OP here. I have done both. I have moved on and gotten the services I wanted in a time frame similar to what I wanted, and I have waited to see if there was ANY response (ie - sorry I was out of town, I have been incredibly busy this trip, etc). However, WHEN to move on, wasn't my question. The question was, and I may have inadvertently wrote it with some ambiguity, 'if there is NEVER a response, do I reach out again my/their next trip, the next time I am looking to hire, etc. If so, how many times before I stop inquiring.'
That's certainly not a criticism of the direction this thread took, or anyone's response. Obviously, discussions take turns, and segways develop. Truth be told, as you will read below, the turns this discussion took, we're helpful to me in answering my own questions.
I recognize that I don't have an employer / employee relationship with providers. They are independent contractors. Therefore, there's no reason to treat them any different than a contractor I contact to cut down a tree next to my house. I don't pay him a weekly salary, and he may very well not respond to me. I can hire someone else, and the next time I need another one cut, if I feel his reputation and circumstances warrant it, I can reach out to him again to see if I get a response. 2 or 3 times of reaching out for subsequent tree cutting jobs wouldn't make me feel like a pest or a stalker, so it shouldn't make me feel that way reaching out to ANY service provider.
Finally, I think I can also apply the adage that I have found true for any service: good, cheap, fast - pick 2! Maybe good and cheap makes a provider too busy to respond immediately. Maybe good and fast makes a provider able to sit around most of the day and respond immediately because he is pricing himself above a reasonable rate. I can say from experience, that I have had clients who want their issues addressed IMMEDIATELY. Personally, I either make them pay through the nose for it, OR I decide they are too much work and refer them elsewhere.
