Rant - Vendors Not Responding

I've totally experienced this. I just deleted a lot of old vendor messages from here where they never replied (nearly 2 years later!). I figure if a vendor won't reply, move on.

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EXACTLY! what if you need to add things on once your wedding date is near or make changes to anything? i would def not want to deal with anyone whose ignoring me especially since we are paying an arm and leg for these services!

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I completely agree! I'm not booking anyone who can't respond to an email in a reasonable time. Don't need that stress on the wedding day!

Oh man that sucks. honestly i had that with vendors i was reaching out to them and i didnt book anyone that didnt respond within a reasonable time (2 days for me) unless it was the weekend cuz i know vendors are busy setting up other weddings but they would respond to me on the monday instead. my theory was if theyre ignoring me now and i havent paid them what happens when my wedding comes? they will ignore me then? i wouldnt book them... thats my opinion.

This is unfortunate for you. I have also had the same experience with some vendors. No response and myself following up and still no response. The way I see it is, if they want your business and want to uphold or create a good reputation 24-48 hours to respond to email or pho e is more than normal.

I have simply just removed those vendors that I've have no response or lack of response from my list. This is a lack of professionalism and will usually indicate what level of service you will get once hired as well.

Good luck!!!

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That's awesome!! So glad to hear that worked out for you and you booked your venue!! so exciting

View quoted message I took your advice and ended up calling them yesterday - the manager of the venue had been so swamped she hadn't checked her emails. We were able to view the venue same day and ended up booking and setting our date, so calling is clearly the way to go! Hopefully your vendors will be more swift in future, I know I was going crazy waiting!!

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Yeah, I'm really good about checking my junk folder when I'm expecting emails

I'm experiencing the same with some cake and flower vendors! Honestly when I don't get a reply within a week I usually just cross them off my list and find somebody else that is more prompt. The stress of waiting for slow responders is unnecessary, there so many other better vendors out there

I've had this experience with most of the vendors I've contacted. It can't hurt to send a follow up email because yours may have gotten lost in the inbox.

It's frustrating for sure, I've ruled out a few vendors because of how long they've taken to respond, or even the way that they respond when they do

I wouldn't think you are a crazy bride! Most vendors respond within 1-3 business days - depending on how busy they are.

You could try calling (if you have a phone number), but if you get no response for more than a week, you're fine to move on. You want a vendor you trust to show up for your day.

Although now I'm thinking...did you double check *your* junk folder?

This is beyond frustrating. It drives me insane when someone can’t respond within a timely manner. I think 2-3 days is more then enough time to catch up on calls and emails if they have been out of the office for a few days. I had a vendor not even respond to say whether or not they were available for my date. Word of mouth is big in this industries, I prefer to actually hear from other brides, ( face to face or a forum like this) then read a review as anyone can pretend to have had experience with them. I agree with the other ladies, I would give them a call and if you still haven’t heard from them it is time to move on. Their loss if they don’t want your business, and bad word of mouth reviews.

By the way you are not acting like a “crazy bride” this is unacceptable in any business. Hopefully this works out for you!

I'm running into this as well. I contacted a venue for a tour, and then had to cancel because I was sick. She tried to get us to reschedule, but...she didn't even email that night. She waited 2 whole days. I'm sorry, but I just freed up an hour of your time. The least you can do is email me back during that time. We never bothered to reschedule.

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Exactly! I don't want to be a crazy bride lol from other people's responses it seems like calling is the best course of action especially if you want to book this place!

I'm in the same boat - I finally found a venue I like in our budget, we chatted back and forth and now no reply for 8 days after attempting to set up a day to view it. I don't know how to proceed or if I should just keep looking, it took me SO long to find this place. It's hard to know if I am just being a "crazy bride" or if this is a realistic expectation of people :/

I have no patience for this, and I would move onto another vendor. Harsh but that is how much I value reliable communication. I think 72 hours response time is fair. I did wait a week to hear back from a hair stylist - which drove me nuts but they came VERY recommended and I knew it was the tail end of wedding busy season. After that initial week, contact has been quick.

For some people that isn't an issue and that is totally fine, but for me, I want vendors that prioritize swift fast communication (again by that I mean within 72 hours). So if this is causing you stress, its ok to move on! I would just mentioned it with the vendor so they can take that as feedback.

I agree with what Tori mentioned though - to call them first if you have not heard back from email just in case something went to junk. However it sounds like you have had back and forth communication with them previously and now its slowed down, so I don't think that would be an issue.

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Yeah, I have definitely considered that but for the most part they will be responsive at first and then I just don't hear back so I follow up after a few days and still get no response. The problem is that it leaves me with such a bad feeling in my stomach, like do I trust them to show up on the day of?

I'm really just venting and want to know if other are experiencing the same thing. but you have a really valid point. maybe it is my emails going into junk folders

That is frustrating - but I'm not sure if I would give up on them just yet. I have a family-friend of my FH's that is our bar service and they never replied to my email... really weird but a month later I really did need those questions answered and it turns out since I wasn't added as a contact into their email account, that mine went to junk.

Perhaps give them a call if they have that listed?