Posted by Joe Baker on February 20, 2004 at 07:29:24:
In Reply to: Re: Tuba Consumerism & Emails posted by bloke on February 19, 2004 at 23:26:57:
I don't know that this is as much an email issue as it is a diplomacy issue. The same inquiry could occur over the phone, or (more likely) in person. It's been said that diplomacy is the fine art of telling someone to go to hell in such a manner that they look forward to the trip. From what I've seen, those who hold both prominent gigs and retail outlets possess the diplomacy necessary to deal with this sort of inquiry, whenever or however it comes.
But even if nuisance emails like this are ignored, I would expect a real business inquiry (for example, "do you have a gold-plated Bach 18 in stock?") to be answered within a day. While I've NEVER had ANY retailer on this board fail to meet that standard, I would rule out doing business with a retailer who did fail to do so, unless they had a totally unique product (which, I realize, is not impossible).
Joe Baker, who notes that Bloke has given outstanding service, by any measure.