Red Flags While Shopping

We're less than one month away from the wedding (*squee*), and surprisingly I'm doing much better than I thought I would be at this junction. We knocked out final meetings with almost all of our vendors, and these reminded me how happy and honored we are to be working with them. However, I realized that although I introduced y'all to these fabulous professionals, I never really delved into our method for selecting them. That's because Mr. Tartlet and I are "go with your gut" kind of people: if we click with someone, love their work, and they're within our budget--we sign, and we stop looking. Not terribly useful advice for a community that's renowned for helpful hints and tips. So, instead I thought I'd share some of the odd encounters I had while shopping around for the "right" vendors that had me going:

Image via Humor Hound

Here are some things that set my alarm bells a-ringin' and moved me to pass certain vendors by:

1. Not responding in a timely fashion. I'm frequently guilty of falling behind on responding to emails, but we're talking 2+ weeks of internet silence. I'm sure many of the vendors we contacted wrote us off because they saw we were planning a year in advance, but even a one line e-mail saying "it's too early for us" would have been much appreciated. First impressions mean a lot, and if there's a huge delay (or no response whatsoever), I'm going to assume that's how the business operates. Pass.

2. Hounding me to make a decision. I had contacted an entertainment company about live music for our ceremony. I was upfront about shopping around for the best fit and price, so after exchanging information and receiving a quote, I thanked them for their time and said I would be in touch. They called me every. single. day after that. When I did pick up, I was polite and said I was still weighing my options and emphasized that I would call once I made a decision (read: stop calling me). I put my foot down after a representative called me three times in one day, including a phone call after 9PM. I sent off a...tart (bahaha)...e-mail to the owner, who gave the explanation that they had to be persistent to be competitive. There's a difference between persistence and harassment.

3. Being vague about your pricing. I'm indifferent as to whether pricing is available on a website because I know how much they can vary based on the time of year and even the day of the week. However, please don't quote me a price that ends with "ish." My bank account doesn't believe in "ish."

4. Making gross cultural assumptions. While searching for a florist, I had a woman inform me that I wasn't allowed to have white flowers at the wedding. Why? Wait for it...because "your people only use white for funerals." That's right folks. My people.

I'm pretty sure I have some Mongolian heritage in me, so I threw that country in for good measure.

Needless to say I crossed that vendor off the list (p.s. I'm from Kalamazoo). Another behavior that doesn't jive well with my personality is pressure to make a quick decision (Miss Hyena also encountered this ploy in her travels to find a photographer). I was equally freaked out by the tactic, but thankfully Mr. Tartlet was there to prevent me from making any knee-jerk decisions.

Anyone else encounter bizarre business practices when shopping around for your vendors?