Welcome back — or if this is your first time here, thanks for stopping by.
I look at a lot of essential trade business websites around Vancouver, and there’s a situation that’s easy to miss:
Someone actually tries to contact the business…
and from their point of view, they think it worked.
But on the business side, nothing ever comes through.
When the contact attempt just disappears
This isn’t about getting visitors.
It’s not about whether your phone number is visible or easy to tap.
This is what happens after someone has already decided to reach out.
They:
- fill out your form
- click your email
- send a text (sms) message
- try a live chat
- or reach out through social media
…and somewhere in that process, it breaks down.
What this looks like in real situations
These are the kinds of issues that don’t show up unless you go looking for them.
For example:
- A form is submitted, but no message is ever received
- The message gets flagged as spam and never seen
- The page refreshes after submitting, but gives no confirmation that anything happened
- An email link opens, but isn’t set up properly on mobile
- A “Request a Quote” button leads somewhere, but doesn’t actually complete anything
And just as often:
- A customer sends a text message, but it never reaches you
- Or they send a photo (like a leak, damage, or issue) and it fails to deliver
- A live chat message is sent, but no one ever sees it
- A message comes through Facebook or Instagram, but you don’t get notified
From the customer’s side, it feels like:
“I reached out.”
From the business side, it looks like:
nothing happened
Text messages are often overlooked
A lot of businesses assume:
“If someone calls, I’ll get it.”
But many customers — especially on mobile — will text instead.
And not just simple texts.
They’ll often send photos to explain the problem:
- a broken pipe
- electrical panel
- damaged unit
That’s the difference between:
- SMS (text-only messages)
- MMS (messages that include photos or media)
If your number can’t receive one or both properly, those messages can fail without you ever knowing.
A simple way to check this
This part is straightforward, but most people never do it.
Try this:
- Text your own business number
- Send a normal message
- Then send a message with a photo
If you’re using the same phone, you can test from a free app like TextNow to simulate a real customer from a real local number.
Then check:
- Did both messages come through?
- Did the photo (MMS) arrive properly?
- Did anything fail or get delayed?
If not, that’s something a customer would run into too.
It’s not just forms and texts.
There are a few other places this breaks down…
Phone numbers that block or hide information
If your number is set up in a way that:
- blocks unknown callers
- shows as “No Caller ID”
- or isn’t clearly identifiable
Some customers won’t even try, and most won’t call you back — or their calls may not go through the way you expect.
Social media messages you never see
If you have a business page on platforms like Facebook or Instagram:
- Are message notifications turned on?
- Do you get alerts on your phone or email?
Because if someone reaches out there and gets no response, it looks the same as being ignored.
Live chat tools that aren’t monitored
If you’re using something like live chat (for example, tools like tawk.to or HubSpot):
- Are messages being forwarded to an email you actually check?
- Do you get notified right away, ideally by mobile notification?
If not, customers can send a message and sit there waiting…
until they finally leave.
Why this is different from other issues
In earlier situations, the problem is usually visible.
- A phone number doesn’t work when tapped
- A contact form is hard to use
- Information doesn’t match across platforms
Those create hesitation before someone acts.
This is different.
Here, there’s no hesitation.
They’ve already taken the step.
The problem is there’s no clear outcome
One of the most common patterns here is a lack of feedback.
Someone reaches out and:
- the page just reloads
- or nothing visibly changes
- or there’s no message confirming it was sent
So from both sides, the connection just… stops.
Why this matters
When someone reaches out, they’re usually ready to move forward.
If that message never reaches you — or they’re not sure it worked — that opportunity is gone.
And unlike other issues, you don’t see it happening.
There’s no error message. No warning.
Just fewer calls, texts, and messages than there should be.
The takeaway
If your business is set up to receive inquiries, it’s worth making sure those inquiries actually make it through — across all the ways someone might contact you.
Not just forms.
But:
- text messages (SMS and photos/MMS)
- phone calls
- social media messages
- live chat
Because when any one of those breaks, it doesn’t look like a problem.
It just looks like silence.
If you haven’t tested this recently, it’s worth a few minutes to go through each contact method yourself.
Most of these issues aren’t obvious until you follow the process all the way through.
In the next post, I’m going to go through another situation that comes up often:
when businesses respond — but not quickly or consistently — and how that can still cost you the job even after someone reaches out.