Lifetouch Reviews

Pros

Benefits are above average in todays market. You go to work and don't have a manager standing over your shoulder constantly. You get to create memories for families and see how happy they are about it.

Cons

Long hours and a lot of travel (travel used to be one of the pros until I got married)

Advice to Senior Management

Don't hire so many managers and district managers from outside the company when you have some strong employees within the company. Start a management building program for those that are interested in moving up the company ladder

Pros

The best reason to work at Lifetouch is the people. From the photographers to Paul Harmel and everyone in between. You truely understand why this company is so successful. Great people produce great results.

Alot of people on this web page complain about the pay. I do feel that photographers are under paid but you have to keep in mind that this is a part time position. Summers and winters off. So if you think about it you can not expect to make a years wages in 6 months.

There is also alot of complaints about what a sales rep can earn. Just like any sales position at any company, if you are a top producer you will be compensated for your hard work. It's the reps that are not selling that are complaining about the pay. It seems to me you are lucky to still have a job. I make a great living at this company and appreciate everything they do.

Cons

There is not alot of opportunity for advancement outside the territory you work in.

It seems that corporate shuffles themselves around to new positions as opposed to looking at new talent from within the company.

Advice to Senior Management

Make advancement programs available to people in the industry that have proven themselves and not based on previous experience in a completely unrelated line of work.

Pros

The memories we create through our own individual creativity for many people & their families.

Cons

Work alone mostly, appointments scheduled too close together which makes for less service to the customer, things stay stagnent too long within the studio, customer wants ever changing ideas.

Advice to Senior Management

Listen to your customers more through reading their surveys, make changes based on their needs as well as your employees out in the field. Work inside a studio from time to time & actually do some of the work that you require others to do to see if it is really realistic. Pay your employees more & you will get back more for your buck.

Pros

You learn to sell well for sure. If you like the position there is a good retirement option and most people qualify for healthcare after a year.

Cons

This position has lots of travel, poor reimbursement of expenses and one week you work one day the next 4 you work 6 days a week traveling on your one day off to go to the next site.

Advice to Senior Management

I felt a lot like a pawn. It is hard to manage well and at the same time have pay based heavily on sales numbers.

Pros

Retirement is great, if you stick around long enough to become vested and let it accumulate.

Cons

Senior management, at least in one division, is clueless. Why is someone with a finance background running the sales department? No appreciation or respect for the field.

Advice to Senior Management

Get a clue.

Pros

If you are interested ONLY in camera time and don't care to make any money,this might be for you.

Cons

Where to begin......
The marketing strategy is to lure Churches into accepting the offer of a FREE Directory of the congregation as well as a FREE 8x10 of their directory pose.When you are done taking the photos,it is your position to change hats from photographer to salesperson.Let the fun begin.

This is a strictly commission based position.Commission is based on total number of sits (guests) per day and formulated with some bizzarre computaions. Guests per day average about 10+ per photographer.Average sales are usually very poor,sometimes I make less than $30.00/day.My last paycheck was 267.00 for TWO weeks!

Trying to share the "WOW" experience with guests is very frustrating when their standard reply is usually..."Oh,we just had pictures done" or "My Son/Daughter is a photographer and they take our pictures" and on and on and on.People don't have the extra money for photos.Many like them,but simply can't afford the,thus they opt for the FREE 8x10.
Their print prices are high...$25.00 for a standard 8X10,plus $9.95 shipping PLUS tax!

The expense package is a joke. .25/mile and $65/day for motel and food.100's of mile on my car every week,certainly is adding up the >.25/mile.

I would not recommend working for them. They cannot keep people and they don't care.

Advice to Senior Management

Obviously what I say here really doesn't matter,as myself as well as any of the others are replaceable.
YOU NEED TO RAISE THE COMMISSION TO ABOUT 30-35% and re-evaluate the expense program.Most motels are near or above 65.00/day and gas is $3.29/gal. GET IN TOUCH...LIFETOUCH!!!

Pros

My state doesn't offer partial unemployment. This beats being unemployed. I now have health insurance again, horrible though it is.

Cons

I thought Olan Mills was the worst employer I've ever had. Lifetouch is even worse. I got 3 days notice that my hours were being cut to half-time. I barely see my District Manager even once a month. Wait, that is a good thing. He is absolutely clueless. Absolutely never offers any praise or support. My hours are AFTER the HQ and plant close - therefore we only have support on the ONE day a week that I work during the business day. Our district crosses 2 time zones, so I wind up calling into the staff meeting on MY dime and MY time without any pay or reimbursement.

Advice to Senior Management

Value the employees that actually bring in the revenue more than the staff employees. I'll bet secretaries get the weekends off and make more money than the photographers who actually produce and sell the images.

Pros

Good health benefits. Fun co-workers.

Cons

Where to start? I work in the church division. If you like working 60+ hours a week for less than minimum wage without compensation then this job is for you. You work off of straight commission with absolutely NO base pay. You can make 12-16 percent for the week on commission based on your average for the week so if you have 4 great days in a row and one day that is bad then it could cost you a few hundred dollars out of your paycheck. You occasionally get a great church and make lost of money but 90% of the time you are working for chicken feed. Most of us have to survive off of partial unemployment to make ends meet which I think is absolutely disgusting especially if you work a full week then realized you would have made more money sitting on the couch watching TV all week. If you are sick or need time off it is compared to pulling teeth without Novocain. The management will not listen to any problems you may be having with the churches. It is almost impossible to get a timely call back or email from management but if you screwed up something, like forgetting to put the date on a form then you bet you'll be hearing from them. Sometimes I purposely screw up just so I can get the chance to talk to management. You are constantly bombarded with emails about how wonderful the top 10 sales people are but they fail to tell you that they purposely send those people to the churches who's congregation has the most money and they only have 6 total portrait sittings for the day. The rest of the employees have 12 or more a day with only 15 minutes (sometimes less) with each guest that comes in. The studio equipment is way out of date. I'll spare you the rest. Just don't work for this company!

Advice to Senior Management

Listen to employees. Morale is extremely low. If you would listen instead of counting money then maybe the morale would raise and there would be better quality of work being done because lets face it. Would you care about going above and beyond the call of duty if you knew you would be paid less than $20 for the entire day?

Pros

They understand the balance between work and family. Management is more than willing to assist and offer help whenever it is needed. They have a very good support system in place for all of their employees. They want a team based company which compliments their type of business.

Cons

The pay rate could be slightly higher, but who wouldn't want more pay. If you are a photographer they hours vary and are seasonal.

Advice to Senior Management

The communication down from management is not always handled in a timely manner. It eventually will trickle down but a lot of times it is brought up because of a situation that needs handled.

Pros

The people are very friendly. Helpful. Fun. Working with children in schools is lots of fun.

Cons

Sometimes changes aren't communicated well. Also, scheduling can be frustrating with other workers seen as "favorites" and scheduled more. I had to fight to get more hours. While my coworkers praised my hard work, management and schedule makers didn't quite see it.

Advice to Senior Management

Be more fair in scheduling.