How's this for customer service?

[Clunk]

or spies of the opposition?

Depends on the paranoia level of the vendor!!!!!!!!!!!!! Me I treat all customers and prospective customers the same...... with disdain and contempt!!!!!!!! Hahahahaha

[MQ MAD]

A person or persons are not customers until they have purchased items, until such point they are prospective customers

No what ya do is, email a business asking aboout a product and when they wont disclose relevant info pertaining to said product as its against their company policy, you proceed to go google searching then bag the bastards out on a public forum as they wont give their info to the first anonymous email they receive then you proceed to name and shame them ...
If thats what the new age customer is all about, ill shut shop and the workshop down right now ...

[megatexture]

i don’t see the big deal of a email inquiries over a phone call i receive emails every day for quotes and i treat them equally and in a way i actually prefer them over phone calls as i can call/email them back in my own time rather than being forced to deal with every inquiry there and then.