When you''re starting a custom project... part 2: response turnaround

[musey]

Somewhat in continuation of this thread: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/when-you-think-about-starting-a-custom-project-which-vendor-is-the-first-that-comes-to-mind.114715/

How responsive do you expect your vendor to be? How long could the turnaround be without bugging you? I'm talking about basic quotes, not involved design process.

Keep in mind that polls can only cover so much

I know it depends on the project/designer. GENERALLY SPEAKING, how long are you willing to wait for response, even if the response is just "let me look into that for you."

If you'd like to expand, please share what kind of turnaround you'd like to expect once you're knee-deep in the design process (trading emails/calls for quite awhile).

 

[musey]

I'll start by saying that I start wondering "why haven't I heard anything?" if the vendor hasn't given any kind of response to a query for more than a couple of business days. I don't expect the quotes to be that fast, but if I were a designer I would choose to write back within 1-2 business days with at least "I'm looking into your query and will be getting back to you as soon as possible" if not the answer to the query.

That is certainly not to say that I expect vendors to fall all over themselves trying to rush quotes out the door - no, I just expect some sort of acknowledgment that they received my query and are willing to look into it for me. Otherwise I assume that my project is not something that interests them.

 

[jet2ks]

I would want at least a "Thank you for considering XYZ Jewelers for your project, let us look at this and we will contact you by (date) with more information" type response with a couple of business days just so I knew they had received the request and were not too busy to consider the project.

 

[LadyBlue]

I will be comfortable waiting a couple of days. I would like at least hear from the vendor that he is working on it, or need a few days for that task, or some information that he is actually working on my project.

 

[D&T]

sorry- couldn''t vote, it depends on the designer, I would wait a week for my MWM quote, but it also depends on the urgency of my project really. If i was getting married, then 1 or two days max, but for my upgrade, and other trivial stuff ehh, maybe 1 week gives me more time to keep changing my mind

since I do it so often- can''t really commit so..

 

[MonkeyPie]

If I''m getting a quote, I think a week is understandable, especially if it''s a big company and the person I am conversing with is just a rep, not a designer. I would like to hear back that they at least got my email and are looking into it, though.

 

[Steel]

I expect a reply within 24 hours so I ticked 2 days. Even as others have said if it is just a hi there Steel we got your mail and are working on it. After that it depends on the project.

And it does NOT count to keep e-mailing you passing you from one rep to the next and weeks later you still do not have an $$$.

 

[sunnyd]

I think ideally, you should hear something within 1 day. Even just, thanks for your interest, we''ll get back to you. But since there''s time differences, business hours, etc, I checked 2 days.

 

[Gypsy]

Well. It depends. A week is my max. But it can be more or less. If the vendor has an autoresponse email they can update... and it says, "I'm sorry but we are on vacation from.... to....." then i'd wait 24 hours after they arrive back. If their autoresponse says I will get information in 24 hours. Then that's what I expect. NOW... if my querry is actually made to a specific person... like I called a vendor, got them on the phone and they took my information and promised me a qoute. 48hours. Two days. I expect at least a note that says, "We're working on it, I haven't forgotten you." STILL, that means that you only get an extention for anohter 24-48 hours, or whatever time you stated in the note. Not an indefinite extension. I get more than one of those without a firm date commitment on the solution... not happy.

It's pretty much what we require with our vendors. When I am negotiating service level agreements I tell my vendors the same thing. If something is taking a long time, keep me in the loop so I know you are working on it. Otherwise, I'm not going to be happy if you exceed the reasonable amount of time (which I outline in the SLA) for a solution. In this day and age it is so easy to fire off an email that says, 'Hi Gypsy, please be patient with us, I should have the qoute for you Friday. We're working on it." THEN you meet that commitment or you tell me WHY, and it had better make sense.

 

[packrat]

I wouldn''t have the foggiest idea how long. The responses I''ve gotten so far have been w/in a day..although from CM, I never did hear back after sending the email twice, so I''m a little torn there.

 

[tigian]

I think an acknowledgment within 2 days and a estimated time frame when to expect a quote would be most professional.

 

[geckodani]

Date: 5/13/2009 1:17:07 PM
Author: musey
I''ll start by saying that I start wondering ''why haven''t I heard anything?'' if the vendor hasn''t given any kind of response to a query for more than a couple of business days. I don''t expect the quotes to be that fast, but if I were a designer I would choose to write back within 1-2 business days with at least ''I''m looking into your query and will be getting back to you as soon as possible'' if not the answer to the query.

That is certainly not to say that I expect vendors to fall all over themselves trying to rush quotes out the door - no, I just expect some sort of acknowledgment that they received my query and are willing to look into it for me. Otherwise I assume that my project is not something that interests them.

Ditto. I don''t need vendors to move at the speed of light. But with how quick it is to send an email - just a, "Thank you for your interest, we''re generating a quote blah blah blah..."

Once I''ve started/made a deposit/paid for a work in progress, I appreciate responses within a business day or so.

If something has gone wrong and needs to be repaired... well. The faster they respond the better.

 

[mrssalvo]

I like a quick initial response (24 hours) and don''t mind waiting a few days for a quote. I would prefer 2 days for the quote, anything longer than that would make me feel like I was forgotten. leon has even quoted me on the phone in a matter of minutes.

 

[misskitty]

Maybe I''m just really patient, but I''d be okay with waiting over a week to hear back for an initial quote. I''ve also never commissioned a custom project, so this may be why I hold this view; in my mind, the word "custom" is linked to waiting, so I don''t think I''d be bothered unless they hadn''t replied at all in several weeks.

 

[musey]

If you were trading emails back and forth with a 24 hr. max response time and suddenly didn''t hear anything for 7 days, would you be irked?

 

[Gypsy]

Probably.

 

[musey]

Date: 5/15/2009 6:50:58 PM
Author: Gypsy
Probably.

Me too.

 

[Gypsy]

Last christmas, a few weeks before the holiday a vendor was having a nice sale on something I wanted. So I emailed them and asked for a tweak. The salesperson was new and told me they''d check on what I asked for to see if there would be an upcharge and what it would be. I got an email in January about it. I was not happy. And no, they didn''t get my business. Though I did bring the issue up with the owner of the company in February and was apologized to.

 

[Steel]

Date: 5/15/2009 6:56:52 PM
Author: Gypsy
Last christmas, a few weeks before the holiday a vendor was having a nice sale on something I wanted. So I emailed them and asked for a tweak. The salesperson was new and told me they''d check on what I asked for to see if there would be an upcharge and what it would be. I got an email in January about it. I was not happy. And no, they didn''t get my business. Though I did bring the issue up with the owner of the company in February and was apologized to.

Notwithstanding the apology, customer treatment like this gets a Vendor a place at the bottom of my ''who I will buy from'' list.