Am I being unreasonable?

[Gargoyle_Steve (Steve)]

Phil I have NOT accused you of throwing mud, I actually wrote "...hope you would refrain from throwing any mud unless .. " - that's future tense, not past! I was merely trying to keep anything from getting TO that point, in no way did I intend my comment to mean that you or anyone else had ALREADY done so.

I was only trying to make sure that everything stays calm and friendly here, and NO I'm not pointing any fingers at you.

Obviously there IS an issue of non communication from a vendor here that needs to be resolved, no one was trying to prevent that. All we want to do is get answers.

[Dog Star (Phil)]

As all I've done throughout this thread is state the simple facts, how can it be construed as "throwing mud" if I post this vendors' name?
Again, witness the S & S and S & T threads.
As Astroron said on the S & T thread, one sided reports aren't any good.
I find it very queer that a company that bills itself as optical and electrical can't maintain a communications system!

[Lee]

I would go elsewhere. If you are trying to run a predominately online business (must be since no phone is offered?) then you need the following:
1. a very reliable email system
2. to check said emails more than once daily
3. a very reliable email system

It's no good blaming the spam filter - if you can't avoid it, then get a new email provider people, and then check the spam box. If you aren't internet savvy enough to handle this.... DON'T start an internet business..... pretty simple I think.

If you are a one-man-band, then 2 week long holidays with nothing but an automated response for prospective customers is going to hit your bottom line (and future bottom lines) hard....

A few years ago, I was about to buy a G-11 from a particular vendor in this country, who lost the sale because he decided to not read/answer emails for 3 days - bought it the next day from the guy who answered his phone.

[Bob]

I had the same problem 12 months ago with the same company.After many un answered emails, I assumed they had gone out of business and bought elsewere.
If they are still in business, they certainly need to address there comunication problems urgently.
Bob

[garyp]

So what's the update Phil? I take it you have still heard nothing from them. maybe tommorrow being monday you might hear something. If you send an email saying you have gone somewhere else you might get a more immediate response.

All the best

Gary

[Dog Star (Phil)]

Have sent a 3rd email as Steve suggested (Saturday 31/1) so I cant reasonably(!) expect a reply until Monday 2/2 at earliest.
The tragedy here is that at this point in time, I don't feel inclined to deal with this company anyway.
All I asked for was to be acknowledged as a potential customer.
I think Andrews or Bintel will be receiving a query from me early tomorrow.
Might ask about a Barlow too.

[Dog Star (Phil)]

Opened my in-box this morning and to my surprise, I've had a reply from Vendor X!
Surprised due to the fact that it was sent last night at 8:49.
The reply apologises for the long wait and tells me that the reason was in fact due to the back log of replies that they are still working through.
Guess that I have to be man enough to cop that one on the chin!
So, was I being unreasonable?
I guess that I have to say "Yes!"
The unfortunate part of all this is that when you don't receive a reply, you are left to your own conjectures as to what has happened.
As to what constitutes a reasonable time to wait for a reply - a day, 2 days, a week - I honestly don't know.
Colin, if you haven't yet received a reply, my advice would be to hang in.
It appears that they are in fact genuine and a reply should be on its way soon.
I've got a bit heated a couple of times on this thread and I should apologise for that.
As I say though, it's difficult to know how to react when you're not getting any replies.

[Lee]

I don't think you have been at all unreasonable.... in fact you have been extremely reasonable..... "working through a backlog of emails" - how long can it take?? It's only their business! Honestly if they can't at least sift through an inbox, find the orders and interested customers and action those first, they deserve to go broke.

I only give my custom to businesses that provide a good service (and I don't mind paying for the service), this means prompt replies. For an online business, I expect an email reply within 24 business-hr, preferably 12 hours.

[erick (Eric)]

If I've correctly ascertained who Vendor X is, my experience has been good through four purchases and one warranty repair job over two years. They very helpfully arranged an urgent delivery in between Christmas and New Year two years ago. At one stage I was provided with a phone number so we could keep in close contact around an issue. My most recent experience was a purchase mid 2008 which went well.

At the same time, our expectations are high these days, particularly when we are enthusiastic to move ahead on a purchase of what should be in-stock items. The vendor who can meet all the expectations of all prospective customers will do well. I suspect such a vendor does not exist. It's always a balancing act, particularly in a low volume market such as Australia. For the best prices, maybe there is no shopfront or staff on immediate call. I do go to Ebay for items and have to balance a very low price against the risk of an unknown vendor in Australia or overseas where I cannot go and inspect product or pick it up when I part with my hard-earned.

I've walked away from vendors who don't respond in my timeframe, regardless of the reason. Other times I've stayed the distance for the particular product or price.

Hope that you are soon a satisfied customer, Phil, whether of Vendor X or another. The joy of owning and using a product soon outweighs the frustrations of getting it in the first place is what I have observed.