Paige, I myself am fine either way. I work regularly with the same scheduler to book my visits and find her most professional, prompt and enjoyable to work with. I also enjoy reaching out to a independent provider cell phone and having a direct contact as she is also very kind and prompt.
I’m sure you would very much enjoy the extra time you would have in your day if you could find the right person.
Thanks for great insights and contributions to the board.

… over the years. Providers who use assistants have told me they like the fact that their assistants can handle scheduling while the provider is working, so clients get faster responses and frees up a lot of time.  

But I also have worked directly with many providers who like to handle their own scheduling and are/were responsive and professional.  

So either can work. If you want to hire an assistant for awhile, go for it. I hope you can find one with a good track record with other providers.  

Ever since I had gotten an assistant it helps by alot.  
I use one I've known for a very long time since we used to work together.  

The clients then feel they are talking to a bouncer  

Everyone listens to a bouncer and security  
But when they see their idol or someone they want to be close to, they start trying to pull games and talk to you, try to have conversations with you everyday or try to negotiate prices and have you disclose a millions things you already said you wouldn't.  

Say client is having a bad day and he is misdirecting his anger. While some  professional responses coming from the assistant would be viewed as a negative thing to clients when they get turned down or redirected for behavior,  the negative image is on her as an assistant and not reflected on your image had you responded your self.   If you're the one responding and turning ppl down for what ever the question , the client feel too embarrassed to see you  

I feel everyone gets to have bad days and second changes and I feel they are allowed growth. But ppl need to be told whay was wrong in the first place in order to evolve.  

Sometimes when you can't respond or dont have a response they're hoping to hear  , you're left in an awkward spot to respond.  
Clients wanna chit chat and if u don't they sometimes cancel because of the discouragement they're feeling.  
But your assistant can shut that down with "sorry this is her assistant "  

Or when you don't respond,  the client takes it personal and sometimes even throw things out of context.  

Alot of the issues I had in my first 7 years of working lowered drastically,  in the following 8 years it has been the most efficient

I know some providers with assistants make sure that whoever is contacting you identifies whether they are the provider or the assistant.  I like that policy.  Rather than the assistant answering as if she was the provider.

For the most part, when I have dealt with them it has been fine.  Sometimes it was so seamless that I didn't realize I was dealing with one until they told me (although I think it is better to be up front about that).

There have also been a few where I felt I was getting the runaround or I couldn't get timely responses.  This was particularly frustrating when I was trying to see someone I had already seen.

Vorlon hit it on the head. Totally depends on the calibre of the assistant. I have worked with some great ones and truly appreciate the timeliness aspect. Others have been a little abrupt, which is never great.
I probably don't need to remind you, since you are an incredibly savvy person, but if you decide to hire one, make sure that they are representing you accurately. The Paige Savage brand is a high-value asset and you have worked to hard to make it so to allow complacency to set in.
A test inquiry now and then would be a great way to be confident your brand is in capable hands.
Good luck, and whatever you do, keep posting to let us know how it goes. A Paige Savage post, with it's unfailing intelligence and articulate wisdom is a true highlight!

thank you all so much for your input! I think I'm fixin' to start the search for an assistant. I know that whomever I hire is a direct representation of me and my brand, so knowing me, I'll be rather particular and will put them through quite a few test runs. Oh! And that suggestion of making sure to declare when the client is interacting with someone's assistant vs. the provider is so good! Seriously, thank you all so much!

 
For now, if you reach out, you'll still be interacting with me but fingers crossed, I have someone on the team by mid-April!

I agree with what others say that it is nice to know that you’re talking to the assistant vs. the assistant pretending to be the provider.  

I have no problem emailing with assistants, but it’s just nice to know who is on the opposite end of the email.