Poll - How is Biz these days?

[atlcomedy]

Originally Posted by jhende3

I can't tell since most rates are going up or has stayed the same since I started on the hobby.

I'm not disputing your experience. It is your experience. And things do vary from location to location, but I think it unusual.

Originally Posted by Wily Klitlicker

Reading through this thread I have noticed a few who suggest that the providers lower their rates due to the economy. Now I wonder how many hobbyists are willing to suggest to their employer that they should be given a pay cut due to the economy. I suspect not many of us including those that suggest discounted fees.

Now where I will agree is that raising rates at this time is not wise but it is not up to me to set prices. If it was then I would be driving a Masseratti.

No I wouldn't walk in and ask for a pay cut, but providers are for the most part independent business people. Business owners (which they are) are making tough calls around pricing. Think "Five Dollar Footlongs" (insert joke here). I'm not suggesting how anyone should price just that we have had a tough cycle and folks need to do what they need to do to be successful.

Originally Posted by wildrev4u

Fast Gunn...you are correct but until the November elections get past us doom and gloom will be the headline. Both parties are preaching this. Scratch away the media and political spin and things are not quite as bad as they appear.

I didn't want to be the 1st one to call FG Captain Obvious. No one will argue the last few years have been tough for a lot of people. The better question is do you see signs that things are improving?

[luvstolickalot]

I believe there is a little less business but most quality ladies who have treated their regulars in a manner as they have appreciated there business are probably doing about the same and no one wanting you to drop your prices. I also believe that many ladies who have not been the best providers in the past with the influx of new providers coming from Backpage and Craigslist a decrease in expendable income some are hurting. Also many men are taking advantage of this market and trying to get lower prices. Has Mercedes or Infinity actually lowered their prices? No their reputation has helped them through these tough times. While there is 9.6% unemployment, just remember there are 90.4% employed. Normal unemployment stands at about 5% so really the total increase is only about 4.6% of the total workforce. Don't start that there are people who have quit looking for work or unemployment would be 20%. There are always people who don't want to work and live on welfare even in good times. Business off probably has to do more with men expecting more than women want to provide. I am not saying either men or women are right but it happens. The women have to move on the men however can trash you with reviews for that I feel sorry for you.

As for women raising their rates, I personally see nothing wrong with that. If I think X Charges to much I can see Y. If X over a period of time does not make as much, she can lower her rates. I see quite a few girls in the Dallas market doing both, raising and lowering. It really is nobody's business but the ladies what she charges. I love a Mercedes but I drive a Ford. It really is that simple!

[bonnieJim]

At least this is one business that can not be easily out-sourced to India.

[Fast Gunn]

Originally Posted by Laurentius

It seems to me that asking a lady to lower her rates is counterproductive.

Providing is not strictly a commodity product -- it is very much a personal thing and as a result there is often a great deal of tie-in to a lady's self-concept. In addition, guys are not widely noted for unambiguously wise decisions when it comes to their dealings with women.

I remember once inviting a lady for lunch at her full rate. She turned down the offer stating that she didn't want to spend time with men who didn't find her sufficiently attractive for sex. Well, it wasn't that I didn't find her attractive, I just didn't have time for after-sex cleanup. So I waited until I had time, and booked her for sex; after which time she was perfectly happy to have lunch as the attractiveness question had been answered.

This same lady and I had a conversation, and she felt that, volume aside, she felt better about herself and thus performed better at a higher rate than at a lower rate. There is a great deal of interaction there. It's a complex thing. It isn't like buying sugar for .79/lb instead of .99/lb. The woman is very conscious of her rate and there is an interactive portion that will affect her perception of the client, etc. She's a human being, not a machine, and anything that negatively affects her perception of the client could have an effect on her performance. And quite certainly, anything that negatively affects how she sees the client's perception of her could have an effect.

Thanks for that insightful post, Laurentius.

Sometimes we need to be reminded of how emotional women tend to be.

Men are by nature more logical than women and realize that when their pay rates decline because of adverse economic conditions, it does not lessen their value one iota. It merely reflects the current economic reality.

Ladies, on the other hand, will tend to think that their worth is somehow lessened if their rates are diminished for whatever reason.

Men are indeed from Mars and ladies still are from Venus.

Maybe it's this difference in perspective that makes women attractive to men and men inscrutable to women.

We may come from a different planet ladies, but we still love you!

[Sandra Dee]

I don't find it effects it at all.

[Wily Klitlicker]

Many people I know are fearful of a job cut or salary reduction. These folks are tightening the belt despite having little change in income. I wonder how many hobbyist who voted did so for psychological reasons more so than actual income reasons.

On another note which had been mentioned before is that when you try to maintain your hobbying during tough economic times, the highs become sweeter and the lows more sour. Any bait and switch or other bad experience lingers longer and is more painful. That is why during tougher times I will stick with my few favorite ladies,

To the ladies: I hope that if you do have a Client who has stuck with you when others have left that you treat him well.

[Lil'Whiskey]

I know a few provider "friends" that have wondered out loud whether they had lost their appeal or that the economy had a greater impact on their business then they had expected. This poll seems to substantiate that the economy has hurt their businesses to a degree.

Based on the comments and poll chatter it seems that during tougher economic times most people tend to continue having relationships with those who they are more familiar with (known expectations) rather than take a chance on someone new. The cost is not so much an issue as long as it has not risen and that the cost returns a great session.

[TexTushHog]

No change for me. The limiting factor for me in time, not money. That was true before and is true now.