We had already held the fabric for ten days before we shipped it. Could we have held it longer? Sure... but... to be practical, a shop really can't hold it indefinitely. I can't imagine that if I ordered merchandise from, say, target.com, that they'd hold it very long if there was a question about the order and I was unreachable to provide an answer.
When I responded to the customer today, I did let her know the text and dates of the e-mails we sent her. We keep records of all correspondence right in our customers' sales orders, so that no matter which one of us (in the shop) answers a customer's phone call or e-mail, we know any and all information that has flowed back and forth.
Now I'm wondering if you (the forum readers) think it would have been better had we just canceled the order entirely, having not heard from the customer. (Yes, she could have been ill or on vacation or had a broken computer but ... we're not psychic and just can't know these things.)
Thoughts?