Ok, so i was wondering this today as i was at the grocery store and saw a product that said "absolute satisfaction guaranteed, or your money back"...so it made me think, has anyone, possibly any of you, ever offered a money back guarantee (in full, or in part?)....I'M NOT CONSIDERING DOING THIS! Just wondering if anyone's ever heard of the practice....and yes i did a search first.
Absolutely not. That's just begging for trouble when you're dealing with something as subjective as photography.
With a product that you can return (doesn't really apply to something like TOOTHPASTE, but then again that is a cheap product), the seller still makes some money on a returned item when they resell it.
Shooting a wedding, the majority of what the client is paying for is your time. You can't get that back. So... no.
Tommy: Because they know all they sold ya was a guaranteed piece of shi$. That's all it is, isn't it? Hey, if you want me to take a dump in a box and mark it guaranteed, I will. I got spare time. But for now, for your customer's sake, for your daughter's sake, ya might wanna think about buying a quality product from me.
In many states, a guarantee is implied. If the images are poor or not what was advertised, they can demand a refund. If they used a credit card, the odds are that their bank will chargeback if they agree the customer was shortchanged.
jdhart73 wrote:
Ted: But why do they put a guarantee on the box?
Tommy: Because they know all they sold ya was a guaranteed piece of shi$. That's all it is, isn't it? Hey, if you want me to take a dump in a box and mark it guaranteed, I will. I got spare time. But for now, for your customer's sake, for your daughter's sake, ya might wanna think about buying a quality product from me.
haha that's exactly what i though about as soon as i started thinking about it...hahah
I offer a money back guarantee. But, it is only that a photographer will be there to photograph their wedding. Beyond that there is no guarantee. My second and I always travel in separate cars in case of accident. So, I can guarantee that someone will be there. Started doing this about 10 years ago after a story on the local news about a photographer that took several deposits and then didn't show at the wedding. They found him in Texas about six months later doing the same thing down there. I think he is a roofing contractor now .
TTLKurtis wrote:
Absolutely not. That's just begging for trouble when you're dealing with something as subjective as photography.....
THIS is it! Art is a subjective thing. People have very different views even after viewing other work you have done. For fairy tales reasons people see themselves in the images you advertise. A bride that wears a size 24 dress might see herself as that size 1 bride and think you can make her look just like that. A bride with a groom who is 4" shorter than she is will want to look like the couple who has a towering over the bride groom.
A photographer's (or any artist for that matter) guarantee only means at some point the photographer will be giving money back at some point soon.
Years back I carried a product that had a "100% Guarantee".
Item would come back after being tossed down stairs, literally and it had to be repaired n/c to the customer. This went on for about six months before the company killed the 100% guarantee.
sejanus wrote:
I've had 1 or 2 people ask me over the years "what if I don't like the photos? Is there a guarantee?"
I've promptly told these people I am booked.
I told them if they think there is a chance they wont like the photos then dont book me. You see samples here and if you like what you see then you will get the same quality photos from your wedding.
I guarantee that they will get pictures of same or similar quality and style from the samples they see in my studio. if they like what they see then they will be happy with their pictures. i do not guarantee that I will capture the day from a list. I capture it as I see it.
I have faith in my work and quality I can provide to guarantee pictures of good quality. If you cant guarantee at least that then you need to get out of the business. If you are going to make a guarantee then you better cover your ass in your contract for all cases.
I offer a guarantee. But it is structured differently than you might think. Every couple gets an engagement shoot. If they are not happy with anything about the engagement shoot, I will refund their deposit and not deliver any images. Of course, I won't be shooting the wedding either. This gives the couple a chance to work with me and experience my product first hand before the wedding. If there are going to be any second thoughts, I would prefer to deal with them before the wedding.
pat
mpdillon wrote:
I offer a guarantee. But it is structured differently than you might think. Every couple gets an engagement shoot. If they are not happy with anything about the engagement shoot, I will refund their deposit and not deliver any images. Of course, I won't be shooting the wedding either. This gives the couple a chance to work with me and experience my product first hand before the wedding. If there are going to be any second thoughts, I would prefer to deal with them before the wedding.
pat
Ummmm, a few problems with this (assuming this is all to it, otherwise ignore *my* issues with it):
1. YOU wasted a few hours of YOUR day
2. a bride could easily not like something about HERSELF and is not sure how to express that it's not you, but it's her; I've seen these kinds of threads of the years.
3. what if they simply want you to shoot the engagement again....second time they don't like them either. Item #1 kicks in again.
4. most importantly, you can possibly turn away clients who would gladly be happy with your services because of someone who fits #2
Before you read on, you should know no one has asked for their money back as of this writing (knock on wood). All your points are valid. Some I had thought of, some I hadn't.
1. I'd rather waste a couple of hours one day, than to have an unhappy couple between their engagement session and their wedding day. Followed by investing all those PP hours after the wedding only to have a dissatisfied customer for the second time. Bad press all around and more wasted time.
2. I know this can happen. Just hasn't happened to me.
3. There all are sorts of people in this big world we live in. It is not in my personality to not offer something that I think may have a perceived value to everyone just because their might be a few bad apples (I am not risk adverse).
4. Not sure of this one. I may be misreading it. If they don't like my work or my personality, I don't think they would refer me if I gave their money back or not.
My wedding work pales in comparison to most of the examples I see on display here. Yet, I still take pride in the effort I put into my images. And I am willing to back up that pride with my guarantee. That is a personal choice and may not be right for everyone.
But what service or product would you buy without the expectation that it will be what you had been promised? Have you never sent a meal back because it was not properly prepared? Had a bad hair cut (not a great example as hair will grow back or at least it used to)? Had to return your car to the repair shop because the mechanic didn't fix the problem? What separates us from these examples is that there is no second chance on the wedding day. For me it is better to sort out problems before the wedding day and that's why my engagement sessions are mandatory.
on wedding work? Never. I do offer a money back guarantee on some things like Confirmation and 1st Communion candid shots, but those are prepaid before we even shoot let alone the customer sees the finished product. In three years I've had one customer take me up on the offer out of 14 different shoots (50-100 kids per event) and that was because she didn't like the fact that there were people in the background not an actual quality issue. Most of the events I cover we do computer viewing stations so the customer is either satisfied with the picture or they don't buy. On portraits I will generally offer a free resiting if they don't like them when viewing proofs but if they see proofs and order I only offer reprints for defective products, not refunds. I certainly wouldn't offer a refund on what will amount to a weeks worth of work based on something subjective like satisfaction. Of course that is assuming that i delivered a professional quality product and not a CD full of crap.
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