Hi
A friend of mine who just started in the hobby about 6 months ago had a very scary experience, which I would like to share. He was in Baltimore on business and made an appointment with a providor. He asked her about the area(being from out of town) and she told him it was safe. He saw her and there was no problem with her but when he returned to his rental car it had been trashed. He was then challanged by three youths one of whom had a knife. Luckily for him two neighbors happened on the scene and called LE, which caused the youths to run. This was 3 in the afternoon. LE told him that this neighborhood was not one where outsiders should visit.
Since I am sure many of us visit providors while on business trips to areas we know little about I would like to suggest that
when we post reviews we let each other know if the providor is in an area that might cause one to worry. I would only suggest this be included in reviews where the hobbiest really felt the area they saw the providor in was unsafe.
I will try to do this and I hope others will consider it.

Very interesting post here, and it is a shame that incidents like this occur. This is why our site is set up to protect both the hobbyist and provider communities.  We are only accepting reputable, REVIEWED, proven providers, and do not hesitate to remove listings when complaints come in, or poor reviews begin sprouting up about a given provider.

In addition our newest feature will launch in two weeks which allows the providers to log into our provider portal and exchange "heads up" and other pertinent info amongst the provider community.

We plan to tackle issues like this from all ends of the spectrum by allowing the review boards to handle the hobbyist feedback. and our advertising community to exchange their own information once they are registered on our site as an advertiser.

It's a shame that things like this occur, but everybody has got to be protected, and everybody in the business (as providers or hobbyists) need a reputable source to rely on, and that is us.

Thanks everyone, and be safe!

Jane  

What a great idea.  I am very excited to see that TER will offer a Provider Portal.  Just as we want to offer the best possible service and security to all you wonderful gentlemen hobbyists, Providers must also protect ourselves.  Having a forum for warnings about LE -- less than savory clients -- should be very welcome.  

I know I'll have a few posts!  

Rachel Ann
818-693-2057

Having worked in a major medical school in downtown Baltimore, I can attest to there being some dangerous areas, complete with muggings, drug deals, murders etc. If you have no knowledge of the city, you can easily get into real problems.

To Staff: maybe the "safety" issue should get more weighting in the review process?