I'm angry and perplexed at the moment. I just spent an hour and twenty minutes driving round-trip, not counting the extra shower and grooming time beforehand, and the painstaking selection-process time. All this for nothing. The provider evidently flaked-out on me.

This would have been the 3rd time I've hobbied, so I have a fairly good idea of how this process is supposed to work.

I called the provider yesterday, and arranged a meeting for today at noon. During that call, I felt surprised that she didn't ask me for much information. So I finally asked her if she wanted my land phone number (which is listed) or any other info.

She just asked if I had a business card. When I confirmed that I did, she merely said to bring it with me along with a photo ID.

At this point, I just said "Okay, fine. I'll call you tomorrow between 11:00 and 11:30 before I leave my office." I didn't even bother telling her that I'm also a RS2K member, as she didn't seem even remotely interested in obtaining any additional information from me.

Today at 11:10am, I called her as promised. Communicating with her was difficult, as she was talking to other people in her background (in a different language and in somewhat excitable tone) and me at the same time. Then we were disconnected before our conversation had ended. Because of the confusion, and her poor business manners, I considered just forgetting about her.

I waited about 5 minutes to see if she would return the call. She did not. Thinking it possible that the disconnection may have had something to do with MY phone, I decided to give her the benefit of a doubt, and called her back.

She told me what town to drive to, but the street and address were very unclear. She speaks with an accent, and I had to ask her twice to repeat it. It finally occurred to me that she really didn't want to give me any more information than the town. I thought to myself "Why didn't she just tell me this in the first place?" (All the while I could hear other people speaking in her immediate background).

I finally asked her if she wanted me to drive to the center of the town, and call her from there. She said "Yes, please."

So this is exactly what I did. But when I called her, she did not pick up. I drove around town for waited 10 minutes, and called her a second time. Again, she did not answer. I left a message, telling her that she just had me waste an hour and a half of my time, then drove back to work.

It's now two and a half hours later, and I still haven't heard from her. I doubt I ever will.

How can someone be so lax about my ID one day, apparently become so freaked out about it the next day?

Is this my fault for not backing off of her at the sign of first red flag? Or, is she just a poor communicator and/or someone who just doesn't know what she's doing yet?

Should I report her in some manner to spare other guys the grief of lost time and effort, or just forget about her?

C

the main ones being, who are all those voices in the background?

I get the impression that events were taking over this provider and that her attitude is "If it happens, it happens, and if not, feh."

You got the feh, I'm afraid.

Yes, by all means forget this one.  There are so many other fine providers out there.

Also you might want to post this on your local boards and see what kind of feedback you get.

I think that nearly every hobbyist has had a similar experience.  I had three in the space of a couple of months, but then everything sorted itself out.

You'll forget about  it in no time, but I know it's a bitch when it happens.

Yeah, you're probably right.  

I've never been on the local board yet. If I post this matter over there, would you recommend that I identify the provider?

By the way... I hate to show my board-newbie colors so soon, but what is FEH? (Kinda figure that the F may stand for that very common four-letter word).

Thanks.

C

I had this happened to me the first time I tried venturing into the hobby.  I called the provider, and told her I wanted to set up an appointment.  She did not ask for any screening information other than my full name.  (I wasn't an RS2K member yet.)  Also, she did not give me any information about where the incall was, other than "just off of such and such highway".

Two hours before the appointment time, I called her to confirm.  She just said: "Can I call you back a little later?"  Needless to say, she never called back.  In retrospect, maybe she somehow realized I was a total newbie, and decided to mess with me.  Luckily, providers like this don't stay in business for long.

mrfisher, you may agree, but I can almost tell when one has flake written on it.  Just last week, a lady that I've seen before dropped off while I was waiting for updated info.  I immediately went into backup mode, because I just had that feeling that we were doomed.  It's a shame, because she was a fun time on a previous visit, but being able to spot the problem allowed me to salvage the day.  My backup wasn't everything I'd hoped for, since it was kind of last minute, but it would've been far worse if I'd spent the day without any companionship.

Im sorry that happend to you, that sucks. Sounds like this provider doesn't take her business seriously. She just wasted your time as much as hers. I could not do that to anyone if anything I would just give them a courtesy call and say hey I cant make it something happen, its that simple. Again, sorry that happen to you.

Does every 3-letter word have to be an acronym??

You are correct...it does suck, and I'd have rather seen her than the lady I ended up with.  My point though, is that after a while, you can spot the signs of a problem in the making early enough to not completely spoil your day.

It was the first time that she did that to me, but when I checked with a buddy for some backup recommendations, he wasn't surprised at all.  Maybe my skills aren't as good as I thought.

Thanks to all for your interesting contributions!

C

"Should I report her in some manner to spare other guys the grief of lost time and effort, or just forget about her?"

Please do your fellow hobbyists a favor and post your experinece on your local board. You might just save someone else the same aggravation.