Lifetouch reviews

3.1

50% would recommend to a friend

(2,228 total reviews)
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Ken Murphy

59% approve of CEO

27% positive business outlook

Lifetouch has an employee rating of 3.1 out of 5 stars, based on 2,228 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Lifetouch employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Media & Communication industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

2K reviews
2.0
Mar 6, 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

You will get a considerable amount of overtime during the season - mostly due to driving long distances before/after putting in a days work, and also due to almost never having the opportunity to take your meal break in the time frame required by the government. I enjoyed getting the best photos I could from the students and staff - and found it rewarding to get a "non-smiler" to smile.

Cons

Hours are horrible - worse if you have family, or anything you want to do during the season besides work, and catching some sleep whenever you can. Toward the end of the season you are very exhausted, both because of the lack of sleep, and the long hours. It is also a physically demanding job, surprisingly enough. Your manager and office staff will treat you like a comodity. It is part of the company culture. They tell you that they are employee owned, and look out for you, but rather you are just an anybody they can pull off the street in ten minutes. They care less about you, or keeping their employees. Indeed, there is high turn around. Many of the students will give you a very difficult time. You will be out of work for one month in the summer, and nearly 3 months over the holiday season. The pay, though it adds up due to the long hours that you put in, is not nearly reflective of the responsibility you hold. The school, and the company is completely dependent on you picking up your equipment at 4am, driving hours to get to an out oof the way school, liasing with the school personell who hopefully arrives at the scheduled time to let you in, set up your equipment in time, with everything functioning (and nothing left behind, including spare parts), having great customer service, completing the job on time (ONLY 30 SECONDS ARE ALLOWED PER PHOTOGRAPH), and tearing down on time for the room to be used for another school activity. This is more than a minimum wage job. This is managerial level responsibility. Oh and responsibility for the money, etc. If you wake up late, arrive anywhere late, have equipment issues, leave something behind, etc THE WHOLE JOB IS OUT THE WINDOW. It's not like another person can be called in to cover for you. There is no leeway on the time frame. The school and/or district account can easily be lost over a few minutes. CHICO: the two company vans are unsafe to drive. And you have no choice if you are assigned one of those two vans. On occassion, you may be able to drive your own vehicle AT YOU OWN EXPENSE if you won the lottery that day, but not always. The vans they rent from Avis, during the season are great.

4.0
Jan 6, 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I learned some valuable skills at Lifetouch. Though we had specific criteria to adhere to, we also had freedom to be creative in our portrait sessions. The company also gives associates the opportunity to excel through being published and honored in the nationwide company portfolio. I also enjoyed the rapport created with other associates through the companies web portal. There, we could share photographs, critiques and chat with one another.

Cons

During the holidays, back to back 10 minute photo sessions can be near to impossible to complete, but they are expected to create volume and revenue. It leaves no room for error when clearly families and children can create a multitude of variables. Even if this is retail photography, 10 minutes can be problematic. People expect more even when paying less.

1.0
Dec 14, 2014

I Want My Years Back

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Some of the best people in my life I met while working here. ESOP is cool if you can stand being there long enough to see it grow. I did learn a great deal about managing difficult personalities in a work environment.

Cons

I was charged with doing 60 hours of work per week in 40 hours. It's like there was never any opportunity to succeed. Very little/poor training. It's all sink or swim. Bonuses are impossible to attain. So it felt like there was no point in trying. No support from management. Lots of finger pointing. It's very well known that it's next to impossible to get fired. So coworkers that aren't performing aren't held accountable because it never leads anywhere. Everyone else has to pick up the slack. No opportunity to grow. Raises are laughable. One particular HR Rep was too focused on being friends with all of the managers. She was untrustworthy and would repeat any and everything discussed. So the outlet employees are supposed to have was not an option.

Viewing 37 - 39 of 2,228 Reviews

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