When chat is the right tool
- Before ordering: "can you do this by Friday?", "is this gluten-free?", "do you take custom colors?"
- After ordering: changes, running late for pickup, something arrived wrong.
- Never for placing the actual order, the cart does that, with payment attached. Chat is for the words around it.
Start a conversation
Open the business's page, in the app or from their shared link, and message them from there. First time, the thread starts empty with a nudge (Send the first message to get started.); after that, the same conversation picks up where you left off. Every thread stays attached to its business, so "which bakery said yes?" is never a question.
Worth knowing inside the thread
- Photos beat paragraphs. Tap Add a photo to attach one, the inspiration cake, the broken item, the color you mean. Photos up to 5 MB.
- Reply to a specific message. Swipe a bubble (Reply) to quote it, useful when a busy owner asked three questions and you're answering the second.
- A failed send tells you. Bad signal marks the bubble and one tap retries. Nothing silently vanishes.
Fair expectations
You're usually messaging the one person who also bakes, lashes, and runs the register. Same-day replies are normal, mid-service silence is too. Say the whole thing in one message, what you want, when, and your flexibility, instead of "hi" and waiting; you'll get an answer a full round-trip sooner.
If something's off
- It asks you to sign in. Messaging rides your account so conversations survive your devices (Please sign in to send messages.). Sign in and the thread is yours.
- No reply in a day or two. One friendly bump is fine. Ordering something they've already listed doesn't need permission, though, the shop is the fast lane.
- You can't find an old conversation. Threads live with the business, open their page and the conversation is there.