We are pleased to share the letter from one of the Trueler’s courteous readers – Natalia.
“Hi Trueler,
Thank you for the opportunity to share my exceptionally unpleasant experience – I believe it might be useful to others.
I have bought this deal on Groupon. But the story is not about them – I love Groupon! I and my husband have used several groupons – and we were really satisfied! However, there was a deal that left us absolutely disappointed and frustrated.
This was “One-Hour Portraiture Session and CD with Five Retouched Images from Andrea Smith Photography ($825 Value)“. I must note, that there are two photographers with this name (Andrea Smith Photography) in Toronto: www.andreasmith-photography.com (I have nothing against this one) and andreasmithphotography.com (this one was absolutely unprofessional and unethical).
Everything was pretty fine before the session, and not bad during the session. Andrea answered questions and we agreed on the place. She was on time. The photo session lasted not more than 30 minutes.
During the session she promised:
- Publish 3 sneak peeks on her blog 3 hours after the session
- Publish 20 retouched images in a week (so that we could order)
- Send us a CD with pictures of our choice in two weeks
Andrea Smith got the coupon with the code from us after the session and could redeem it for money at Groupon only at that time (not earlier). At this point her truthfulness was over, and she just disappeared. She did not keep any of her three promises!
She did not put anything on her blog for a long time and did not answer her cell phone and e-mail. I called her many times, and wrote an e-mail wondering when can we expect results. Finally, in approximately two weeks, she uploaded 18 pictures on the website. They were of below-average quality. It did not look like she had spent more than 10 minutes on retouching.
We have been waiting for our order for six weeks already. And again, Andrea does not answer e-mails. Andrea Smith just ignores us.
The deal did not give us anything (no sneak peeks, no 20 retouched images, no CD with pictures). It was just wasted time, frayed nerves, and wasted money. Please, be aware of our experience if you consider to deal with Andrea Smith Photography.
Best Regards,
Natalia”
I had a very good experience with Andrea Smith. Back in 2008 I was looking for a photographer to come out to my home in whitchurch stouffville (ironic, considering that is where the other Andrea Smith lives). There was an add in craigslist for Andrea. I contacted her and she said she was just starting out but would come out. We set up a time and date. She was prompt and very professional. She came with lighting equipment and had some really good suggestions on how and where my husband and I should pose with our 2.5 year old daughter. The pics were hand delivered exactly when promised and were of professional quality. I was trying to look her up again to do more family portraits when i stumbled onto this website. She seemed a bright young upcoming talent at the time, i wonder what happened…
I believe she must be out of business now. You can get a refund from Groupon.
Her website is down now. Does this mean she just screwed a bunch of people? Can’t blame her (yes I can), she was in way over her head. She should of realize it. Just another example of the daily deal sites getting their $ but also business who don’t do the math on what is a sustainable business offering.
I had the same problem. She was at least 30 mins late to the session with me and my boyfriend.
Eveytime i tried to call or email there were no responses then i’d get an email response after 2 weeks and she told me she was travelling for work or was on vacation (twice).
It was my first time that I tried a photographer and was really unimpressed.
I too had to wait atleast 3 -5 weeks to get the proofs.
Not a happy customer.
hey everyone,
That is just so terrible to hear, that this person had pulled such a scam, just shame and super unethical.
I do however believe that Groupon should have also had some control over this, for vendors performance, they should have some sort of standards.
better luck next time guys.
I can not believe it. I had the exact same experience. She will not answer any calls or emails after taking pictures of my baby. Groupon is going to refund me but I would rather have pictures of my baby girl. I am so disappointed with Andrea.
I just heard back from Groupon & they have credited my account for the full amount. There is a bright side.. but it’s too bad we all had to deal with this BAD business & waste our time.
Hi
I had this same issue. My photography session was on Nov. 28/10. She was good at contacting me on short notice & we booked the session. During the session she seemed shy & didn’t really seem professional so I just thought she was a new company starting out. We gave her a chance & went through with the session anyway. When our session was over she said she wasn’t too busy & would have our proofs ready within a few days. A few days came & went.. still nothing. I emailed her back & no response.. I emailed again a few weeks later..no response.. I called her phone.. no response.. This is very unprofessional for a business owner. I tried contacting her many times & have not heard one word back from her. 47 days later I’m still waiting for my proofs. Very annoyed by this Andrea Smith for providing the worst possible photography session ever.
I contacted groupon today to see if I can get my money back. I hope everyone will get their money back for this terrible service & groupon will cancel her.
I guess we are all in the same boat. I am still waiting for my selected images. Every step of this process was painful.
Same thing….I am trying to get the proofs from her right now. Oh my gosh how horrible. I am escalating to the better business bureau.
Hi Andrea,
Nice to hear from you. We hope your reputation won’t be negatively affected by this post. There is nothing bad provided in the search engine results summary. And there is a distinguishing right in the beginning of this post, prior to any complains.
I just want to say THANK YOU for distinguishing between my site and the other Andrea Smith photographer before posting this complaint. I am a bit worried about the bad reputation and have been for a some time after receiving some angry voice mail messages. Again – MUCH appreciated!!
Andrea Smith
andreasmith-photography.com
Hi,
I also bought the same groupon and had the exact same experience. To date, I have yet to receive any of the photos that were taken. I was told the very same thing about a sneak peek and its been 2 weeks and I have yet to receive an email or phone call. I went on her website to check out the blog, website reads “account suspended”. This is truly disappointing.
Thank you RKV for sharing your experience. Please contact Groupon to get back money you spend on this really bad deal. It is just a minimum in comparison with wasted time and nerves…
Hi,
I had the same Groupon deal and the exact same experience. She commented at one point that she was a perfectionist — well guess what, perfectionists answer their phone and email. Extremely disappointed that people can act like this.