What were your best and worst consumer experiences this week?

Which consumer experiences cheered you recently and which ones made you want to scream or weep? 



Here are my best and worst consumer experiences this week:

My best: Having lunch with my family at an Italian restaurant

I enjoyed a nice salad at Tutta Bella in Seattle with my daughter and her family.

She had an exchange vacation for two weeks, where you trade homes with another family.

My worst: Trying to order photos from Ritzpix.com online

As a photojournalist, I enjoy taking hundreds of photos. I use them on my blogs, on greeting cards I’m selling at local food co-ops and gift shops, and to share with friends and family.

When I went to my local Ritz Camera store to pick up some photos, the staff said Ritzpix.com was having a 25 percent off sale until 7 p.m.

I thought I’d try getting the bargain price for an order of 20 photos, even though I’ve had considerable trouble in the past ordering photos from Ritzpix.com online.

Sure enough, problems continually cropped up. I had to load the photos one at a time. I missed the deadline by half an hour.

The ironic thing about Ritzpix.com is the staff at Ritz Camera, where the photos are printed, isn’t able to give customers any help in figuring out the problems with the site. They say, “Oh, it’s a different company.” One clerk said she’d help me find out how to order more than one photo of some of the order. She never followed through.

Also, it turns out, I didn’t get the correct instructions for getting the sale price. I was told you always need to use your Digital Photo Card, if you have one, when ordering from Ritzpix.com. But a sales associate told me to get the sales price you shouldn’t use the your photo card because the Internet program can only subtract the number of photos from your card, not give you a lower price.

Copyright 2010, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist 

Comments

[Chris]

Hi there,

You can upload multiple photos simultaneously on ritzpix.com, you just have to install the deluxe uploader on the site, which is the same uploader as popular photo sharing sites like facebook (you just have to click "Add Photos" in your account and you will be prompted to install the uploader).

Whenever I have contacted Ritzpix customer service about questions, they have always been fast to reply and happy to accommodate. My guess is that they will extend the sale to you since you started the process before the deadline and ran into trouble. If you already placed the order, contect them and I bet they will refund the 25% back to you. [email protected]

[Rita]

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the tips on working with Ritzpix. I'll try their customer service.

I think I may have had a problem because when a screen came up that said "Give unlimited access to your computer," I said no.

Rita

[Ken]

My name is Ken McDonald, and I am the VP of Marketing for LifePics. We manage Ritzpix.com and sincerely appreciate your feedback. I have a few follow up comments about your post:

As the other user (Chris) said, you can upload multiple photos simultaneously. You just need to install that uploader (called the “Deluxe Uploader”).

It is too bad that the sales associate at your store was not very knowledgeable about using the site. We offer live help and customer support 7 days a week for using the site – just click the “Help” button in the upper right hand corner. If you reach us during the posted hours, we can help you instantly via live chat or over the phone. If you reach us after hours, an email is sent to our support team and will be answered within 24 hours. We take pride in our ability to quickly help customers who have questions about using the site.

As far as your comment about having to use a Digital Photo Card…You can order photos from Ritzpix.com and pay with credit card or paypal, or opt to pick up and pay for the order in the store. You do not have to use the card.

I do apologize that you were unable to get the order placed on time. Please keep in touch with our support team using the “Help” button on the site if Ritz is unable to adjust the price for you so you get the sale price. Feel free to address your emails to my attention so we ensure this is resolved for you.

Ken

[Rita]

Hi Ken,

Thanks for writing. It's good to know that I can get customer service from Ritz. This may help me use the site more effectively. This week, I put my photos on a disk and drive them over to the store. If I can figure out how to use your site, it could save me time

When I talked to a sales associate again at my local Ritz store, he clarified that I couldn't get the sale price by using my Digital Photo Card.

Rita