The problem I have with this place is not with the actual product. The photos I got were Canadian passport photos. They were pretty standard and had looser specifications than the Dutch ones I got. I asked several places for the price, and they hover around 12 euros to 14 euros. The photographer closest to me charged 12. 95 Euros and they had my friend's recommendation. I decided to bypass it and came to this place (fotographie Americaine) because when I called, they quoted me a cheaper price.
When I called to inquire, the employee said yes, when I asked him if they did Canadian passport photos. And then I asked for the price and he said 8 euros for 4 photos. This was the wrong price - 8 Euros was for the local Dutch townhall photo specifications. But I didn't find out until later.
So I biked to this shop near the city centre, and upon entry, and waiting for my turn, the desk clerk asked me how he can help me, and I said, I need to do my Canadian passport photos. To which, he said, "oh yes, you called, please go to the back." I went to the back and then an older gentleman came to take the photos. I said it's for Canadian passport again. He takes my picture in under a minute. Told me to choose one of the 3 shots, and used the program on his computer to get the correct specifications for Canadians.
I was kinda surprised at the speed. That aside, I waited in the front while he developed the photos. When he was stamping the date and place on the photos, I asked for the pricing, and the older gentleman said 17.50 Euros. I said what? I look to the desk clerk and said, you quoted me 8 Euros...He countered with, no 8 Euros is for the Dutch Gemeente photos. I stared kind of dumbly and said, that's not what you told me on the phone. I called many places for the price, if you told me the right price, I would not have come. He again denied it. It was frustrating. I understand customer service jobs are typically long hours and lots of different people. He probably didn't mean to quote me the wrong price. I paid with visible frustration.
As I was walking out, I heard the manager ask the desk cleark what price he quoted me, and desk clerk again said 17.50. I guess just too many times of a denial. It would've been easier if he just admitted and apologized for the mistake. I think hearing that irritated me to the point where I called the shop back as I walked to unlock my bike. I said, I wanted to file a complaint (my north americanism shows here). Desk clerk passed my phone call to the Manager. Manager proceeded to have a dialogue that was initially respectful but then not so at the end. He insisted that they always charge that price. I personally think the Manager couldn't understand my frustration due to the language barrier. I knew that price is set and non-negotiable. I don't care about that. I cared about the fact that he made the mistake which lead me to using their services that I otherwise wouldn't have. And instead of apologizing, for the mix up, the manager called me a liar. He indicated his employee has good English skills and wouldn't make that mistake. I hope he reads this post because, as good as the desk clerk's English was, it was not his first language. English is my native language and I had the sole objective of sourcing out the pricing for the last 2 hours before I entered his shop. His employee had multiple tasks dealing with many customers. Who is more likely to make the mistake? Anyhow, I have never reviewed a place before, but because the Manager called me names, and told me to go to the police station around the corner since I was the liar...I have to make this post.
Chances are they won't screw up on your passport photos, but I do advise you double check the pricing prior to taking the photo. Also, if you can't speak dutch fluently, you should be very clear about what you want and say it multiple times and have it verified before taking on any of their other services.
My review is this detailed because I hope the manager would at least read it and understand my point of view, and hopefully realize that he could've handled things better. My Dutch friends did their photos for 6 euros and he had 6 photos given to him. So the pricing wasn't just high for Canadian passport photos, but likely across the board. At this time, I do not recommend their services - it was poor for me, and the price is unjustified. read more
