Call back etiquette

Plumbb2

 I’m stressing. My wedding is Oct 20^th 2012 and I don’t have a caterer yet. The wedding will be at my fiancé’s parent’s house and they live in the boonies. The closest town is Columbia, SC. We want to do BBQ but want it to look nice, no throw away plates or tin foil chafing trays. I found a caterer who would travel and did this type of BBQ.. The only problem is I can’t get her to call me back!  I called 2 times months ago and left a message with a staff member and never got called back, so I gave up on her. I looked elsewhere and couldn’t find what I wanted so went back to her. I called last week and she called me back Monday and left a message. I called her back on Tuesday and talked to her and she said she was at an event and would call me back on Wednesday. Now it’s Friday and still no call. Am I being too anal or is this a bad sign? How long should I give her? Should I call her back?

sparent2010

Can you email her?

achiduck

Yes, I would call her but keep it casual - don't accuse her of taking too long to get back to you.

myname1234

If she doesn't even return a call (which gives her business no less!), I'd personally be a bit worried about her actually showing up. 

ECook25

Can you go to her office in person?

I imagine Thursday-Sunday are super busy for caterers, but maybe you can stop by her office Monday-Wednesday.

Hang in there, I know it's tough when they don't get back to you!

Plumbb2

I'm actually out of town so I can't go by her office and I have not gotten an email address from her yet. I haven't been able to talk to her long enough to get one.

ElisabethJoanne

It's a bad, but, in our experience, typical sign. The caterers we contacted were all "artistes" (even the inexpensive ones). Bad with returning e-mails, bad with wording contracts, etc.

I managed to do lots via e-mail, though they all wanted calls after the first e-mail. Eventually, I learned to tell them that just doesn't work with my office hours. Going forward, I'm very tempted to make up a hearing problem.

blgrout

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_call-back-etiquette?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:bca1daf5-34c0-4a1e-8f51-6499567955bePost:884d903a-a0e1-4d8f-bd76-c67e5b97c1d7">Re: Call back etiquette</a>:
[QUOTE]If she doesn't even return a call (which gives her business no less!), I'd personally be a bit worried about her actually showing up. 
Posted by myname1234[/QUOTE]

That was my first thought.

TheNick

I would be a little worried too. I don't think you are being unreasonable with her calling you back... this is your wedding after all. Maybe see if she has any references (if you can get a hold of her) and if so, see if you can get into contact with any of them to get their opinion.
Good luck!