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In all honesty, if they're not returning your calls before they have your money, how are they going to be afterwards? I was in a similar situation, I was in love with a venue that had a coordinator that wasn't very coordinated. I wrote to her a couple times, and when I had to e-mail two or three times to get a response to one question and she didn't answer the others, I just let it drop and moved on to another venue because I knew this woman would make me pull my hair out!
I would walk away if I were you!
I understand the frustration but I've noticed that all the vendors take a while to respond. I think partly because they are small businesses and do everything from paying the bills, to shopping for supplies, to making and setting up the final product. I've also noticed that in smaller towns some of the vendors do these things part-time. So if you truly are in love with them be patient. This is the busy time of year for weddings or they could be on vacation. But if it continues and really bothers you then go and find another vendor.
I agree that you should walk away. Two weeks is a long time to not even tell you they've been really busy and will get back to you as soon as they can. I mean,if they are treating you with disrespect even before you've begun a business relationship, then imagine when you're committed to having them. They will only give you worry and stress if they aren't prompt, professional and reliable. You have enough to worry about when planning your event. Always get vendors you can trust from the get-go to give yourself less things to worry about.
Meggs, I had a similiar problem with a caterer that I was interested in. I had not signed a contract nor sent in a deposit. I wrote him probably a not too long 3 paragraph email about changes to menu. I got this response:
"Becky, that was a lot to absorb. I will get back to you when I have time to process."
That was 3 weeks ago. I am looking for a new caterer.
I agree that it would probably be best to look elsewhere!
Id try calling and asking to speak to a higher-up there and find out what is going on. Maybe they are on vacation and forgot to put on an out-of-office email or they have been slammed with other parties. I agree 2 weeks is a long time but if you really like them Id try once more.
2 weeks? I hate to wait 2 days! If fact, I'm really annoyed by a photographer that I like right now that hasn't responded to a two sentence, one question email from yesterday morning. It took two tries to get her price list! Grrr. Maybe they haven't realized that people are downsizing and they should be really happy about the business they're getting. Jerks. :)
The coordinator at my venue is kind of the same way. She means well, but I realized that when we were 6 months out, she was dealing with events that weekend. As we get closer to our date, she is more responsive. Its like she needs to prioritize the upcoming events. It isn't perfect, but she is the only coordinator at this venue (it is small) so I imagine my emails from 6 months ago went to the bottom of the pile, while my emails now (5 weeks out) are at the top.
Hmm...I might try going directly to the business and see what is up, maybe someone lost their job or something, who knows? But I'd really give it only one more go and then move on...an elaborate well thought out story is necessary to redeem them :)
Kate, too funny. I am like that too! I emailed 6 caterers on Monday requesting more information on their services and options and so far I have only gotten ONE reply back. What is going on with these people? Do they not want business?
This seems to be a common problem with vendors! When are you getting married?
What I've noticed is that a lot of vendors don't want to talk about anything more than 6 months in advance. I have a year to go & I dealt with this a lot. I ended up going with all the vendors who treated my wedding like it was just as important as the upcoming wedding next month.
Customer service is just as important as the actual service they provide. If you haven't given them any money yet, I'd suggest checking out another caterer.
After being ignored several times by various vendors early in the planning process, I instituted a policy that if a vendor can't get back to me in 48 hours I don't do business with them. I was too frustrated too many times. Like you, I also feared signing a contract with someone that flaky. I know you loved the caterer, but I'd start looking for a new one if I were you.
I had the same problem with my caterer. Sometimes she gets back right away, sometimes it takes her a couple weeks or more. Ultimately, I had to say to myself - yes, I want her to get back to me promptly (of course). But do I think she will be on time for the wedding and do a great job? Yes. And we are getting a great deal using her. So I decided to keep her. We have had a long engagement and I am pretty laid back so that has helped. All of my other vendors have been VERY prompt with replies - the first coordinator we contacted at our venue was terrible, but luckily she left just a couple of months later and the new one is wonderful. So we mostly lucked out.
I walked away from a design/wedding planning company who did the same thing to me. They only have an answering machine and some assistant calls you back who can't answer any questions, then you have to wait for one of the planners to call you on their time. I did get someone on the phone at first, but then I tried to get some more info through their email address and answering machine - no response. What makes this worse is they are the recommended vendor of my reception site! I turned my back on them and am going with someone else.
Oh, I feel you. I have an onsite corrdinator (she comes with the contract...lovely) that WILL NOT RETURN EMAIL. I've tried calling. Doesn't work either. We're about 5 months out so it's not that big of a deal but if she pulls this crap on me in October or any month else between then and our wedding I am going to go psycho on her. Ugh. Sorry you're dealing with this!
Thanks everyone! These are all good insights. Our whole communication has gone like this: I e-mailed, the lady who is second-in-command e-mailed me back, I called her to discuss further b/c I liked what she sent me (it was a great conversation!), she sent me a quote, I called to say I loved the quote and wanted to meet to talk about signing, the next week she e-mailed me to say sh e was really busy but would call me soon and she sent me the invite to the tasting event, the next week we went and spoke to her there and she apologized again for not getting back to me but told me to call her to talk more, then my FI called her and no response yet. This has been taking place over the last five weeks. (See! I sound like Gigi!!)
@RecessionistaBride: I'm getting married June 19, 2010 ... I'm not too early to be trying to book a caterer right?
@KateMW: OMG I know! I have been really trying to be patient but it's hard. We've had great experiences with other caterers we've talked to ... I don't know what's up with these peeps!
I've been feeling kinda ignored from the catering coordinator I want to book with. Her excuse is it's the busiest time of their year, (wedding season)and I get that. I just get irritated when someone says I'll send it out right now, and after a week I haven't recieved it. It's now happened with the first meeting date, the catering proposal, the linen estimate, and the contract. I finally sent off a quick email explaining my feelings, and not only got an apology but also everything I had been waiting on. If I knew that I might have spoken up sooner. Am I really going to give this person over 10,000 and not get the proper attention? And then I remind myself other brides are getting married next weekend, and they deserve priority. I feel stuck between deserving attention and waiting my turn patiently. Anyone else?
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We have e-mailed and called a caterer we are super excited about ... but they aren't returning the communication! We talked on the phone, she sent us a proposal, and we went to their tasting event, where we talked some more. And now nothing! So, if you've read the book or seen the movie, you know what I'm referencing. If the caterer isn't calling you, does that mean they're just not that into you?
My FI called them yesterday (again) and left another message to return our call. How long should I give them to get back to us? At this point, I'm worried that even if we did book them, these issues would continue. (Btw, the unreturned e-mail was sent two weeks ago ...) Should I walk away?
Thanks hive!