I am quite confused here.  The mgmt team of my agency is trying to figure out why it seems that hobbyists prefer independent ladies over an agency. I would say that an agency is much safer bc we are a real company. We have advertisements in newspapers, a website, as well as in 2 local phone books in our area. We have found through tons of calls that we get, that when a guy seems to think he is dealing with an independent girl, that he thinks he has a "chance" with her, meaning outside the paid appointment time. We have had ppl hang up if we admit to being an agency. So for now, most of our advertising we do online we act as if the lady is independent.
Can someone please explain what the problem is? For the entire time we have been in business, our agency has only received like 5 reviews, and 4 of them were for 1 girl and one of them was a bad review for another girl that is no longer working here bc we terminated her due to complaints from customers. We have a decent customer base, but I think we might be missing something here. We have hesitated to advertise on Eros bc I dont know if we should advewrtise as an independent girl  or as an agency. I dont want to spend that kind of money to not receive any calls. We already spend enough on advertising. Also, I know tons of ppl say to stay away from advertising on CL, but it seems its the only way we can get steady calls

If an agency will screen me using a combination of my TER handle, reviews and whitelistings, my Preferred411 and date-check memberships, and *not* require my real name, I am fine with dealing with them.

There are several agencies with which I have had very excellent dealings. Several of the highest ratings I have given to ladies have been agency ladies.

Also - if I am going to see a previously unreviewed lady, I will *only* do so with an agency with whose ladies I have had consistently good experience.

Bottom line - if your agency does not requre my real name, communicates well with me, and if you have a highly reviewed lady in whom I had interest, I would take her for a spin. If that went well I might well consider seeing other of your ladies whether reviewed or not, as long as not negatively reviewed.  

GTM

I am one of those guys who has been hesitant to go with an Agency. I think it boils down to 3 issues with me.

First and foremost... pricing. I like to know up front the cost for FS before I get somewhere. It seems like with Agency girls (at least in our area), there is an Agency fee to get the girl there... fair enough. But beyond that, you have to do some sort of negotiation to figure out the BJ, the FS, the GFE, the PSE, what services they provide and at what cost. What a turn-off. I want to walk in with my pre-packed envelope and know it covers what I want. I don't want to get into some used-car buying negotiation experience. So any way you could just lay it out up front (like on an Indie girl's website)... I gotta think this would be preferred by all guys.

2nd, record keeping. Sure the Indies are going to keep records too. But I feel better with just the girl (and most of them I have seen are a bit disorganized anyway) having my name on file than some Agency or Madame which LE could take down and subpeona customer files, like you hear about in the news.

3rd, incalls. I prefer incalls. No credit card charges to hotels rooms on my credit cards. Just show up, have fun, leave. In our area it seems all the Agency girls do is outcalls. I'm a married dude so having an outcall to my house is a no go, or a hotel room with my ID and Card on it is a no go, etc...  Agency with an incall would be great.

There are really highly rated girls in our area which I haven't seen to simply because of these 3 concerns associated with Agencys. If the SLC Agencies could eliminate these concerns, it would open up a whole new world of fun to me.

Each has their advantages. The big advantage of agency girls is that you can often book on short notice, and if you are already screened by the agency, you can book someone new with little trouble.

I gotta hunch your issues may not have anything to do with advertising. Every business boils down to quality service and good customer relations. There are many excellent agencies that provide both and build loyal followings. You probably need to start by seriously scrutinizing the quality of your providers and the consistency of your booking experience.

If you advertise on your local TER board and have premier ladies, you will definitely get reviews.

One time I helped out an agency. I hardly had time to finish before another client was sent over.
I hated that. thank goodness it was only one day.
If I were a guy, I wouldn't want a provider that had an agency that schedules appointment like haircuts. Every 45 minutes.
I wouldn't want to visit an agency provider at her hotel. I can't even begin to imagine how they operate that. Girls share rooms. Multiple girls in motels.
Because a provider does not have much say so as to who she entertains, I think that takes away from her enjoyment.
I want to pick and choose. I want to be his one a day. I wouldn't want to work for an agency. I want to work for myself. No one can represent me any better than I can.
These are my opinions.

There is a more personal feel in dealing with indies where the interaction is all one on one. Not everyone is thrilled with ordering a hooker like he would a pizza, despite the convenience. And yes, indies don't have the regimented schedules that agency girls have, so the "off the clock" stuff does go on.

By the way, if you advertise agency girls on Eros as independents, it's pretty easy for us to spot the deception. The URLs tells us who paid for each individual ad.

I agree that there can be pros and cons.  Short notice is good.  Good agency has several hot ladies.

Turn offs: fear of record keeping and them going down.  As GTM said if they will work off of pre-screening then it feels safer....

The thought of "stacking 'em deep, doing 'em for cheap" really takes the shine off.

Best of luck

... do serve a good function, especially for the ladies who simply don't have the patience or business acumen to go it 100% as an Indy provider.

In my experiences, I have come to believe  gentlemen who prefer independents will tend to be looking for more of a GFE/ pseudo-relationship type of experience; a deeper connection, if you will. If the provider has a specific look that fulfills the GFE fantasy, all the better. Regular clients of an agency would tend to lean more towards purely physical gratification... even when with a GFE - advertised provider. The notion of any deeper connection, even in a fantasy setting, is not an issue or concern.

Unless you have a direct connection, odds are if you like high profile high dollar porn stars, you'd probably be better off going through an agency.

I am an indy,
But have to agree with you it is incredibly challenging to manage your personal life and still treat your appointments with a level of professionalism without some help.

I hire a professional Time Manager to help manage my calendar, screen my callers, book appts, manage my web site stuff, and ads. It is like having your own personal agency she rocks!

I don't know many good reputable agencies in Vegas and was told not to work for them by other indies.
I think I am fortunate and got lucky, my booking agent used to own her own agency and I trust her. She is also very fair and when had her agency she made it fun and fair for everyone.. she is like that now with my clients and everyone tells me when i meet them that she is awesome!
I don't think my business life would flow as well without her help.
Less time on my phone, More time for fun with you!
xoxo Sydney

These are my personal thoughts regarding the basic differences between Independent providers and Agency providers:

1.   Ease of Scheduling:  Generally, it is easier to get an appointment with little lead time with an agency versus an independent.  While this is nice for a client, I do get a little wary if there is NO screening done by the agency.  I have had this happen a couple of times and I have not revisited those agencies.  I want to know that both parties involved are trying to minimize the risks.

2.  Storage of My Personal Data:  As another response pointed out, the practice of storing client data is scary to me.  I have repeated with a very reputable agency a few times.  The first visit required quite a bit of screening, which was fine by me.  After that, the subsequent visits required only my name and phone number.  Then I was cleared and set to go.  Therefore, I knew they were consulting a database of prior client records.  While this was nice for me, the recent high profile busts of a few agencies around the country (including the subsequent publishing of client data records) made me very nervous.

3.  Time:  While I certainly don't expect a provider - either independent or agency - to purposely extend our time together without additional charges, it has happened a few times for me.  I was extremely appreciative each time and tipped appropriately.  However, each of those times was with an independent.  Agency girls just don't have the freedom to make that decision for themselves.

4.  Workload:  I am not under the delusion that every provider I see is clearing her schedule and seeing only me that day.  But I do know that generally speaking, the independent women tend to book fewer clients per day than the average agency provider.  I would rather not be the final chore at the end of a long day of work for anyone.

5.  Review History:  As GTM mentioned, while I generally will not book an appointment with an unreviewed, independent provider, I will take a chance on an unreviewed provider that is associated with an agency with which I personally have a good history.  I have done this a few times and it has worked out well for me.

6.  Possibility of LE entanglement:  Assuming that both an agency and an independent are both established and well-reviewed, I am more wary of an agency getting busted than an independent.  It seems that LE is attracted to the higher profile/higher reward bust of agencies versus trying to expend resources to nab a single local lady.  This is where item #2 above becomes an issue for me.  Once there is a bust, the records become a public problem for past clients.

As far as advertising is concerned, the venue in which I see the ad is less important to me than knowing that your agency has a well-reviewed history.  Also, if it is simply one provider getting all the good reviews, with a few others getting below average reviews, this doesn't speak well of the agency.  It looks great if I happen to be interested in the one good lady, and she is available, but I would also be wary of getting "Bait and Switched."  Probably wouldn't take the chance.

The best chance of getting a review history to overcome the initial Catch-22 is to advertise on your TER local board and do something to entice established reviewers to see your ladies.  Then hope that you have recruited top-notch providers.

Good luck.

-- Modified on 4/27/2009 3:54:41 PM

I don't think that anyone prefers indy to agency.  It's hard for agency to compete since the donation has to be split...  and yet many ladies use booking agents which is nearly the same thing.  
TER members are a minority sub-set of clients...  I'd like to think we're educated in what is expected, behave in respectful manner, know how to be discrete.  
It does seem that CL has a steady stream of uneducated (to the hobby) newbies.  They've had a steady stream of FREE ADVERTIZING.  
I believe the agency or the ladies, can post a free ad / notice once every 7 days on the regional (local) board.  Any web-site must display a TER logo if you link to it.  
skb

Thank you so much for responding to my posting. I am just getitng my feet wet in posting here but I have been a lurker and trying to learn for several mths

I would like to say some things here to answer you:

With regards to pricing: We actually advertise our rates, but we constantly have people calling and asking uncomfortable questions-- so we have added something at the bottom of our ads that says "No discussion of services" I do not like having to answer thosetypes of questions on the phone. We train our ladies also to NOT upsell. The rate is what it is, and we explained if they do any of that, they could wind up in trouble with LE if there ever was a problem. . bc as per our co attorney, you just cannot UPSELL. Its a BAD idea. Still, we have had some of our customers tell us that one or two of our ladies tried pulling that crap on them. We tend to terminate their employment rather quickly.. and we also let them know they are on their own if they choose to operate like this
About record keeping-- we do not keep records. At all. Our repeat customers , we simply know them as we remember them. We dont require our clients to go through some lengthy screening process bc we know that makes them uncomfortable and then we will lose money bc they wont want to dealwith us. We try to make their experience with us as positive and easy as possible.
Incalls- we offer that, and we offer it on a daily basis.
So it seems as if some of you aresaying we should advertise on here? I am afraid if we do that, and start formally advertising as an agency, that some of our repeat customers that think they are dealwith independent girls( like from CL) will disappear. If we tried to advertise as an agency on CL we wouldnt get any calls. As it is, most of our immediate appointments come from CL. We are trying to get away from advertising there, but like I said, we dont know where else to advertise, and a place where it would be worth advertising as an agency. We alreayd have ads in our phone books and also in the paper. I wish there were some other agency owners on this board that I could talk to who really know the ins and outs of this. I know of one other agency in our area, and the lady advertises her ladies as independents.
So, what to do? Any ideas?
Thanks so much for all of you that have already responded too

that independents are more likely to be low volume, will provide a better GFE service and are most likely to not rush you out the door so that they can get ready for the next guy.

I have seen two providers so I dont have much to go on. The first was indie and the second agency. I liked the first better because it felt like I could stay with her all day, The agency girl had a appt that a coworker was also using. I couldnt go to the bathroom with out her checking to make sure the other customer was in there room. Very uncomptorble. The ladies were both great!!!! I also didnt like talking to a screener. Like I said at the beguining I am new.

For us married guys, I don't know how you could sleep at night KNOWING your name is on a list
at an agency.

These agencies are easy targets for LE because
they are so visible on the net and print.

To me, having my name on the list will never happen. This hobby is risky enough without that
ticking time bomb.

Think what would happen if your name appeared
on a list in the local paper....

Man, I think I would prefer to hang myself.

Having said that, I would be willing to submit to datecheck or 411 because you have to do that at least.

Indie using one of these methods is is the only way I would go..

Posted by im2cute82  , 4/28/2009 6:38:45 AM  

Im an escort used to work for an agency and then me and my 2 girl partner invested in yellow page ad.

Most agencys except for our "agency" want half of what the girl makes but that in eastern nc. so if the girl want to walk away with 200 she has to ask for 400.

we don't keep names or numbers its too confusing, and always ask if we are permitted to return a phone call. I always introduce my self as kelly craigs secretary if a lady answers the phone I will say "is shanay nay there?? tell her she owes me some money for my hair braiding skillz" and thats if the lady sounds white. because lets face it no one wants to lose a customer because we return a missed call.

hmmm i like this forum.

yes negotation is funny the hobbyiest know to ask for an allinclusive flat rate... the new guys that call the yellow page ads are usually drunk marines and thats not a bad thing but it does get tiresome so thank god they are voluntarily more generous but they also are not hobbyist and can afford to blow it all in one place... hobbyist are my favorite even though they do not tip they are alway polite and on time... and always call back the next week so flat rates are soo much better for them.

I agree the agencys have a habit of miscommunicating, or the girls will say my boss lied or bs you the whole time but.... I learned from others mistakes that word of mouth will make or BREAK you so best to quote price up front if asked. agency or not.

Related Link: http://www.allforyouescorts.com

you are right about one thing. Some of these guys want and independent because they might be able to get her to vary on her prices or see them for free. They want a relationship.

I am independent and have had an agency and have madamed and have been part of an angency. The guys don't get it.

the difference in the girls is the independent wants to and is capable of marketing herself. Her reputation is important.

An agency gal does not want to is not able to market herself. She can not lower her price or give extra time for the money being spent.

but as far as did they have problems. They are exactly the same. They have the same problems in either arena.

Some agencies turn out to be a pimp and his girls. Some are true businesses.