Studio 1401

This response is in regard to the complaint by [redacted] *** I did meet [redacted] and her mother, [redacted] at the bridal fair on Sunday, July 20, The bridal fair is a very busy time as typically more than brides attend to see options and make decisions about their upcoming weddings The fair only lasts one afternoon from approximately 1- So needless to say it is difficult to spend a lot of time with each person that approaches the booth However, we do take a lot of bookings within that small frame of time I remember [redacted] I discussed with her some of the options of what we providedThere is many sample albums of our work, displays on the walls, and live testimonial former brides there to view and speak to during the fair So I told her that while we did not have ample time to make final decisions on what her specific package would include, if she felt comfortable with the work she saw and wanted to secure her wedding date with us she could put down a non-refundable deposit to make sure no one else would book her day I stressed to her that the deposit is non-refundable because the date comes off the market for every other bride that shows interest in the same date She said she wanted to look around to see what her other options were at the fair first At the end of the bridal fair hour she did come back and said she had decided to put her deposit down I reminded her that we needed to set up an appointment for a personal consultation in the following weeks to go over all the options and decide on her package I then had her sign the contract that stated she was aware that the deposit was non-refundable Since the remainder of contract has to do with those decisions and my responsibility to the bride I am not able to fill it out until those decisions have been made The only thing I can fill out at that time is the name of the bride, her wedding date, the current date, and her signature Which [redacted] did sign I have attached this document for your review After the fair we did receive a call from [redacted] that [redacted] was concerned about some negative reviews she found So despite the fact that we were closed the day after the fair I agreed to meet with [redacted] on Monday to discuss those concerns as well as collect the remainder of the non-refundable deposit While she did give us a credit card at the fair the day before it only approved for $of the $ So after a discussion of her concerns she paid the remainder of the balance of $that was still due for the deposit I believe that if they had decided at that time to not trust us with handling the photography at that point she would not have fulfilled the deposit requirement I also included a copy of these dated receipts for your review At this time I assumed all was well with the [redacted] family We scheduled an appointment for her to come in for her personal consultation and make her package decisions She cancelled that appointment the day before when we contacted her to confirm it She said she would call back to reschedule(I included this time as an attachment for your review.) It was later that she called to say she had someone else offer to do her wedding as a gift and she needed a refund I told her what a nice gift that was and I completely understood her choice to cancel but that the deposit of course was not refundableThey were pretty insistent about a refund and I explained to them that per the contract it was not refundable but it could be transferred to another date if they wanted The only specification is that it is for event coverage It cannot be used toward a product (such as a save the date) line of credit The $was specifically to secure the date of her wedding coverage because we took it off the market for all other potential clients It was a long day of going back and forth trying to explain this I can assure you that I did not yell at her I did at one point say that maybe we just weren’t a good fit for each other because she didn’t seem to understand the difference no matter how I tried to explain it I did send them a copy of their contract when they had decided to cancel our services as per their request

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:
I have never seen such dishonesty from a business, ever. I was never made aware of any appointments that I was to come to. I will provide phone records or whatever is needed to prove that I NEVER made an appointment with this studio. *** tried to force my mom into making one for me and my mother refused because she knows how busy my schedule is and she knew I would want to do that on my own. After the bridal expo I never had anymore contact with anyone from the studio until I tried to get *** to use that deposit towards my engagement pictures. Even then when I called and *** came to the phone she said I need to set up an appointment to do my Wedding Package. I refused, just like I had before so therefore anyone who made an appointment with my name on it was not me. Even if I had made an appointment why didnt anyone call to reschedule when I didnt show up? When I called to see if *** would do my engagement photos, she immediatley refused to do so. Then the longer I spoke to her, because I had no idea why the credit couldnt be transferred, she changed her mine. She then said that she would do my engagements for free, but wouldnt release the photos so that I could use them for my save the dates. She said that she would be the only one able to make the save the dates, which are are priced much higher than anywhere else. So the statement that I didnt understand the difference isnt true. I understand the difference between a product and service, but what I dont understand is you not allowing me to use all of the $deposit and actually get something out of it. I would have been more than happy for this to happen, but instead you refused to do so. This studio has earned itself a bad reputation from the way it handles customers, honesty and integrity in a business goes a long way. The fact that the deposit shouldnt be refunded because that date is set for me only is a lie within itself. If you read the contract it doesnt even garantee a particular photographer, only garantees it will be of the available. Which means that the other photographers have something else booked for that date. If you cant afford to refund the deposit I am more than willing to take payments, because according to the other complaints against you, repaying the money is the biggest issue that this studio has. This contract was taken to an attorney for review, and upon review the attorney stated that it was a voided contract because nothing had been finalized or signed. If this studio wants to continue to deny any wrongdoing then I will proceed with legal action that will only cost them more money. If no goods or services were exchanged then the money needs to be refunded
Regards,
*** ***

This response is in regard to the complaint by [redacted].  I did meet [redacted] and her mother, [redacted] at the bridal fair on Sunday, July 20, 2014.  The bridal fair is a very busy time as typically more than 300 brides attend to see options and make decisions about their upcoming...

weddings.  The fair only lasts one afternoon from approximately 1-5.  So needless to say it is difficult to spend a lot of time with each person that approaches the booth.  However, we do take a lot of bookings within that small frame of time.  I remember [redacted].  I discussed with her some of the options of what we provided. There is many sample albums of our work, displays on the walls, and live testimonial former brides there to view and speak to during the fair.  So I told her that while we did not have ample time to make final decisions on what her specific package would include, if she felt comfortable with the work she saw and wanted to secure her wedding date with us she could put down a non-refundable deposit to make sure no one else would book her day.  I stressed to her that the deposit is non-refundable because the date comes off the market for every other bride that shows interest in the same date.  She said she wanted to look around to see what her other options were at the fair first.  At the end of the bridal fair hour she did come back and said she had decided to put her deposit down.  I reminded her that we needed to set up an appointment for a personal consultation in the following weeks to go over all the options and decide on her package.   I then had her sign the contract that stated she was aware that the deposit was non-refundable.  Since the remainder of contract has to do with those decisions and my responsibility to the bride I am not able to fill it out until those decisions have been made.  The only thing I can fill out at that time is the name of the bride, her wedding date, the current date, and her signature.  Which [redacted] did sign.  I have attached this document for your review.  
After the fair we did receive a call from [redacted] that [redacted] was concerned about some negative reviews she found.  So despite the fact that we were closed the day after the fair I agreed to meet with [redacted] on Monday to discuss those concerns as well as collect the remainder of the non-refundable deposit.  While she did give us a credit card at the fair the day before it only approved for $107.78 of the $500.  So after a discussion of her concerns she paid the remainder of the balance of $392.22 that was still due for the deposit.  I believe that if they had decided at that time to not trust us with handling the photography at that point she would not have fulfilled the deposit requirement.  I also included a copy of these dated receipts for your review. 
At this time I assumed all was well with the [redacted] family.  We scheduled an appointment for her to come in for her personal consultation and make her package decisions.  She cancelled that appointment the day before when we contacted her to confirm it.  She said she would call back to reschedule. (I included this time as an attachment for your review.)  It was later that she called to say she had someone else offer to do her wedding as a gift and she needed a refund.  I told her what a nice gift that was and I completely understood her choice to cancel but that the deposit of course was not refundable. They were pretty insistent about a refund and I explained to them that per the contract it was not refundable but it could be transferred to another date if they wanted.  The only specification is that it is for event coverage.  It cannot be used toward a product (such as a save the date) line of credit.  The $500 was specifically to secure the date of her wedding coverage because we took it off the market for all other potential clients.  It was a long day of going back and forth trying to explain this.  I can assure you that I did not yell at her.  I did at one point say that maybe we just weren’t a good fit for each other because she didn’t seem to understand the difference no matter how I tried to explain it.  I did send them a copy of their contract when they had decided to cancel our services as per their request.

I am very sorry about the miscommunication that seems to be continuing to happen with Ms. [redacted].  If she feels she didn't have an appointment with us or if didn't think she had an appointment with us it makes sense that it did not happen.  According to our records the appointment was cancelled when we called to confirm it.  We were told by the client that they would get back with us at a later time.  That is all according to our notes in our system.  If that isn't the way she remembers it happening that is fine.  Either way, none of that had much to do with the refund that the client is seeking.  
Unfortunately, the non-refundable deposit is non-refundable.  It is something that is absorbed when the client has us turn every other potential bride away for that particular day.  We are a very busy studio.  We do a lot of work in this area because I feel we have developed a good enough reputation to have more than one wedding per weekend.  She is correct with that.  We can do up to three weddings every weekend on busy weekends such as the summer months.  In many instances we still turn away brides who would love to book our photography services simply because we are committed to brides who have placed their deposit already.  So while yes, we do have the capability to do more than one wedding per weekend we turn away more than we book.  That is what the $500 non-refundable deposit pays for.  Not for future product, but for the securing your date and as such is non-refundable.
I tried to explain this to her when she called and wanted to use the $500 toward save the dates.  I still think there is confusion about this.  A "Save the Date" is an actual product.  It is usually a magnet or a card that has images we have taken on it. These are priced by quantity so I did tell her she could not use the wedding deposit to purchase her save the dates.  I wasn't changing my mind when I told her I would be happy to take her engagement pictures.  I even offered to do it for free because I was trying to be helpful.  I did take the time to try and explain the difference in the service of me taking her pictures and the product of a save the date card.  I wanted to be upfront and clear that those would have to be purchased if she wanted them.  We do sell them and I wasn't willing to take her pictures for free and then give her the copyrights to them for free so she could go and have them produced somewhere else.  I was happy to do the work for free but could not afford to give her the product for free.  Sadly, I still don't think this is understood.  
I am hoping that the contract that she did sign will make sense if she reads back over it.  The last page of contract need not be signed until it's completed.  It actually should not be signed until it is completed.  This seems to be a issue for them since they want the deposit back.  However, the part she DID sign acknowledges AND AGREES TO the only part that she is now disputing.  The $500 deposit is non-refundable and it's specifically for wedding coverage only.  
I don't feel like this was dishonest in anyway.  We actually have it in writing.  Since then, if offering to do her engagement pictures for free wasn't something that sounded of any value to her I don't know what else to offer.  I wish her the best of luck with her upcoming wedding and hope it will be beautiful.