Contacting suppliers

Maybe give it until Friday and try ringing to confirm she got your details?

I've had that happen with a few suppliers, and quite frankly, if they take over a week to reply to me offering them business then I'm not keen on them. It's especially unprofessional if their site says they'll get back to you within x amount of days and that doesn't happen.

Does she have a business facebook? Might be worth checking in case she's on holiday?

Yeh, that was (reluctantly) my thinking too. The photographers I emailed replied within a few hours. She posted on her business Facebook page over the weekend so doesn't seem to be on holiday. I think I will give her a few more days and then phone her.

Be sure to check your junk/spam box especially if you have a hotmail/gmail/yahoo account. It is becoming increasingly frustrating with them ending up in the spam box for suppliers.

I used to track my replies and you would be amazed at how many weren't even opened. Out of all the ones that i had phone numbers for i gave a courtesy call and everyone had been placed in junk.

I know this happens to a number of other suppliers.

Lots of mail goes into junk especially with hotmail. I check mine every time I check mail. OH never checks his and was going mad about a company that weren't replying to him, they were all in there!

No phone number to call?

If you really like her work, then a follow up email or call is worthwhile. If she doesn't respond to your second attempt in good time, I would strike her off the list.

When I was doing initial enquiries for suppliers, if I hadn't heard from someone within three days they got crossed off my list - unless I had struggled to find lots of suppliers within the area/budget.

I don't believe we should have to chase suppliers - I find it unprofessional.

In general yes, if someone hasn't replied within a day, maybe two then that would also put me off.

However, with aggressive spam filters I have often found emails can end up never arriving. I had one recently where I nearly lost a customer because they thought I hadn't replied. My first mail must have somehow ended up in the spam folder but my second follow up made it through.

So check your spam folder first just in case. If nothing is there then I would agree to move on.

Nothing in my Junk folder, I’m afraid – I don’t get much junk mail so I check it whenever I see I’ve got something new in case it’s something relevant that has gone astray.

It could be something as simple as you mis spelling an email address.

Don't cross people off the list too quick, give them a nudge and see. If they don't respond a second time then i wouldn't waste anymore time.

There could be lots of reasons why, maybe pop her a message on her Facebook page just saying that you emailed last week.
Hope you get it sorted

I've had a similar problem.

The lady I want to do my hair, I initially tried to call her but she was never in the studio or just never answered the phone. I emailed her instead and got an email back within 48 hours asking for my address so she could send me the relevant information. I sent it to her and waited a week and received nothing through the post. I emailed her again and she apologised and said she had missed my email. Fair enough. Then I waited a further week and still received nothing, so I emailed her again, and no answer. I waited a further 5 days when I finally got the information through the post. I emailed her again to let her know I had received the information, but no reply. I then emailed her again to say that I had filled in the form she asked of me and had sent it back through the post, and I've had no reply to that either.

You may wonder why I'm bothering... well I've seen she's good, and she's in-house to the venue I'll be getting married in. So her studio is right there in the same building. She's the obvious choice, but this is starting to get annoying! :-(

I would say email again. There's no harm in trying?

Thought I'd give an update - I have since sent a follow-up email and phoned and left a message on her mobile, but have had no contact at all. I've also emailed, follow-up emailed and left a message for ANOTHER hair and MUA and also had no contact! Is it me?! I've pretty much given up on them, and am a bit worried because I did an extensive Google last night and there is really only person in this area in my price range, so I might have to cut the budget or ask my BMs to do their own hair.

Hi Chale

That does not sound good so would definitely strike them off your list

Now i make my next statement with absolutley no idea what your budget is but if you are on a tight budget then it could be a case of a lot of the people you are contacting are amateur or just do it as a bit of extra cash. This on of the big differences between amateur and professional suppliers. A professional is there with you every step of the way. The age old philosophy is you do tend to get what you pay for.

When people book us they tend to know that on the most part i am availble morning, noon and night. I actually called a couple on my wedding day 3 years ago. They had sent me an email asking about some details that they wanted quite quick answers to and they forgot i was actually getting married myself. During our wedding breakfast i nipped outside to make a quick call.

I try to do everything i possibly can to get quick responses to people, but that is because I am a professional and value my customers. I can understand a slight delay as we all have other things that we have to do but most professionals should be able to get back to you with some kind of response within 24 hours especially on the second time of asking.

Having said all of that i am well aware of budget constraints so it could be worth looking at your budget to prioritise the items you could not be without and adjust to suit

Hope you find someone.

Original email: 26th May. Follow-up email: 4th June. Phone message: 6th June.

I finally received a response on the morning of 24th June to say that she is free on my wedding date and will send a booking form later in the day. Guess what...no booking form, nearly a week later! Obviously even if one does turn up I won't be booking her.

That's awful! Rubbish customer service and a sure way to lose potential clients!