Hope this helps a little bit

I'm new to the states, not sure if you mean Backpage, but personally I didn't find it appealing and have been told not to waste my time advertising there as it's not at my level. You should try eros-guide. Look for girls that are well established with websites they are more likely to be concerned about their reputation. I don't have many reviews yet, Australia hasn't got into the whole thing, but with how happy everyone so far has been I can't see it will take long. Also if you want to avoid throwing up in your mouth it is best to spend that little bit extra, Like anything you get what you pay for. My requested donation is $400 hour, I dress to impress and my 'friends' always leave very very happy.

With so many girls working with LE my assistant doesn't even bother with references from girls so as long as you are willing to provide your correct name along with employment information you should be fine. Date-check & Provider411 when having no references are no longer the only  means of verification.

Hope this helps a little bit. There are some amazing girls out there, hope you have better luck next time

Get a VIP account if you don't already have one.

Flint is close enought to Detroit that if you plan right, you can visit ladies that work the Detroit area. Some may visit Flint. Use TER search to find top performers with performance scores of 8 or above. I found about a dozen in a search. The providers ranged from golden blondes to dark sweet chocolate, with one cherry redhead in the mix. Your mistake is a classic newbie mistake that is some times repeated by experienced hobbyists. Live and learn, and use TER for all it is worth.

Thank you all for the excellent advice.  I am VIP, and also submitted a review on the provider to hopefully help others.

Will try eros instead of BP.
Started the verification through rs2k, but haven't finished yet, not 100% bought in yet.
Would like at least one good experience before fully committing to the hobby.

All is not lost!

Oh, and I agree on the cost piece, honestly it wasn't a factor when I made the bad choice.

Thanks again, and I will of course gladly accept any further advice.

BSR

I am assuming that you have VIP access.  If you do not and don't want to pay for it, write a review.  You just saw a provider, so you can write a review on that experience and that'll get you 10 days if I recall correctly.  

In any case, I like to browse new reviews in in my area.  I can quickly see what the overall take on a provider is and after I check out her photos and I am interested, I'll begin to read the reviews.  Or, if I feel like checking out an escort mall such as Cityvibe, many providers with reviews have links in the ads to their TER reviews.   So, no matter how you search for a provider, do so with TER.

The only truly bad experiences I have ever had were before I started using TER.  After TER I've a couple of sessions that were less than expected, but nothing bad and no rip-offs.  

If you are willing to put in the time for research, you will find a provider to your liking who is known for great service at a donation level you are cool with.

I'm planning a trip there, have done some research, and found a couple of well reviewed providers that are newbie friendly.  I can let you know who.

From there, get confirmed on Date Check and it should be a lot easier.