2006-12-15 00:40:56 · 20 answers · asked by doug k 2 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Visual Arts ➔ Photography
Answering your question as it stands, then my answer has to be 'no'
2006-12-15 00:42:56 · answer #1 · answered by SB 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes.
They obviously treat their staff like they did there customers, just a number. A close relative worked for them until a few weeks ago.
I am sure not all studios are the same but in Nottingham Families are given as little as 7 minutes for the whole session! Staff are expected to shoot a family every 7 minutes and if they don't they end up missing lunch and breaks to catch up. When challenged about this the management just shrug their shoulders!
The public have been fleeced! Someone new this was to happen but allowed staff to continue to take money from them nothing they would not get what they were paying for or there money back. They chose the optimum time to rob as many people as possible. Peak week for purchasing and the month when they would owe the most wages. This is common theft!
I run a small studio portrait in Southwell Nottingham. If anyone has an olan mills plan I will honour it myself. If anyone is owed money or has a gift voucher for olan mills I offer a FREE SITTING. We allow a minimum of 30 Min's for the shoot, there is no high pressure sales. We treat customers with the respect they deserve.
Andrew
www.arsp.co.uk
2006-12-18 05:36:35 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I was as surprised as everyone else when the news broke that Olan Mills had ceased trading and offer my heartfelt sympathies to all of the employees and disappointed customers of Olan Mills.
Like the above respondent I have a photographic studio based in Bedford and have already offered free photo sessions through the local sunday newspaper for anybody who had booked and paid for a session and has a receipt or appointment card with Olan Mills. Unfortunately I am unable to offer the free print many people would have been expecting but hope that this offer may reduce some of the disappointment for customers.
I can be contacted on 01234-363914 or through our website - www.gotchapix.co.uk.
2006-12-18 11:22:36 · answer #3 · answered by Kelvin Myles 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, I know..I just lost a job which I enjoyed...a week before xmas and no pay to come.The company was the subject of a management buyout 2 years ago...however the buyers of the company..the Piper Group and Graphite very quickly got rid off all the people that really understood the business and systematically alienated all of the staff.The style of photography changed to that of Venture but the overall experience remained the same...staff constantly being pushed to achieve more in the same amount of time.A major factor has to be the customers themselves as they really did not understand that they were getting quality photography on the cheap and constantly demanded far in excess of their entitlement....they will understand now as they will obviously move to other suppliers and I expect will get a severe dose of reality.However, I do feel sorry for all those people that will lose photos and money.As staff we were told via a 5minute conference call that we had lost our jobs and not to bother coming back and that there would be no wages to come.There was not an inkling of regret or sorrow in the MDs voice and she typified the Management structure...cold and unfeeling...I mean they let us trade normally and seemingly rip off customers on that last day...very bad. I worked for Olan Mills for 7 years and I will value all the super relationships I made with colleagues and friends...Olan Mills was most definitely a Way Of Life..not a job and I am immensely sad it has ended.To conclude...I put the failure of the Company squarely in the hands of the Management and hope they all suffer more than the 1000 plus staff they have put out of work in this Season of Good Will to All.
2006-12-16 07:27:37 · answer #4 · answered by silver blogger 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes very sad indeed, and just before Christmas. After being very satisfied with previous sittings in Havant and the photo's produced to find out the my families final sitting would not be printed is very upsetting. After parting with the little money that I had for Christmas presents (of pictures of my children) for my Parents/Grandparents this certainly has ruined my christmas. Does anyone know of a way to obtain the negatives/copies so that I could possibly have them printed else where. My sympathies to the now past employees of Olan Mills especially so close to Christmas, but as we are all now not in the Christmas spirit I hope we can all pull together to come up with some sort of resolution.
From one rather upset/disappointed customer.
2006-12-18 16:00:20 · answer #5 · answered by pompeytillidie 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, I just saw a sign a K-Mart for help wanted at the Olan Mills there.
2006-12-15 13:11:06 · answer #6 · answered by Patty 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
One of my family worked for Olan Mills (in the UK) and last night they were told that the stores throughout the UK would be closed immediately and would no longer be trading. Happy Christmas.
2006-12-15 10:15:47 · answer #7 · answered by Kevin M 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
"...the picture is changing for olan mills, the world's leading producer of family portraits. the company operates through two divisions: church directories (its top revenue generator) and studio portrait (about 600 studios in k-mart and other stores in the us and puerto rico)..."
http://www.answers.com/topic/olan-mills-inc
"...olan mills into liquidation..."
http://www.photocritic.org/2006/olan-mills-into-liquidation/
2006-12-15 08:45:34 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
really sorry uve lost ur job, i have lost money, hopefully you will get a new job with a better company, there is an address to write to on the website nut you need to go to olanmills.co.uk and not the american website, doesnt look very positive though. On the brught side my kids are thrilled they dont need to get dressed up like assholes for another cheesy photo.
2006-12-16 10:52:10 · answer #9 · answered by kipper 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The company has gone bust only in UK.
They are still trading in USA.
Thatz why the website www.olanmills.com is working.
but www.olanmills.co.uk has a notice to public that they are no longer trading and you have LOST ALL MONEY that you have paid them!
Does anyone know WHY they went bust!?
2006-12-15 09:11:07 · answer #10 · answered by Confused&inTrouble 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yep. i'm in the same boat. got a call to say the company had gone into administration an that i had lost my job on thursday night while i was out christmas shopping. had wages paid in on fri only for them to be withdrawn again leaving me very overdrawn with no money to pay back in. woohoo. merry christmas everybody.
2006-12-17 17:19:32 · answer #11 · answered by nickiphoto 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋