Let me explain how that “prestige” Knot’s certification works!
A studio that shoots over 500 weddings and spends over $ 100.000 a year only for advertising got on average 200 brides referred from TheKnot.com. After the wedding, because studio is big multimillion dollar company, it cannot provide full personal attention to every couple. There are many times when things go wrong; of course you won’t hear about those upset brides who are on the edge of suing the studio…you will hear ONLY about the brides who provide most positive feedback.
Studio that does so many weddings a year can soon have enormous number of feedbacks posted on the Knot.com website. So, when they have couple hundred positive feedbacks they are automatically “pick of the Knot” …or “Best of the Knot” …
On the other hand, photographer who limits number of weddings he/she shoots per year. Let’s say 50 weddings comparing to couple of hundreds the big studios shoot. Even if every bride is more than happy with entire service provided, a small studio simply cannot become “Best of the Knot” because number of the feedbacks provided is much smaller than what larger companies/studios will get. So basically at the end that special “Knot certification” actually does not mean that 10 out of 10 brides are fully satisfied with the service they received from the certain company/studio. It just means that the studio did many more weddings than anyone else and that might be because they can afford hundreds of thousands of dollars in advertising to attract potential brides.
It is about getting every client in so that “sweet talk” and time spent with a bride at the beginning is necessary. Those high advertising costs need to be covered somehow. Now you signed the contract, that attention is not necessary anymore. Let’s be realistic…how can you keep prompt responses and excellent customer service when there is hundreds of brides waiting to get an answer to their question. Ok, let’s say they have many people hired to work with the clients. But how personal is this service. Wedding after all is very personal and one of the most important days in people’s lives.
Compare that “excellent” service to your cell phone company provider….every time you call you talk to a different person off course if you have enough time to wait on the line to actually get to talk to someone. But then again, you get what you pay for!
Here are just few samples from the reviews you can find online-if you do very deep research :D
….but I will agree with another poster here who said their sales staff is incredibly pushy.
…but I wish they had a "small business" approach because we felt a little unimportant through the process….
…pushy sales staff that have been bombarding me with phone calls and junk mail after I attended a bridal show. Not a way to win my business….
…. now it is one year later and I still don't have an album or my pictures. They promise you that you will have a person assigned to you to work with (so called “Personal photography coordinator”) but what they fail to mention is that their turnover rate is ridiculous. I have never in 18 mos dealt with the same person…
… The photographer was terrible, he showed up late and the pictures were amateur at best, then they lost my photos for several months and when the album did arrive, they had put the wrong initials on it. In the end it took me over a year and a half to get my photos and they were nothing to brag about. They gave me some money back on the pictures and the proofs, but really, I would have much rather had some decent wedding pictures to hold onto….
…. We got married in Nov 06. It is now 7 months after my wedding. The proofs came back in about 3 months. We ordered pictures from the proofs in April, it is now June. We were never told the digital wedding album would take 20 weeks to complete. I have yet to receive the pictures I ordered in April. My digital proof has been received for review. That came before the pictures I ordered! …
…. Before the wedding, they were quick to respond, and very accommodating. We've been working with them since ….. but after the wedding it just became a nightmare…
After all, it is really your decision and knowing what is really important to you. Do you prefer “Pick of the Knot” or a studio that will provide you with attention and make sure that you are important as you deserve to be!
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