Picsolve Photo Rip Off

[TheMan]

So yeah, complain.

I went to Towers a couple of weeks ago with a couple of friends who had never been before. They went to buy a photo of themselves on Nemesis and were quoted £10 for a single photo. They chose not to buy it and were unaware until I told them (having read it on here and bought a photo myself for £8) that the staff were adding the digital photo on without asking them

WTF are they playing at!

Just going to look up the consumer law on this.

 

[RyanY]

My friends were charged £10 for an ORP on Th13teen after saying no when asked if they wanted to get the digital copy. So here they added on the cost even after been asked not to!

 

[Ben]

Perhaps its worth us contacting picsolve for some clarity?

If we do can anyone provide photos of receipts and also the sales signs - just so we can show what is happening? It sounds poor practice to me.

 

[delta79]

So yeah, complain.

I went to Towers a couple of weeks ago with a couple of friends who had never been before. They went to buy a photo of themselves on Nemesis and were quoted £10 for a single photo. They chose not to buy it and were unaware until I told them (having read it on here and bought a photo myself for £8) that the staff were adding the digital photo on without asking them

WTF are they playing at!

Just going to look up the consumer law on this.

I would love them to pull this trick on a guest that got a day off from Staffordshire trading standard, and see what happens. I bet the practise would stop very quickly ;D

 

[TheMan]

It is clearly on a receipt as a separate purchase.

This is an aggressive sales technique, and from what I have read so far and to the best of my understanding is potentially in breach of the Outright Prohibition section Banned Practices of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.

I will not be saying anymore on the matter on the forum, other than seeking others whom have had the same experiences, I am not for the record stating this HAS occurred, but that as a consumer, having been subjected to this practice, and apparently I am not alone in this matter, it does appear that it may be in breach of the above.

It is not advertised as free, you are told it is free, and yet it is shown as an added charge - for which some people are charged for, and others not.

I find this quite disgusting and I agree with Ben in that clarity needs to be sought here.

Mightily peeved by this!

Also to be clear, I am not apportioning blame as I would not know who is responsible for these potential breaches.

 

[Alastair]

Cue related Picsolve rant...

The Picsolve system has been a pet peeve of mine for a long time. The price is one issue, I do think that more money can be made with cheaper products that result in more sales. This biggest issue for me however, as has been mentioned, is the dire quality of the images. Some are good, Oblivion seems to be fairly consistent, but others such as Spinball, Thirteen and Rita are far too hit and miss. As a photographer it pains me to see how bad it can be. The issues could be abolished with some often simple solutions and I find it incredible that a company such as picsolve, who pride themselves on their image quality (lord knows why), makes so many errors.

An out of focus photo of a subject that is in the same position every time, from a camera that doesn't move, is inexcusable. It's a setting which, once set, should not change so it seems to me that whoever sets these cameras up is doing a lazy job.

Another issue is exposure. In some lighting conditions the photos are underexposed and look muddy as a result. Now, I accept that the cameras use a very specific array of settings to achieve the high rate of photos taken when a train passes. This limits their ability to adjust exposure as ambient light conditions change throughout a day. However in this day and age, correct image exposure no longer makes or breaks a photo and modern image processing software is very good at rectifying such an issue. There should be an automatic system that checks the histogram of a photo that comes in, compares it to the histogram of a correctly exposed image, then increases/decreases exposure to compensate. With it being an automatic system it wouldn't be perfect - a human decision would be far more accurate - but it would be fit for purpose and would improve their current results.

The next issue on the list... White Balance! While a lot of guests may not know what this is, it makes a drastic difference to the look of a photo. The cameras can't adjust their WB settings for the same reasons they can't for exposure. Again, my solution is post-processing. They could add a grey card to the trains which software could check and adjust the WB accordingly. Now I think about it, this could also be a solution for exposure.

My final pet peeve is the resolution of the images. It's low. I don't know if this is the quality of camera or not, but the product a customer receives is low-res. It's especially noticeable if you get a digital copy. On the Picsolve website, they boast 10 megapixels but that's not what I have recieved.

It could well be that I am over reacting and that I am nit-picking, but I am a great believer in the effect these small issues have on the subconscious interpretation of a photograph. If all these were corrected I think that more guests would appreciate and make purchases as a result.

Back to price related discussion, I also think that if they insist on charging these extortionate prices then the photo quality should be reflected in them. There is no way I would part with that much cash for such shoddy work. I wanted a Smiler picture but the white balance was so blue that I didn't bother. I think I would pay (at a push!) for a sharp, correctly exposed, correctly coloured, high-resolution photograph of my friends and I scared poo-less on Rita and not feel tooooooo ripped off. (Maybe)

On a side note, I don't claim to know for certain how Picsolve cameras/systems work, I'm making assumptions based on the images I have seen and my experience during my photography degree. It may well be that Picsolve have procedures in place to correct the issues described above, but if that's the case they don't work very well so there must be something else.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

As a fellow photographer, I well and truly agree with everything you've said. You do wonder what on earth Picsolve do with their money when basic photographic problems are present on most of their cameras. I would bet a large amount that if me or you were given the amount of money they make, we could come up with a more consistent and higher quality standard of picture.

 

[LiamC]

Since when? Granted I haven't paid for a single photo in a while (Photopasses whenever I know I'm getting them because good value when it's for the whole year)...

I don't know, they said they weren't even sure. Then said they could. And it shows up as AP photo £6.40

I bought a single Smiler photo with AP discount back in May when it opened and it all went through fine, so yes you can get the discount. I think it's generally easier to achieve the discount if you're just buying single photos. They also did ask me whether I wanted the digital version for an extra £2 or not.

However, that isn't an excuse for what seems to be a blatant practice of ripping people off and using underhand tactics to get more out of people.

Bad jam Picsolve, bad jam.

 

[Ian]

Now I buy ORPs quite frequently, and I've noticed quite a lot of little tricks PicSolve have tried to play over the years. The big one at the moment is the digital download add-on. I've spoken to a couple of the PicSolve staff I see a bit, and they've all said that the download is purely an optional purchase. The customer should be offered to download before the start printing the order, and if they say no it should stay that way. Adding or leaving the download has no effect on MAP discount eligiblity.

Another habit they seem to be slipping into is starting the order printing, and then taking payment. Then, if they have tried to slip the download cost on if you query them they will try and argue that the order has already started processing. Make a point of asking before they print how much you are going to be charged, and if the figure seems high to you make a point of querying it, pointing out that you do not want any downloads if you don't. If they still try and argue the toss I just tell them to cancel the order, and walk. If you note down the photo number you can complain and then go back later to another member of staff. Pictures to tend to be held for a while after being taken.

R.E. MAP Discount: If they try and fob you off ask them to show you where it says that, as as far as I know the only mention is that discount is available (Check the MAP site, I'm sure it's there). Discount has been available for about 2 seasons now I think.

Overall, while I think PicSolve offers better quality photos, and has some good technology backing it their customer service is nothing short of a joke. It's something which has long since needed addressing at Alton especially. They seem to use the overly complicated pricing structure and offers to get away with overcharging people for items. The saying "If you can't wow them with knowledge, baffle them with bull" comes to mind! Whilst they are a separate company who the service is outsourced to I really wish Towers would give them a kick up the arse to sort themselves out. It's beyond a joke. As far as the average guest is concerned that memeber of staff is working in the park, in a Towers uniform. They're as good as direct resort staff with the image they give off. They should not be allowed to reflect badly on the park.

And don't get me started on pricing. The fact I could of bought 3 photos the same size and quality as PicSolve ones at Holiday Park for the price of 1 Towers photo says it all :/

 

[GaryH]

I've always been told you cant get AP discount on ride photos......

 

[TheMan]

Now I buy ORPs quite frequently, and I've noticed quite a lot of little tricks PicSolve have tried to play over the years. The big one at the moment is the digital download add-on. I've spoken to a couple of the PicSolve staff I see a bit, and they've all said that the download is purely an optional purchase.

Well I don't understand how they can force you to purchase something anyway, that's not really cricket is it?

Anyway Ian great post, thank you, and really just adds confirmation to my beliefs, and the research I've done since.

 

[Ian]

It is worth pointing out that MAP discount isn't 100% guaranteed on multi-buy offers or reduced items, as per MAP T&Cs, so I guess if you get it you do, if you don't you don't. However, I guess you could argue it from the other side of the fence if they claimed that you can only get discount with a digital download and a photo. I'd perhaps say that the download is an add-on purchase which is why it's so cheap, as it's only available in conjunction with another full priced item, so surely it could be seen as a discounted offer, which would actually make discount null?

 

[djtruefitt]

If you have been charged for digital download and you have said no or wasn't even told about it, I highly suggest you get in touch with Alton Towers, Picsolve and if nothing seems to happen I suggest getting in touch with trading standards, as forcing something on to you that is an optional extra is against the law!

The posters in ride queues all state its an added extra for £2.

 

[Towseriv]

Looking into the situation of Picsolv it is one of those companies owned by a group of others but interestingly picsolve international posted a loss of £109,000 last year

The parent company has made losses for the past three years the latest being £8,100,00 but then it goes to an international comapny that I dont have the ability to track currently

 

[Jon]

Given that each photo costs pennies to make, I'm curious what the outcome would be if they ran a promotional "All photos £1" day and flooded adverts online. So many people would buy photos by default.

All souvenirs are an impulse buy, but onride photos are so particularly placed. People come off the ride still adrenalised by their experience and they are immediately greeted with a chance to buy something directly related to that experience. If you weren't charged an amount that gave you too much pause for thought, I think folks would quite naturally just buy one.

It would be interesting to see what the results of such a promo day would be. Wouldn't it be great if prices were reasonable enough that pretty much everyone who entered the park left with one?

 

[delta79]

If ORP's where a pound I would buy one from every ride i go on.

 

[Mi-Nigle]

I would bet a large amount that if me or you were given the amount of money they make, we could come up with a more consistent and higher quality standard of picture.

Maybe this is our calling!

 

[Alastair]

I would bet a large amount that if me or you were given the amount of money they make, we could come up with a more consistent and higher quality standard of picture.

Maybe this is our calling!

Ha! We can always dream

 

[Slugjc]

I think all ride photo's are a massive rip-off as they are.

 

[AstroDan]

Phantasialand and Europa are pretty reasonable for ORP's.

I recall €5-6 (£4.20-£5.10).

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

 

[joelpagett]

I used to buy On-ride photos all the time to remember a wonderful day out, but unless they are really incredible (i.e. I look like Zak Efron) then I don't bother. I remember when you used to be able to pick up an on-ride photo multi-pass for £16.00 gone are those days! Although I did read somewhere that printer ink is more expensive than blood. Maybe that could be an opportunity for Scarefest, have your own photo printed with your blood!