Suppliers not responding

Hi everyone
I am having major difficulties getting suppliers to return my initial messages.
It is getting to the point where I may have to start looking elsewhere.
I let them know I have an ABN, a registered business name and a domain name.
I have sent follow up messages as well.

Any tips or advice? some of these suppliers have products I would love to stock, but even if they reply now, I am too concerned to work with them, as a slow response time could cause problems with my customers if I need to get in touch.

Thank you so much, your company is one of 2 that have been excellent with responding quickly.

I think a lot of suppliers are also having the same issues with potential outlets. I dont think its just you.

Thanks, I have found that by using their email address on their website I get a much faster reply

Hi Melissa and welcome to the forum,

Crunchie is absolutely right, the problem of slow to no response to email inquiries is a blight on many suppliers. They simply refuse to treat email inquiries as a priority and in many cases, even treat them as a serious inquiry and then simply ignore them.

Now there is a host of reasons why, but none of them wash in my opinion, it simply comes down to poor customer service, however you slice it.

Our recommendation to members is exactly that of Fashion, the more direct your communication, the more effective it will be. Email, unfortunately, is one of the quickest ways of being ignored by many suppliers.

We always recommend phone where possible, if cost is a factor, I recommend looking at Skype for International calls. Using online customer service through a live chat is also a great way to interact. Even if you have to leave a message through that, chances are you will get a response back before you will via email.

Cheers

Hello Melissa,

Sometimes we get messages that are obviously not for us. People asking for products that are not even remotely similar to what we offer and in some cases, this may be happening to some of your messages. Not to give an excuse for any companies not replying, but sometimes there is more to it :)

I would say if we get messages that belong to other companies, then I am sure there is messages meant for us that we never see and end up going elsewhere also. In this case, we could appear that we dont bother replying also :(

Emails and messaging anywhere can be a problem, you never really know if they are being received at the other end.

If you really want to do business with a company and they have not replied, a fail safe is you can go to their websites and use their contact forms. Its unlikely they do not get those, they would always get through. If they still take forever to respond to their own inquiry forms, then you will know for sure if they are not going to give the customer service you feel you need for your customers.

I am disappointed you have had problems, however sometimes there is more to it than just assuming a supplier is not bothering to reply to an inquiry.

I wish you the best at finding the right suppliers for your business.

Ashley
The Gem Candles Team