Just saw a TV commercial this morning that really got me laughing. It was about a local hometown barber, he sees a new place open up across the street. It’s a big new facility, lots of TV cameras, big fanfare, etc., and a huge sign advertising $6 haircuts! Obviously he mutters, “$6 dollar haircuts?”. In his mind he’s asking how can I compete with that, it’s below my cost.
Next scene, The local barber is hanging a sign that reads, “We fix $6 Haircuts”, and the new shop is shut down, out of business.
I find this funny because we get that all the time. We see clients who come to us after going somewhere else for a better deal. They’re disappointed with what they receive and finally come back to us. I had one senior who couldn’t even get the photographs they ordered (and paid for) because the company went out of business. I had another senior ask me about prices because when they went for the session, they ended up in the guy’s basement for the session. Not exactly the experience level you want to see!
With today’s digital world there are so many new places opening up. New stores with new owners and many of them have little to no formal training. Now, I’m for competition, it makes me better but, so many places are opening with little understanding of what it takes to create a really nice portrait. The standards for professional lighting, artistic composition and expert enhancements are being discarded in favor of a cheap price.
Anyway, enough of my rant, just be careful when you compare. It’s not always about price and most times you get what you pay for.
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