Anne Hermary's profile
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Reviews
Review about Stephen Lassman Studios Ltd, Toronto
4 years ago
My daughter had two appointments scheduled for graduation photos with this studio. Understandably, the studio cancelled the appointments due to the lockdown in Toronto. However, while monitoring their studios webpage, my daughter found that they had reopened dates booking for her U of T college in early June. When she tried to schedule a booking for these dates, the studios online attempts
disallowed her because she had previously booked. When she tried to reschedule the old cancelled bookings, no dates appeared on the calendar. OK - online booking system is flawed. In an effort to have the photos done for her composite, she flew to Toronto during the week in early June that had originally showed as open for her college. She emailed the studio ( min 5 business days for a response ... but please indicate if it’s a time sensitive issue...) with a time sensitive issue prior to her departure. The flights are over $1000 from Vancouver. But, after 4 years of hard work at U of T, these photos were important to her and her family. The studio has blocked all form of communication. No phone calls and good like getting any form of reasonably timely reply. After camping out for over an hour at one of their studios (no sign of life there), she tried to reach out via email again (well after the 5 business days) only to receive a stern reply from Lassman studios lecturing her on her attempts to contact them. I gather clients are a nuisance to them. She was also told that COVID was the reason they don’t communicate with their clients. Interesting. Although Vancouver has not had the lockdowns Toronto has had and photographers her don’t have an issue with providing service to their clients, I might give them a slight pass for not taking photos. But, their extremely poor communication and treatment of their clients is not as excusable. Interestingly enough, when both my daughter and I contacted a few other profesional studios in Toronto, the calls were answered immediately and they were more than happy to schedule appointments. This has been a very unfortunate experience with this business. My daughter is extremely disappointed and sad that her photos are not done. When poor service impacts an important milestone in life and the business doesn’t even seem to get it, that’s remembered and the word spreads.
Stephen Lassman Studios Ltd Business
HI Anne...we are sorry to hear this feedback and even more sorry for the frustration you have encountered. That being said, Ontario has been in a mandated lockdown and we have had to postpone many shoot throughout COVID as a result (including early June appointments). Not sure how any studio in Ontario was able to book your daughter an appointment as it is not only considered illegal at the current time, it is also unethical and contributing to the spread of COVID. We have sympathy for your daughter's situation which is similar to many others, however it is completely out of our hands when we are forced to close from the government. Furthermore, we have extended all of the photo shoots until the Fall to allow students the opportunity to come throughout the summer and still be included in their class composite. We have also allowed students who are out of province or out of country the opportunity to send in a photo from a local photographer to be included in the composite. My assumption is that your daughter had booked a trip to Toronto for other reasons beyond the grad photo (which she did not have an appointment for as we are still in government mandated lockdown). All this being said, we are simply trying our best to accommodate all students in this unprecedented year. We invite your daughter for a complimentary sitting in the Fall when she is back in Toronto, and we can use that image for the graduating class composite.