Screening Fee for Newbie

[sketchball82]

No, it's not standard.

They are free to charge whatever they wish, and it's up to you to decide if you wish to pay it or not.

That being said, I would hope you have the integrity to walk away though because this is pretty absurd. It's nickle-and-diming at it's most glorious and nekkid best.


Just remember, providers are a business too. The best way to get them to change a pattern is to cut into their bottom line: their profit. If a provider sucks (or her policies suck), do not book an appointment. If it hurts her wallet, she'll try to fix the problem.

And to the providers, I'm aware it might take you time to screen someone, but like most businesses, you look like a greedy jackass when you nickle and dime your clients. This is like up-selling, but worse. Think about it from our prospective. It would be pretty absurd if you went to McDonald's and they advertised $5 for a meal... yet you show up to buy it and the cost was really itemized to $8, the ticket breaking down every cost, and the advertised $5 was really their profit...

$5.00 - meal (as advertised!)
$0.20 - gas to ship supplies to store
$0.80 - labor to cook
$0.09 - building heating costs
$0.20 - labor cost to clean restaurant
$0.65 - parking lot snow clearing
... other stuff
---
$8.00 due

[KCQuestor]

Originally Posted by sketchball82

It would be pretty absurd if you went to McDonald's and they advertised $5 for a meal... yet you show up to buy it and the cost was really itemized to $8, the ticket breaking down every cost, and the advertised $5 was really their profit...

I agree that if she felt that the screening costs needed to be something she was compensated for, she should include it in her rate. And I do hate being charged added fees on top of the base rate. But I also hate being charged for something I don't use. If I went to a restaurant and saw "Coffee and dessert included with every meal" but I don't drink coffee or eat sweets, I'd wonder how much cheaper my meal would be without the extra stuff.

Her point is that she only needs to do the extra screening on clients she hasn't seen before who also have no references. So if she adds the screening fee into her rate, all of her regular clients and all of the guys with good references are paying for something they wouldn't use.

Nevertheless, I still think a screening fee is wrong. In any business, some customers will incur more expenses and it is just accepted as the cost of doing business. To continue the McDonald's theme, some customers will take advantage of free refills, or take extra napkins, or want more ketchup.

[myfiat]

There's a "newbie tax" now? Kinda like an upcharge, don't blame her for asking, some will pay it.

[Blaze]

Since there had to be a sequel, I just had to copy and paste.

When I used to take newbies, they were charged an extra fee. The OP is correct that many ladies do subscribe to this practice and that it has gone on for years. I stopped seeing newbie clients from P4P site a few years ago.

But if I decided to see unscreened guys again, damn skippy I'd be getting paid extra for me going out on a limb.

[MsElena]

Blaze,

But, we're going out on a limb every time we see a client. Like I said earlier, its more work for me to track down references than it is to screen out a newbie.

I make more in a hour that most people, why should I charge extra just to screen the guy?

That extra fee isn't going to keep me out of jail, keep me from being harmed. If $40 is going to cover bail, I'll put that aside for when that day comes. And if the guy harms me, $40 bucks isn't going to cover the down time or medical care costs.

Speaking in general terms, don't put sugar on a piece of shit and call it a cookie. Its an upsell.

[MOCHAakaMOCHA]

Eh I don't get charging a newbie unless i'm signing up to some screening site or some other resource I don't have already or something.