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Over a month ago, I started looking at the various art and craft shows that are going on in my area for the holiday. I found one that I was pretty interested in; it was at a high school, which is good for me since I don't have a tent cover for my table (yet), which is not necessary but extremely helpful for outdoor shows in case it rains. It was also a two-day show, a Saturday and Sunday, unlike all of the other high school based shows I saw which were only one day. And, the registration form said it was the "29th annual" so I figured there'd be a lot of return customers.
I also thought since it had been going on so long, the show management would have their act together, but apparently not. I found two different phone numbers to call regarding registration (both apparently for the same person, who I will call M), and I had some questions, so I called one and left a message. Three days later and no response, I called the second number and left another message. Three days after that and still no response, I started looking around on the show's website for someone else I might contact. I found email addresses for three other people who were supposedly working the show, so I sent an email to all of them.
One week after THAT and still no response, I decided I'd better start looking around for another show to do if I wanted to do one before Christmas. I found another high school show being held the same weekend, except it's Saturday only and it's the first year it's being held. I emailed the contact person for that show and got a response the next day, so I sent my registration form in and got another response confirming my registration a few days later, so at least they appear more organized.
But wait, there's more! A week and a half ago, I got an email response from one of the other three women working the first show I was interested in. She said I emailed her home email address, which she doesn't check often (then why was it on the website?). She also said that M had a family emergency and was out of town and not responding to any messages or taking any phone calls. She gave me her phone number to call instead, but I just emailed her back saying that I was already registered for another show.
A couple days after THAT, I actually got a call back from M herself. She left a message on my cell phone, sounding very much like I had just called her earlier that day; in fact, she even said, "Just responding to the message you left this morning..." Nevermind the fact that it had been over 3 weeks since I left the initial message at that point.
Not wanting to leave her hanging, I called her back and actually did talk to her. I told her that I understood she had family issues and that I wasn't upset that she hadn't gotten back to me sooner, but that I was already registered for another show that weekend so I would be unavailable. She asked if the show was two days and I said no, and she asked if I would still be interested in doing her show, Sunday only. I told her that would be awesome and she said she would check her availability and get back to me within a week. She also asked me a bunch of questions about my work and I offered to send her the link to my company FB page so she could see pictures of some of my work, which I did immediately after getting off the phone with her.
That was 9 days ago, and I still haven't heard back from her, again. I just told my husband that I'm not going to chase her around trying to get an answer from her. If she calls me back, great (although the show is less than 2 weeks away now) and if she doesn't, fine. I'm disappointed but at the same time, it's probably for the best; if she's this disorganized now, I can only imagine what the actual show is going to be like.
I also thought since it had been going on so long, the show management would have their act together, but apparently not. I found two different phone numbers to call regarding registration (both apparently for the same person, who I will call M), and I had some questions, so I called one and left a message. Three days later and no response, I called the second number and left another message. Three days after that and still no response, I started looking around on the show's website for someone else I might contact. I found email addresses for three other people who were supposedly working the show, so I sent an email to all of them.
One week after THAT and still no response, I decided I'd better start looking around for another show to do if I wanted to do one before Christmas. I found another high school show being held the same weekend, except it's Saturday only and it's the first year it's being held. I emailed the contact person for that show and got a response the next day, so I sent my registration form in and got another response confirming my registration a few days later, so at least they appear more organized.
But wait, there's more! A week and a half ago, I got an email response from one of the other three women working the first show I was interested in. She said I emailed her home email address, which she doesn't check often (then why was it on the website?). She also said that M had a family emergency and was out of town and not responding to any messages or taking any phone calls. She gave me her phone number to call instead, but I just emailed her back saying that I was already registered for another show.
A couple days after THAT, I actually got a call back from M herself. She left a message on my cell phone, sounding very much like I had just called her earlier that day; in fact, she even said, "Just responding to the message you left this morning..." Nevermind the fact that it had been over 3 weeks since I left the initial message at that point.
Not wanting to leave her hanging, I called her back and actually did talk to her. I told her that I understood she had family issues and that I wasn't upset that she hadn't gotten back to me sooner, but that I was already registered for another show that weekend so I would be unavailable. She asked if the show was two days and I said no, and she asked if I would still be interested in doing her show, Sunday only. I told her that would be awesome and she said she would check her availability and get back to me within a week. She also asked me a bunch of questions about my work and I offered to send her the link to my company FB page so she could see pictures of some of my work, which I did immediately after getting off the phone with her.
That was 9 days ago, and I still haven't heard back from her, again. I just told my husband that I'm not going to chase her around trying to get an answer from her. If she calls me back, great (although the show is less than 2 weeks away now) and if she doesn't, fine. I'm disappointed but at the same time, it's probably for the best; if she's this disorganized now, I can only imagine what the actual show is going to be like.
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