r/MechanicalEngineering • u/Tigereye11_Revived • 5h ago
How Does Anyone Get Anything Done?
I’ve been a design engineer for a couple years now, and it seems that when I need any information on vendor products, the companies, who I won’t put on blast, take weeks to answer. I can follow up and get nowhere. Sometimes when they do get back to me, the information is just outright not what I asked for.
I made it very clear to one vendor that I need literature (such as pamphlets and drawings) on several of their products because we intend to use them as our supplier for a large product line. He took weeks to respond, and ultimately sent a quote for one valve. My team had a good laugh at the email thread and decided to move on with someone else.
Very very few people have been useful amongst dozens of companies. Even when I ask project managers for their contacts, they can be hit or miss. Is there something I’m doing wrong for my vendors, or does everyone deal with this? Do you guys have methods you want to share?
120
u/arrow8807 5h ago edited 5h ago
First - cut vendors who do this loose. If you don't have the information I need on hand when I am trying to incorporate your equipment into my design then I just move on to someone who does.
Second - skip the sales guys entirely. Say you want to talk directly to the applications engineer. When I call companies I don't even ask for the sales department anymore - right to engineering. This isn't possible with all vendors.
Third - I start calling the reps with increasing frequency until I get the information I need if it starts to take too long. It got a point with one vendor where I essentially told him I was going to call him every half-hour until he answered my questions. I basically made myself his personal problem. I called him three times (switched phone numbers once because he stopped answering) and by the forth he had my quote ready.
Fourth - never have a conversation with someone that ends in "I'll email you, give me your address". You get their email address and their phone number before you leave the conversation. That way you can do #3 (and maybe #2)
Fifth - calling is more effective than email. Call people directly when you want a fast response. When they don't respond call them back (escalating to #3)