How do you warn others about a bad lab without getting sued?

[George Mann]

My Nikons D700 and D800 produce as good if not better images than what I shot on Kodachrome.

And I find that all digital images are distinctly inferior to the Kodachromes that I have shot.

 

[foc]

I have been watching this from the sideline.
As an ex-lab owner, I understand that mistakes do happen even in the best run labs.
Some of these mistakes can be spotted before they reach the customer, some can be concealed by the perpetrator, and some just slip through.
As has been said above, always let the lab know of your complaint/dissatisfaction.
I think what is important is that the lab can be judged by how they handled the complaint.

One of the problems, I think, with using labs by mailorder/online is you can't see their operation but they should have an unbiased review section on their site. (trip adviser for labs?)
In a bricks and mortar lab you may see some equipment or even just the reception counter and if it looks clean and tidy, well maintained, and no one eating or drinking coffee (or cats)

 

[MattKing]

In a bricks and mortar lab you may see some equipment or even just the reception counter and if it looks clean and tidy, well maintained, and no one eating or drinking coffee (or cats)

It may be a particularly bad sign if they are eating cats.
Regional considerations aside, of course.
Stuff happens in a lab environment.
The Kodak lab where my dad worked had a full set of protective water filters protecting the Kodachrome and Ektachrome lines. They also had protocols that required shut-down and monitoring whenever our municipal water systems were shut down or otherwise adjusted for maintenance purposes.
Tragically, one day someone committed suicide by defeating all the protective barriers and drowning themselves in the huge lake that served as a reservoir. To permit retrieval of the body, the water authorities lowered the reservoir levels by both lowering the flood gate and, without the normal notice, starting the higher than normal volume purge of the water system.
The resulting increase of sediment in the water supply overwhelmed the filter systems at a number of commercial sites, including the Kodak lab.
A significant number of customer films were damaged before the problem was noticed and the machine shut down.
A whole bunch of customers got letters and replacement films.

 

[Adrian Bacon]

I think what is important is that the lab can be judged by how they handled the complaint.

yes. It’s not so much that a mistake happened, it’s what they do about it after it’s discovered.

 

[George Mann]

I just looked at the pictures OP posted of his film and they are really, really terrible. I mean it looks like it was on the floor for days.

It doesn't look half as bad as you claim it does to me. It looks like it is mostly on the surface of the plastic.

I have even occationally received negatives from a first rate lab that I have done business for years in this condition (stuff happens in an imperfect world).

 

[Robert Maxey]

Cats don't belong within 10 miles of a photo lab, nor do dogs unless they are shaved bald.

Seriously; WHO thinks animals belong anywhere near a film processor or where processed film is handled?

Well, Yousuf Karsh, the extraordinary portrait photographer did. It is a fact. Really. Truly. Ever see the famous portrait of Albert Einstein? Well, most of that unruly hair on Al's head was really longhair cat hair from I believe Einstein's cat Nutrino. I'll ask Mr. Google..

 

[bunktheory65]

there actually is NO way to know who actually processed the film.

There are several cut rate places on line that give you a fancy speel, list of prices for services, and give you an order form to print out and complete and send in with your film.

The problem is, even though the names are different, and the addresses are different, they use the IDENTICAL order form. Only difference is in name and address and contact info. Everything else is an identical word template. Prices are identical. Results are the same horrible mix from both. But they dont do the processing themselves.

They are charging if i recall 7$ for a roll of 35mm color.... id hate to see what the place they send it to charges them..