Local Videographers Mentioned in Top Magazine

Posted by Angie VanDaele in Photography, press, weddings

1 comments

Enough of the bad news for a while! Some great news for a change. One of my favorite magazines is Bride and Bloom out of Torrance California. Imagine my surprise when reading an article about Wedding Videographers the names Darby Simon and Ande Martineau of My Wedding Film popped out at me. The article is about Hollywood style now becoming integral for wedding films. and Darby and Ande are some of the experts they quoted. Known for their cutting edge style, they taught me something new. Because Brides are used to watching television, the main wedding film is now kept under 25 minutes. Sure you can get the whole shebang and they give that to the Bride too. But the clever shorter production is what everyone else wants to see. I like it when our local artists are recognized for their expertise on a national platform. It makes me proud. Way to go girls, I am proud of you!

A Step in the Right Direction

Posted by Angie VanDaele in Photography, press, TV, weddings

3 comments

They say sunshine is the best antiseptic, so I took some steps to get some publicity for the plight of you brides going through the Star Studio Fiasco. A reporter for Channel 15, Anne Yeager is on the story. Hopefully they will air the story as soon as possible. If you are one of the brides and would like to come forward about your story, please email Anne at ayeager@ABC15.com immediately with your contact information. She wants to talk to you.
I pray this will keep another bride from having her wedding ruined. If you are a bride that has signed with Star Studio for an upcoming wedding, I may be able to help you find another, better photographer to capture the memories of the day. Just email me.

Another Jim Bruno Problem

Posted by Angie VanDaele in Photography, weddings

8 comments

And I quote from a recent email...

Hello,

I am writing to you today in response to the Jim Bruno Story. He was our wedding photographer in November of 2007, and now we can not get a hold of him to get our pictures. We have been trying since March, I do have his cell number which is 480-228-2515 but of course he never answers or returns our calls. So if you have any other way of reaching him I would greatly appreciate it, or if you have heard anything about him since that last story about him we would love to know about it!

Thank you,
Meghan McLaughlin

and
Based on BBB files, this company has an unsatisfactory record

BBB Definition: unsatisfactory record - A company has an "unsatisfactory business performance record" with the BBB is based on the experiences reflected in BBB files. This file condition results when the company has failed to resolve or respond to complaints, repeatedly failed to respond or resolve issues in a timely manner, failed to resolve the underlying issues for a pattern BBB Definition: pattern - More than 2 complaints involving the same allegations usually within 12 months that are significant in relation to the company's size and volume of business. of complaints, failed to honor their commitment to mediate or arbitrate disputes or honor mediated agreements or arbitrated decisions, failed to substantiate, modify or discontinue false advertising claims that are challenged by the BBB, or failed to discontinue unauthorized use of the BBB name and logo, a Federally protected trademark.

with the BBB due to failure to respond to a complaint.

I hate to go on about this But I want to make sure these Brides are taken care of.

Where is Jim Bruno?

Posted by Angie VanDaele in Misc, Phoenix, weddings

24 comments

I hate being the bearer of bad news but I want to be an ombudsman for our industry if it helps. We have a bride whose wedding was at Grayhawk Golf Club on 4/6/08. She wrote to Phil Waring looking for this Photographer. Can anyone help us? Her letter reads as follows...

Hello!
Thanks again to all of you, Gwen, Phil, and David for making our wedding wonderful! I have trying to contact Jim Bruno at Star Studio and his phone is disconnected. I know you all have worked with him in the past so I was wondering if you had heard anything about his business? My friend used him for her wedding 3 years ago and his pictures were wonderful. I hope I am worrying for nothing. Please let me know if you have heard anything.
Thanks,
Deena

When wedding vendors are unprofessional, it makes us all look bad. Is anyone else having problems with this vendor? Does anyone know how to reach him? I have never met the man. Let me know. Thanks

Bridal Couture Slammed by Arizona Republic

Posted by Angie VanDaele in

1 comments

The Arizona Republic's investigative reporter Robert Anglen has finally exposed a bad seed in the wedding market here in the Valley of the Sun. Bridal Couture of Scottsdale has a worse record than I even imagined.

"Brides bash store: claim fraud, not couture

Some brides-to-be describe it as the bridal shop from hell.

Complaint records and interviews show that Bridal Couture and Evening Wear of Scottsdale has been accused of bait-and-switch tactics, luring customers with designer labels the store is not authorized to sell, cutting original tags off of wedding dresses, bouncing customer checks and refusing refunds.

“They sold me a dress and tried to switch it with one of their own,” said Erica Galietta, a 29-year-old Queen Creek resident who plans to be married in August. “The only reason I got my money back is because the attorney general's office got involved … I want to make sure no bride has to go through what I did.”

The shop's co-owner insists the allegations are untrue. He says customer service is first priority but some brides can be fickle and make impossible demands.

“We do a tremendous volume. Most of our advertising is word of mouth,” co-owner John Madonia said. “If those things were all true, how could we stay in business?”

Consumer protection and business Web sites show that Bridal Couture has racked up an extensive list of complaints from customers.

The Better Business Bureau of Phoenix gives Couture an “unsatisfactory” rating due to unanswered complaints. It shows 29 people have filed complaints against the store in the past three years, citing issues with contracts, billing, sales practices, product quality, customer service and refunds.

Of those, the BBB says the company resolved 10 complaints, failed to resolve two others and did not respond to nine.

Web sites such as Insiderpages.com and Citysearch.com, where local businesses are reviewed by customers, also show more than two dozen complaints about Bridal Couture, with warnings like: “Buyer beware,” “horrible experience” and “worst bridal store on the planet.”

Among the complaints is that the store only accepts cash or checks, so there is no way to dispute a purchase with a credit card company or cancel a charge.

Madonia said he doesn't believe all of the complaints are real and might have been posted by competitors. He said he recently hired a lawyer to look into the complaints and determine their veracity.

The Madonia family has been in the bridal business for 20 years and has several stores across the country. Madonia said Couture doesn't accept credit cards in order to keep overhead down at its new and expansive Indian Bend Road location.

He denied engaging in any deceptive practices and said his staff has “never once” tried to pass off a knockoff as a designer dress or trick a customer into buying something that they couldn't get.

Not so, according to Galietta. She said she put down a $600 deposit for a Paloma Blanco dress only to find out from the designer that Couture was not an authorized dealer, had no pending orders and would not be able to supply her with the dress she had a contract to buy.

Madonia had a different take. He said Galietta bought a dress that was modeled on a Blanco design but made by their in-house designer.

“There was never a day that this girl was told that this was a Paloma Blanca dress,” he said, adding that his own designer carries more cachet. “It would be like saying you are passing off a Rolls Royce as a Ford.”

Many Web complaints mirror Galietta's with claims that Couture sold one thing and delivered something else.

“We finally went to pick up our dresses only to see a nightmare alternative that they tried to force us to buy,” one woman wrote in a posting last year. “Turns out, our choice, that is still on display in the store, is a discontinued dress.”

The woman says Couture agreed to a refund, but never sent it. When her family went to the store, they found the doors locked with a sign saying entrance was by appointment only “due to security reasons.”

Galietta said when she demanded a refund, Couture owners threatened her with lawsuits that would cost her “thousands and thousands” of dollars.

“They said it was going to cost me big,” she says. “That's when I filed a complaint with the attorney general.”

Walter Nottleman, a volunteer for the Arizona Attorney General's consumer information and complaint division, confirmed that he helped Galietta get her money back.

“Apparently (the owner) promised her something he was not an authorized dealer for,” Nottleman said, adding that Couture promised a refund after several phone calls.

He said complaints filed against businesses are monitored by regulators looking for patterns. If any are detected, an investigation could follow.

Madonia contends the only pattern involves fickle brides-to-be.

"We will do whatever it takes to make the customer happy," he said. "Unfortunately, you can't please everybody."


Thursday, April 3, 2008 at 09:08 AM AZCentral Blog