Boro Park Snapshot: Photo Factory
After Yossi Nagel got married, he was busy with a few odd
jobs here and there, until he landed a job with Reb Shaya Pearl of Pearl Photo’s
in the World Financial Center in Manhattan.
After ten years of experience in the business, in 1999, he opened
his own store in Boro Park called it the Photo Factory.
He opened at 4324 15th avenue and has been there
ever since.
Mr. Nagel started with film developing but overtime, as
technology progressed, he switched over to digital printing. He says there is
no longer a market for the film.
“All of our customers are heimishe people and mainly consist
of teenagers.” Mr. Nagel told Heshy Rubinstein of Boropark24.com.
In order to make sure the store remains a fully kosher and
safe environment for the many boys and girls that come in everyday, Yossi goes
out of his way and removes the inappropriate pictures that are placed in the
frames he sells and replaces them with pictures of rabanim.
You may be asking yourself why Photo Factory is so
successful or why they stand out amongst others in the business and its because
they have so much more to offer.
The most important thing they provide is privacy. Photo
Factory prides themselves on this. The first thing they tell their employees
when they are hired is that they must respect customer discretion.
“Many rebbishe families use me because they know they can
trust me. If they want to have private wedding pictures printed, they do it
here because they know it won’t be sent out or discussed.”
People come to have pictures printed for medical and legal
reasons and they specifically do it here because they know it will not be
shared.
Experience. Another huge component in the Success of Photo
Factory. When a store is running for so many years you know they must be good
at what they do. The only way a business can survive is if they excel in their
area of expertise.
When do you start to succeed at something? When you are
doing that thing for a long time. Photo Factory has been printing pictures for
over 20 years. You can trust that they know what they are doing.
On the second floor of the store, there is an entire gift
shop of items you can add pictures to. You can choose from pillows, mugs, calendars
and so much more.
The store has 20 kiosks for customers to edit photos on
their own. You can add filters and borders and clip art. You can also add Hebrew
and English letter texts.
After you are done personalizing all your pictures you send
it straight to the printer for express assistance.
The service at the store is impeccable. Every employee is
always super friendly and helpful. Its almost as if they make that a
requirement when hiring.
Yossi’s brother in law, Mendel Reich A”H, worked at the
store for 13 years. He ran the store like it was his own. He made sure everything
was always run perfectly and efficiently. “He was always so sociable and
gracious; people came into the store just to speak to him.” Said Yossi, “His
neshama should have an aliah.”
There was another man named Ezra Lichtenstater who used to
work for Yossi for many years. He too stood out as an exceptionally beloved
worker. Heshy Rubinstein recalls a time he walked in for a quick stop, he
bumped into Ezra and was in the store for 45 minutes engrossed in conversation.
Yossi Nagel is also a Hatzolah member who puts saving
people’s lives above all else.
Benyomin Axelrad, an 8-year Photo Factory Worker, says “A
man told me, before I started working here, that he walked in and no one was there,
it was empty. After a few minutes of waiting, Yossi walked in and said he was
out on a Hatzolah call.” Mr. Nagel left the store open without anyone there to
keep an eye on it because he knew someone needed his help and in that moment
nothing else mattered.
Photo Factory is a place where you are greeted with a smile,
where you always feel welcomed and a where customer service is the only thing
that matters.
For more information and inquires email [email protected]
To print pictures online you can visit the Photo Factory Website at photofactorypix.com