Originally Posted by
shapelike
I think there are priorities at any business and answering general customer emails isn't at the top of the list. Sure, it's not something to disregard but when you're busy ... you're busy (and remember that this is literally the peak of the bike buying season). The priority is customers waiting for product and dealing with retailers in a similar situation (but on a much larger scale).
Hypothetical time: I get 20 emails per day about my products and only get a chance to answer 15 of them between everything else I'm doing. The next day there's another 20 ... well I forget about the 5 I missed and get on with things. If it's an important point, you shouldn't rely on a single email. That is universal in any situation.
Totally, I agree that there are only so many hours in a day and if you have a small business (Is IRO really that small, though?), I can imagine it would be hard to find time to respond to every email.
However, right next to their "contact us" submission ticket their site says "Drop us a line, we listen". I've sent two to different emails, and it's been a week after purchasing my goods and I have heard nothing about them being shipped. I'm not a customer inquiring about geometry or potential future buys, I'm a customer who's already paid and waiting for stuff that is totally up in the air.
And seriously if I ran my own business even if I couldn't answer 5 of the 20 emails while I was at work I'd answer the other 5 once I got home since it really doesn't take that long. All I'm asking for is a "Sorry, we're out of stock and should ship your order by _____." Or "Oh, your order got lost in the paper work, we'll get right on it." Not asking for much considering Tony has my money and I have nothing
.