits and props she asks me to buy. I make sure that all her outfits fit snug as requested since 'babies can sometimes get lost in clothes that are too big.' Again, I wait a MONTH for this appointment. On the day of, I show up with my SIL exactly on time. And I'm told, "Opps! I never put you on the schedule! Didn't see your last email. Now I'm all booked up. Can we reschedule? The soonest i can get you in is a month from today!"
In a month, my daughter will almost be 5 months old! These were supposed to be her 3 month pictures!
If that wasn't bad enough, she starts giving me a bunch of "I'm sorry, but's..."
"I'm sorry, but we receive hundreds of emails a day."
"I'm sorry, but we never gave you an OFFICIAL email confirming." (How the heck am I supposed to know what an official and unofficial email looks like)
"I'm sorry, but you should have thought it was odd that I never responded to you and double checked."
I can understand scheduling mistakes. But at least own that it was YOUR mistake. Don't try to mitigate the blame onto me. I scheduled the appointment! Just because you didn't write it down doesn't mean I didn't complete my responsibilities as a customer who is TRYING TO GIVE YOU MONEY.
She offered to give me the rescheduled session for free. I refused. To me, this wasn't about 'scoring' a free session. I just wanted to get certain ages/milestones captured on film and if I wait another month, I will have missed that boat. (Not to mention she will have already grown out of all the 'snug' outfits I purchased for her!)
Am I an asshole because I would rather hire a 6 year old with an Iphone than work with this photographer for free? This is Bella Mi Photography for those that live in NE Ohio. I DO NOT RECOMMEND.
Re: So mad I could spit
Married: 5/09 ~ TTC Since: 10/10 ~ PCOS ~ Progesterone from 10/10 - 2/11 ~ HSG on 3/18 - Clear ~ Started Metformin 1000mg & Clomid 50mg 2/11 ~ Metformin upped to 1500mg 4/6 ~ 6/7 Now going to SG and put on Clomid, Ovidrel, Gonal F, Prometrium, Estrace ~ IUI #1 7/2 = BFP!!!!!! March 6th our little man was born.
6/17/13 - Ovidrel, Follistim, Prometrium ~ IUI #1 7/2 = BFP! March 17th our St. Pattys day baby arrived
10/29/17 - Started process for IVF, got pregnant & miscarried a 2nd time since summer. 2/22 started stims - Menopur, Gonal F, Cetrotide - retrieval 3/6 - , PIO, estrace 3xday - FET 4/18 = Beta 1: 616; Beta 2: 1342 = BFP
And if you read the post, you'd know that in the course of several emails, we agreed on a date and time, pricing, I was directed to buy certain clothes, and we discussed in detail how the session would go.
What more confirmation was I supposed to look for?
I guess I can't fathom harassing someone every day for month once everything has been decided on. I'm not THAT high maintenance.
I guess I didn't have any questions to ask because, as I said, we had already decided on everything together. Even if i did see something on pintrest (really?), I wasn't about to change everything around.
I take clients for a living as well. So if I had a scheduled appointment with a client and they felt the need to call/text/email me every day for a month, I would only be patient for so long before I dropped them. I have other clients to take care of and the last thing I need is one dominating all my time with nonsense. And I charge WAAAYYYY more than the average photographer.
Also, if I flubbed an appointment time, I would take ownership of my mistake. I would not blame the client because they treated me like a responsible adult who was capable of handling my schedule without needing constant nagging reminders.