Ask the Expert: How Do I Deal With an Unresponsive Vendor?

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Question: Our wedding is getting closer and one of our vendors seems to have fallen off the face of the Earth. What’s the best way for me to get their attention without threatening to use someone else?

Answer: If you’ve hired a wedding planner in any sort of capacity, then an unresponsive vendor should be a quick fix, says Gina Sole of Philly’s The Wedding Planner. Your planner can intervene on your behalf to request special attention, especially at times when you’re overwhelmingly busy with other wedding to-do’s.

For brides who are planning solo, however, Sole suggests email contact over phone calls. “Vendors these days seem to check their emails more often than their phone messages, and emails are also a good way to keep a record of how many times you have reached out with no response.”

Stay persistent, she says, and be honest about how you’re feeling: “Let them know that their lack of response is upsetting to you. Tell them that they’re only adding to the amount of stress that inevitably exists in even the most centered and prepared bride. Let them know that you’re extremely disappointed in their communication skills and that makes you worry about how they will deliver their services on the wedding day itself.”

With that, you should hear back, and talk of finding a replacement vendor shouldn’t have to enter the equation.

For more Ask the Expert questions, go here. 

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