I’m in need of ordering t-shirts for an upcoming event, and I recently received a catalog from a company that sells personalized clothing, stuff that you can embroider or silkscreen.  Now I have never worked with this company before but they were referred to me by a reputable source.  In fact, the person referring them gave me the name of a VP of Sales to contact (only had his email address), so I made initial contact via email.  After a response back saying he’d call me the next day, I waited.  I wasn’t available when he called so he left a number at which I could reach him.  Great, right?  Nope.  When I called the number, turns out it was the company’s general phone number and since he didn’t provide his direct extension, I was left on hold waiting for the “next available customer service representative”.  After waiting about 5 minutes, I gave up and hung up.  At this point I was slightly annoyed but decided to give the guy a second chance. Well, I received a follow-up the next day from someone he works with but, again, I wasn’t at my desk when she called so she left a voice-mail message with a number I could reach her at.  I called the number and guess what?  Same thing — company’s direct number and because she hadn’t provided her extension, all I could do was wait on hold again. This time I hung up immediately.  So how many chances you do give a potential vendor?  At this point I’ve given them 2 chances and they’ve blown it both times.  I’m definitely ready to move on to someone who actually wants my business.