Anyone Experienced Intentional Damage To Negs?

<p>Has anyone experienced intentional damage to negs or transparencies in the hands of lab processing operatives? Until recently it happened to me in the early 90's when a female with attitude working for the local d&p shop cut my negs one third of the way through each image. It was intentional but got the usual disclaimer at the time. Although there was no admission on her part I do know it was her.<br>

<br /> Then recently I've been getting negs processed by the local Tesco supermarket and I'm finding what appears to be moon shaped thumbnail scratches on key negs. There's a woman there who occasionally works in the lab section seems to hate me with a passion. I don't know why. But it's the only explanation for the marks on the negs. Anybody had similar experiences?</p>

<p>No, I have never had that problem, but then, I never take my film to a supermarket "lab". I suggest you start using a real lab. North Coast Photographic Services is wonderful.</p>

<p>http://www.northcoastphoto.com/</p>

<p>Last time I had it happen was 30+ years ago in HS - one of the other staff photogs on our yearbook didn't want my images to go in the book - wanted theirs in (these were team/group/staff photos) - they underdeveloped my roll and underfixed it. Theirs came out perfect...I guess if it's that important to you. Of course they denied it - claiming that they thought it was a roll pushed to 1600 and they had read a new way to push develop Tri-max. </p>

<p>Haven't had it happen at a lab or anything close to that - and if I did it would be the last roll I ever took to them. </p>

 

<p>Ask her nicely to stop.</p>

<i>There's a woman there who occasionally works in the lab section seems to hate me with a passion. I don't know why. But it's the only explanation for the marks on the negs.</i><P>

Really? A stranger's intense personal hatred of you is the only possible explanation? <P>

To answer your question, no, it's never happened to me. Most people don't hate me until they get to know me better.

<p>Deliberate sabotage is unlikely - considering that [consumer] lab staff are traditionally very badly paid and trained, incompetence coupled with total indifference is much more probable!</p>

<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanlon%27s_razor">*click*</a></p>

<blockquote>

<p>I've been getting negs processed by the local Tesco supermarket</p>

 

</blockquote>

<p>If you're in the USA your problems will be solved very soon. Tesco are closing all US stores.</p>

<p>Never had this happen tome. I imagine in a real lab it would be a quick way to get fired.</p>

<p>My extension of Occam's Razor:<br>

Never attribute to conspiracy anything that can be (sufficiently) explained by incompetence.</p>

<p>There is much information lacking in the original post, but "moon shaped thumbnail scratches" in my experience with 120 film are due to having buckled the film while loading it onto developing reels. In other words, it is clumsy handling. I don't think I have ever seen it on 135 film, but it could happen for the same reasons, just that the film is stiffer and easier to load. If this is the case, they are not "scratches" but rather "marks".</p>

<blockquote>

<p>the early 90's when a female with attitude working for the local d&p shop cut my negs one third of the way through each image. It was intentional but got the usual disclaimer at the time.</p>

<p> There's a woman there who occasionally works in the lab section seems to hate me with a passion.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>What is it about you that engenders such dislike is the first question I would ask myself, as that seems much more important in the grand scheme of things than a few marks on a film. Sounds like buckled film to me too. If she really hated you she would have "mislaid" the film.</p>

<p> <em>Most people don't hate me until they get to know me better.</em><br>

Mike D. This is a little off topic, but you gave me a much needed good laugh.</p>

<p>there is this little gray cloud.<br>

it hovers over some people and causes all kinds of problems.<br>

examples. my daughter in law Lost her vacation film at walmart.<br>

In over 50 years I have never lost a roll.<br>

I have never put in the fixer first,<br>

She dropped her waterproof camera in the water and lost her honeymoon photos.<br>

I dropped my camera at a wedding and had to press on the underside of the mirror and lost one frame.<br>

My p&s refused to rewind at an event in a firehouse.<br>

but I found a dark place and rewound it.<br>

at the same event I lost a roll, went back,<br>

found it in my pocket at home.<br>

fell in the mud lost my expensive light.<br>

Found it 4 days later on the kitchen table.</p>

<p>some have that cloud over them others do not.</p>

<p>But the mailbox where we put our homeowners insurance check was firebombed.<br>

but we did not have the house burn down.<br>

we sold that house so it does not matter now.</p>

<p>You'd better start processing your own film Mike, or use a pro lab. I don't think I'd go back to a store where they had someone that actively disliked me. Life is too short, and there are plenty of stores. My personal experience is that workers in that type of place dislike anything that means work on their part. So, I don't shop at Walmart and other places that have underpaid, grumpy sales people. It's really much nicer this way! The people at Publix are so much nicer that I don't mind paying a little extra. They're not nice because of my charming personality, they're simply fairly paid, and work in a positive work environment. Translation: They're paid a good wage and don't work for jerks.</p>

<p>Nope.</p>

<p>Hi Steve, thanks for the rational response. A pro lab would be best and have used them, I guess I was attracted by the low cost and in the case of the supermarket lab, the other staff are fine. In the case of the other occasion about 15 years previous, to answer the responses of others, this individual had a bad attitude towards the majority of customers and the shop had to close at the end up.<br>

I spoke to lots of others, both consumers and pros who said the same thing, that this individual had a hateful attitude and so took their business elsewhere. The sad thing is, that shop had a really great Agfa D Lab but the owner became sidetracked with other ventures and left the shop to the running of this young woman at which point it declined rapidly to eventual closure. </p>

<p>any possibility in having management monitor her?</p>

As others have said, this is buckled

film not deliberate scratch marks. It

sounds like poor handling and you

should be weary of anywhere that can't

handle your negs well but I doubt it

was done deliberately.

<p>I'd vote for incompetence or indifference, or both.</p>

<p>Did any rogue drugstore employee ever slash at your negatives with Occam's razor?</p>

<p>I once had a lab cut some negatives in half. They cut in the usual strips of four, but not between frames. As I had prints, I asked them to make copy negatives for free, and they did it.<br>

(I think only three were cut in half, must have figured it out after that.)</p>