Venting about Costco

Worker 11811 said:

The problem here is that the employees refuse to do the job correctly or to find out how to do the job correctly and they try to blame their deficiencies on the customer instead of themselves.

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When did that happen. Did I miss part of the story?

Don't you think people are entitled to make mistakes?

Sometimes us niche hobby enthusiasts need to help "them" do their jobs to our specifications. No matter waht we might want to believe, film users is "niche photography" now, and lomo/half-frame is even more of a niche. Why crucify the people who still support us versus finding out how to help them do what we need?

Had they messed up the processing I might be more agreeable to your attitude... but c'mon, asking for a re-scan isn't that unusual. Paying others for scanning is almost never a way to get a clean scan unless one is paying lots of money. The inconvenience of asking for a re-scan and coming back in a few hours is really fairly minimal.

this thread cracks me up ...


• costco processed, printed &c 1/2 frame film for the OP ( who knows they aren't set up for 1/2 frame )

• he returns a week later with more film, the manager takes his order this time and tells the OP they aren't set up to process + print 1/2 frame
and the OP wouldn't take no for an answer ... knowing he is a regular customer, she takes his order anyway, and he accepts the risk of having the lab process, print and scan film that is outside their bill of service

• the OP's upset because the results were sub-par

now it is suggested that the OP write a scathing letter to costco, with names, and dates ( &c ) , complaining that the photo lab
did a lousy job processing the work they did for him after he INSISTED they take his film ??

he really has no one to blame but himself if he is unhappy with the results the lab gave him. they aren't a boutique lab,
they aren't a pro lab, they are a lab in costco that charges $2.07 for a roll of film to be printed and processed.

seeing the OP has saved lots of money over the years by having his work processed at less than half price at costco, maybe he can pay for a
lab outside of costco to process his half frame photographs ... one that actually accepts 1/2 frame as part of their regular stream of work.
or buy himself a scanner for 50$ and scan his own negatives.

The OP is lucky his local Costco still processes film. None in my area do any longer after demand cratered 2-3 years ago. I don't get the feigned outrage and frothing but do get that there's also an entitlement issue in play. It's Costco, not a pro lab. To argue otherwise is just being chicken$hit.

CGW said:

The OP is lucky his local Costco still processes film. None in my area do any longer after demand cratered 2-3 years ago. I don't get the feigned outrage and frothing but do get that there's also an entitlement issue in play. It's Costco, not a pro lab. To argue otherwise is just being chicken$hit.

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I'm lucky. On my end of Losa Angeles County I get processing at BOTH of my local Costcos... and good service... and good enough product too. Look at what else I saw on my drive home last night. This isn't the only Walgreens either. But Walgreen service and processing isn't quite at the level of Costco.

(Please forgive the fact that these are digital images taken with a cell phone. They are primarily to make a point... and maybe to gloat.)

BrianShaw said:

When did that happen. Did I miss part of the story?

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Specifically...

eurekaiv said:

At this point she relented and said she would do it provided I promised not to make her re-scan them if there were frames missing.

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and...

eurekaiv said:

And I'm consistently nice, friendly and polite and I get treated by this lady (the manager) like she's doing me a favor every time I go in there with a couple rolls of film.

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No, he was not being too demanding. He was nice and polite. He talked to the employees, they agreed to do what he asked and they did the job correctly on two separate occasions. Then, on the third time, the manager does everything short of refuse to do the job which she knows or should know can be done AND she puts the onus on the customer not to complain if it doesn't work... which doesn't work. It is fairly obvious that the manager doesn't know how to do the job, doesn't want to do the job and won't even lift a finger to find out.

It doesn't matter whether this incident occurred at a discount store or at Bergdorf Goodman. It is a clear case of the employee not doing their job.

Worker 11811 said:

Specifically...



and...



No, he was not being too demanding. He was nice and polite. He talked to the employees, they agreed to do what he asked and they did the job correctly on two separate occasions. Then, on the third time, the manager does everything short of refuse to do the job which she knows or should know can be done AND she puts the onus on the customer not to complain if it doesn't work... which doesn't work. It is fairly obvious that the manager doesn't know how to do the job, doesn't want to do the job and won't even lift a finger to find out.

It doesn't matter whether this incident occurred at a discount store or at Bergdorf Goodman. It is a clear case of the employee not doing their job.

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So fly out to CA and set up a demo at the offending warehouse. C'mon, enough moralizing already.

Worker 11811 said:

Specifically...

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OK, but there were no frames missing. The entire scan job was done "wrong". That is very different from the agreement you just cited. But so what.

After talking with her last night, she now better understands what I want, and I better understand what she can and can't do so it's all sorted out. It was mostly a misunderstanding between her, me and her other employees and what all of us meant when we said "half frame." It doesn't change the fact that she's confrontational and isn't particularly customer service oriented but we're good to go now and I think I've actually broke through a little and will be treated better going forward.

Well done, glad to hear you and her handled it well. I think deep down, most people are willing to help others if the other party is well mannered.

I have good luck with Costco.

Jeff

There is no way I can compete with those prices! BUT I can develop Whole Plate and enlarge from minox to 5x7.

eurekaiv said:

It doesn't change the fact that she's confrontational and isn't particularly customer service oriented ...

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Um, I've been hesitating to say this... but maybe you need to let go of this idea and accept her for who she is. It could be your attitude that is contributing to a difficult relationship too. These things are often subtley apparent even when we think we are disguising it. Setting aside presumptions and attitudes is a little known secret to dealing with "difficult" people. I speak from experience... on both sides of that issue.

Glad to hear you worked things out.

eurekaiv said:

After talking with her last night, she now better understands what I want, and I better understand what she can and can't do so it's all sorted out. It was mostly a misunderstanding between her, me and her other employees and what all of us meant when we said "half frame." It doesn't change the fact that she's confrontational and isn't particularly customer service oriented but we're good to go now and I think I've actually broke through a little and will be treated better going forward.

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Think you need to treat them a whole lot better, dude. Your Costco membership isn't a constitutional right and they can pull it if you get too freaky with staff.

eurekaiv said:

After talking with her last night, she now better understands what I want, and I better understand what she can and can't do so it's all sorted out...

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Honey > Vinegar

I have watched this thread with great curiosity as I work the other side of the counter. By that I mean I have my own minilab (in Ireland) and have been in photo retail since 1977.

I am not about to take side but there is always give and take when dealing with a customer (and I don't mean he/she gives me grief and I take the money!!). I am just a little confused about the point of their policy to not do 1/2 frames and then do them. I have always believed if you do for one, you do for all. It sounds like they either have 1/2 frame facility but dont use it on the printer or they have have up some thing that will do it. (the latter I don't like, it's too Heath-Robbinson, ie sticky tape and string holding things together). Either way if you are happy with the results then go for it.

I don't do 1/2 frames in my lab as I don't have the facility on my Fuji Frontier. I could buy the carrier but the investment isn't justified because I rarely get asked for 1/2 frames now. When I did havd 1/2 frame facility, customers complained that I was charging extra to scan a 1/2 frame film 72 shots (35mm 36exp) I tried to explain that it takes longer (almost twice as long) as a 35mm 36exp but the thrift mind of some of 1/2 frame users couldn't see my point (and if I'm not going to make money doing , then why do it).

I did notice some people being de rogatory about employees of minilabs (managers or otherwise). The 1st thing I learned in retails was that if the customer is nice then we all get along.

When the customer demands, speaks down and otherwise be rude ("I am the customer I'm always right) the 1st thing the person serving them will do is make sure everything is done by the book and every i dotted and t crossed and remember the employee doesn;'t want confrontation. It reminds me the old story of how to get an overdue account paid.
Creditor 1: WHERE'S MY MONEY???
Debtor 1: F*@# OFF.

Creditor 2: Any chance of a few Euros?
Debtor 2: Give me a second and I'll have it in a minute.

Which creditor get paid?

I doubt that it is a matter of "policy". I'm assuming it is a matter of a customer asked for a "special request" and someone knew how to do it, so they did it. Next time that special request was made, someone else knew how to do it, so they did it. I think it is a matter of half-frame scanning is a special request. I do a lot of business with Costco (and other labs) and have never seen that offered as a basic service.

p.s. Especially considering the comments you made, foc, I would think that their future policy should be to not do half-frame even as a special request! Sometimes NOTHING makes people satisfied.

At Costco, I start from my first visit to a store by introducing myself to the Photo Department manager. We have a nice talk and I tell him what I want. From then on, I only deal with him. I have never had a problem with Costco developing and printing.

However, when they had Qualex, Qualex lost three of seven rolls that they had previously printed badly. I talked with the Photo Department manager and store manager many times, and they worked hard getting searches done. Qualex could not find the missing rolls. I worked with the Photo Department manager and store manager to successfully get Costco to delete Qualex as a processor for Costco. The Photo Department manager and store manager made sure that Qualex knew that they helped me get Qualex disinfrancized by Costco because the lost rolls of film. After Qualex was disinfrancized, Qualex asked me how they could get back in my good graces so they could reapply to Costco. I told them to find the lost rolls of film. They said that that was not possible. To which I said that then they only way they could get in my good graces was to go out of business. Then I asked them if the price of screwing me in the first place was worth it to them. They said that I had cost them much more than it would have been to do the job right the first time. Costco corporate told me that with the deletion of Qualex, that they would [and did] expand the in house processing. Now as others noted, the demand for in house processing is not great enough in some locations.

Now if they would just process 120 film ...

Steve

The only problem I ever had at Costco was "temporary loss" because Costco once (maybe still, IDK becuase I send my wife to pick up for me) stored photo orders in an open location where any Tom, Dick, or Harry could get them out of order... and in my case it was a Dick that got them out of order. The manager knew that my film had been processed and put into the box... it just took a while to find it again.

Your story is interesting, Steve... I've never had an interaction like that with a second-tier vendor.

Ya... if they would just process 120. sigh.