Even given that scenario I still think that it would be fair to be able to let other users know that the service provider is taking longer than expected.
Example: We will call this the WFD.
If the service to be provided was replacing one cherry mx switch and it has been sitting at the service provider's house for 6 months, this is no longer in the realm of acceptable by most people.
At that point it would not matter what B.S. excuses the service provider came up with.
It is still not acceptable and everyone should know about it.
My reasoning behind adding a plugin to the site vs using Heatware . Heatware could go out of business and just shut the site down and then all this data is gone. While the likelihood is low, it happens every day to sites larger than it.