Frustrating Vendors!

x3Harmony534

Has anyone else had any issues with potential vendors? I feel like 50% of the people I have contacted have completely ignored my inquiries. Even vendors who I have heard rave reviews on I have contacted to no avail. It is VERY frustrating!  We even had a catering appointment with one company & the woman didn't even show up! Her secretary apologized, took our info down, and promised they would be in touch ASAP... never heard a WORD back from them. Seriously? & this is a company I have heard good things from on this board! There are quite a few people I would be very interested in, but if communication is this poor this early on... I don't want to have to deal with this lack of communication a week before my wedding. Just wondering if this was commonplace and others have had similar situations. UGH.

stardust21587

OMG I know what you mean.

We havent had any problems lately, but when we first started out with planning, I talked to and/or emailed some people who never cared enough to return the call or whatever. The lady at Special Occasions in Melbourne that I was tlaking about on another post earlier, ...took down a list of everything I wanted to rent, quantity...size...everything, and said she'd email me the quote THAT DAY...never freaking got it, so I'm moving on. We had most of our issues with caterers. FI and I decided that if we had any vendor meeting and they were easy people to work with, then we'd book them regaurdless of price...its worth it to not have to worry on your wedding day!!

I feel the same way...if they're straight up rude to you, then don't bother....BUT, if they maybe just need a bit more time to get back to you during a busy time, then thats a diff story. GL !!!

x3Harmony534

Well the lady from Cuisiniers has had since ... hey it's been exactly 2 months... March 25 to contact me... so I don't feel like 2 months is appropriate "we've been busy" wait time, LOL. We booked our caterer even though they were the most expensive because like you said, they were easy to work with. They didn't waste our time (well... the did once for our 2nd appointment showing up late... but you can't win 'em all) & communication was great. I just can't believe how long people take. To me, a week is sufficient time. I won't even fuss with 2 weeks. But it has been well over 2 weeks for many vendors. I don't want to sound snotty but I don't feel like I should have to contact you multiple times in order to gain your business. I have plenty of options, I'll just move along. Ughhhh! It's like some people just don't want to be in business. 

AmorSiempre

I felt it in the beginning and things are really starting to come together. I would almost suggest hiring a wedding planner after the really 100s of hours I have put into to calls, visits, and meetings! lol, It is frustrating but try to be patient and good things will come

Sparkles03

I've only talked to a couple of photographers so far, but some of them are just plain rude. i.e. When I e-mailed this one guy about his prices, he responded that's weird. I was like wtf? How is asking what they cost weird?! I refuse to use any rude vendor, no matter how great their work is. It's not worth the stress!

ashbosity

I totally feel you on the caterers. I emailed John Michael's (not sure if this is who you are talking about) through their website three separate times, each atleast a week apart and never heard anything. I am going to try and email a specific person or call one more time and then after that, no more. It sucks though, because that's who I was most interested in their menu. Photographers all emailed me back within 3 days or so, although one took another week to actually get me the info I asked for. Hopefully, everyone will get their stuff together for us! Good luck!

Theresa626

It's happened to me before too but I never used those vendors.  However, it didn't happen to me with that many people.  Who did you email that came highly recommended but didn't respond?  The only thing I can say is that may and april are super busy wedding season.  

x3Harmony534

Vicki from Peddles florist hasn't emailed back yet.... & Cuisiniers ... well that was a big mess. & I can't even COUNT the number of cake people I have emailed... & nothin. lol As odd as it sounds though at least it's a little comforting to know I am not being targeted as the the victim for poor customer service. haha guess it's just an industry thing. *shrug* Not how I'd run my business but at least I've had some good luck with a few vendors. It makes the decision making process a lot easier when there are fewer options.

x3Harmony534

P.S. ashbosity YGM!

ashbosity

Weird, I got a response from Peddles the next day. She quoted me an amazing price, the same that I was budgeting for wholesale flowers and doing them myself. I'm not even going to look anymore because anywhere else I've looked has been double. Also, YGM back, x3Harmony534.

AlexiaANDRobert

Generally speaking, and depending on how you're wording your emails, if you're giving budget information, some vendors might now want to "waste their time."

While they do want your business, they're not starving for it.

If you're emailing, have you tried calling? If you're calling, have you tried emailing?  Are your emails professional?  Are you messages professional?

All these things can play into it.

Did you send one email/make one call and leave it?  Are you following up?  You're not the only person contacting these companies, especially if they've  been raved about, and it's wedding season.

I'm not saying their right, but it's just another way to look at things.

If I'm a super busy caterer and I get a really vague not well written email, I'm probably not going to be in a rush to reply to it.  Also, if you sent one email and didn't follow up, how do you know they even go it?

Also, bakers/florists don't usually spend as much time on a computer as caterers/planners/photogs.

Good luck.

AileeneG

Yeah, I had a lot of that, too. It is so frustrating when people just don't ever write you back. I had some people that I contacted 4 times with no response. Booking a cake was the worst experience as far as commuication.

But I agree, that is no way to run a business. I feel like if they are truly that busy, then they need to hire some help or something. Even if it takes a while to get quotes done or something like that, fine, but if you're too busy to even acknowledge the email, and say something along the lines of "Thanks for your interest, we'll get back to you within X amount of time", then that's a person I don't necessarily want to deal with  because they just don't have time for me.

I made the mistake of hiring someone that kind of went MIA on a couple of occasions, didn't have good communication from the beginning, and showed some signs of being kind of disorganized, but did good work as far as I could tell.  It ended up adding a LOT of extra stress on me the day before the wedding, because everything was being held up by this one vendor.

cjbwifey2010

I know what you mean...some of the vendors that we looked into didnt have the best communication skills. I understand that they are not "starving" for business, but if you're in such an industry like this, you would think that you would show the bride that you're willing to  communicate with them when they Do contact you, or at least have a generic "out of office" e-mail that at least lets ppl know you will get back to them at a later time.

I'm big on customer service because i will always give service of quality and excellence. I chewed out the 1st guy we had contact with for the house because he tried to give us a good impression by driving to tampa for us to re-sign the contracts and was really good about picking up and answering questions for the first few weeks but then it got to the point where we would call, leave a message and he STILL didnt reply after 2 weeks...if you start something off well, finish it off well. I dont appreciate half a$$ stuff! 

Same thing with vendors. If you're not going to be cordial, prompt (to my standards...like before 10 days) and responsible (by telling me you're going to do something today and then do it 4 days later then you're not going to be on my vendor list. I dont care how well recommended you come. So far, all the vendors we do have booked have either been FABULOUS or we've spoken to them on 1 occasion to make them understand what we want and they've done it. These are the ppl in the wedding industry that i respect.

Sorry so long...guess i had to vent! LOL 

mlharbis

I had the same problem with cake people. I had to send Eve two e-mails because she never got my first email. The first one I sent through her website and the second one I used the address and did it in my e-mail.

Vicky, like Alexia said, prob doesn't spend much time on the computer. It usually takes a full week for me to get an email back from her. Try calling her. She is really nice and had been great to work with so hopefully she will get back to you.

Alexia had some good points about emails and communications. Try following up on them. Don't give up. When you find a vendor you like just book them then and cross it off your list!

x3Harmony534

Ah well, it's definitely just not me! Back to the drawing board I go... I guess it's time for attempted contact... round two. I guess once CAN be forgivable for the right vendor. After this though... if I don't hear back... they're getting the boot lol Thanks for the moral support ladies. hehe

x3Harmony534

Redemption for Vicki from Peddles. lol I called & she picked up right away. Yayyy

mlharbis

Yay!!!!!! I LOVE her!

jmucheech21

Harmony, no, you are 100% correct.

I'm sorry, this is something that REALLY makes me mad.  As I've written here a bajillion times, my fiance is a photographer.  He NEVER EVER EVER EVER IN THE HISTORY OF HIS COMPANY EVER has gone more than 48 hours without responding to an inquiry.  That is just unacceptable.  Vendors are in a 100% customer service driven field and any vendor that does not respond to you within 2 months is ABSOLUTELY undeserving of your money.  Heck, I think any vendor that doesn't respond to me in 3 days is undeserving of my money, but if I really love them I have been known to give a week.

It is not being bratty or a bridezilla, it is knowing that you are going to spend a lot of money on your wedding and you deserve to have communication.  ESPECIALLY before you book.  My God, if they wait weeks/months to get back to you before you book, just imagine how they will act after they get your money!!

I think you did the right thing by moving on.  Whenever someone doesn't respond to me and I say "well, on the boards they always say vendors are bad about responding" Sam always reminds me "no, vendors that don't deserve your money are bad at responding.  Vendors that value their couples will respond."  I really think the industry is "that way" because people allow them to be that way by overlooking things.  

AmorSiempre

It's really annoying. Cuisiners was rude to me even after getting an appointment, so you may not be missing out there. She treated us like we were beneath her when we told her our budget, like this is the "budget package" Money is money and that is not the correct way to treat anyone.

Vicki gave me a really high estimate, which surprises me considering most of you guys said she was cheaper.
DAVID AT CARLY ANE's is AWESOME Harmony! It was a fun and interactive appointment and he was a really nice guy!

Just keep booking, we are all there with ya!

x3Harmony534

Sounds like they really need to revamp their customer service, wow. Did David give you a better estimate? Thanks for the recommendation!

nhshorty

Our experience with Cuisiners was the same.  Although she wasn't a "no-show", it might have been more pleasant if she had. Cold, disinterested, disengaged.....we couldn't get out of there fast enough. 

ashbosity

Update: John Michael's emailed me within like 2 days and apologized several times for the frustration that the website may have caused. Their next tasting is on Father's Day, however, which I find a bad idea. After all the comments, I think I will knock Cuisiners off my list. I tasted some of their stuff at the bridal show and it was not very good. I am still waiting to hear back from River City. I know Alexia had a really good experience with them.

genevievenavarro

This is exactly the board that I was looking for. Needed to vent. I had been in contact with a vendor for about a week with regular emails. She told me that there would be a small travel fee because she was coming from Orlando to Cocoa Beach then asked me what package I was interested in and where my reception was. I told her that I hadn't secured the reception site yet. I would putting all of my deposits down in July but I thought it would probably be the Courtyard. I told her that I would most likely be interested in her $1000 package for now but I was trying to work my budget out to get a larger package because I loved her work. I did not hear from her for a week so I emailed her to ensure that she got my message. I got an emial back a couple of hours later saying that she couldn't do my wedding because she didn't want my "details to suffer". This tells me that my reception site was not good enough for her and I did not make enough money. Looking back, when I saw her blogg it was all about her customers that were doctors and stuff. This is insulting. I may not be a doctor or royalty but if she puts out package prices and I am willing to pay them I don't see the problem.

Alisonrv

Hi! Could you let me know if Peddles works out for you? I am looking for affordable flowers too.. do they have a website? Where are you guys getting married? My fiance is a chef for a catering company and he is wonderful (i'm not just saying that because I love him, lol!) The company is great, affordable and very professional...  Let me know if you still need a reliable caterer :~)  We are just starting our wedding planning and just like most, we are on a very tight budget as well.... I hate the wonderful attention vendors give you until you tell them your budget then they all seem to just ignore you! I agree with the previous post about the photography..... there was this one photography vendor that we liked and on her website she states not to be shy about asking for a quote and that she works with all kinds of budgets so I contacted her via email and she brushed me off stating that she won't work with anyone under $2000.00! What happen to customer service?

genevievenavarro

Wow. You know I saw that advertisement. I'm glad I didn't enquire on that one. I don't think I could have handled another rude vendor at that point. I have just decided to have my friend, who is a professional photographer, do our pics. She is amazing. I just didn't want her to have to drive 3 hours to Cocoa Beach but she doesn't mind. She is trying to build a new portfolio anyway. I'm glad I'm not alone. Thanks ladies!