diff --git a/src/util/util/email/clients/MailGunEmailClient.ts b/src/util/util/email/clients/MailGunEmailClient.ts
index d0a1613..ad92fc8 100644
--- a/src/util/util/email/clients/MailGunEmailClient.ts
+++ b/src/util/util/email/clients/MailGunEmailClient.ts
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@
 
         try {
             // try to import the transporter package
-            this.mailGun = new (await import("mailgun.js")).default(FormData);
+            this.mailGun = new (require("mailgun.js").default)(FormData);
         } catch {
             // if the package is not installed, log an error and return void so we don't set the transporter
             console.error("[Email] MailGun transport is not installed. Please run `npm install mailgun.js --save-optional` to install it.");
diff --git a/src/util/util/email/clients/MailJetEmailClient.ts b/src/util/util/email/clients/MailJetEmailClient.ts
index 45664eb..d88346f 100644
--- a/src/util/util/email/clients/MailJetEmailClient.ts
+++ b/src/util/util/email/clients/MailJetEmailClient.ts
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@
             });
         } catch {
             // if the package is not installed, log an error and return void so we don't set the transporter
-            console.error("[Email] MailJet transport is not installed. Please run `npm install node-mailjet --save-optional` to install it.");
+            console.error("[Email] MailJet transport is not installed. Please run `npm install --no-save node-mailjet` to install it.");
             return;
         }
     }
diff --git a/src/util/util/email/clients/SMTPEmailClient.ts b/src/util/util/email/clients/SMTPEmailClient.ts
index 46bfe0f..b845248 100644
--- a/src/util/util/email/clients/SMTPEmailClient.ts
+++ b/src/util/util/email/clients/SMTPEmailClient.ts
@@ -20,16 +20,17 @@
 import { Config } from "@spacebar/util";
 
 export class SMTPEmailClient extends BaseEmailClient {
-    // sendGrid?: unknown;
-    nodemailer?: typeof import("nodemailer");
-    transporter: import("nodemailer").Transporter;
+    nodemailer?: unknown;
+    transporter: unknown;
+    // nodemailer?: typeof import("nodemailer"); // for dev
+    // transporter: import("nodemailer").Transporter; // for dev
     override async init(): Promise<void> {
         try {
             // try to import the transporter package
-            this.nodemailer = (await import("nodemailer")).default;
+            this.nodemailer = require("nodemailer").default;
         } catch {
             // if the package is not installed, log an error and return void so we don't set the transporter
-            console.error("[Email] nodemailer is not installed. Please run `npm install nodemailer --save-optional` to install it.");
+            console.error("[Email] nodemailer is not installed. Please run `npm install --no-save nodemailer` to install it.");
             return;
         }
         // get configuration
@@ -44,6 +45,8 @@
             );
 
         // construct the transporter
+        // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/ban-ts-comment
+        // @ts-expect-error
         const transporter = this.nodemailer.createTransport({
             host,
             port,
@@ -55,7 +58,7 @@
         });
 
         // verify connection configuration
-        const verified = await transporter.verify().catch((err) => {
+        const verified = await transporter.verify().catch((err: unknown) => {
             console.error("[Email] SMTP verification failed:", err);
             return;
         });
@@ -70,6 +73,8 @@
         if (!this.nodemailer) throw new Error("nodemailer not initialized");
         if (!this.transporter) throw new Error("nodemailer transporter not initialized");
 
+        // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/ban-ts-comment
+        // @ts-expect-error
         await this.transporter.sendMail({
             to: email.to,
             from: email.from,
diff --git a/src/util/util/email/clients/SendGridEmailClient.ts b/src/util/util/email/clients/SendGridEmailClient.ts
index 8eb3fae..36f077d 100644
--- a/src/util/util/email/clients/SendGridEmailClient.ts
+++ b/src/util/util/email/clients/SendGridEmailClient.ts
@@ -31,10 +31,10 @@
 
         try {
             // try to import the transporter package
-            this.sendGrid = (await import("@sendgrid/mail")).default;
+            this.sendGrid = require("@sendgrid/mail").default;
         } catch {
             // if the package is not installed, log an error and return void so we don't set the transporter
-            console.error("[Email] SendGrid transport is not installed. Please run `npm install @sendgrid/mail --save-optional` to install it.");
+            console.error("[Email] SendGrid transport is not installed. Please run `npm install --no-save @sendgrid/mail` to install it.");
             return;
         }