Lapses in communication with vendors

[Mjay]

I’ve been communicating with a vendor via email. Im beyond excited about the project but communication has gotten slower and slower between emails. It’s driving me insane. I don’t want to nag, but Im getting a bit worked up over it. The first two responses were about 2 days out- totally fine. Then 3 days out and now it’s been almost 5 days without a response. Im not used to such slow response times. I’m ready to pay a deposit and I just feel frustrated and discouraged. I’m beyond excited about the project and have been driving myself neurotic checking my email. I want to be courteous and the vendor is probably just busy, but it’s giving me a lot of anxiety. I don’t want to come across as rude but at what point do you nag, or phone, or just give up and move along? How long would you guys consider to long between communications? Do you think I being impatient or is this reasonable?

 

[whitewave]

Well, valentine’s day is coming up. I would say send another something on day 4.

 

[mrsctobe]

To be honest I had this issue with both whiteflash and DK. With whiteflash, I moved along because I expected alot better customer service. With DK I was a bit more patient because I found out he was ill at the time, and once he finally responded (after 1-2 weeks), he was pretty quick. I think if a designer makes a really unique ring that you REALLY want, then you may need to address them directly about timelines and responses. If not, then move on -- you're paying for the ring, and customer service shouldnt be disappointing

 

[Rockdiamond]

From a vendor perspective- I totally get the frustration of unanswered emails....that's terrible.
Generally, I find this frustrating because the bulk of places I buy from on Amazon-and even larger, more reputable companies have non existent phone numbers- or make you wade through miles of push 1 for this, 2 for that..... ARGHH!!!
But many jewelry companies are far easier to deal with on the phone...if it's a piece you're excited about- and you can get in touch by phone, spend the .25cents and get it over with

( And to put al the cards on the table: I have to admit I've also been guilty of taking too long to answer emails at times... it happens- thankfully people will reach out most of the time, so a correction is easy)

 

[Mjay]

From a vendor perspective- I totally get the frustration of unanswered emails....that's terrible.
Generally, I find this frustrating because the bulk of places I buy from on Amazon-and even larger, more reputable companies have non existent phone numbers- or make you wade through miles of push 1 for this, 2 for that..... ARGHH!!!
But many jewelry companies are far easier to deal with on the phone...if it's a piece you're excited about- and you can get in touch by phone, spend the .25cents and get it over with

( And to put al the cards on the table: I have to admit I've also been guilty of taking too long to answer emails at times... it happens- thankfully people will reach out most of the time, so a correction is easy)

Thank you. I really appreciate hearing a vendors perspective. One of my personality flaws is fear of bothering or inconveniencing people, especially if they’re busy. I’ll give it another day and then a phone call before I decide to move on.

 

[Rockdiamond]

They should be very happy when you call..... if they want your business.
And if they don't... too bad for them- there are surely others who will want your business

 

[molecule]

Perhaps ask the vendor what mode of communication works best for them.

 

[Lookinagain]

I think response time often depends on the vendor and some are quicker than others to answer emails. I think there a plenty of posts on here to give you an idea of which vendors tend to take longer to respond and it helps to be aware of this before you start a project. A phone call probably helps with some of them, and others not so much. I'd try the phone and see if that works with your vendor. If not, they may not be a good match for you.

 

[theredspinel]

I can’t comprehend being in a business where the beginning middle and end of earning your $$ is based upon comms with your customer… whilst being bad or slow at comms. Unless someone suddenly drops down sick, or has a death or something else equally huge, it’s just polite to say “I’m unwell, I’m going to be slow over the coming week” etc at the beginning so other adults don’t have to hound you or chase after you like one chases a toddler.

Poor communication due to disorganisation or just lazy work ethic always result in me moving on (not saying this is the case here op). But this also goes the other way, poor comms from a customer are equally rude! For eg. When I ask sellers on any platforms questions, and get a response, even if I won’t be moving forward I feel it’s the right thing to do to acknowledge their answers and thank them again for their time.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

If my email is just a simple question, I would expect it to be answered within 48 hours. (Obviously it might take longer if they have to find out information from a bench, supplier, etc.) If the person is not working, their email should have an automated reply for when they'll be back. I do realize sometimes an email gets buried and I forget to reply. So basically, if I want to do business with that vendor, I would email again if I hadn't heard back in a couple of days.

 

[Lookinagain]

I agree to all of this in theory but I also recognize that although some vendors are "in business" some really aren't in the way normal businesses tend to work. They deem themselves artists, which they may be, and their focus is on their art, and not their business. Art first, business second. So when I deal with someone who is considered more of an artist, than a jeweler in business, I expect something different. I'm not saying its right or wrong, I'm just saying that it seems that way to me.

 

[newdiamondworld]

Personally I think if you are being charged a lot of money you should expect at least somewhat professional behaviour in return. Some of very well known PS vendors act extremely unprofessionally and they still get away with it. Most people don’t go to them again though.

 

[seaurchin]

On the one hand, I know it can be frustrating to wait, especially when you don't know if they just haven't gotten around to you yet or if your message was completely overlooked and you're waiting for nothing.

On the other hand, especially during peak times, as you said they're probably busy actually producing jewelry and communicating about it comes second. I'd imagine communicating could really gobble up their workdays if left up to customer and potential customer demand. Every single customer is probably eager to get their piece going and finished ASAP.

It would be ideal if there was a policy that was stated and followed, such as getting back to you within 48 hours, or a system where you could check what number you were in the queue of those who were waiting to be answered. Or if they even put up a notice that there was a hold on taking on new projects until they got caught up.

But in reality, I think adopting a rather laid back approach is necessary to staying sane and happy when having any kind of custom work done (jewelry or other). Which is easier said than done...

Maybe come up with your own policy of how many days you will wait before contacting them again. Someone above said four days. That sounds like a reasonable number to me. Good luck with it!

 

[Wink]

I know how frustrating it can be to leave a message and not get a quick return call.

I always tried to have all calls returned within 24 hours. Notice, I said tried. Sometimes, when trying to look up information to respond appropriately, it took longer. Sometimes, if I made the mistake of trusting the call back to my memory, it got lost in the shuffle.

Now that I am preparing to work again, I have a couple of large white boards on which to write incoming and outgoing calls and must take care of items. It is amazing to me how much the use of them improves my "memory."

I do know this though. All of my competitors and myself WANT to take proper care of you. Sometimes it is simply impossible to properly take care of the influx of lebenty seben new jobs and inquiries coming in when there are only lebenty one trained people to handle them along with all of the existing jobs. It takes time, lots of time, to properly train new associates, and there is a HUGE deficit of people willing to do the work to become a good to great associate.

My recommendation is this; if you feel you are not being paid proper attention to, let management know. They will do their best to clear the decks so that you receive proper care, and if necessary, ask a new associate to work with you.

Consider this, you mention that you are ready to make a deposit. From your post above, it looks like you have had several conversations and have been happy with the responses, although concerned about the increasing length of time between them.

Does your sales associate know that you are ready to move forward? Although it is totally unfair, you may be dealing with someone who is under water busy and who may not know you are ready to go forward. There are a surprising number of people who call and call and call, yet never move forward, only to call a year or two later to do it again. If your associate has mistakenly pigeon holed you into this category, it can unfairly slow down, or prevent further communications.

This is part of the reason I suggest letting management know. Management can find out if you need a new associate or if there is something they can do to help your current associate give you the care you deserve.

Sincerely,

Wink

 

[Karl_K]

To be honest if you dealing with a one person shop you can expect communication slow downs and hitches at times.
No matter how hard they work its going to happen.
They have to get the work out the door first.
I cut them more slack.
A bigger outfit with multiple staff I hold to a higher standard.