Everybody is busy, everybody is behind schedule . . . and ALL of our time is valuable. Time is the one thing that none of us can create and the one thing that we never have enough of.
While one can't expect somebody to answer the phone whenever we call, I do expect folks to communicate, give me a status update, etc..
This is especially true if I have a customer's money. It isn't that hard - takes a brief eMail or even a short text message. It is common courtesy and being a professional in my mind . . .
When one doesn't communicate, you leave it up to the other person to come up with explanations - and they are usually not positive ones.
Enough coffee for me today! LOL