| Product: |
Olan Mills |
| Date: |
28/11/03 (574 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: beautiful pictures, great offers
Disadvantages: telesales, peak delivery times
About 2 years ago I received a very strange phone call. A friend of mine had just had a baby and had used Olan Mills to have some portraits done of him. Whilst at the studio she was asked if she knew anyone who would like to use their service and she recommended me. I was told about one of their amazing packages which sounded too good to be true.
The package I was offered was called "Watch me grow". The idea behind it is that over the space of 12 months you have 4 photos taken of your child or children or family at 3 month intervals. After each sitting you make an appointment to come back to the studio and chose your photo which you are given included in the price. I was impressed. Also included in the price was a makeover for you and a free print of that too. I was definatley impressed now! Then they told me how much it was going to cost me if I decided to go ahead with it. £22. I was shocked, I really thought that this was too good to be true so I called my friend who told me that it was a genuine offer and that she was very impressed with the pictures she had chosen. I called them back 10 minutes later with my bank details and made my first appointment!!
For our first sitting we decided that we would have a family portrait, so we all went along dressed in our best gear. When we arrived at the studio I was a little surprised. I had been told that this was a very well known company and had a very good reputation but to honest it looked a little unprofessional. The carpet was filthy, the seats had rips in the covers and the only toys that were there for the children were broken. I was all set to go until I saw the portraits on the walls. They were amazing. They were beautifully posed and presented, I was in awe.
We sat down and waited to be called in. We only had to wait a minute or two before we were called in. When we entered the studio, I changed my mind about the company completly. It was so bright and colourful, there were
massive lights and cameras everywhere. It looked so professional. My mind was set at ease. We were greeted by a very enthusuastic young american lady who really seemed to know what she was doing.
Me and my husband were postioned on the stage and the children were arranged around us. The kids didn't seem to be very happy abou having to sit still but the photographer kept them amused and made them smile, something I find hard sometimes!! We could see a sample of what the photo would look like before we left. They were great. All in all the lady took around 15 different shots.
A week later we went back to view the photos. They were all arranged neatly on a felt board and we had to make the agonising decision of which to chose. We finally chose the one we liked best and we were told it would be posted to us within 28 days. 3 days later we had it. I was gobsmacked. Great customer service.
Over the nest 12 months we had another 3 portraits done, all of the children. These were brilliant. They took so many different poses and variations that it was just so hard to chose. We even decided that we could not chose and ended up buying a couple of different ones on top of the free one. These were very reasonably priced, I think it cost us £35 for 4 extra prints at 3"X5". The free portrait was a 10"X*" print. The only problem I did find was that one of the portraits took quite some time to be delivered but this was quite near to Xmas so it was to be expected really. They had also refurbished the studio during this time so the studio was much more welcoming.
The final part of my Olan Mills package was my makeover. Basically I was invited to the studio and told to bring 3 of my favorite tops or outfits. When I arrived I was greeted with a cup of coffee and a very clever young lady. I do not consider myself to be all that good looking but after she had finished doing my hair and make up I was shocked. I looked so differen
t and actually liked what I saw in the mirror for a change. I was then taken into the photography studio and asked to get into a number of poses. I was made to feel really comfortable and glamoous. It was such a great afternoon. When the prints were ready for viewing, we really could not chose which to have as my free print, so my hubby bought them all!! This did cost him £200 but it was well worth every penny.
I have recommended Olan Mills to heaps of my friends and family and have visited them on a number of occasions to have prints done for Xmas presents and for Mothers Day. All the prints have been excellent.
As well as the "Watch me grow" package they do lots of other deals. You can have portraits done as a one off, you can have an olden day makeover and you are fitted out in old fashioned clothes and props - these are great, you can have pictures taken of your pets and you can book the makeover as a one off too. I did this for Xmas for my mum and sister last year, they loved being pampered and were stunned at the results.
The only thing I do not really like about Olan Mills is their telesales people. I have been called about 5 times in as msny months to see if I want to have any more pictures done. I find this rather annoying as I have told them everytime they call that I will call them as and when I want to use their service. Still...this is a minor problem compared to the excellent service I have recieved from Olan Mills.
On the whole this company comes highly recommended.
I do not know where else they have stores but they are listed on Yell.com and in the Yellow Pages. I reviewed the Leicester branch.
Summary:
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Last comments:
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- 23/10/06 Hi, I work for Olan Mills in a concession. I must stress that as part of my job as a photographer we do not only have to take photos and at a good standard, we also have to call customers to book watch me grow packages (for the minimum wage, less that telesales) and sell our photos, I know how much of a pain it is to be called all the time but if we didnt, customers would forget and miss appointments which you have pre-paid, you guys know when you purchase watch me grows that its 4 sittings over the year 3 months apart, if Olan Mills didnt call you im sure you would have reason to complain when you missed your appointment, is that a reasonable comment? A little bit of understanding towards the staff would be very grateful, and also any good reports in the company should be told to the individual studio to encourage us photograpers to carry on the good work, I love my job, im very patient with the kids and I can get very good sales and to be honest nobody is forced into buying, but what does annoy staff is when people are just having a free photo and spend half an hour deciding which one they want, making other people who generally appreciate their photos wait and then feel like our service isnt very good because they waited so long to view and end up not buying any photos that they actually really want. and another thing, why take a package of 4 sittings to get 4 free prints and then come into the studio moaning that you already have loads of photos and dont want anymore, but still buy the watch me grow package every 12 months....I just dont get it! another thing that annoys me, why would you come to have photos taken and just think that only one of them will be any good to get a free one and not actually come with money or a card to pay for additionals, or come without a partner/husband/wife to the sitting and view and then say you cant buy any until you have spoken to your spouse..surely you communicate about it and decide between yourselves that if you see a few more than the free pictures you want to come to an agreement of how much you can spend, or to come together on the shoot date so you can choose together which ones you want. I say, out with the watch me grows and in with one off sittings! I really dont mean to sound so harsh towards customers but they are all so eager in complaining about staff but who do the staff complain to?
I have been verbley abused over the telephone by a customer who paid cash for a print and then decided he didnt want it and when i processed a refund request got shouted at for telling him it comes as a cheque, and offered customer head office number to call them as it was their policy and i was just doing my job, then got told he wasnt being spoken to like a ******* by a little kid, the same little kid that took his babies photos, that he said he really liked, that also sold him the photos... how offended i was! And my job description at interview stage was photographer/sales.. not a punch bag, manager, head office, telesales....get me? |
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- 28/11/03 We used this service for our son's first year and have to agree they are very good. The only problem is that you do end up buying a fortunes worth of photographs for Grandparents etc. Still, it will be worth it when we can embarass him in front of his girlfriend with his old baby pictures :) |
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- 28/11/03 We have these people in the 50 colonies too. ALways on the phone bugging people |
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