Hi everyone:

I want an opinion on something: what is an appropriate delay to email inquiries,  either direct or via P411?  

I don't expect that providers answer all emails within minutes or anything, but it seems to me that they should all be, at a bare minimum, actually answered at some point in the near future, especially if they are:
- running an ad, either here or on P411
- indicating on their site that they are available
- showing recent logins on P411

Some providers are amazing about answering emails. Some will consistently respond to anything within a half hour, which is remarkable.  Others will take up to a day, which is AGAIN fine.  What irritates me is when the response is significantly late or non-existent.  

This isn't a complaint about providers agreeing or refusing to see me.  It's merely a question of professionalism and courtesy in what is, at the end of the day, a customer service business.  A simple 'not interested' reply email would more than suffice for me to move on and look elsewhere.  

I'm not naming names or anything.  I also fully accept that a gal may not want to see me for any (or no) reason whatsoever.  I just get frustrated when:
- I make an inquiry on P411 and get NOTHING, not even an email that the provider has looked at my profile
- I make a direct inquiry to someone who I have chatted with before and get NOTHING.

Hey RoyB,

You know the ladies ALWAYS get back to us, especially clients like us, as you indicated (within 30 minutes, a few hours, 24 hours) in almost all cases because they are all thinking it's a business and utilizing good business practices, etc.  

Except as we've seen in recent posts when they can't get back to us for good legitimate reasons (but we know any reason or no reason works as well) or even don't want to get back to us.  

Women may be fickle...I've just heard that word but need to look up the meaning lol...but us men need to stop being so needy.  

Many fish in the sea, right!

One of the stipulations that is in place for a provider to have their free account on P411 is this;
Providers have to reply to appointment requests within 4 days.   If a provider chooses not to respond and it gets reported to p411 support then their account gets deactivated And have to contact support.  
I'm not sure if that applies to private messages that are sent through  that site --- I would imagine it would apply to those as well.  But I'm not sure.  (Write support and ask them )  
I do know for sure that the specific appointment request form falls into that category.

 

Any contact that a client makes using the P411 message system whether it's a private message or an appointment request
Deserves to be responded to.  Period.  ESPECIALLY an official appointment request .  You (the client) are a paid member of that site.   And like you said, if a lady isn't interested in seeing you after looking at your appointment request and profile it's not too difficult to write a short note back saying "I don't think we're going to be a good fit"

My advice:  
If you send an appointment request to a provider and it's been longer than four days and you don't hear anything from them just send a simple note to Gina (p411 support) explaining that.  

P.S.
You're awesome and if a lady doesn't respond to an email from you..... Well, it's Her Loss
:

I have yet to experience Portia but I do know this...

Portia, you are awesome, too

I know I said I wouldn't name names, but I have to single out Portia.  I won't go into her obvious qualities as a provider (she's awesome and her reviews speak for themselves), but she's also the consummate professional in terms of corresponding with her clients.   You can always expect prompt, professional, and courteous responses from both her and her assistant,  even if the answer is 'no'.  She sets the bar very, very high.

Hey Old Timer:

Life happens, so I totally understand how an emergency could prevent someone from prioritizing an email response to a client inquiry. I'm talking situations like this:
- go on P411, look at recent logins to indicate that they're active.
- view the profile, go to their site, check their calendar, confirm (if possible) that they're open for business.
- send a pre-screening request via P411 to see if they're interested.  
- wait a few days, no response.
- go on P411, see that the provider in question has been active since you sent your inquiry.  

I've had providers decline seeing me after checking me out.  That's fine.  I may be disappointed, but at least I know the score.  When there's zero response, I have to wonder what their actual commitment is to the hobby.

END OF MESSAGE

Make no mistake when contacting Portia that if you send her information required that Betty and or Portia the will not make you wait days for and answer. Is as professional in corresponding  as she is in the profession. Beautiful,discreet, and non judgemntal.

I'm not proud to admit this is me,( I'm sure you don't mean me in this case) but I still would like to chime in:
 it's not always so simple when you are your own screener & assistant  
And it's not always about me deciding I don't like you......
I am getting better, (really I am) but in the beginning- especially- it's about maybe a phone call from family or a package arriving- me getting side tracked, sometimes mid-email or w/emails I thought I replied to.....
No excuse I know ( just the honest truth)  

Also I'm very, low volume & spend most of my time doing research on the emails I get from gentlemen... & there are a good amount of them that do not utilize p411, ones that have out of town references, that takes even extra work in checking & cross referencing, & just straight out time wasters who like to play like they want to visit but then never commit,

Couple this with the fact that I take great pride in my communication skills & I have awesome empathy & I try to put myself in your shoes so I ( just IMHO) always believe a person deserves some kind of explanation if I don't want to visit....

I also ask questions- because I'm big on communication & have learned you never know unless you ask..... Either way at times responses have also slipped along the wayside because I feel I have to put reason & thought into my response & at times (less often now) a hectic life can take too much of my reasoning & thoughtfulness....

 I've looked into getting an assistant but I have confliction about it, as I love to directly communicate with you myself...
 ( also cost to consider when you're low volume)  

I'm pretty sure I never leave people hanging for days, but I do know if I start asking some questions- things can just keep going back & forth with no real results and here comes a final point,  
I realize this is a customer service type of thing but realistically, this is time, my incall, my body & it doesn't get much more personal than that, so when thinking of some of the gals that are a little flaky, my thought is: if you really like them & they never told you it wouldn't work, why not just ask again later, I don't mind & I'm very flattered at anyone who  
Puts in extra effort. (though u shouldn't have to)
 I do think my flakiness has probably cost me some very good visits & potential friends & for this I'm sorry.  

I could use the excuse of my adult ADD too ....but hopefully I gave some of you guys an even better look into the reality for some of us, especially if they are new to this & or don't have screeners.

Keep trying once in a while if you want, & know we don't get offended if we miss the opportunity, do the proper screening steps & it should all work out.  
Thanks for reading this & starting such a good topic.

Awesome response, Mindy.  Thank you.

Also: You are not one of the ones that I was referring to.  I haven't contacted you yet.

Yet.

I know when I am looking for a lady, I might contact 15-20 ladies in an hour because I am often a last minute hobbyist.  When I hook a good one I am done responding and headed to the lady and I may not respond to any of the other responses that come back after I have left.

I used to contact 1 or 2 ladies and wait, I ended my day frustrated far too often that way.  So I began contacting more ladies and setting an appointment for the fun of it, that is the reason I hobby!  I only contact ladies I would want to see, but I many times go with a first response gets my money attitude!

I don't mind jumping on this train, Could not agree more that Portia and Miss Betty really stand alone in this quality. Other ladies do just fine in my opinion, however the cream certainly rises to the top for these ladies.

If I don't respond right away it's usually due to no signal or because the P411 request got lost in my spam folder ( still trying to figure out why it's doing that since last year.
It's why I prefer a phone call or direct email message.  
I completely understand the frustration, people should at least respond.
 

your in bin, no need to look for me, I'll be just fine!

Great response Mindy.

It seems to me that this is often the most difficult part of being a quality provider.  I've encountered a fair number of providers who were good at the physical side of the business but did not the whole business of dealing of scheduling, screening, etc well.  Some never seemed to care about mastering it, some got better with experience.  And of course there are some who understood how important it is right from the start.  For my part, all the providers whom I have seen more than a few times were ones I considered reliable.

I so appreciate your compliments.  

Even before Miss Betty started assisting with my emails, etc. I think I did pretty well with quick responses...... Because I spent soooooo much extra time in my email!!!   Frankly I don't find it fun or enjoyable to be sitting at a computer screen.  I'd rather be sitting on ......... And ...........   Lol

I remember I was worried that having an assistant would have a negative impact on my "business" and my life when in fact it's been just the opposite.    Finding the right assistant is "key".  

You've NEVER seen me so I'd keep your nasty comments to myself if I were you.

My apologies if my humor offended you, I assure you I did not intend to do so!