🚀 go-pugleaf

Recap of the original posting:

   The prints and negatives from a roll of film were lost after being
resubmitted to Sam's Club's photo developing service to redo an
incorrect photo finish.  Due to a clerk's errors, a tracer was not
initiated until a month after the date that their lab claims it sent
the corrected photos back to the store.  The full story was posted to
misc.consumers and uiuc.consumers, and a copy of it was sent in a letter to 
the manager of the local Sam's Club.  In the letter, I requested that the 
erring clerk be taught the correct procedures to follow.  I also asked the 
manager what he could do to restore my faith in their photo processing 
service. 

                      * * * U P D A T E * * *

   To this date, the negatives and prints that were lost have not
been found, and I have been told that it is unlikely that they will
ever turn up.  In response to my letter, the general manager of the 
local SAM's club left a message on my answering machine to express
his concern over my loss and asked me to get in touch with him.   
Although he wasn't in when I went out to the store, he had instructed
the staff to give me any multi-pack of film that the store had in
stock.  This six-pack of replacement film worth about $21 could not
adequately take the place of the family reunion pictures that had 
been lost, but the manager's gesture was generous in light of the 
customary policy to give two rolls of film when negatives are lost.

   Vickie, the knowledgeable clerk who eventually handled my case,
told me that procedures had been instituted both at the central labs
and at Sam's Club itself that might help to eliminate losses like 
mine in the future.  Her sincerity convinced me to give Sam's Club a 
second chance.  She confided that after what had happened in my case 
she had been hesitant to submit her own film to be developed.  But 
after the new policies had been established, she had sent in rolls 
of film and had not had any problems.

   With a few misgivings, I submitted two rolls of film.  They came
back on time with no problems.  Interestingly, I had again checked
the matte finish box but deliberately did not write in the special
instructions area the words "Matte Finish Requested" that the
original clerk had erroneously said were required to obtain a matte
finish.  When the pictures returned, the special instructions area on
each envelope had the word "MATTE" boldly printed on it.  A quick
glance in the bins at other returned envelopes showed that among all
the envelopes with the matte finish box checked off, mine were the 
only ones with this added instruction.  I can only hope that this 
evidence of special attention to *my* photos is a good sign. 

I guess I'll continue to use Sam's Club's photo processing service 
until I have a reason not to do so.

				     --Tim Yao
-- 
     == Tim Yao                           == 3109 NCEL MC-250 ==      
     == e-mail:  tyao@uxh.cso.uiuc.edu    == 205 N. Matthew   ==          
     == phone:  (217) 333-6956 (office)   == Urbana, IL 61801 ==