"Bob" wrote in message

Forrest is not a huge company and probably doesn't have the staff to
respond quickly. They stay alive by quality product not lightning fast
customer service. I bet they would prefer to deal exclusively through
wholesale channels if they could and get rid of the retail overhead
altogether.

We all have the voting right with our precious dollars.

OK, we disagree.

It is a saw blade. They either have it or they don't. If they have it,
they should be able to say it shipped or it did not. If they don't have it,
they should be able to say it will be "the week of" at least. If you are
talking about an item that is complex, requires many parts and sub
assemblies, then I'll give you a couple of days.

If they would prefer to deal exclusively through wholesale channels, they
should do so. Nothing wrong with that. If, however, you plan to sell to
the consumer in the age of the internet, there is no excuse not to have a
computerized system that can at least give rudimentary answers in seconds.
"Thank you, we have your order, that item is out of stock and expected to be
back in stock in about 2 weeks. Sorry for the inconvenience, do you want to
wait until then or can we substitute another item?"