Hearing back from potential vendors?

caiters91 · April 2013

I e-mailed a baker about wedding cake prices over two weeks ago and still have not heard anything back. I e-mailed two photographers and one caterer on Sunday and have yet to recieve a reply from either of them. The caterer said if an e-mail hadn't been responded to within three business days to resend it so I think I'll e-mail them again tomorrow if I still haven't heard anything. Maybe I'm just being impatient, but is this normal?

Maggie0829 · April 2013

Have you ever considered picking up the phone and calling?

Emails are easily overlooked or ignored. I know many people at my work that tend to overlook emails because they are no longer on the part of the feed that they can see so they just don't respond.

caiters91 · April 2013

All of them said to inquire by e-mail.

Summer2011Bride · April 2013

Even if they said to inquire by e-mail, if they weren't responding and it had been weeks, I would probably call them. It is very possible it went in their spam folder or didn't go through for whatever reason. You could try re-sending the e-mails but if you didn't hear back from that, I would either check into other vendors (because you want to make sure they will get back to you when working with them), or call.

MuppetFan · April 2013

I am an e-mailer. I do most of my business through e-mail. I e-mail , e-mail, e-mail all morning and if I don't have responses by the afternoon, I typically start making phone calls...and if time passes and I don't have a call back, I will call someone else there....and then I follow up with an e-mail confirming our phone call. I have to deal with a lot of contracts. I like having everything in writing.

If you're not getting through one method, don't keep trying the same method. They people might not be big e-mailers.

Now, if you contact them a few ways and they're not getting back to you, time to move on.

AJuliaNJ · April 2013

All the vendors we used responded pretty much immediately. These are businesspeople and they should be used to working over e-mail. I have trouble believing that 3 different vendors did not receive your e-mail. When working with a business that relies on people contacting them, that is really a one in a thousand kind of occurrence. It's more likely that they didn't have time or didn't care to read or respond.

If I e-mailed a vendor and didn't hear back after 3 days, I would move on if they were just a random I found on the internet, and try e-mailing them again or calling if they were the vendor of my dreams. After a second contact with no response, they are off of my list. I hate working with people who are unresponsive.

OwningAHome1981 · April 2013

I don't give anyone business who doesn't respond promptly. It's just bad business and if they can't respond before you book them, how are they going to be after you book them. I just want to save myself from unnecessary stress, so I only booked vendors with fast communication.

I am not saying they have to respond right away but they should respond within a few days. It is very rude not to, IMO, especially when you as a vendor are dealing with someone else's money.

KimandByron · April 2013

If I email someone at the end of the week I give them through the weekend because they may be busy with an event but if they don't respond after that I move on. If they want my business they will be prompt in responding.

MarieeWeddings · April 2013

Vendors should respond within 48 hours. Key word- should. If they don't respond, resend the e-mail. The e-mail could get caught in spam or even overlooked. Good luck!!

hordol · April 2013

I contacted all my possible vendors through email and although there were a couple that didn't reply, that just meant that I ultimately did not choose them. It is highly unprofessional to ignore emails, so I disagree with the people that say you *need* to call them. If you are dead set on a certain vendor and they haven't responded to your email, then sure--give them a call. Otherwise I would just move on. I would assume you want highly professional vendors anyway that you know you can count on for a timely response.

Maggie0829 · April 2013

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_hearing-back-from-potential-vendors?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:5Discussion:01c4325b-faaf-4205-be0f-994c44fd9ec9Post:c416c005-8842-487d-a61f-135c831f7f51">Re: Hearing back from potential vendors?</a>:
[QUOTE]I contacted all my possible vendors through email and although there were a couple that didn't reply, that just meant that I ultimately did not choose them. It is highly unprofessional to ignore emails, so I disagree with the people that say you *need* to call them. If you are dead set on a certain vendor and they haven't responded to your email, then sure--give them a call. Otherwise I would just move on. I would assume you want highly professional vendors anyway that you know you can count on for a timely response. :)
Posted by hordol[/QUOTE]

So you are telling me that you have never accidentedly overlooked an email or two in your life, ever?

Just because you didn't get a response to your email doesn't mean that they ignored it. It could have gone to their junk box, it could have not made it there at all, it could have accidentedly been deleted or moved to a different folder. Emails are not fail proof, that is why there are other forms of communication, like the phone, where you can talk to a real life person.

hordol · April 2013

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_hearing-back-from-potential-vendors?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:5Discussion:01c4325b-faaf-4205-be0f-994c44fd9ec9Post:d6bef402-c8a0-469b-bda2-34f1538c0315">Re: Hearing back from potential vendors?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Hearing back from potential vendors? : So you are telling me that you have never accidentedly overlooked an email or two in your life, ever? Just because you didn't get a response to your email doesn't mean that they ignored it. It could have gone to their junk box, it could have not made it there at all, it could have accidentedly been deleted or moved to a different folder. Emails are not fail proof, that is why there are other forms of communication, like the phone, where you can talk to a real life person.
Posted by Maggie0829[/QUOTE]

<div>Ok.</div>

Ella and Pedro · April 2013

I would wonder if there was something you were either not saying in the email, or something you were saying in the email which did not inspire a response for three vendors.

If it was one vendor, I'd say it was them making an oversight. Two, maybe. Three? I think it may be that the way you have worded things, or ....um...not worded carefully? has been an obstacle. Just a guess. Sorry if I am wrong.

Perhaps you should go back to see if there was any way in which your e-mails may have not inspired a response.

Were they really long? A great deal of reading for a business e-mail may not have been something they felt they could deal with.

Were you vague about money or did you imply you have no money (even in jest?)

Did you leave off key information?

Again, just thoughts.

Hearing back from potential vendors?

Re: Hearing back from potential vendors?

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