I don't expect instant answers, Bubba- 24 hours will usually do, and in my opinion is a reasonable period of time to alot a business for answering questions pertaining to their products or services. Waiting days or weeks or not even bothering to answer emails is absolutely unacceptable and leads to a lot of guessing on the part of the customer. As I wrote earlier, that is annoying and it is usually not a good idea to annoy customers!

If a person is very busy [as some truly are for a variety of reasons], and has to decide between answering emails or manufacturing product, then an email sent to them should net the sender an auto-response explaining that a reply could take a few days. The auto-response could also include some other basic information such as a brief FAQ, waiting period, etc, as the individual situation dictates. As much as I may desire info, I consider myself a reasonable fellow and will patiently wait my turn so long as I know my turn is coming. With the way some folks answer their business email, one never knows if a reply will be forthcoming at all. Meanwhile, I am off to another purveyor...

To use myself as an example, I have a small internet based business that can leave me tied to a PC. Since it is obviously in my best interest to do so, I make every effort to answer emails ASAP. In some cases, however, that isn't possible. When I went on holiday last week I had my email account send an auto-response stating that queries might take me a little time to get to since I was relying on daily stops at a local library where I could borrow a PC with internet access. I added that I had brought product along with me and should be able to fill orders from the road.

I have to agree that Jerry at Stillwater Kilts offers zippy email response as well as exceptional customer service. Just as good is TFCK. SK, however, is a rare example of budget married with great CS.

Mychael