No, this is not about landlords that rent to providers.


This is a question about how a provider should go about raising her price.  

In this girls case, she started out by setting her price at 1/3 of standard rate of her competition.

After six months of great service, she now has more clients than she has time for and she wants to raise her prices.

This is similar to a landlord raising the rent.  It has to be done delicately because of the reaction that results when people first find out about the change in price.

Since this is forum representing both sides, I'd like to ask the question of how should this be done.  

a) Does she just change her TER listed price?

b) Does she owe her regulars anything as far as a discounted price?

c) Does she raise her rates linearly?
 (x+50 for one hour, 2x+100 for two hours, etc)

d) Does she raise her rates for the first hour only?  
  (x+50 for one hour, two hours is 2x+50, three hours is 3x+50)

e) Does she raise the price to the going market?
  (x becomes 3x for one hour).


Her popularity and the performance averages of her reviews indicate that she is a top quality provider.  

It is conceivable that if she took option e, she might lose most of her existing clientele because most of them were bargain hunters.

But would this not open the door to allow her to recruit clients who could afford her but were not able to connect with her because of her popularity among the bargain hunters.

This is how she earns money for her kids to eat so she has to be careful not to drive all of her customers away, so a phased increase seemed like the acceptable approach to take.  Just like rent increases.

I never thought I would be comparing a landlord to a provider

I can only tell you what I have done, myself.  

I personally started out very low out of ignorance of what the going rate was.  As my popularity rose, I periodically raised my rate, usually in $25.00 increments as to not shock the system.  

I felt is was only proper to continue to offer the rate I was giving my regular friends.  In other words, their rates never changed, but all new friends paid the new rate.

Honestly, there is no written rule, she just needs to do what she is comfortable with.  If she honestly feels her rate is unreasonably low, then maybe she should raise it across the board?  Or maybe just give a slight increase to her regulars and then the larger increase to all new friends.

Like I said before, I did what I was comfortable with and she needs to do the same.  And yes, I do see about 3 men at the original rate I started at and I have never regretted it.  They are good guys and I am happy they continue to want to see me.

Hope this helps.

Hugs,

Steami

From my own experience the raising of price for services based on what you've said about this lady is to be expected rather than being unusual.  Howver...every gal that I know has grandfathered her earlier clients (assuming they were regulars) at the rate they originally paid.  

Call it loyalty or what you will, to not do so might discourage the posting of reviews & tend to encourage even more guys to keep these real "finds" to themselves...ultimately hurting, instead of helping, her business---& additionally perhaps discouraging her original customers from remaining regulars, again risking some financial impact.  

As to the frequency or increments in which a raise in prices might be discouraging, I really don't have an opinion...other than to say that if I noticed one who went from X to double or triple that amount, I'd definitely be turned-off---not necessarily by the money part of it per se, but by the fact that it would ram home the monetary aspect of this hobby, which would totally ruin the illusionary aspect of this hobby which is important to many.

I'm speaking, of course, from strictly from my own POV...the gals might feel differently.

Well said as usual Wolfman, I will only add that I admire the girl for starting out charging a more "humble" fee and establishing her reputation as a good provider first.  Many times a new girl will start off charging the going rate of the more established providers.

There will be some resistance to any rate increase but as stated hopefully she will show appreciation to her regular clients.  As for the others who waited to meet her, "if you snooze, you lose".

BTW aspuser, you will back channel and tell me who she is, right?




-- Modified on 4/9/2002 6:50:15 PM

In your post, you say she is providing as a source of income for herself and children.  Although many providers enjoy escorting, she may not.  Is she doing it merely for the money?  If so, I would recommend that she gradually raise her "listed price" $50 or so for a few months until she figures out where the price increase leads to too few new hobbiest.  At that point she holds her price steady.  As for her regulars, grandfathering the price will give her that regular income without fear of LE.  Remember the more new clients she sees, the higher the odds of meeting up with a lunatic or LE.

I base this on running my own business, not escorting, and having to raise prices in order to compensate for regular cost of living adjustments.
My humble opinion.

The difference between us landlords and providers is that in keeping with our grinch image we don't grandfather rates. Let the market place rule.. Right Streightman!!

I think it is a great policy to "grandfather" the rates.

Most of my loyal local regular friends came in on a "Special". I am VERY lucky that many of my loyal local regulars TOOK IT UPON THEMSELVES to increase my rate. About 6 months ago almost one by one they began to pay more for my service than the original "Special Rate" they had been paying (an increase of $100 to $150 depending on the client). I was suprised, I would have "NEVER" raised my rates for my regular clients, especially for my clients who have been seeing me for such as long time (some as long as 6 to 9 months). Many of them also leave tips on a regular basis, even though they have been seeing me for months (again I dont ask for them or expect them, I would never do that). I am one of the few ladies in Las Vegas who has an INCALL Location, Good Service and Reasonable rates...I have never asked them why they took it upon themselves to increase my rate, though I suspect they are showing their appreciation.

Someone said: ... & tend to encourage even more guys to keep these real "finds" to themselves...ultimately hurting, instead of helping, her business

YES! I love my LOYAL local regular clients but they didnt want ANYONE ELSE to know about me! I'm flattered...but c'mon. :0)~

Someone else said: I will only add that I admire the girl for starting out charging a more "humble" fee and establishing her reputation as a good provider first.  

Her heart may be in the right place, but this is sometimes a MISTAKE. A lower price discourages gentlemen from setting an appointment with a provider (at least that is the case here in Las Vegas). They may think she has a drug habit, is a rip-off, or has bad service. They may be thinking "If she's so great why are her rates so low?"  Low prices ultimately HURT the provider (again, this seems to be the case in Las Vegas).

Someone also said:  As for her regulars, grandfathering the price will give her that regular income without fear of LE.  Remember the more new clients she sees, the higher the odds of meeting up with a lunatic or LE.

EXACTLY! I dont mind my "old friends" having a lower rate, like you said, I know they are NOT LE or PSYCHO ("AND" they see me on a regular basis) so a discount for my safety is not a bad thing.

MY POINT: All I know is that here in Las Vegas if a girl has LOW RATES clients avoid her like the plague. I know of a provider who had "Reasonable Rates" of $300 and she was hardly getting any calls...now her rate is $400...she is more busy than ever. go figure.

my 02. cents

Sable

I am one of those clients, as Sable mentioned, who saw a provider at the start.  The rate was great and the service incredible.  She slowly built up her clientele and gradually raised her rates, while keeping mine at the "original".  This provider quickly became my ATF, and as a result, I gradually would pay her a little more.  Now, I pay her the standard fee, and in exchange, receive a longer (sometimes much longer) session with "extras" and also quality "between" time.  I look at it as I have been there since her start, realized that she was becoming a top-notch provider, and have been an honorable gentleman to her (by paying her up-to-date fee).  She, in turn, has noticed, appreciated, and rewarded me for my loyalty and support.  I'm happy and I think she is happy.  Just my way of thinking....

    PlanetU2

I will grandfather rates every now and then. This is an example of informed capitalism.... Sometimes the smart thang is to charge less because in the long run profits are higher.

And there are always the ones who pay a premium because the're a**holes...

PlanetU2 you must be one of my wonderful gents I've been so grateful to have gracing my doorways for the last 3 years.  Your response is exactly how this has been for me as my wonderful friends have continued to allow me the pleasure of their company since my early beginnings.  Both of us augumenting in the ways you described without any words on these subjects ever being discussed.

First of all I have met a number of landlords who tend to keep their prices the same or very small increases until the tenant moves out.  I am sure this does not happen with the big outfits like Oakwood Apartments, etc.  I have heard of low rates in other fields working like you describe in Las Vegas.  Personally if an unknown new provider with no reviews is charging the going rate or above the going rate, I am not likely to call her.  There is no incentive for me to try the unknown provider when there a plenty of providers with good reviews at the same price or less.

It made me feel good to hear that there are many good providers out there who appreciate loyal regulars and keep their prices down for them.  

I also am happy to hear that the loyal regular tend to give up the extra dollars without being requested to as a sign of appreciation for the extra special care they receive.

The only thing that makes me sad is that this aforementioned provider interpreted  my intent of this thread as me asking for a discount when she raised her prices.  In reality, I would gladly have paid double her price so this was not my intent.

Sometimes it is amazing how little appreciation people have for things that are done for them by others without any compensation expected other than mere acknowledgment.  A simple thank you for the insight that the responses provided was all I expected.

Instead, I became a cheap meddling client in her eyes and she cancelled our next appointment.   When I tried to get her attention and to realize that she had taken it all the wrong way, she saw me as threatening her.   Now I am a "lunatic" that she will have nothing to do anymore.

If I had not written this thread and not talked to her this week, everything would have been fine today and we would have had our appointment and both gone away happy.  I know that there are many other fish in the sea, but this one was someone I thought was a close friend.

The moral of this story is that raising a providers price of admission is a taboo subject for clients to discuss with them because it deals with extremely volatile and very personal issues for the provider.

I guess that is why a landlord and tenant relationships are best kept professional and not personal.

Really, if someone does not like a price raise they have plenty of other options.  It is not like  a landlord where you have to move and it is a huge burden.  You just call someone else.  The general rule is you raise your price and you keep your regulars and anyone who has seen you before at the same rate.  How do you give youself a raise?  You change the numbers on your website.  It is that easy.

For a provider to not raise her rates across the board in my opinion is very bad business. I know this may sound crazy being that I'm a client but it I'll tell you why I think its bad. First off you have to determine what makes a past/steady client? Two meetings, three, four? And does when he saw you also factor in to grandfathering him? For example, he maybe saw you only once every 9 month. What qualifies a client to be grandfathered to a rate?

Loyalty be damned. This is business. When they raise the price of milk, everyone pays the new price. I can't go back to the market and say, "you know I've been drinking milk since I was a kid. I've been a regular client and you should show me loyalty by only charging me my orginal rate. Only charge those new babies your new rate". When rate increases happen in the real world, everyone pays. If you want to how some loyalty or favor to established clients then offer them other incentives, extra time, higher level of service etc.

If you keep raising your rates in $25 increaments, how do you know who locked in at what rate? It would be confusing to the guys and almost imposible for you to manage. You would basiscally have to count on the honesty of your clients. Good luck, especially when word gets around.

What about the new client who sees you weekly compared to the client who only saw you three times over the last year. That first guy is more of a reliable established client yet the other guy is getting the better rate???????

I never said this industry was typical of typical business practices, yet I think some people don't understand the real business drivers behind running a business. I know I'm about to get slammed but that is my take on it because I've heard this before from lady's who have raised their rates. Hell, I've been offered and turned down the favor for the reason stated above. I'm not looking to take advantage of anyone and if a person feels the need to justify raising rates, how in the world can they confirm that justification if they selectively aply who pays what?

You indicate your popularity is what drove you to raise your rates. I wonder how popular you remainded when your rates rose faster than the inflation rate for the country? You may charge more but do you make more? If the volume of clients stayed the same then your decision was sound. I just have a problem when a person "feels" they are popular and because so, they deserve to charge more. Sort of like a porn star charging a obscene amount for the same amount of work just because she is "popular" and did some guy in a video and let him give her a facial.

Hey aspuser oh and by the way I remember who you are now...it is the whole landlord tenant metaphor that did it for me. from checking out your reviews you must be speaking of one of two lovely latinas you have reviewed and I believe that they very much needed to raise their prices when they first started...although one deals with alot more price competition than the other. The other I actually know and with the kind of review that she has and her willingness to do things that very few providers (at least young attractive ones) will do I think gives her the right to raise it right up there. I can't imagine the class of clientele she was dealing with at her once very low rates...as a matter of fact alot of her earlier reviews were with relatively unknowns or those that are known for wanting the champagne deal at a malt liquor price. Although I don't agree with her liberal attitude towards safety I do agree with her price hike...If I was doing all that she is I would be charging $500 an hour. She only charges $50 more than I do and you get alot more for your buck...not that I am a bad provider I just have rules about health and my own safety that some men don't find attractive.
Just my 2 cents...
p.s. Bunnies forever

"this one was someone I thought was a close friend."

Therein was your mistake...until the day comes that you are not paying for it, it is BUSINESS...not a friendship. She was doing her job...and she felt (incorrectly) that you were threatening her income.

Perspective.....perspective....

I just never wanted to let go of my belief that she was my friend, even in the face of everyone else stating the contrary.

She has become so ice cold towards me that I would be a basket case right now if I had not already let go of her emotionally.

Imagine someone who you had an emotional affair with which was downgraded to "just friends" saying to you "there is no relationship between you and I now".  I guess I should thank her for terminating the friendship with her playing the evil persona.