05/08/2025
So, you've been waiting for a vendor to reply to an email... but how long is too long to wait?
Well that depends on soooo many things, such as:
✨how long have they been in business (new businesses will receive a lot less enquiries than an established business)
✨how many existing clients that vendor has booked in (noting the bookings could be spread out over a 2 year period - but they will still receive emails from those clients from time to time)
✨how many people work in that business
✨the range of services they offer (do they just offer 1 service, or multiple services)
✨was your email urgent? (is your wedding/event this week, or in November next year)
✨how many questions were asked and what depth of reply is required (did your email require a simple "yes or no" answer, or will it require time to compile more detailed answers)
✨how many days is the vendor in the office each week
✨is it peak season, or off peak (some vendors take on other employment during the off peak season)
✨is the vendor taking a break
✨is the vendor having technical issues (I've had my fair share and it can seriously affect the ability to send emails or messages)
For me personally, I endeavour to reply to all emails within a week (and have put systems into place to ensure this happens), other vendors may require up to 2 weeks. I usually reply to simple yes or no emails straight away (when I'm in the office). At the moment, I am in the office on Monday's, Wednesday's and Friday's as I am working another job. If I have a wedding this week (and yes I do, as well as next week), those clients will ALWAYS be given priority.
Quotes can take 1-2 hours to prepare, so when I have multiple quotes to do it can take an entire day. Yesterday I sent 15 emails (including 1 quote) and it literally took me all day. As I explained to someone, I'm not a robot and do not sit at my desk 24/7 just so that I can reply to emails at all hours of the day and night. So if you're the sort of person that is not prepared to wait a reasonable amount of time for an email, then I'm not the vendor for you.
Thankfully I have many amazing clients and I am 100% dedicated to providing them the best service ever!