'Uber' client reviews - will it change the escort business?

[BaronArtz]

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/31/technology/companies-are-rating-customers.html?_r=0&gwh=08CC475F0BDEAD8D6F65C797A991C3CC&gwt=pay&assetType=nyt_now

 

A most intriguing New York Times article about how 'reviews' by UBER impact not only drivers, but also clients. With a sub-par rating of 4 stars or less, clients find UBER drivers less willing to work with them, or flatly refusing them. If you are a client, 'sassing' or being rude to your driver will harm you. Simply put: being civil to your driver makes good business sense.

 

As Stephen Draker and others have mentioned, a system of 'cilent reviews' would indeed be very beneficial to the escorting business. Let this be a warning to some of you - it is coming.

[Guest]

 

As Stephen Draker and others have mentioned, a system of 'cilent reviews' would indeed be very beneficial to the escorting business. Let this be a warning to some of you - it is coming.

 

Yes, those reviews should be 'cilent.' In other words, the escorts can shut up about them.

[+ FreshFluff]

I doubt it can happen in the escorting industry. Clients will likely balk if Rentboy et al started tracking transactions and requiring ratings like Uber does. (Tracking where you are is invasive, but not quite as invasive as tracking the people you have sex with.)

 

Without transaction tracking, client ratings will be biased by the same issues affecting most online ratings: selection bias, and fake ratings (by the client him self, escorts turned down by the client...).

[BaronArtz]

Yes, those reviews should be 'cilent.' In other words, the escorts can shut up about them.

 

The article mentions reviews of clients and of drivers. Not just reviews by clients.

[BaronArtz]

I doubt it can happen in the escorting industry. Clients will likely balk if Rentboy et al started tracking transactions and requiring ratings like Uber does. (Tracking where you are is invasive, but not quite as invasive as tracking the people you have sex with.)

 

Without transaction tracking, client ratings will be biased by the same issues affecting most online ratings: selection bias, and fake ratings (by the client him self, escorts turned down by the client...).

 

Do you think there is no bias in the reviews published on this website? There is no tracking of real transactions here either. I am very much in favor of establishing a website that would review clients - even without the tracking of transactions.

[+ WilliamM]

Do you think there is no bias in the reviews published on this website? There is no tracking of real transactions here either. I am very much in favor of establishing a website that would review clients - even without the tracking of transactions.

 

Of course, there is bias in any review precess. Yet, like you, I am very much in favor of establishing a website that would review clients. It would be particularly helpful for me to learn the escort's view of why a session was not a success.

[instudiocity]

Yes, those reviews should be 'cilent.' In other words, the escorts can shut up about them.

LOL!!! cilent = silent. ROFL!

[+ FreshFluff]

Do you think there is no bias in the reviews published on this website? There is no tracking of real transactions here either. I am very much in favor of establishing a website that would review clients - even without the tracking of transactions.

 

Sure, there's some bias like there would be in any consumer reviews. My point was more that open client review sites like that already exist. (Someone cited one on the Ask an Escort board, but the name escapes me.)

 

Also, there are special difficulties with client reviews. A client who knows he's difficult (or is even trying to scam escorts) may just change the name he gives or his phone number, rendering the previous reviews useless. (With escorts, there's more information available to verify identity: Similarities in ad wording, photos, and stats.)

[Muscle Lover 2]

I completely get why working guys would want such a platform. But, my 2 cents is that if such a database gets created, my hiring days are over. Not because I fear being reviewed. I have never had anyone refuse me a follow up appointment. I just do not want my identity made in any way public. Working guys have elected to do so by listing themselves on appropriate websites. Clients have not. I would warn those that are agitating for a client review site that you might be killing the proverbial golden goose.

[+ WhamIAm]

I completely get why working guys would want such a platform. But, my 2 cents is that if such a database gets created, my hiring days are over. Not because I fear being reviewed. I have never had anyone refuse me a follow up appointment. I just do not want my identity made in any way public. Working guys have elected to do so by listing themselves on appropriate websites. Clients have not. I would warn those that are agitating for a client review site that you might be killing the proverbial golden goose.

 

+ 1 to infinity and beyond.

 

This industry is based on discretion. Virtually every ad on RB, RM, etc. explicitly promises as much. The day that promise is broken, I expect you'll see many quality clients leave the playing field, leaving you with the scammers, assholes and riff-raff that will go to the trouble of using burner phones and multiple emails. Good luck with that.

[bigvalboy]

I completely get why working guys would want such a platform. But, my 2 cents is that if such a database gets created, my hiring days are over. Not because I fear being reviewed. I have never had anyone refuse me a follow up appointment. I just do not want my identity made in any way public. Working guys have elected to do so by listing themselves on appropriate websites. Clients have not. I would warn those that are agitating for a client review site that you might be killing the proverbial golden goose.

 

+2....

[Steven_Draker]

The day that promise is broken, I expect you'll see many quality clients leave the playing field, leaving you with the scammers, assholes and riff-raff that will go to the trouble of using burner phones and multiple emails.

 

This is an anonymous Message Board. Anyone can create a username and pretend to be a "quality client" or a ... monarch.

[Nvr2Thick]

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/31/technology/companies-are-rating-customers.html?_r=0&gwh=08CC475F0BDEAD8D6F65C797A991C3CC&gwt=pay&assetType=nyt_now

 

A most intriguing New York Times article about how 'reviews' by UBER impact not only drivers, but also clients. With a sub-par rating of 4 stars or less, clients find UBER drivers less willing to work with them, or flatly refusing them. If you are a client, 'sassing' or being rude to your driver will harm you. Simply put: being civil to your driver makes good business sense.

 

As Stephen Draker and others have mentioned, a system of 'cilent reviews' would indeed be very beneficial to the escorting business. Let this be a warning to some of you - it is coming.

 

Client reviews have more influence in areas where providers can be selective with their business. The article talks a lot about NYC and SF, where there's much more supply and demand data. A busy Uber driver has more comparatively more ride opportunities to work with in these cities, particularly when compared to smaller cities and ones where Uber is sometimes viewed as an alternative to driving oneself.

 

The Uber and AirBnB model tie the provider and client in to a selection and reservation model where the reviews have been integrated. Imagine if the only way to get a table at a restaurant were through a single site such as Open Table. Just as we select restaurants based on reviews, restaurants could be competing for the best patrons based on servers' reviews of behavior such as tipping, politeness, average check amount, not lingering, etc. Currently though, while a lot of consumers select restaurants based on overall rating, there's a subjectivity and epicurean passion that drives discriminating customers to either participate in protracted debates on review sites or bypass that process in favor of reading actual reviews or experimenting on their own. Social sites may a factor into driving restaurants' successes, but I don't think any restaurant is ready to tie into sites that control their reservation process particularly since a few reviews from vindictive drunks could affect their ability to take in customers.

 

Maybe social media will further transform the way we select these types of services. In the restaurant industry it may hit the best, most popular restaurants in the most consistently busy cities first. I doubt it will significantly affect the bulk of the escort "industry" for a long time. Hiring on the fringes, my experiences are often the equivalent of stopping by the deli for soup and a sandwich regardless.

[Guest countryboywny]

If you are a client, 'sassing' or being rude to your driver will harm you. Simply put: being civil to your driver makes good business sense.

 

Being civil and polite makes good sense always.

[Steven_Draker]

The Uber and AirBnB model ...

 

The AirBnB community is based on TRUST, whereas the Uber model less so.

 

Would you rent your apartment to a complete stranger if there were no reviews from peers?

[Nvr2Thick]

The AirBnB community is based on TRUST, whereas the Uber model less so.

 

Would you rent your apartment to a complete stranger if there were no reviews from peers?[/color]

 

Both are based on trust, it's just that the stakes can be higher with AirBnB. Eventually a highly rated Uber driver or a desirable AirBnB rental in a popular city can have the pick of clients with the best reviews. In situations where demand is lower they each may have to choose whether to do business with lower rated or unreviewed clients and bear the burden of a range of risks. The range of risks is a lot broader and escalate in cost and consequence more easily when you leave a property unattended in the hands of strangers than when you let a stranger into your car.