One place it lands, one person owns the first reply, and the reply goes the same working day.
The steps
- Step 1 — Put the enquiry in one place the moment it arrives, however it arrived — whoever received it
- Step 2 — Put a name against it before the end of the day — an enquiry with no owner is an enquiry nobody replies to — Deepak Patil
- Step 3 — Reply within one working day, even where the reply is that you are working on the number — the named owner
- Step 4 — Record what the buyer actually asked for, in their words, not in ours — the named owner
- Step 5 — Where a part is outside what we make, say so that day rather than letting it sit — the named owner
What we never do
Holding an enquiry until there is a price. The buyer is comparing how fast you answered long before they compare what you charged.
Why this is written down
The department has committed to exactly this, and the practice is written so it does not depend on the register being live. What the register changes is that the clock can be read; the sequence is the same either way.
It comes from
One place every enquiry lands, and one person who owns it that day
Owned by Deepak Patil · last changed 26 Aug 2026