Below is an email I received this morning regarding the Pictage site. I haven't heard anything like this before so I'm wondering if others feel the same and are not contacting me or if this is just a fluke case. I mean, I really didn't think it was that difficult to figure out, but then again I'm around computers all the time, and I understand there are people who aren't. Has anyone else received an email like this? I'm not sure how to respond either because I don't want to come across that I think she's stupid, because I don't, but I don't know how to word it so it doesn't come across that way.

Hi Mint & Sage,

I just wanted to let you know, since you extended the offer on xxxx's wedding pictures, that Pictage is the hardest website I have ever used. I cannot figure it out, and I've wasted more than an hour on two separate days. I wanted to order a lot of pix, but alas I won't be doing it. Every time I click a shopping cart or any place where it says "order prints" I get a mostly blank screen (there is a heading) with nothing clickable. I've searched the entire site for pricing, and none is available.

So while I think your photography is wonderful, I wanted to let you know that the website is just not user friendly. I'll stick with the pictures I took, I guess, rather than ordering more.

I really hope you change the website, because I think you'll get more business ;-) Your work is beautiful.

What do you guys think?

Honestly, that's one of the reasons I don't work with Pictage. My philosophy is that what will make the most money is making things EASY and PERSONAL with clients. Many people, especially in the older demographic, aren't all that web savvy. Rather than risk looking dumb by asking the photographer how the hell to order a few photos (which will probably result in a back-and-forth "But I did that and it's not working" game) they'd rather just not bother. And there's nothing personal about ordering through a third party, no matter how you cut it.

Some may say, "But Pictage is so easy for me, it just makes good business sense." I would counter that the clients' needs come first and doing anything else will ALWAYS hurt your bottom line. Just my two cents.

i agree with hope. didnt someone start a thread called 'ouch pictage ouch' makes you wonder.....

cause that email is a big fat ouch in my book.

i've got people who can't even navigate through my online gallery on my website, let alone going through pictage.

Hi Krystal,

Can you, just for this client, take Pictage out of the equation? I'm not sure if it's possible for you, but if you could let them order pics by just telling you the numbers they want and how many, etc...maybe send them a proof pdf or something they could just let you know and you place an order for them, maybe even at a local lab. That might open a can of worms of everyone asking for that, hopefully not, but I'm wondering if the letter writer wouldn't order if you made it simpler for him or her.

Danielle

Also, I wonder if they are on an older computer or one that just isn't Pictage friendly.

Krystal... in short: Yes. You are losing money with them.

I thought about just offering to order the prints for her and having her pay via PayPal and offering her a free 8x10 or something for her troubles but I didn't want to come across as just trying to get her to order some pics, so I'm not sure how to word things to best get that across. I'm sorry she's had a bad experience and I wish that she would order but I don't want to come across as just wanting her to order pics. Know what I mean?

alot of times people complain because they want compensation - i would definitely get in touch and offer her something free IF she places an order directly through you.

I'm not Jillian but:

Dear Potential customer,

Thank you for the compliments on my work. I would love for you to be able to order pics from the event. Perhaps Pictage is not working with your particular computer, and I would like to simplify if for you and offer you one free 8x10 as a way of saying thanks and that I'm sorry Pictage did not work out for you for ordering.

If you would like to order by (put the method you like here) and pay by Paypal I would be happy to place it for you.

Thanks again for your comments about Pictage,

Mint and Sage

I'm not sure if there is a 100% correct answer, I can tell you that we submit about 35 wedding and 20 engagements to Pictage every year... and even though I know we end up with some technically un-savvy customers (especially extended families and some of the guests) I've never heard that.

Honestly I think it's one of those "you can't make everyone happy all the time" things or know matter how easy it is... someone just won't get it. If this had happened to us, I'd go out of my way to work directly with the customer and try and order prints for them.

Good luck,
John

I dislike the Pictage interface as well. However, people seem to have problems ordering online with every system I've tried.

If Pictage is confusing then Paypal will be too. I mean, even I found Paypal confusing when I first ordered something through it.

You'll find that you can't make software or on-line websites fool proof enough. There are simply too many factors involved. Does she use IE 5.5 for Mac? She may not know this but that software totally doesn't work. Has her javascript been accidentally turned off? Is her Windows simply messing up and needs to be rebooted? Is she on dial-up and it's simply taking a lot of time?

If you're trying to find a solution that works for everyone, you're not going to find it. My advice would not be to drop Pictage simply because of one customer.

+1!

I've had to write up a little FAQ sheet for the system I use & I send it to every client. This has helped so much!! It makes everything straightforward for the client, and even answers a few typically asked questions!

I wonder if Mint & Sage, you could do the same for the pictage interface??

I figure that I probably do lose business to some people because of problems with the site. In fact, I'm sure I do. But - I think that the business I do receive more than makes up for it.

When I send out a newsletter to let my clients (and their guests) know that the images are ready, I always tell them to call me if they have any problems with ordering, and I will help them. Hopefully that message gets through to anyone who has problems.

My print sales went way up when I switched to using Pictage. Some people will have trouble no matter what you use. I make sure all my clients know how to use Pictage and I send them instructions when I upload the images (before release, because I want them to see my email first).

No, you are not the only one.

I got this from a groom about a week ago:

That's a great idea! Thanks for this, I will definitely do this and then the client can forward it to their family and friends with a link. I'll make sure to use lots of screenshots too!

you know, I am a young, very computer/web savy person. Add on top of that I am a photographer so therefore very familiar with several web ordering systems and what they should do (show thumbnails, zoom in, etc.) The first time I got on pictage I thought it was a nightmare. I couldn't find the controls I was looking for and spent quite a bit of time irritated. I had no pre-conceived ideas about it and was actually pretty excited to see the interface for the first time since I had heard so many good things about what they do for photographers. That expierence led to my decision that pictage was not for me.


I want my ordering system to be as easy as possible and to reflect my business. Pictage is all about pictage. But back to the topic, I am surprised that I haven't heard more about this being a problem for photographers and their clients using Pictage.


I mean if I had trouble, I can't imagine what other people do...

The problem that you were describing does seem like a technical issue. Maybe Pictage was having technical problems at the time. I agree though, it needs to be easier. I would definately offer to do it for them over the phone and just have them send you a check or something, forget paypal. On another note, I know people behind firewalls can't view the images on Pictage. That's not really a Pictage issue though.The problem that you were describing does seem like a technical issue. Maybe Pictage was having technical problems at the time. I agree though, it needs to be easier. I would definately offer to do it for them over the phone and just have them send you a check or something, forget paypal. On another note, I know people behind firewalls can't view the images on Pictage. That's not really a Pictage issue though.

Hi everybody -

I suspect the complaints you received were from users on the old interface. We are actively deploying the redesigned consumer website (several thousand events are already using it) which seems to have alleviated almost all of the problems users were having.

Send me the event IDs for the events that had problems, and I will have them switched to the new interface. We hope to have all events in the new interface by December.

------------------
Ian Siegel
VP Product and Technology
Pictage Inc.

Ian,

Can we see a gallery with the new interface?

Thanks!

Thanks, Ian. I always appreciate that you are on here checking things out. I received a call from Adam this morning too, just checking in. Reassures me you guys care when you are so active to keep in touch.

When I received this client email, I asked my mother-in-law, who is definitely not computer savvy to go online and check Pictage out for me. Below is her reply. This is for the current userface, NOT the new one:

Well, I went on pictage. And you know that although not as bad as dad, I'm not the most computer saavy. Nonetheless, I found the pictage website, though artistically a bland looking site, easy to move through. It took a bit long initially to load the pictures, and I wasn't sure if it was them or me. Once the pics were up, it was easy to select favorites or add to my shopping cart. The shopping cart shows you each picture, making it easy for final decisions, and select which ones to delete and keep. Checking out was easy too. Perhaps this girl was having computer difficulties, or perhaps she is lacking in gray matter. If I can do it, anybody can! Tell her that!

Now, I plan on asking my mother to do it as well, because she is about as computer illiterate as they come. But this is good news to me.

Your MIL is priceless! Best line I've heard in months.

Seriously though--I have issues on some sites (including OSP) with my work PC, other sites with my home PC....both running XP & IE7--even when the settings seem identical. When I work on Vista machines, there's another whole component. Add in Safari/Firefox, etc and you start realizing that there is NO interface that works perfectly with all of them. An email back to the potential buyer with an offer to place her order on her behalf a bonus 8x10 should work just fine.

I don't have an opinion about Pictage. But just because you don't hear complaints doesn't mean that lots of others aren't having trouble.

I just went to order supplies for packaging. I went through two un-user friendly websites before I found one that wasn't a PITA. Did I contact the first two companies to let them know I had trouble? No, that's their responsibility to make sure it's working right, not mine. They already wasted my time but not making sure it was working correctly to begin with. It's possible the same may apply to this.

Bottom line: All websites will have some kind of issues at one time or another, so many factors are involved when it comes to successfully or not successfully navigating thru a site and placing an order, so many different computers, ages of computers, types of operating systems, and on and on and on.

I'm a portrait photographer with Pictage, and I upload all my shoots to them. Only one time out of say 50 times have I had someone express an issue with their website, and we got it resolved. It wasn't even an issue with Pictage, it was the client's. Also, I have several shoots that are exhibited with Pictage's new interface, and they are beautiful!!! I can hardly wait until all events go to it. Very sharp-looking!

Any time a client is having trouble ordering, simply offer to place it for them. You can always order a proof book of some kind and have it mailed to your client. Tell them to let you know the image #s and you place the order. I've done that a couple of times, and it works beautifully.

Nothing is 100% 100% of the time. Are you? I'm sure not...

Good luck!
Claire

The new interface rocks, and is SUPER easy to use. Even with the old interface, though, I've never had a complaint. Pictage hit the ball out of the park with their new interface Sample:


Step 1: Go to www.pictage.com
Step 2: Use Member Log In:

email: sample@pictage.com
password: sample

I've had clients tell me things like this about Pictage and complaints about another system (that served me VERY well in the past so I WILL NOT mention the name). All I can say is.... PICKPIC. Just switched over and all I have gotten are RAVES. That's all I have for them as well... RAVES.

So that is one thousand times better than the old interface. I felt like the old interface was cheap and cheesy, and this is much more slick and easy to navigate. Better, much better.

I'm not switching any day soon though! But that is a topic for the other threads.

Sorry but you have a dumb client...

I am amazed how you respond to just about everything.

Some people are NOT computer literate and find things very confusing. I am not giving Pictage a break here, believe me.

I used to be a programmer and you had to dumb down some things, or processes to make sure people could understand how to do things. It is just a fact when developing programs, that a developer needs to be aware of.

I have had one client's mother-in-law that was sooooo computer iliterate, the only way she could get to my website, was to GOOGLE my name and then click on the link.

My google stats are incredible. People searching for "Duggan Studio" or "Duggan Photography", etc. in a Google search. Some people just are not aware how to get to a website by typing in the url address or for that matter WHERE to type in a URL address (or worse, "what is a URL address?").

I have found that to be true more often than you can image. That doesn't make them dumb. I hope you treat your clients with a little more dignity than that.

For those using the "sample" login, be sure to select the "Pictage Demo" to see the new interface. Remember that not all events have been transferred over to the new design.

Also, I too must say that I found Pictage to be a bit confusing at first, and at times still do when setting up a new event. There seems to be more on the screen that really should be reserved for the client...not the photographer who is logged in to work on an event. On the other hand, while they are the priciest of the options I was willing to go with, I think teaming up with Pictage is worth the sacrifice for me as I grow my business. I told them I am their ideal test candidate and I intend to go the distance. There are several things I wish were different, but hopefully with the new design, things will be made much clearer for the client.

The purpose of Pictage and other online fulfillment services is to keep this type of work away from the photographer. Know what I'm sayin'? It's a lot of work for a busy shooter to have to deal with for not very much return each time you have to handle what the service you are paying is supposed to do.

Cheers,
Zack

Why call them dumb just because they the interface isn't working for them. Do you call your clients dumb when they have a problem??

I am happy that many photographers use Pictage. All I know about their product is that there is nothing custom about it and thax to that no one will confuse my work with those who use Pictage.

Saying "Perhaps Pictage is not working with your particular computer" puts the blame on them. See Dale Carnegie's book.

-TM

Hi Zack,

The funny thing is that, when I went to Pictage, all the time I would have saved got put into dealing with the foibles of Pictage. I had to speak with half a dozen people to get an album pricing mistake resolved. When I left, I told them "Your marketing is so slick, but I've felt like I've been dealing with a company run by a dozen teenagers out of someone's garage." It's great in theory, but my Pictage reality was definitely not a good one.

And from reading other threads on OSP lately, it seems I'm hardly alone.

-TM

Click to view attachment

And what was the point of shearing that information?

Spam?

I have to say that this is turning into a really weird thread.

Most of Pictage users are happy and satisfied with its service. And I mean thousands of them and not just a few (very few) that come here to rant about it. ten people out of thousands... you tell me... is that significant? What does it says?

Hey, if they did you wrong you have a right not to trust them... I certainly would. I certainly would not be happy... But be careful not to generalize based solely in your own personal experience, specially when your experience does not stack up against those who are happy with Pictage. It would be more fair to say they messed up with me and nothing else than to say that because they messed up with me now they are a bad company.

In a year I have had an occasional problem that has been handled quickly. By no means they are perfect, but in my experience they are vert professional .

Some leave because it does not fit their business model and that is ok. To stay or to leave should be a business decision. I myself may decided that Pictage models does not work with my business model, for whatever reasons... too expensive for my return, etc, etc. But you won't see me coming here and rant about it demonizing Pictage just because it didn't work for me.

It may not work for me but it certainly work for many and adds value to their business.

Fair enough; I just shared my negative experience and stated that my displeasure was not unique. No 'generalizing' here....

-TM