Salon - - Walgreens photo restoration - Page 2

TwinbNJ · #16 02-05-2004, 11:59 AM

Thanks for the follow up Vikki --- now we sit and wait!

Vikki · #17 02-27-2004, 11:05 AM

Well, Walgreen's is late getting the photo back. I called them yesterday to inquire when it will be in. The original 21 days I was quoted was misleading, as now I was told that it takes 21 working days. The woman I spoke with told me it was sent out to Qualex, and they haven't returned it yet. It thought that little tidbit was interesting. Qualex is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kodak.

I expect the photo will be in "any day now".

ExclamPt · #18 02-27-2004, 11:49 AM

I just searched Qualex for jobs using search words "retouching," "retouch," "restoration," and "restore" and got no hits.

This may or may not mean something. But being a cynic, I speculate there are no domestic jobs with these words in their job descriptions.

Noelf · #19 02-27-2004, 04:12 PM

They're mainly in the grocery stores and such. They are the one hour photo folks

Info on them at Monster.com

http://company.monster.com/quale/

And their own job website (not a great website to search)

http://www.qualexjobs.com/

This is the section of their company that probably handles the restoration work:

Central Lab Operations (CLO) - an nationwide network of more than 30 wholesale labs which process traditional prints, fulfill digital orders, and produce premium products such as Kodak Picture CD's. Some labs are equipped to produce specialty items such as poster size prints and T-shirts. The labs are usually located in major metro areas such as Boston, Hartford, Baltimore, Atlanta, Orlando, Chicago, Detroit, Dallas, Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Diego, to name a few.

But it wouldn't surprise me to find that they outsource some of the work.

- Noel

Vikki · #20 03-02-2004, 04:46 PM

Well, I finally got my restoration back.
http://www.retouchpro.com/challenges...php/photo/3782

Although they are advertising 14 days or less, and a money back guarantee, it took 27 days and the photo manager told me that if I don't like it they will redo it, but I won't get my money back.

Doug Nelson · #21 03-02-2004, 05:08 PM

Not much character left. Overall, the dog faired best. If they'd entered this as a Challenge entry, I'd say "good work, but a bit flat, and a lot of valuable facial detail has been lost".

Vikki: thank you for doing this. It was above and beyond the call, and extremely educational and useful.

Vikki · #22 03-02-2004, 06:06 PM

Quote:

It was above and beyond the call

It's always good to know your competition.

Honestly, I'm shocked that this is as bad as it is. I expected much better. Especially after seeing this article:
http://www.detnews.com/2003/decorati...e03-287131.htm

As it stands, I think everything in Walgreen's ads for this service are misleading.

Noelf · #23 03-02-2004, 06:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vikki

It's always good to know your competition.

Honestly, I'm shocked that this is as bad as it is. I expected much better. Especially after seeing this article:
http://www.detnews.com/2003/decorati...e03-287131.htm

As it stands, I think everything in Walgreen's ads for this service are misleading.

I think it was said best when I was viewing your thumbnail of their work and my g/f said "wow those faces are really scary!"

I also want to say I appreciate you doing this, but I'm not feeling a lot of pressure from the walgreens area now

- Noel

Ed_L · #24 03-02-2004, 06:11 PM

Thank you Vikki. I agree with Doug. But I think the problem is that quite a few people will think it's just great! Probably nobody on this site, but the general public. Will you send it back to see what the results are? Maybe you could tell them what you think it's lacking. I'd be curious to see just how far they would go to satisfy a customer.

Ed

Vikki · #25 03-02-2004, 07:38 PM

I couldn't stop myself, and sent an email to Walgreens photofinishing division.
I told them that I was disappointed with the results, their advertising is misleading, and that their quality control was lacking (there was a slip enclosed in the photo envelope for an "inspected by" signature, but the box was empty) .
As far as returning the photo, I don't see the point. I will keep this photo as a reference for those individuals who wonder why Walgreens can offer such a low prices.
It is a shame that some people will, by lack of comparison, think Walgreens' work is satisfactory, or worse yet, represenative of photo restoration in general.

Ed_L · #26 03-03-2004, 05:42 PM

Vikki,

Out of curiosity, how did Walgreen's handle the photo you gave them? Was it just put into an envelope to send for the work, or was it carefully handled as if it were an original historical document? I'm guessing, but I'd say it went into an envelope. This is one area where those who are actually in quality restoration could make an impression on the client.

Ed

Vikki · #27 03-03-2004, 06:27 PM

The photo was scanned right there on the Kodak Picture Maker machine and saved to disk (how much resolution do you think you can fit on a floppy?)
I left there with the original.

Ed_L · #28 03-03-2004, 09:38 PM

If possible, I try to stay away from Walgreen's. But I think I'll check it out to see if it's available around here, and see what information I can get. Scanning to a floppy doesn't exactly sound like a high quality scan.

Ed

Juliana Ross · #29 03-05-2004, 10:42 AM

Hi Everyone,

Having Slaved away at London Drugs for several years (ah having to whore oneself to a drugstore to pay the bills), I can tell you all this...
most of the "restoration work" is removing scratches and such in PS.

Mostly it involves using the "clone stamp" alone.

I got stuck with all of it at the location I worked out because I had background in the field. The non mickey mouse stuff was sent to one guy in the company,

No worries for all of us, the level of workmanship is lacking with these outfits. I about died laughing at the "crash course" training that was involved....
of course it does lend to people generally not understanding the difference between quality work and the dreck.

Ken Fournelle · #30 03-05-2004, 11:42 AM

I think the important thing about Walgreens is that it demonstrates there is a huge market out there. Walgreens must have spent millions in market research and testing to decide to implement this service. They also will advertise---get the word out about restoration services. This can be good for independents providing the independents can reasonably be competitive on price and service. Cream rises to the top. If Walgreens does a poor job in restoration their business will suffer. Often restoring someone's cherished photos is a very emotional experience for the custormer or client. It is hard for me to believe that an impersonal service administered by a clerk who has other things to do can compete with the one on one relationship that an independent or small photo service can render. That said, I do think that people will have to look hard at competing with them on price. Everyone should have an answer when asked, "Why shouldn't I just take this to Walgreens?"

I posted this also in the Challenges section also.

Ken