Why do traveling providers travel? Simple. It is amazingly profitable, especially compared to staying "home". A traveling provider can, and does, see as many as 6 to 10 clients a day for 4 or 5 days. Few locals can see that many people.
Now, here's my issue. For me, a certain degree of intimacy and enthusiasm on the part of the provider are parts of what I think of as a great encounter. I like the idea, fantasy that it might be, that the provider has been looking forward to our "date" as much as I. I know that some women are amazing conversationalists, are great actresses and have great physical stamina, but it is hard for me to convince myself that anyone is really looking forward to seeing me when I know for a fact that I am number 4 or 5 in the last 5 or 6 hours; I keep getting the image of taking a number at the local bakery!
To overcome this "take a number" feeling, I try to deceive myself by arranging for a visitors first "date" on arrival at a city or, at worst, the first appointment in the morning> I also try to speak with the provider directly prior to a meeting (not always possible with a service) to try to develop at least a little rapport, so I can think that there is at least a little bit of direct "relationship" and that she might be looking forward to the meeting.
Now, contrasting my knowledge of traveling providers, I have an image of local providers that is a bit more "personal", in that I am nearly certain that the typical local provider sees fewer people in a day, and, therefore, looks forward to each one a bit more. That is probably a fantasy on my part, but it works for me. The problem is that, at least in my city, the few local providers who are good are so well reviewed or discussed on the net that they are clearly overwhelmed with business and may see as many people daily as the visitors.
In the "bad old days", pre Internet, about the only source of information was the Yellow Pages for outcall services and the local underground newspaper for both services and independents. It is my experience that, back then, the independents see fewer people daily, and, in fact, the ones I used to see clearly looked forward to our meetings.
This long screed started with an ode to my growing dissatisfaction with seeing traveling providers because their daily volumes made looking forward to any individual meeting difficult at best. Maybe its just that when seeing a visitor, there is no expectation that either or us would ever see the other again after the first hour and there is no reason to have anything other than "a moment's pleasure."
This entire piece is not meant to be disrespectful to any provider, local or traveling. Some of the people I have met have been great people. Some have done a great professional job even when I was number 4 or 6 or 8 that day and there was no expectation on either side that we would ever see each other again. Some of the better locals are just as busy (well, maybe not quite that busy) as some of visitors.
The general point for conversation is that, can there really be any semblance of "date", that the provider really looks forward to, if the provider (traveling or local) is seeing 6 or 8 or 10 people a day, for several days in a row?
Anyway, I would be interested in any reaction to this.
