RJD

I use both Uber and Lyft depending on convenience. I have some Amex benefits (small) on Uber, so use those first. On my last flight to LA, I used a cab because it was easier and more immediate than waiting on Uber/Lyft. I find this to be the case at airports, etc, where cabs are waiting and ready. I don't price shop as much as make a decision based on convenience because I am, in general, impatient! 🤣 I could spend ages toggling between the apps and cabs trying to price shop and miss a ride if it's an app or cab if they're handy. So, I accept there's a cost. I only use these services when traveling, and rarely in everyday life, which would provide greater motivation for comparison shopping if the latter were the norm instead of the former. 

I've only used Uber, but I found many of the drivers also work for Lyft as well (the decals are on the car), so I'm wondering if the driver is the one who decides he/she doesn't want to make the trip, does it really matter if it's Lyft or Uber?  
I've had good and bad experiences with my Uber drivers.  I've met some ambitious, interesting, smart people, many of whom are immigrants, who were grateful to be in this country.  One young man was from Botswana and was one of the friendliest, most outgoing, pleasant people I've ever met.  We had a great conversation.  He told me about working at the Central Kalahari Game Reserve back home and his desire to come to America.  The drive was over before I knew it.  He was generously tipped. 
On the flip side, I was in Boston in March 2019 for work and stayed at Loews on Berkeley. There was a Nor'easter barreling through the region, so it was cold, windy, and rainy.  I ordered an Uber from the lobby of the hotel for my morning commute to the office.  There's a huge pick-up area in front of the main entrance on Berkeley.  I'm waiting and watching the car approach on the app, then it stopped around the corner.  I'm thinking she's stuck in traffic or waiting for a light.  Three minutes later, I get a call from her asking where I am.  I tell her in the lobby waiting.  She replied she's been waiting for me around the corner on Stuart Street.  I wasn't about to get into an argument at 7:30AM in the middle of a storm, so I made my way around the corner.  Even with an umbrella, I still got wet.  I wasn't a happy camper.  She admonished me when I got in the car about waiting.   I explained that every other Uber driver picks up and drops off in front of the main entrance.  That was the extent of our conversation for the trip.  But what really set me off was when I later looked at my receipt in the app, she charged me a $5 Wait Fee, even after I tipped 20%.  I contacted Uber and told them what happened.  They removed the Wait Fee and I insisted they reduce her tip to $0.01, which they did.  She needed to get the message loud and clear.    
    

I chalked it up to her having a bad day, maybe she had crap going on in her life, or maybe she was new and didn’t know where the pick-up spots are.  Driving around Boston is challenging enough.  Add bad weather and it’s a nightmare, so I tipped with all that in mind.  That all changed when I reviewed my receipt.  

Ok. This is going to come across stereotypical, and I am sorry that it does, but - at least for me - I wasn't aware that the two attributes were separable. For me, that's the essence of feminine guys - both their carriage and speech patterns. Not sure I have ever met a guy who I felt was quite feminine, and didn't have a "lispy" speech pattern. Perhaps I have??? If so, it's been so infrequent that I don't have enough examples to think of one without the other. 
 
Personally, I can find myself attracted to both types - masculine and feminine. So take heart, @Merboy!  I would be identified as traditionally "masculine" in carriage, posture, and speaking patterns by most folks.  At least as those attributes are "traditionally" defined, and based on feedback others have given me over the years. I do groom well, though. That's my "red flag!" 😜🤣🤣

This thread is the perfect companion piece to this one:
 
https://www.companyofmen.org/threads/hottest-massage-video-ever.139032/
 
By the way, @7829V, why can’t you be my neighbor? ?

And what do you think the whales do in the ocean? Hold it? 🤔 talk abput tons of poop! Circle of life man...🤣🤣🤣
On topic...I love a cruise. There are pros and cons. There is efficiency and convenience in it. Not sure I could do it for 9 mos. Most I've ever done was 10 days, and I wasn't tired of it at that point, but I was on a premium line. My guess is 2 or 3 weeks would be my limit. I expect that there is a strong correlation coefficient between the length of cruise and the extensiveness of infirmities and age of the pax.  The 10 day cruise I went on was Hoveround central! Much more significantly so than the shorter cruises I've sailed. Obviously, that's also impacted by the target demo of the line, but the folks with significant  disposable incomes and free time skew older, so that's not a surprise. At a certain point, I think that such an environment would get old after a few weeks and begin to feel like a convalescent center. Although when or if I reach an age of infirmity, given a choice between the two options...maybe being infirm on a cruise ship would be preferable. 🤔

A colleague of mine went for her Pfizer booster yesterday at one of the large national pharmacies.  Last night she received an automated call to contact the pharmacy about an urgent issue concerning her booster. 
When she finally reached someone, she was informed the technician didn’t dilute the vaccine so she received 5x the recommended booster dose.  The pharmacy contacted the county health department who referred them to the CDC.  They and her PCP advised her to monitor herself for severe side-effects and get to the ER if she starts experiencing tingling or pinching in her feet and legs, which are two early symptoms of Guillain-Barré Syndrome.  Apparently there’s some evidence linking over doses of the Pfizer COVID vaccine with GBS.  
I’m sure the pharmacy is circling the wagons and preparing for inquiries and potential lawsuits.  The technician was a contractor and not a pharmacy employee, but I doubt that exonerates the pharmacy of any liability.  
 
 

A colleague of mine went for her Pfizer booster yesterday at one of the large national pharmacies.  Last night she received an automated call to contact the pharmacy about an urgent issue concerning her booster. 
When she finally reached someone, she was informed the technician didn’t dilute the vaccine so she received 5x the recommended booster dose.  The pharmacy contacted the county health department who referred them to the CDC.  They and her PCP advised her to monitor herself for severe side-effects and get to the ER if she starts experiencing tingling or pinching in her feet and legs, which are two early symptoms of Guillain-Barré Syndrome.  Apparently there’s some evidence linking over doses of the Pfizer COVID vaccine with GBS.  
I’m sure the pharmacy is circling the wagons and preparing for inquiries and potential lawsuits.  The technician was a contractor and not a pharmacy employee, but I doubt that exonerates the pharmacy of any liability.  
 
 

The difference between your examples and a provider is that when I pay for my flight, hotel, concert tickets, or any of the other services you listed, I get a confirmation number, reservation number, or invoice evidencing my payment.  The airline, hotel, or concert venue are not going to disappear.  I have proof that I paid for a service or product, and I have recourse.   
You're expecting someone to fork over cash to an unknown entity whose only means of contact is an internet classified ad and a burner cell number and hope for the best.  And then you wonder why clients balk at the idea and find this difficult. 
 
 

Are you his agent? You seem determined to defend this guy. Split hairs all you want over using the term ‘a la carte,’ I’m not subscribing to cable TV. This should be a simple transaction. I don’t want to spend time doing a deep-dive analysis of any provider’s pricing. Tell me your rates (timely) for one hour, two hours, overnight and that extended sessions can be discussed. It’s fine to have a pricing structure planned, but as a client, if I’m going to buy a “package,” it’s going to be after several sessions to be sure I’m compatible with and trust the provider. Its not going to happen with the first session.

He seems like a really nice guy. Had a quick email exchange with him on RM. He must’ve seen my visit to his profile and visited mine, so I sent him a message telling him if he ever visits Philly I want to book him. He replied back and was very friendly and personable.

He is husband material. Big, beefy, 6’5” and 265lbs of Italian muscle. Imagine those arms and legs wrapped around you while sleeping. I don’t know if I’ll ever make it down to Houston or if he travels, but I buddy-listed him just in case.

I don’t get the inclination of some providers to throw a block on someone unless that person is making and breaking multiple appointments.
 
I’ll use the posts in this Deli section to check out guys. I clicked on one providers profile, looked at his pics and that was it. Didn’t contact him, didn’t request access to his private gallery. The next day, I had a notification that he viewed my profile. I clicked on his and didn’t have access. What if I was planning a trip and was scoping out the talent? It doesn’t seem very smart. If I was planning a trip and had him on a short list, that would’ve turned me off.
 
On the other side of the spectrum there was a 411 on here recently about Chad Roberts out of Houston https://rent.men/chadroberts who I found incredibly hot. I sent him a message just to say that and tell him if he’s ever up in Philly I would definitely book a session with him. He replied back with the friendliest and most pleasant message thanking me and although he didn’t have any plans in the near future, if anything changed he would let me know. That made me want to get together with him even more.
 
Optics has a huge impact on your business.

Not a good marketing technique for a provider. 
Insulting clients will get you no where.  

🤫 We don’t say that out loud! We play along with the charade! 

Your comparisons are not realistic.  
United and Marriott and other companies do not flake on customers as do many providers.  
 

The difference between your examples and a provider is that when I pay for my flight, hotel, concert tickets, or any of the other services you listed, I get a confirmation number, reservation number, or invoice evidencing my payment.  The airline, hotel, or concert venue are not going to disappear.  I have proof that I paid for a service or product, and I have recourse.   
You're expecting someone to fork over cash to an unknown entity whose only means of contact is an internet classified ad and a burner cell number and hope for the best.  And then you wonder why clients balk at the idea and find this difficult. 
 
 

Trust me…if you knew who this was I doubt you’d have any interest whatsoever in hiring him. 

I’d like to know who you are so I can avoid hiring you.
That’s all.
If you’d act differently as a provider if we knew what your contact details were than you are acting now when we don’t know what your contact details are, I don’t know that I’d feel totally safe around you. I’d have to be wary the whole time in the back of mind if duplicity is afoot.
And just like you as a provider want assurances, we as clients want assurances. If you’re saying baring yourself intimately is somehow upping the ante such that we should be willing to expect to meet higher demands than we would from other service providers, then you as an escort have to be willing to meet us and provide assurances not expected of other service providers. Withholding even the basic means of keeping you accountable as a provider on this site makes me question how trustworthy you are in said intimate situations. The basic minimum for providers is that they provide a means to accountability to clients to prove they’re to some degree accountable for their actions. What you say here as a purported escort (how do we know that to be true even?) is irresponsible insofar as there’s no way we can search “401 rn901” and get info on you to determine if we should consider you a reputable, trustworthy provider. No profile links. Nothing. Yet I’m supposed to feel good about giving you a deposit if I should approach you for services? 🤔 

He's not marketing himself on here, thus the reason for the multiple screen personas.  He's just here to stir the shit and be edgy.  If he genuinely believed in his position and that his business practices or attitude were not damaging his reputation, he'd post under his professional name and promote his ad. 
 

The difference between your examples and a provider is that when I pay for my flight, hotel, concert tickets, or any of the other services you listed, I get a confirmation number, reservation number, or invoice evidencing my payment.  The airline, hotel, or concert venue are not going to disappear.  I have proof that I paid for a service or product, and I have recourse.   
You're expecting someone to fork over cash to an unknown entity whose only means of contact is an internet classified ad and a burner cell number and hope for the best.  And then you wonder why clients balk at the idea and find this difficult. 
 
 

Uh, no, that's why I said "professional name."
You have every right to your opinions.  It's how you express them that comes across as arrogant and flippant.  You could just as easily explain yourself in a rational, mature manner without the insults.  But you don't.  You resort to smugness and chest-thumping. 
If you feel you're at a disadvantage because you don't know my screen name in RentMen where I might find my "couple hours of paying someone to nod their head in agreement to everything I say," I'll be glad to provide that ID so you can throw a block on me.  But you really have nothing to worry about.  I assure you; I'll never be contacting you for your services. 

He's not marketing himself on here, thus the reason for the multiple screen personas.  He's just here to stir the shit and be edgy.  If he genuinely believed in his position and that his business practices or attitude were not damaging his reputation, he'd post under his professional name and promote his ad. 
 

No one is suggesting not paying for travel expenses when the provider is traveling from out of town.  I hired someone last year who I flew across the country for a long weekend.  I purchased his airline ticket, which he readily accepted as evidence of my commitment to the appointment.  I have a regular provider who takes the bus from New York for weekends with me.  I similarly pay for his transportation.  
What I'm not going to do is electronically send cash to an unknown provider and hope he shows up.  You're right, providers are free to do what makes sense for them.  If requiring a deposit works for them, more power to them.  I'm also free to decline their terms and not be thought of as a flake or time waster.  I also have the right to do what works for me.       

He's not marketing himself on here, thus the reason for the multiple screen personas.  He's just here to stir the shit and be edgy.  If he genuinely believed in his position and that his business practices or attitude were not damaging his reputation, he'd post under his professional name and promote his ad.