I would offer the refund or the reshoot option, but remove the CD. Claim that the CD is not for sale as you had received information that the images were not of a good quality therefore you can not sell it.
I had this same problem just recently. I ended up just selling them a disc, although I was angry, because I only charge a $25 sitting fee. (basically I made close to nothing for taking 1,048 photos!)
I told the family that I had a disc for sale of all of their photos, but that they would only be able to use them for their own purposes, such as viewing and sharing over the computer. Well....sure enough...they tried to print the pictures at WM. I got a call a few days later, and they wanted to know if they could get me to sign a copyright release form for them so they could print their pictures at WM. Seeing as I had already told them that this problem might arise, and advised them to buy the release form from me, I told them that I would be happy to do this for them, but they had to come pick it up from me, and deal with WM themselves. I charge $20 for the release form....and it's listed on my price list.
Some might say that I'm an awful person, but when you take sooooo much time to get the pictures just right, I feel that I must charge for the release form as well.
In the end, some people are so cheap they will do almost anything to save money or get something for free. If you can identify them, and then politely decline their future business.
WTB: 1GB and 512k CF cards.
I have a need for a decent # of these smaller cards. If you have multiple cards that would be great. I am located at zip code 35243 & 35255.
However, I do agree that she's likely trying to scam her money back.
My feeling is this...if you give her her money back, she's probably going to do this, or something like it again and again...and she will come back to you because the scam worked on you the first time. So you have to ask yourself if it's worth the money from selling the cd to deal with her over and over again. Of course, you then run the risk of her telling everyone how awul your customer service is if you don't give her the money back. Which means it's a question of how important her "referrals" are.
I would like some honest feedback on these images. I am a big girl and I won't cry if you offer constructive criticism.
This customer contacted SmugMug and said the prints were too bright and wanted a refund. I didn't actually see the prints, but I know the quality from SmugMug, and I doubt the prints were drastically different than from what I'm seeing on my color calibrated monitor.
Background info: This session was part of an in-home childcare I went to, and the parents paid a $15 sitting fee and then purchased prints. This boy's mother ordered prints. I got an e-mail from the little boy's grandma, and she said she loved the online images and wanted to purchase a CD. I quoted her a price, she said yes. Then the boy's mother contacted SmugMug and said the prints came out too bright for what they paid ($8 per 4x6) and demaned a refund.
My two cents is that she wants a refund because now she can get a CD and make prints on her own. Yes, the customer is always right, but it seems fishy to me. I just really don't like feeling like I'm being taken for a ride.
So, all that said, are the images too bright, as she claimed?
Any ideas about what I could/should do if grandma's check arrives for the CD?
Comments
A former sports shooter
Follow me at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bjurasz/
My Etsy store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/mercphoto?ref=hdr_shop_menu
I told the family that I had a disc for sale of all of their photos, but that they would only be able to use them for their own purposes, such as viewing and sharing over the computer. Well....sure enough...they tried to print the pictures at WM. I got a call a few days later, and they wanted to know if they could get me to sign a copyright release form for them so they could print their pictures at WM. Seeing as I had already told them that this problem might arise, and advised them to buy the release form from me, I told them that I would be happy to do this for them, but they had to come pick it up from me, and deal with WM themselves. I charge $20 for the release form....and it's listed on my price list.
Some might say that I'm an awful person, but when you take sooooo much time to get the pictures just right, I feel that I must charge for the release form as well.
I have a need for a decent # of these smaller cards. If you have multiple cards that would be great. I am located at zip code 35243 & 35255.
However, I do agree that she's likely trying to scam her money back.
My feeling is this...if you give her her money back, she's probably going to do this, or something like it again and again...and she will come back to you because the scam worked on you the first time. So you have to ask yourself if it's worth the money from selling the cd to deal with her over and over again. Of course, you then run the risk of her telling everyone how awul your customer service is if you don't give her the money back. Which means it's a question of how important her "referrals" are.