I'm not involved but for some time now this sounds to me at least here on TM as if the situation calls for an employee, even if it is just a secretary for one half day a week. Not reporting back to a customer from afar for 7 months who has invested 100 $ is an absolute no-no in my view. A small short mail in which a company simply writes that it can take a long time could be ok in most cases.
I recall him saying they had some massive problems with his IT, emails & web orders evaporating, caused by the local exchange going 'down' & I'm not sure if it's fully resolved yet
