(This was originaly going to be a response to Charline's "Assistants" thread, but the text grew beyond just her topic so I started a new thread.)
I've had to work with a high-profile provider's assistant numerous times this spring/summer (and others in the past). I will often give my contact numbers, and other pertinent info, multiple times: in the initial contact, the 1st confirmation, and the one just before the meeting. I will leave the info in the email thread of responses as well. So why do I get asked a boilerplate question as to how I can be contacted again just before? urgh. Especially for repeat hobbyists, can't the assitants use a system of a hobbyist selected name and password and just keep that info in a secure spreadsheet? A number of NY agencies do that so that for appointments and references, it takes all of 30 seconds to set things up, or provider a reference.
One thing I liked about an agency that is headquartered in England but sends ladies over here to NY is the assistants will also take requests for the type of service being sought, types of attire the gentlemen are hoping to see the lady wear, and other info (like dinner arrangements, etc) and pass them on to the lady, and then quickly get back to the guy with confirmation/follow-on questions. Soooooo nice to work this way. I'm sure I am not the only guy who has wondered if a provider has ever seen a request, and doesn't want to continually send emails asking for response, and then showing up and finding out they either didn't read it or forgot about the request.
My pet peeve is that there are a few high $$$$ providers whose email response rates drop-off or take forever (4-6 days), once you've established a relationship. (Gives the feeling of being taken for granted. Like we've been 'hooked' and so less effort is now needed to 'keep' us.)
Isn't part of the point of being high $$$ so that you see fewer people and have more time to get back quickly to repeat clients? With the advent of speech recogntiion software, there is no excuse not to answer emails quickly. (I know people who handle 200 emails a day using the software and it takes no time at all to give more than a 12 word answer.) If you just focused on giving better responses to your loyal repeats, not even 30 minutes a day is required. From a business standpoint, investing 5 minutes of time in someone who will be dropping $1,000-$2,000 in an evening, to help them keep the fantasy going, is a great ROI. I've had the experience of dealing with an assistant who also doesn't quickly hear back from the provider as well. Ladies, try to treat your repeat hobbyists well, especially the multi-hour ones. If you find one, he most likely is enjoying more than just the 'wham bamm' time, and a little better responsiveness in the email realm adds to the GFE most are seeking by doing multi-hour, multi-visits.
One final point. I know there are some providers who have seperate emails from their assistants. As a courtesy ladies, if you say you want to meet, don't have the guy have to send a seperate email to your assistant. In your response to the guy, just also CC your assistant saying it is okay to arrange the meeting. By you doing this, it takes some of the awkwardness away from the guy. Again, it makes it seem less of a business transaction if you 'hold our hand' in the scheduling.
"The longer you wait, the harder it is to produce
outstanding customer service."
WILLIAM H. DAVIDOW
In the world of hobbying, there is always new 'product' coming on the market. We've often seen ladies start to added additional services like Greek in order to compete as they themselves age, but desire to keep their revenue stream at current levels. Many men who prefer women in their 30's and up are looking for a bit of an electronic 'relationship' as a way of keeping them coming back to their special lady. If there is a good assistant/provider relationship, the provider can be freed from the mundane to have more time for cultivation. I know there is more than one high $$$ provider out there who has had a number of nice repeat hobbyists who just 'disappeared', and wondered what happened to them. Some may have gotten out of the hobby, but many have moved on, feeling taken for granted after a few nice meetings. As other threads have indicated, many of us are looking for a connection (not so we can marry you), but so that the fantasy seems more real.
This was longer than I intended. (I very rarely post so blame it on the 'build-up'!) Maybe it will provide food for thought to any ladies who've been in the hobby for while, and are at their 'peak', feeling like they'll always have guys beating a path to their door, who want to avoid waking up oneday finding a noticeable dropp-off in regulars returning.
