I see a lot of providers on CL or even Cityvibe will   prominently post the following on their web-page: "CHECK OUT MY REVIEWS" and will post a link to TER.

When I click that link I sometimes find only one or two reviews. Even worse, sometimes they have horrible reviews!

Why would a woman with horrible reviews brag about have reviews? Is it because she's counting on guys being too lazy r unsophisticated to check out the review? Is it because that's how her web developer built her website? Is it because she assumes her reviews will improve over time and the early reviews will not matter that much?

And limited association that I have had with providers that post on CL & City Vib. It was a combination or one of the following reasons:

#1- They might have 5’s and 4’s but they don’t think these are bad reviews.

#2- They inevitably claim that the reviewer wasn’t fair

#3- Most of the clients that they cater to usually don’t understand all of the links available

#4- Many do use a web designer or a free web site and only understand that they can’t post on TER without having a link to their reviews, so they have the link applied or have the web designer place it.


Variety makes the world go around….
Happy Hobbying, know your provider (*and her reputation*)    Kisses ~Tori

I think CityVibe does it for them with a phone number search and then the TER profile often links back to cityvibe.

Yeah, most guys are too lazy to actually read reviews or don't understand the concept.  When I started out I had no idea there were reviews for escorts until my favorite provider told me about TER.

Some guys only care about 5-0.  If she has reviews, then she's probably not going to arrest you.  

Plus there are providers who exhibit review-seeking behavior and want TER members to help their business.  Some unscrupulous ladies offer discounts or provide better sessions knowing the guy will write a review.

Or this gives the green light that she allows reviews, because some ladies don't and will enforce that with blunt testicular trauma if necessary.

BENGAL TIGER SAID: "Or this gives the green light that she allows reviews, because some ladies don't and will enforce that with blunt testicular trauma if necessary."

OMG - OUCH!

Which leads to the following questions: Should a guy ask a lady if she prefers a review? Should this question be made before or after meeting? I think it might (as you say) cause some ladies to be more enthusiastic during their time with you. But, if there are others who abhor reviews; might they decline a date because they don't want or need any net based immortal rememberance of your time together?

We had this debate not long ago, and I found myself very much in the minority with my opinion, but such is life, and here is my take on it.

AFTER the session is over, if and only if the lady has NO reviews, I say it is not only appropriate, but courteous to ask her if she objects to a review. You are correct that asking this question beforehand is likely to "taint" the objectivity of her session. Furthermore, if she already has reviews, then clearly she has no objection to them, so it is not necessary to ask. Given that some providers do desire to remain under the radar though, there is logic in asking a lady's preferrence in the absence of any reviews.

As I said though, I am in the minority on this topic.

Just like the last time Sins

Hey, this is all about offering opinions and opposing views can be helpful.  My take:

> Don't bring the review subject up yourself.
> If the lady brings it up and indicates that she would prefer that no review be posted before the session begins and you agree then honor your promise and do not post a review.
> If the lady brings it up after a session and asks that a review be not posted then I think that decision is yours alone to make.  Follow your feelings.  Likewise the same if after the session and she asks that you do post a review.  I  maintain it is your choice in either case and you are not violating any promise since none was made beforehand.  
> Here is where I deviate from Sins.  The previous post that Sins refers to involved a provider whose ad/web site offered a discount to any client who promised to post a review. I won''t say this is frequently encountered in the hobby but it is also not completely rare either.  In any case this concept certainly got the pro/con opinion attention of many clients and providers.  Although I have never encountered this on my own, I have an opinion on how I feel about it.  I absolutely do not buy into the sentiment that this ploy taints a session or the review that follows. Here's why.  If this biz gimmick causes the provider to perform above and beyond duty to someone who agrees to write a review beforehand then all power to her and to him.  If it increases her biz then all power to her.  But it is in the client's review itself where I find fault with the 'taint' theory.  Reviews in and of themselves should be accurate accessments of a session.  The honesty that is contained in a review is a reflection of the writer of the review and what happened in a session.  They are either being honest or they are not. This is true whether or not there was agreement to write a review before the session. If the review honestly reflects what happened (either good or bad) then it makes zero difference if the provider asked for the review.  As a side note, the provider's ad that I mentioned never asked for a good review.  She simply asked for a review.  So again if the gent is honest in his evaluation then no harm done in my book.  If the gents review is dishonest then to me he is the tainted one and for me all his reviews are questionable and not just this one.                                              

The problem with a 'purchased' review being 'tainted' is not whether or not it actually occurred, nor whether it is accurate, nor whether it improved his service or increased her business.

The problem is the fact that the credibility of the review as being 'representative of a standard session' is totally lost, and that makes the review basically worthless.

Here's a point in case:

If my girlfriend decides to provide, and bonks me silly with the intention that I write her a stellar review, any review I write is not only worthless as being 'representative', but is also considered highly illegal by TER.  Why?  Because I have no credibility as a 'representative sample' because of my relationship with her.  The chances are very high that my girlfriend gave me a much better session than anyone else is likely to get.  The fact that the review is 'true' is irrelevant.

Loss of credibility can result from many facets of the process - especially when they include personal gain and financial incentives.  That's where your 'zero difference' argument falls apart.

I don't recall that the previous debate involved a provider to men who promised a review. My memory is faulty at times though.

In my opinion, a provider who offers ANY sort of discount for a review - regardless of the fact that a positive review was not stipulated - taints the entire process, and any reviews that may result are suspect at best in my opinion.

The reason that most disturbs me regarding provider's offering discounts in exchange for reviews is that it places a burden on every other provider. As it is, I have recieved more than a few e-mails from gentlemen indicating that for a discounted session, they would be happy to write a review for me. One even went so far as to brag about his "influence" because of the number of reviews he had written, and how a positive review from him would assure me of great success. I never responded to those e-mails, but the point is that providers who promise discounts aren't just impacting their own business. They make things harder on the rest of us too.

I will also add one further modification to my original post though. In the event that the session was less than satisfactory, to the point that the gentleman feels obligated to review the provider not because he was overjoyed with the experience, but rather to warn other hobbyists, then all bets are off with respect to asking permission to write a review, or even being asked NOT to write a review by the provider.

You should publicly identify those asswipes by username who try to strongarm providers with offers of great reviews for discounted sessions and profit from their TER affiliation.  Not only do they make life harder on all providers with thinly-veiled extortion, they also taint the very core of the hobby community by compromising the review database.

I for one never engaged in a session with a lady who gave me such an offer and I did explicitly state this in my reply. However if I ever did and I posted a review then I would disclose that her ad offered a discount and I took advantage.  At that point I would leave it up to the readers of my review to either accept or reject the credibility of my review.  I would also add that speaking for myself, I never make decisions solely on the content of a single review and I tend to think that is true for many gents.  I absorb the lady's body of work (pun intended) and I tend to ignore outlier reviews that fall on an extreme end of the spectrum relative to the other reviews.  For me this is how I arrive at an informed decision as to what to expect in terms of what is 'representative of a standard session'.  I also know that the 'YMMV' factor is a universal truth in the hobby as well.    

I am in full agreement that credibility is of utmost importance in the writing of reviews.  Where I differ from you and Sins is that to me the credibility is fully entranced within the writer of the review.  He either depicts the facts that surrounded his session with honesty and full disclosure or he does not.

I can only speak for myself and you can either believe me or not.  If I was ever offered a discount for posting a review, I would reply that I would be happy to post a review but I will not make any promises of evaluation scores or the detail content.  If she is okay with this then I would agree to proceed with the discounted rate.  Afterwards I would disclose this entire conversation in my opening remarks of the review and I would write an honest reflection that described either a good, bad or indifferent session.            

-- Modified on 11/4/2006 4:41:16 PM

that if a gent promised to write a good review in exchange for a discount then that would represent piss poor and dishonest behavior.  This, at least for me, is not even close to the situation that I defended.  The provider that I recall was new and trying to get her biz and reputation as a good provider known. To me she exuded a great deal of confidence in her services and stated so.  She never, and I can't stress enough how much this point matters to me, asked for a good review.  She asked for A review.  She seemed quite confident that the review would be favorable because she was confident in her performance and not in an empty promise.  World of difference between this tactic and a hobbyist strongarming a lady for a discount.                  

-- Modified on 11/4/2006 4:43:47 PM

Sins, you state that 'regardless of the fact that a positive review was not stipulated' your opinion is set but then your negative experiences involved a situation where the promise of a good review was present.  It's not the same in my opinion.

I agree that if a guy asks for a discount in exchange for a good review then that represents strongarming and that sucks. I'm glad you dusted his advances.

I don't see this as the same as a provider who is seeking reviews to bolster her reputation and exudes confidence in her services and performance ability.  When she asks for any review (not a promise of a good one) she is putting herself on the line risking that she could get villified no matter what she does.  She is trusting that she will perform well and she is trusting that the review will reflect this.  If the review is accurate and the discount is disclosed to afford readers the ability to accept ot reject its credibility then I see no foul committed.  

Of course I can't experience how the practices of some providers may make it more difficult for me as a provider since I am not one.  I'll accept your sentiment in that regard.  But I am a big advocate of saying that I believe that every lady has a right to set her own fees.  The hobby market place with its supply/demand core   will eventually dictate if she will be successful. I've seen ladies in the same location offer the same services with big fee differences, I seen offers of seasonal discounts, discounts for repeat clients, discounts for TER members and discounts for posting reviews.  The disounts are mere marketing ploys to get more business.  Yes there can be credibility issues that arise in some of these situations.  But when the credibility is violated it is because one or both parties was dishonest.  It is possible in this hobby for each party to be honest and reputable.  (And that was not a shot....I know you know and live that Sins)                        

-- Modified on 11/4/2006 5:17:14 PM

I understand your position, JW - even though I do not agree with it.

If a lady has a policy of offering discounts for reviews, then I am not likely to believe ANY of her reviews, regardless of by whom they may have been written.  Why?  Loss of credibility by both the provider and the reviewers.

And it makes no difference if the reviewer confesses or not to having been 'paid' -- the subsequent reviews can no longer be trusted to be truthful, fair, and/or impartial.

Even if truthful, the simple fact that he was essentially paid for the review makes it unlikely that another non-reviewing client will receive the same level of service.  Again, loss of credibility as being representative of a 'normal' session - and being truthful is totally irrelevant, because it doesn't mean that it will happen with you or me (unless we also take her up on the review carrot offer).

It's just an ugly road that leads to a place not worth visiting.

My recommendation to her is to be patient just like every other provider on TER. It does take time, but with consistency and patience, she will build a good reputation. Furthermore, by being patient, the reputation that she builds will not be based on a dubious beginning that many hobbyists are likely to dismiss as being unobjective or false.

She needs to think not just short term, but long term, and in the long run a reputation built on excellent service and excellent service alone is one that cannot be doubted or cheapened.

My .02

My opinion and past practice is to ask AFTER the session is over and I am getting dressed.  Some ladies want to remain UTR and not have any reviews posted.  I will respect their wish.  Other than those situations, I will write a review (good or bad) every time.

So what do you do when a lady that just delivered a less-than-stellar session asks you to not post a review, because she 'wants to remain UTR'?

no website, so the question of writing a review is academic.  You can't, at least not on this site.

I never mention reviews either before or after the session.  I've cut way back on the number of reviews I do only because I don't see any point in parroting what 300 odd hobbyists said before me about a provider with multiple great reviews. If I feel I have something unique to add then I'll write one.  Of course, I'll pen one if I see a lady who doesn't have many other reviews.

This has not happened to me.  However, see Exception #1--If the service is less than advertised and/or anticipated, then I post the review.  Negative vibes/warning to fellow hobbyists trumps the lady's wishes in this case.

though she had almost 30 pages of reviews.  Her excuse was that she was retiring soon and didn't want the publicity.  Our session was terrible and I felt like she was, in a way, almost ripping guys off knowing she was going to be gone soon.  Kind of like how many work during their 2 weeks notice.
So against her will, I wrote a review to sort of warn others.  After it posted, she blasted me in a PM, but I also received many PM's from other hobbyists with the same story.

I think it's always good to write honest reviews, it's the basis of TER.  I only wish someone else wrote a recent honest review of that girl before I spent my money.=(

I have to agree with atl_mgr.  If a reviewer is given a discount and the provider knows they are getting a review from the session then their service during the session will likely be changed (for the better).

I liken it to reviews of tools in certain magazines.  If a tool manufacturer is submitting a large power tool (say a table-saw -- woodworking innuendo here) to a magazine and they know it is going to be reviewed then it is their best interest to ship a saw that has been gone over with a fine-tooth come to ensure there are no cosmetic flaws, that it operates above and beyond the tolerances of one that was just pulled off of the assembly line!

I have seen LOTS of reviews in magazines where a product gets a much higher review than the tool deserves - merely because the magazine is influenced by the advertising $$ spent by the company in their magazine.

I have also seen a PC manufacturer refuse to send any equipment to a web-based reviewer unless they could guarantee a good review.

It all comes down to the objectivity of the reviewer and manufacturer (provider in this case)..

Hope I haven't rambled too much as my 1st cup of coffee hasn't quite kicked in and I'm nervous about my upcoming FIRST EVER appointment with a provider today...

oops - almost put my name in here - see how much of a newbie I am DOH!!!