What is a reasonable amount of time...

[JLeigh]

...in which to expect a response from a supplier regarding a problem with an order? I didn't post this in the supplier review forum because I'm not outting the supplier in question (at this point), but I'm a bit irritated. I received an order yesterday morning, and I emailed about the problem within 2 hours. Didn't hear anything back after 10-12 hours, so I sent another email (same wording) to their support email last night. Still nothing. So, almost 24 hours have passed without even an acknowledgement of my emails. I'm sorry, but I think that's lousy customer service. I'm not even a new customer --I'm a steady customer of this supplier. Am I being too impatient?

ETA: I no sooner finished typing this when I got a response from the supplier. lol.

 

[martha1014]

I think 24 hours was a reasonable time to respond to a customer.

 

[BradSmith]

24 hours is reasonable and if they haven't responded within 48 hours then it's not reasonable.

 

[JLeigh]

I dunno....I ran a successful internet business, and I never waited 24 hours to respond to a customer concern --especially if they were unhappy about something. I wanted to get it taken care of asap.

I think part of the problem is that when you receive no response at all, you start to wonder if they even got the email. That's why I sent the 2nd email. I didn't know if they had gotten the first one.

 

[BradSmith]

I dunno....I ran a successful internet business, and I never waited 24 hours to respond to a customer concern --especially if they were unhappy about something. I wanted to get it taken care of asap.

I think part of the problem is that when you receive no response at all, you start to wonder if they even got the email. That's why I sent the 2nd email. I didn't know if they had gotten the first one.

The problem comes when you don't have an answer, but know you will have one soon. Sometimes I have to wait for an answer myself before I can pass it on. However, I thinks it's best to just come out and say it like it is right away. For example can you get me a replacement pickup(I sell guitars) and how much will it cost. For a question like that I have to get ahold of my wholesaler and depending on the time of day or week I might have to wait to answer the question. So usually I write back and let them know that I will get on it as soon as I can. This can often be the difference between getting a return and having a customer actually be happy that they waited for the upgraded pickups. However, when I first started, about 8 years ago, I would wait until I knew the answer and then respond. I know better now.

 

[JLeigh]

The problem comes when you don't have an answer, but know you will have one soon. Sometimes I have to wait for an answer myself before I can pass it on. However, I thinks it's best to just come out and say it like it is right away. For example can you get me a replacement pickup(I sell guitars) and how much will it cost. For a question like that I have to get ahold of my wholesaler and depending on the time of day or week I might have to wait to answer the question. So usually I write back and let them know that I will get on it as soon as I can. This can often be the difference between getting a return and having a customer actually be happy that they waited for the upgraded pickups. However, when I first started, about 8 years ago, I would wait until I knew the answer and then respond. I know better now.

Good point!