Feeling Sad Over Being Ghosted by Vendor

I think you need to be a bit more realistic as to your expectations regarding response times. People deal with their businesses differently – some vendors respond to each call and email instantly, others will take their time or designate set days and times in which they respond to enquiries. From what you have written, it has been more than one week but less than two (I assume) since you contacted the prospective make up artist and you have not received a response, but this doesn’t mean that she has ghosted you (not necessarily). You mention that she's a popular make-up artist, it sounds to me like she has her hands full and just hasn’t had the time to respond to you.

The other thing to remember is that your vendors are only there to do their job/supply their services and get paid. They have a business to run and I don't think any of them would think that a delayed response would hurt your feelings. There is a huge difference between good and bad customer service just as much as there is a difference between taking time to respond to enquiries and actually ghosting people. In any event, good luck with the planning!

For me personally, ghosting is more than just not responding. When I think of a vendor ghosting someone, I expect it more to involve a vendor taking a client's money and then going completely MIA.

My make-up artist has two young children and I'm lucky if I get a response from her within a week, despite the fact that I know her personally.

Give her another week and write to her again saying that you haven't yet heard back from her and that you want to confirm that she is available and will take the booking. It will be ok

Move on to another vendor because she is unresponsive. You should never have to chase down a vendor to work with them.

When I was in the industry we were pushed hard to respond within 24-48 hours, and that if you weren't going to be able to (extended weekend or something like that), to put an out of office response on so people knew why.

Personally, I think if they haven't responded in 72 hours it's unacceptable. You shouldn't have to chase a vendor down to give them your money, it's supposed to be the other way around. Anyone that runs a business like that is just a couple of really bad reviews away from losing that business imo.

If it were any other vendor I would have that opinion, I unfortunately haven't worked with a MUA yet, so I don't know if that's the standard for them.

I would try to reach out a couple more times, and just let them know that you'd really like to work with them because you've been watching their work for years, but if you don't have a contract to confirm your date you'll have to start looking for a different vendor. Then if you do get that contract I would ask them what their usual response time is for communications in regards to your event, that way you have an idea of how far in advance you need to e-mail to get an actual response lol.

But yea, if your inquiries continue to go un-responded to I would leave a review to that effect, especially pointing out the higher cost to similar MUAs in your area.

I think this depends greatly on the vendor.

Venues often have multiple people working an office who can respond to you quickly. MUAs are usually solo, or if they aren't, they just have assistants who tag along the day-of, not people who answer their calls and emails for them. They are likely working most of their time during the day, and especially on weekends. I would caution about being so quick to skewer her over one week. You aren't working with someone with a big team of administrative assistants or office personnel - this is an individual managing a service.

Also, posting to Instagram is far easier and quicker than responding to emails!

However, if it makes you antsy, you should probably move on and find someone else. That would suggest the two of you aren't a good fit. She may have a more casual way of working with clients, which you clearly don't appreciate - it's important to keep in mind that vendors are people, not just their work, and you may like someone's work while not liking them. Never book a vendor that your "style" doesn't mesh with, no matter how much you like their product.

It's totally fine if you have certain expectations for how a vendor will communicate with you! But understand you can't force a vendor to change how they work to meet those expectations. You have to find someone who meets them, not someone you want to meet them.