Question about business ..

[el pres]

Hmmmm.. If it was a product/service that was unique or seemed to be
far better than any other, I would try to contact them again.
But, I'd also tell them that their behaviour so far may have had
a detrimental effect on any future dealings.

[Dravyk]

Happens all the time, unfortunately.

And each time, there's usually a lot of positive and negative variables to consider, so that each case is a bit different (though they do all fall into the same pot.)

If we're talking about something like a guy who makes TGP galleries, they're a dime a dozen, next.

Otherwise I sort of start giving them black marks and they lose something each time. Say, ok, they've missed getting back to me. "That's one," I will think. They could have a big client who gave them a rush job, their email might not be working, etc. And I start looking for alternatives. I don't necessarily take them out of the running. In fact, they might (again, depends) still be the number one, but I have the second and third stringers lined up.

Depending on (as someone said earlier) how unique their services are, how many potential alternates I've found or not (let's say not for this example), if I need it yesterday or if the project date is far into the future, they might get a second black mark, "That's two." Which means I've all but moved on. "Three"' means your out.

Again though, so many variables, each instance unique. Might even have to do with something not-so-logical, such as if I'm in a bad mood at the time too. Might be an instant "one, two, three". Normal operating procedure is everyone gets a single chance to mess up in that way.

[DrGuile]

It's a very bad sign...