Navy Exchange Photo Lab - Great Lakes, Illinois

Uver Gonzalez

Won’t answer calls, won’t answer emails. They sent me the wrong Cruise Book and I have yet to receive the correct one that I payed for.

Rye Nye

I’m really just disappointed with my service here. I know they deal with a lot of photos daily, and I appreciate them, but they should have a better system. Representatives on the phone also offer no type of information. I got a lot of “I don’t know” on the phone when I called.

Nick Mason

Great photo lab, I delt with ava, she was very professional and helped with all of the questions that I had. She had me in and out in no time. Would definitely go back! Great service!!

Litonite Rush

Poor service and failure to respond in a timely manner.

I graduated Navy basic back in July, and because of the pandemic we were unable to pick up our orders before we left Great Lakes. We were told to finish ordering online, so I sent an email a month later while in A school. I called after waiting a few weeks with no response, and I was told to include my credit card info next time.

So I sent a second email. Weeks later, after still getting no response, I was forced to call the photo lab again to ask about orders, only to learn that Diana, the woman in charge of orders, leaves at 1500 on workdays, and that she was the one I should speak to to discuss orders. But because I was in A school, I couldn't get home before 1500 to call her most days.

Then I sent a third email requesting to be notified whenever they began processing my order. Finally I get a response saying that this is the first email they've gotten from me, which means they don't properly check their emails before deleting them, or they didn't care enough to give a response to my previous emails.

I sent a fourth email to Diana directly and, again, got no response. Eventually I call again and learn that they no longer have my original orders, so I have to fill out a new order form, and that I'm no longer able to get the cruise book that comes with the $140 package because it's been so long, no thanks to them ignoring me every chance they get. Apparently they don't give cruise books to anyone ordering after the first month after graduation.

My blood is boiling as I write this. Never in my life have I been so angry to leave a negative review. It's bad enough we weren't allowed to wear dress uniforms for our photos because the tailors weren't available. It's bad enough they price gouge by making us pay for expensive packages if we want photos at all. But then they can't even deliver on what was promised even though it's their damn fault for not getting back to me in a timely manner. And really, they should've given us a longer window of time to order cruise books, or at the very least let us know ahead of time what the deadline was. The least they could do was be a little more considerate of the sailors who couldn't get their photos in time. Getting a cruisebook was very important to me, and now I'll never have those pictures of my boot camp experience.

I understand that with the current pandemic, service can be a bit slow, but that's not an excuse for being this utterly incompetent. And I know I'm not the only one who's received less than satisfactory service from them. Another girl from my division had to order her photos twice and then wait weeks for a response before she had to call them like I did because the staff was dragging their feet in helping her. What a surprise. And chances are, she's not getting a cruise book either. At this point, they should just set up a website for inquiries about orders and the like as well as an online store. I'm sure they'd find it very profitable and convenient, instead of having to go through emails because they're clearly not good at that sort of thing. I'm furious. This is absolutely unacceptable!

Edit: Since writing this review I managed to get in contact with Diana. My photos were finally delivered and she even found a cruise book for me. They still messed up the order a little and I had to contact them once more and get my cruise book sent to me, but I did get everything I ordered in the end. I'm not going to change the 1-star rating however due to the amount of trouble I had to go through.

My advice to other sailors who didn't get to pick up their photos is to email them ASAP and to call them if you don't get a response within a week. DON'T BE "NICE" AND KEEP WAITING. IF YOU GET NO RESPONSE, CALL THEM ABOUT YOUR ORDERS. THE LONGER YOU WAIT, THE MORE LIKELY THEY WON'T HAVE WHAT YOU WANTED AND THE HARDER IT WILL BE FOR THEM TO HELP YOU. REMEMBER, OTHER DIVISIONS ARE GRADUATING ALL THE TIME AND YOU WILL NO LONGER BE THE PRIORITY IF YOU TAKE TOO LONG TO ORDER YOUR PHOTOS.

Rebecca Spenelli

Was pleasantly surprised at the wide varieties of products offered here aside from Navy Wear. Although they do have a lot of US Navy product for sale there wasn't much of a variety in stock. Was looking for a proud Mom of a Navy sailor shirt and the only option was hot pink. Not even in Navy Colors. Would have like to have seen more options like bumper stickers, mugs, Christmas Ornaments, Etc. You know the stereo typical memorabilia stuff. This may not be the fault of the store, I fully understand the inventory issues going on during the pandemic. Definitely worth it to go take a look and see if they have something that interests your family.

Steel Carpentry

I was here to exchange an electric shave that stopped working while I was a navy recruit. One of the staff there named Amanda was very disrespectful and condescending. She belittled me and told me she wasnt going to exchange my item even after I showed her the back of the receipt that stated I had 45 days to exchange. She told me if I didnt leave immediately she would call a RDC to come a deal with me. I asked to speak to a manager, when Angel a supervisor arrived she tried to exchange the item for me but Amanda butted in a told Angel she couldnt exchange my item. I was confused because I have never seen an employee telling their manager what to do, but I later found out that the manager Angel was new at the store and was still being trained at the position. Angel apologized to me for Amanda's behavior and told me to return the following day when the boss Angie was present. I left the store and promised to report Amanda for her unprofessionalism when I graduated bootcamp. This experience was by far the most embarrassing experience I've ever had.

Tracy Tipton

Tried to call to check on my sons pictures. There was a miscommunication apparently picking them up. They wouldn’t help me, said my son needed to call. Terrible attitude!

George Taylor

The recruit store is awesome. Very professionally managed by Angela Burch. Her staff are professional and polite. Facility is in excellent condition for a building its age.