PictureME Photography review: unfair treatment of employees 52

i 100% agree with this complant, i myself have had to deal with this with this company

cpi management are full of ###s. I work at home office and there are a bunch of monkeys running the place. Running the company into the ground. Renato and his understudy get a 1.2 million dollar raise but we can't send supplies to the field for weeks at a time to try and save money. Its a joke.

CPI CORP (Picture ME) is a freakin joke. I will never work for a company like this ever again. They could care less if you have a family or not. They could care less if you are lying in a hospital, they still want you to show up to work. They need to learn how to run a business!

I literally clocked out early from work today and quit from Sears Portrait Studio which was located at the once Sears Essentials store on Florida Avenue in Lakeland Florida, which is apparently changing over to Kmart. I walked off the job due to the ridiculous treatment I have had to deal with sense working with this company. The Sears Portrait Studio is going to become the first stand alone store inside a kmart.

Now to tell you what that means for our studio is that the store is going to be run to the ground because of a new manager being placed into the store when I have been working my butt off for almost a year and I actually have a college degree but no that doesn't matter. The current manager told me promises that she could not keep such as giving me more hours and that the manager was going to train me to become assistant manager. She told me this at the exact time she knew she was going to be leaving to be a manager for another studio. The new manager being placed into the studio is not going to help the studio because she has never been a manager before and she doesn't even have a college degree. The other major problem is that because of our studio going to a standalone studio all of our equipment is going to be from CPI and their equipment is CRAP it never works. This company doesn't provide any new equipment and does not provide people who actually know how to fix equipment to come out and fix our stuff. Us the employee has to call tech support and tell them about our problem and then stand on ladders and try not to get electricuted by faulty equipment.

I don't know how many times I have had to sit and wait on hold too with tech support while serving customers, taking pictures that come out like crap because of messed up equipment. Now our credit card system is going to all go through them which I can assure you will go down every day. Customers complain about the fact that we are not allowed to have more then one employee working at a time and therefore I am expected to do everything and run around like a chicken with my head cut off. I am tired of: apologizing for things that are not even my fault, having to work for crap pay, people yelling at me, going out in the store and being the companies advertiser when they have enough money to advertise they just bought out Bella Pictures, those dang coupons they send out for tons of free pictures and they wonder why our numbers are down (Mcdonalds doesn't give out free stuff all the time like this and they are fast food), tired of their constant changing outreach and collections and they wonder why their employees don't know how to get their customers into a collection it is because the prices keep increasing even though the economy is bad, and I am tired of working off clock to do the end of the night closing CRAP that takes forever, and I am tired of working through my lunch breaks when I need to eat right so that I can breast feed and pump milk.

I did not start off in this studio either I started in the Brandon studio which was by far the worst studio ever. The lady who hired me was the rudest lady I think I have ever met and she hired me telling me that I would get to work as a photographer. The whole time I worked for her she made me pass these tests that she setup for me such as taking photographs of a bear and it had to be in the exact order she wanted them in or she would get really angry with me. I only got to photograph maybe two times of real people once was of a family with a mother, father, and a one year old and the second time was of an infant. But, she said I did neither of them right and therefore I had to watch her everytime and let me remind you I have a college degree in photography. Most of the time she pushed me to the sales table when I was not comfortable in that position and I told her that at the time. I had no idea that I was supposed to do both photography and sales before I went into working for this company I really had no experience in sales. So, when I sold she would get real angry saying that I just lost a customer from coming back to the studio because of you. She would only let me sell to new customers and therefore she would say it every time you just lost another customer. Finally I had enough because I told her I wanted to be a photographer not just a sales associate and I did not appreciate the way she was treating me, so she pushed me off onto another studio the Lakeland Mall because she finally came out and said oh we really didn't need a photographer we just need a sales associate and also all the sales I made went under her personal number as if she just wanted to be a photographer and not a sales person so she could pretend that it was her sales. Of course at the time I did not know we had personal numbers for our sales. She did not even give me any of the information about how to recieve or where I could find my payment info, Associate tests on the cpi site, the discrimination or workers rights, or my job discription.

Once I transfered to the Lakeland Mall I was given more hours due to the holiday season but of course that fell once the season was over. The major issue I ran into was that I found out I was pregnant. This was the talk of the other employees when I wasn't around apparently because one of the employees who had a very big mouth and acted like she was an assistant manager came out and told me that "people are wondering if you drink a lot because you have a big belly hanging over your pants". Not only did she say this comment but before that she had asked me if I drink a lot of alcoholic drinks and she would constantly talk about her sex life saying things that shouldn't be said in a work environment I was very offended by her. The work environment was very disgusting due to not only the conversations but the dirtyness of the studio and the constant smoking breaks the employees including the manager would take even when there were customers going to come for their appointment in less then 5 minutes. I was able to sell and photograph at this studio but still was not given enough hours during the off season and therefore I was pushed to the Sears Essentials Portrait studio due to that fact that they actually needed someone because the manager was the only one working there at the time, which I just quit from now.

Everyone complaining needs to ban together in a lawsuit because what CPI is doing in unlawful and not right at all.

I have only worked at cpi for a little a month and have already been made a manager... not because of any skills I have. It was out of desperation. Their employees quit so fast because the way they are treated. I enjoyed working at the store I trained at. It is one of the really busy stores that makes a lot of money. However after a manager quit with no notice at another store I was placed over at that store. And it is one of the slowest stores and makes very little money. After a week there they promoted me because they really needed someone. I am the only employee at that store. I am getting called everyday by my dm and being yelled at for not making enough money. This store is REALLY bad and was very slow before I even got there yey my dm calls and yells at me like its my fault. I am doing everything possible to do a good job, yet they act like im not. Its rough being yelled at everyday for something out of your control. I thought this would be a fun job and I have always enjoyed photography. My family has always gone to sears for our photos and have always had great experiences. I never understood how poorly they were treated. Its very sad

I am also a former employee of CPI and couldnt agree more with most that has been said here.It was BY FAR the most unfair, degrading and caustic work enviornment i have ever had the pleasure of working in. I was hired in the fall of 2011 at a Sears Portrait Studio as a part time associate and lasted about 8 months befor i finally had it. I loved the job itelf and my manager was great but i could no longer reconcile lying to/taking advantage of the customer and was a basket case due to the emotional "abuse" from the corporate office.. With the exception of the holiday portrait season, most of our customers had those damn " 20 pictures for 7.99 ( or 9.99)" coupons, which are incredibly misleading. We were not allowed to ask the customer if they had any coupons when they came in for their appt. which resulted in most presenting the coupn after the session once we started the sales pitch..as most of u know those "one pose one subject" packages are not applicable to a "regular" session...i cannot tell you how many people cussed/cursed and actually cried when they were told they couldnt use it. ALL of these people were like " why didnt u tell me this before hand?" CPI dictates that it is the customers responsibility to read all that fine print and NOT cpi's resposibility to explain it to them. I have been yelled, called names and physically assaulted (slapped) by customers due to this policy. I was constantly threatened with termination when my sales goal slipped and was told zero sales days were not acceptable. there were times i paid out of my OWN pocket for a one pose package so i wouldnt have a zero day The final straw for me was when the new DM implemented a " 20% a Day or Pay" rule; if you made less than 20% of ur daily sales goal the difference would come out of ur paycheck. I KNOW this was just a scare tactic and there was no way he could actually/legally take it out of my paycheck...but it was the straw that brke the camels back. I could go on and on about the times i was screamed at in front of customers and other associates, berated and harrassed at home on my days off.but all of u know what its like already...sigh.

i am writing this knowing that i could possibly lose my job over this which at this point in time i am not sure is a bad thing. now i will say this. i like my job i love working with the kids and babies but lets start the complaint list with the lies that they tell you to get you in the door in the first place. i was hired under the impression that i would be making over minimum wage in OK by a dollar or so well this was not the case i was hired at minimum wage and when i asked about it i was told that it was because i was in training and the pay would go up as soon as i reached a certain performance level. well i reached that performance level and was then told that the company did not give raises, needless to say i did make a fuss about this to corporate and they promised me the raise and to prorate my pay all the way back to my date of hire and that it would reflect on my next pay check...well surprise surprise neither of those reflected i am still waiting to hear about what happens now since i have e mailed my rm. parents can let their children run loose in our studios and we cant say a single word because then the parent can complain that we are being mean or rude to their children who are messing with our equipment or climbing all over things and throwing tantrums so bad that nothing is able to get done. we cant say anything to the parents about it and we cant say anything to the kids about it. now personally i am a mother and my children don't act that way. they can be a little rambunctious sure all kids can but i tell them to sit down or keep their voices down they listen . now naturally i am not trying to be mean to customers when their children are touching equipment or things like that and when i say "hey please don't do that sweetie" i am accused of being mean to peoples kids and my job is threatened because people complain because they want to get free stuff. or when i say things like i would rather not use a black background because i don't think that it will compliment your skin tone and i think it would wash you out when my opinion is asked for i am accused of making a racist slur and once again my job is threatened. i am called repeatedly on my days off to come in and work because my manager has something or another going on or just doesn't want to work that day. i am told that i am to constantly keep my phone on and with me at all times because i am to be on call and if she calls me in i need to be there. i was told that if i got a second job i would lose this job because i needed to be able to work any time that she called me. of course i got a second job anyway and have not been fired because that would be way illegal and i don't think that they could cover their tracks on that one. if i work past a scheduled close time because i was instructed to do so my hours are adjusted by management to reflect close time and not hours worked so even though i was there working those hours i am not getting paid for it. this has happened on two occasions. i am contacting the wage and labor board as i type this and i am seeking another job. i am tired of the abuse that happens in this company

WTF to the person who saying taking your LEGALLY PROTECTED break is selfish! Your are the ignorant one! When I first started at CPI my co-worker who was also a trainee FAINTED because we didnt get our break. I agree with almost everything said. Go into the studio & TAKE what is rightfully yours, those props you brought in are your property! I also am paying for studio supplies constantly, I became a studio manager after working for cpi for only 3 months, it is a very crooked place, not employee friendly at all. Its all money money money ! No customer or basic human decency what so ever.

I also experienced this same thing. I was hired very quickly in a studio in Waterloo, IA that had a horrible manager right before me that was rude to customers and caused all kinds of drama. So besides the disaster of a company it was alone, I also was dealing with aftermath of a horrible manager. I made it through holiday season 2011 matched what our profits were the year before by 2 dollars over and was wreaked havoc on by my DM for not doing better. Keep in mind I had zero photograpy experience, I had managed retail clothing stores, but nothing in a direct service field. My DM was an idiot and two faced up to high hell. She would make stuff up and then ask us to compensate for her stories. She coincidentally was also hired from another company that eventually went under "Sam Goody" should have known when they hired someone who had already gone down with one ship she would be of no use to the next. I walked out on a Saturday, right after they started closing on Tuesdays and requiring managers to work all other open days and keep employees on call only on the schedule. We never got our breaks and if we did take them we were in trouble for not being there when customers came in while we were gone. I have never felt so relieved to walk out of a job. I hope the class action goes through and us workers get what is deserved from the measly amount of money this company has left if any when this liquidation of assets is over.

ALL I WANT IS A NUMBER TO A CORPORATE OFFICE I HAD PICS OF MY FAMILY DONE THERE THEY CLOSED AND MY PICS ARE PAID FOR BUT YET I HAVE NO PICTURES NOT REALLY HAPPY...

Seems you all had terrible districts. I was a studio manager. I was paid well, given raises nicely as I moved forward in the company. You have a designated break time. If no you take it when you can and if not designated the same scenario. I know for a fact picture me had a time clock to do accordingly with. I worked in every studio branch of the company. I kept my sales up and worked past closing time. Get over it, every retail and photography job you work is that way. You leave when the final customer is satisfied. You were treated this way because you did it to yourselves. If you're all so bold to call managers on there empty threats why not do it at lunch time? And getting called in? Quit whining, I mean really. It is a constantly changing job with a flexible schedule. You're not flexible dont take it. On call is on call. When I had an associate working the studio. It's not posted on the schedule but if it got busy I was on call to come work. I just didn't need to be called because I checked in and was responsible for myself. Everyone on here is just lazy and lacks the work ethic for this kind of business. I've worked for other studios. They're ALL this way. It's a job not your hobby you do outside of here, and it must be treated accordingly. Go out, get your customers, and make your averages it's not a difficult concept. And if you ever want to manage any other work places the very first thing you'll be in charge of is driving salessss. All of you were just obviously put into a position you were most Deffinitly not qualified for.