If You Like Wasting Time and Killing Dreams, Walgreens Photo Center is For You!
If you're looking to add a little spice to your life in the form of panic, disappointment, and the slow unraveling of international travel plans--boy, do I have the passport photo adventure for you.
We started at the Walgreens near Lynch & North Green River in Evansville, trying to get passport photos for our 5-year-old and 9-month-old. I asked the guy taking the photos if the setup was correct--because, you know, white chair backs in the background are a no-no--and he said it passed their little "automated checker," so it must be fine. (Spoiler alert: It wasn't.)
Fast-forward to our passport drop-off appointment on May 14th--after waiting nearly a week and paying for expedited everything--only to be told that both photos would be rejected. The baby's photo had a chair clearly visible behind her, and my son's was cropped so tight it looked like a mugshot for someone with a particularly tall forehead.
The kind woman helping us at the passport agency said if we ran to get new pictures and came right back, we could still make our appointment. Cue me, sprinting with two kids to the Walgreens in Newburgh on Hwy 66.
What I found was four people in line at the photo counter... buying candy bars and Tylenol. When it was finally my turn, I explained--nicely but urgently--that this was an emergency. The young lady helping me must moonlight as a DMV instructor because she had all the warmth and flexibility of a brick wall. She informed me that she was the only one working and she would help me... but only after taking care of other customers first. You know, because my toddler's passport picture wasn't important--unlike Jim buying deodorant.
When I (still politely) said I understood but begged for urgency because our entire trip depended on it, she got testy. I said, "No need to be snippy," and then she fully transformed into the final boss of Walgreens attitude. She told me she didn't have to help me at all (which I guess is true, but maybe not great customer service policy?), and called someone from the back.
Enter a deer-in-the-headlights teenage boy who claimed he wasn't a professional--which, again, is fair--but I wasn't asking for a photoshoot. I just needed a passport photo, which Walgreens advertises they do. He fumbled with a giant piece of cardboard, shoved the camera six inches from my baby's face, adjusted, refocused, adjusted again, zoomed, leaned back, leaned in, and looked like he was trying to operate NASA equipment, not a point-and-shoot camera. Out of sheer frustration, I finally said, "Just snap the picture," because it genuinely looked like he had no idea how to... take a photo.
He eventually gave up, said he didn't know what he was doing, and I realized our appointment window had officially closed.
I picked up my baby, called for my son, and began to walk out when he told me "you can go." Thanks, buddy--I was.
Not my proudest parenting moment, but I did tell him he was a moron on the way out. (Therapy will sort that out later.)
Here's the kicker: I then went to CVS in Evansville. They had the exact same white cardboard, laid the baby on it, took one photo, and nailed it on the first try. No drama, no eye rolls, no attitude--just competence.
We didn't have to cancel our travel plans, thank goodness, but I did have to reschedule the passport drop-off appointment, which meant taking off work and pulling my son out of school--all because two Walgreens locations couldn't figure out how to take a simple photo.
Never again. If your vacation--or your sanity--depends on passport photos, skip Walgreens. Trust me, your blood pressure will thank you. read more