After booking a studio appointment at Celebrity Kids for our first family portrait, I received a follow-up phone call confirming the date and time and asking what type of photos we would be taking so they could let the photographer know (dressy, casual, etc.).

Service with a Smile

Upon arrival, we were greeted quickly and waited just a few minutes before our photographer came out and introduced himself. He showed us around the studio and asked a few questions about our style and what types of photography we liked — candid, posed, propped, or themed. He discussed the process—we would do the whole family first, then the kids, then review the images on screen in studio and make our selections. We had 90 minutes and the photos would be ready later the same week.

The photographer was personable and good with the kids, patient and full of ideas. He took photos when we weren’t ready–photos of us looking at each other and not just at the camera. They were perfect. I spent twice what I had planned and left feeling sick about the money I had spent.

A Value Proposition

In an effort to save money on my next set of pictures, I made an appointment at a different studio.

This time we were casually greeted and left to wait as staff members chatted in the back of the store. Eventually, the same person who greeted us and one of the people to whom she had been speaking told us they were ready and took us into a curtained room. No one ever spoke directly to me; the two staff members spoke more to each other than anyone else. When I mentioned wanting to change my daughter’s outfit, as their website had recommended, I was told “If there’s time and another appointment is not waiting.”

It was clear there was a system to which I wasn’t privy. One took photos as the other strategically posed my daughter, who not only looked uncomfortable but out of character.

An Image Problem

The photos I selected were printed out and handed to me in a messy pile. “Do these look okay to you?” I was asked. The photos were gray, muted, flat. Surprised at the low quality, I expressed my concerns. They did some retouching and reprinted slightly better images, but still not great.

I spent a fourth of what I spent at the first studio, but didn’t like the results. The process wasn’t personal — I felt like a name on a list and job that was to be started and finished in the allotted time frame.

Image Really Is Everything

In recent articles about branding we’ve touched on all that a brand is and how it is communicated to its audience through the logo, colors, messaging, imagery, website, staff and service.

A branding agency can do a lot for its clients, but it can’t hire the right people for your line of service. Remember, your people are your brand and even if you do everything else right, it only takes one bad experience to ruin your whole brand for that customer.

Image source: Prettywar-stl