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Robert Palmer wrote: > His initial > attempts to contact customer service have resulted in the expected > response: "Were sorry...Here's a few free rolls of film and mailers. > Goodbye". He'd really like to pursue this further and have the error > acknowledged by someone other than the first line of defense at customer > service. Any contacts or suggestions ? I have a question, then a suggestion based on personal processing experience. Logically, what gain would be realized by pursuing the matter even if someone did acknowledge the errors? There is no guarantee that this particular person will see to it that all of your future film is processed correctly, or that they will even be working wherever it was that your film was sent in a week or a month or a year. Correct? And the film was already damaged. I have learned that mail-order communication cannot be personal. That is one reason that it is discounted and that they put that little liability disclaimer on all of the mailer envelopes relieving themselves from any responsibility if something as small as a roll of film gets misplaced or damaged within their big high volume operation. They know that mailers are used by those who are very cost conscious, and for which low cost is the primary priority (like when you have a choice, as with E-6 films, the type which you have mentioned here). Because of this cost decision, they do not realistically expect to provide any type of customer service for the $3 - $5 that you are paying per roll. Most of their 'processing' cost covers processing your film through their corporate operation, not just the chemicals. The math just doesn't work otherwise. Mail-order consumer labs are just that. They don't expect you to send them critical and potentially valuable film for them to process in their system. You may get better mail-order quality with a more professionally geared lab like A&I, but there is still the potential for a distant communication problem if an error occurs. That's unavoidable without over-the-counter service (which labs like A&I do offer also, if you walk in the door). Only one suggestion: In order to have any type of relationship with a lab that is beneficial to keeping the processing quality of your film monitored and under control, I have found that you must be able to walk in the door, talk to them and show them what you want in order to get it, or you will have little or no control over what happens to your film during processing. This primary reason and the benefit of completely eliminating any potential loss from postal service and courier exposure by dropping off and picking up my film myself, often in the same day, is why I was forced to cease using mailers. My film and images are worth too much to me to trust them to volume mail-order processing with high employee turnover and low employee concern for someone that they never met or will meet. Is it really worth that extra $2 savings to play the 'processing lottery'? I know some of us have burned up more than $2 in frustration trying to control a lab in a distant city, run by a faceless voice on the other end of a long distance phone call. When they hang up the phone, where does your little problem fit into their day? I find it much easier to find a local lab that specializes in what you want: Film processed correctly, consistently and reliably every time, with the added benefit of a local relationship when communication is necessary. When I'm shooting, I know I couldn't stay concentrated on producing quality images each time if I was worried each time about whether the roll in the camera would be the processing error film or not. Cheap piece of mind. Remember the original message poster said he was using E-6 here. I personally would never send E-6 out to a mail-order lab. You guys can go back to your naps now... Dave Cohen Photographer, Member ASMP Action Photographic Webmaster [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.anet-stl.com/acphotog/home/ ======================================================= -> SPORRS: 'Serious Photographers Of Railroad Related Subjects' -> Web Site: http://www.anet-stl.com/acphotog/sporrs/ -> Message © 1998 SPORRS® - All Rights Reserved =======================================================
