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Glasser Images in Bismarck, North Dakota suddenly closed earlier this week, surprising members of its team of photographers and leaving clients who booked this month without a photographer and no refund.
The wedding photography company was operating on a fairly popular model in the wedding photography industry. Leveraging the brand’s name, the company would serve as a hub where any couple could hire their services and the company would send a photographer to do the job, with the promise that the standards set by the overall company would be met. In some cases, these companies will require photographers to take a test and pass certain “levels” in order to work on particular gigs at different prices.
Company owners will generally form groups of photographers to shoot and deliver exactly as a particular style to maintain consistency. In these situations, the actual photographer whose name is associated with the business would very rarely shoot projects himself, unless a particular premium is paid by the client.
Glasser Images has more than 60 employees and contractors listed on their website, but according to a former employee who spoke to PetaPixel, that number was much higher, as some withdrew after being informed of the business closure.
He also explained how quickly and unexpectedly the business closed: the business closed suddenly and without warning to anyone, including employees, contractors or couples earlier this week.
“[They are] literally leaving hundreds of couples without images, ”he says. “I don’t know what to do about it, but it’s a really terrible thing. I’m concerned about couples who don’t have wedding photos at this point, while all of those files are doing nothing on hard drives and a NAS in the studios office at Bismarck.
An email notification was sent Thursday evening to a number of studio clients, in which Glasser Images owner Jack Glasser blamed the ongoing pandemic.
“The past and current effects of the pandemic have caused irreparable damage which has forced this decision to happen extremely quickly and immediately,” the email read according to a report from the Bismarck stand. “Due to the closure, if there is something paid for, we will not be able to issue any refunds,” he wrote. “For this we cannot apologize enough.”
Live Valley News reports that according to the US Small Business Administration, Glasser Images received a Paycheck Protection Program loan of $ 245,000 in April 2020 and another loan of $ 257,500 in January 2021 from Starion Bank to assist with payroll , utilities and rent.
At this point, there have been no major complaints regarding the services provided by Glasser Images. The closure has left customers scrambling, as some claim they have provided Glasser Images with a down payment for weddings as late as the past two weeks, according to a report by Live Valley News.
“How do they do that? I mean there are so many people’s lives and it’s 48 hours, two weeks, two months, two years, I mean, just stand up and let them find someone else, ”says Abby Ochoa , adding that she and her fiance paid Glasser Images $ 5,000. for engagement photos and a wedding package scheduled to take place in November.
The Bismarck Tribune spoke to another couple, Johnny Thompson and his wife Crystal Brunner-Thompson, who say they don’t know if they will ever receive the photos they paid for their wedding in August.
“I am an only child,” Brunner-Thompson said. “My parents will never be able to do that again. I don’t have any photos with my parents. I had never seen my father get emotional. It’s just things you can’t get back.
Contract photographers who filmed Thompson’s wedding said memory cards and photos from their wedding were inside Glasser’s facilities, which they can no longer access.
Another client who paid Glasser Images for her wedding due in September 2022 says she will try to dispute the charges with her credit card company now that it is clear Glasser Images will not be providing the service.
“I wanted to choose a business that I thought was really established just because I was planning remotely,” she said. “I have so many friends who have used them and had no problems. They are so highly recommended. I feel so bad for the brides who are having their wedding this weekend. Fortunately, I am far enough away to easily find a new photographer.
A new Facebook group was set up this week where anyone affected by the Glasser Images shutdown can come together to discuss how they could recoup their investments or find new photographers. At the time of publication, the group had over 1,400 members.
Parrell Grossman, director of the consumer protection division in North Dakota, said the attorney general’s office is currently investigating Glasser Images. He says the GA has received around 50 complaints in the past day and believes the number could continue to increase significantly.
Specifically, Grossman referred to a large deposit that was accepted by the company in October, and the company’s attempts to solicit invoices to be paid in full for a discount in August are among the biggest current concerns about possible fraud. for consumption by society, KX News reports. The attorney general’s office says these are just allegations and the investigation is not complete and could take months.
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.
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