Ballantynes charges $25 for Santa photos taken on phone, sparks online backlash

Christchurch department store, Ballantynes is under fire after charging $25 for Santa photos taken on a phone. Photo / George Heard

Parents have expressed exasperation after a top Christchurch department store started using a smartphone to take photos of kids with Santa Claus this Christmas.

The 170-year-old Ballantynes store is known for its upmarket brand selection and its annual Santa’s Grotto is always popular with families.

But this year’s grotto has copped backlash online, with parents taking to social media annoyed at paying $25 for photos taken on a phone.

“I can take great photos on my iPhone and some look professional ... but definitely not something that anyone should pay for,” said one mum on a Facebook page for mothers.

“I’m hoping this is some misunderstanding as a lot of people have paid for a quality photograph,” another said.

“I did think when I saw it that it’s a bit s*** using a phone,” another added.

Christchurch department store Ballantynes is under fire after charging $25 for Santa photos taken on a phone. Photo / George Heard

One person said they found it “quite disappointing” paying $25 for “someone to take a picture of my kid with Santa on a phone”.

A Ballantynes’ spokeswoman told the Herald the store changed to a phone camera this year to speed up the process for customers.

“We were advised by experts that this phone camera would provide a better photo and an overall better experience for our customers.”

Ballantynes posted on its social media account explaining the new photography setup.

“Photos will be taken using a Google Pixel phone with a 64-megapixel camera,” it said.

“Our trained photographer and new studio-grade lighting will ensure every moment is beautifully captured.”

Despite this, patrons on Facebook claimed the resulting photos were not up to par.

A Christchurch mother, who would not be named, took her partner and daughter along for their annual photo, and was disappointed with the result.

“This was ours this year, such poor quality compared to last, pixellated and colours are all off.”

She said the photo, shown above, was discoloured and the angles were all “zoomed in”.

“Our printed photo was really orange, it made us all redheads,” she said.

Ballantynes said it was taking the complaints “extremely seriously” and wanted to ensure every customer’s photo was perfect.

“We are working with customers individually by way of refund or whether they can retake the photo so that they are happy with the end result.”

The department store said it was investigating each complaint to make sure customers were satisfied.

“Going forward we will be doing quality checks with each customer to make sure they are getting the very best.”

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