A Little Courtesy, Please?

I kicked butt (for me) on Tuesday making sales calls.  Yesterday I had a meeting with a north Atlanta Whole Foods and sent a bunch of follow up emails, as requested, to some other Whole Foods plus a local gift store chain.

So, does it count as a successful sales meeting if the person I'm supposed to meet isn't there?  Kudos to the assistant who tried to cover for her boss and who took the meeting instead.  But what's up with the boss?  Apparently it was not an unexpected day off, and I had made the appointment just the day before!

And my thoughtful, personalized email to the gift store was obviously closely read.  I offered my silk passport covers as a potential offering to their customers - I still think it would be a great fit.  Received a reply the same day - impressive - informing me that they already had two bag lines but would keep me in mind if they intended to add another one.  Hunh?

Yeah, I know, everybody's busy.  And I'm only a vendor; I saw at ADP how vendors can expect to be treated.  On the other hand, I'm a person with a small business and guess what?  I'm busy, too.  Is it too much to ask that somebody read the email they ask for?  That people show up for their meetings?  I don't think so.