My wife and I were gifted a vacation with a dear cousin who is a rare book dealer. We wanted to make a photo album of a quality commensurate with the gift and that would be appreciated by someone who has spent her life in the rare book world. I searched online and immediately hit on the New York Times review that selected Mixbook as the go-to vendor for a high-quality product. Their website claims "100% happiness guaranteed." I looked no further, and accepted the recommendation on Mixbook's website that a high-travel book should be 14x11 hardcover with "signature matte" paper and finish. The quoted cost was $345, but with a supplied coupon and after tax, the total was $183. I had no issues with that. When the book arrived, the first thing I saw was the back cover, which looked like dirty wet cardboard. But of greater concern was that the photo quality was mediocre, looking washed-out and with colors that didn't pop. Everything looked MUCH better on the computer screen when I was assembling the album. Photos that I have printed at my local CVS look better than this album. I have a calendar hanging in my kitchen done in small batches by a friend of her son's photos that pop more than the photos in the album. I expected it to look much better for $183. I couldn't find a phone number for Mixbook, so I used their online chat and reported the issues. The representative said (well, typed) that the cover finish was one that I'd selected. Okay, I'll accept that, but I pressed the issue of the photo quality. She said that there was nothing they could do about it because no changes can be made after 20 minutes have passed for project submission. I'm not sure how she could confuse an in-process project with a completed book I was holding in my hand. I again explained that I found the photo quality disappointing, and wanted to invoke the "100% happiness guarantee" that their emails so cheerfully promise, and would like the book to be reprinted on "Premium Lustre" paper (which, elsewhere on their website, says "combines vibrant colors with a rich texture," and "Brilliant color depth & clarity") and that I'd pay the difference, which looked to be about $50. She said no, and that the best they could do was offer me a 50% off coupon on the order of another book. Stunned, I said that I needed to speak on the phone with someone who could actually come through with the "happiness guarantee" in their emails. She gave me the customer service phone number. I called immediately, it went straight to hold, and after no one answered for an hour, I hung up. I then emailed this entire story to their support email, reiterating that someone needed to call me. No one ever has. There have been multiple emails back and forth where I've been told the same "no" and that I need to call and leave a message in order for someone to call me back. I did. They didn't. When I threatened to write this review unless, by the end of the day today, someone either sent me an email saying that a new copy is being printed on Premium Lustre paper and an invoice for the approximately $50 difference is being sent me, or called me by the end of the day (today) to discuss the problem, I received an email, a portion of which added that "We can request a refund to our team, we will let them review further your concern as a courtesy and we will get back to you within 24-48 hours to share an update." I replied: "To be clear, are you refusing to do what I'm asking, which is to: 1) Have someone call me to discuss whether reprinting the book on Premium Lustre paper will make the photos look better, and 2) Then preprint the book on Premium Lustre Paper and charge me the difference?" FOR THE FOURTH TIME, PLEASE CALL ME." I then received the following email, portions of which are excerpted: "Could you please take a picture of your actual photo book when you received it and also can visible the error from it? I will use it as my reference and proof as well. Looking forward to hear from you. Also, as of now our call line is not available we've encountered a system issue that's why we can't be able to call you as much as we want, but don't worry we're still working on it for us to be have available the call line and I will personally call you once the issue is resolved. Thank you for understanding." I have sent them photos of a sample printed page as well as the much more colorful image files that went into it. We'll see what happens. After four days of this, I received this email: "Thank you for your understanding. We would be happy to request a replacement reprint for your order. However, please be aware that our internal reprint process allows us to reproduce the order with the same specifications as your initial order. This means the paper type, cover finish, and other selections from your original design will be retained. If you would prefer to make changes to the specifications of your book, such as a different paper type, we can certainly forward your case to our refund team. They will be able to discuss alternative options with you, which may involve a refund for the original order, allowing you to create a new project with your desired specifications." In other words, FOR FOUR DAYS, I WAS CORRESPONDING WITH A BRANCH OF THE COMPANY WHO WERE NEVER CAPABLE OF ADDRESSING MY PROBLEM TO BEGIN WITH. I have requested a refund. I cannot for the life of me understand how a company that's riding high on a New York Times recommendation for a high-quality photo album, a company that promises "100% happiness guarantee" in their emails, has customer support this awful.