School photography, buyer beware

I don't normally like to bring my personal gripes onto this space, but in this case, I think sharing my experience might help others avoid the terrible service I received from a company called Lauder Photography.

Last February, my daughters' preschool sent out information about class photos. I thought the prices were a little steep, so I just ordered two class shots at $12 a pop ($24 total). August rolled around, and I finally got it together to ask about the photos that I had paid for (in Feb.) but never received. Our school directed me to call Lauder, which I did.

Now, nobody exactly expects good service anymore for anything. But the person I dealt with at the photography studio was truly rude. After I explained what had happened, she asked for my address and then she actually hung up on me.

The real disappointment came when I got the photos in the mail. Aside from being very low quality, one of my daughters wasn't even in the pictures. I made the mistake of telling my husband the whole story, and he insisted that I demand my money back. But at this point, it seems like I've already spent so much time on this, I'd rather chock it up to a bad break than work to get that $24 back.

So I guess the moral of the story is, be sure your school photographer knows what he/she is doing.

Do you have other bad service stories? I'd love to hear em! barbara.correa@dailynews.com