Some questions about reviews...

[Jason Dutch]

I have never made a big deal about reviews, and don’t usually bug my clients to write them. Just felt a bit vain/annoying to do so. I’m seriously regretting it now that I see that they’re a crucial part of your marketing and viability as a provider. I’ve had countless clients give me wonderful positive feedback directly or in private, but very few have made the effort to write a review, and I regret not following up and asking. 

I’d love to know how to encourage guys to review more, and what y’all think about review culture in general.  (I recognize, of course, that members of this community are likely to be more inclined to write/value reviews in the first place, and therefore aren’t a general population sample for my lil survey haha)

Right, so, here are my questions. You may answer question by question if you have some time to spare, or by all means freestyle a paragraph or bullet point response with any thoughts you have on these topics or any related points.

 

Part I : Writing reviews In general, do you typically submit reviews of the providers you see? Why or why not? Do you ever review the same provider multiple times (a review for each experience, for instance)? What factors influence whether or not you submit a review for a given provider?  How often do providers specifically ask you to submit a review? Do you feel it’s appropriate for a provider to request a review? When or how is the best way to do so? And is it ever inappropriate, annoying, or distasteful to ask for a review or remind you to submit one? Have you ever said you’d leave a review, but didn’t leave on in the end? What has your experience been like submitting reviews? Have they been posted, censored, responded to, removed or anything like that?  Do you ever notice a change in your experience with a provider, or in your dynamic, after you’ve written a review? Are you any more or less likely to book him again if you’ve reviewed them already? Have you ever felt any regret about a review you’ve left, be it positive or negative?  Do you think providers should have the right to respond to reviews? Should they be able to screen, report, or remove them?

Part II: Reading reviews How often do you read a provider's reviews while browsing ads/profiles?  What do you hope to learn from a review? What makes a review helpful or useful, and what makes it less useful? How important of a factor are reviews when you’re making a decision to reach out to a provider or meet them for the first time? Have they ever been the deciding factor for you? How much value do you ascribe to the number of reviews a provider has? Why? What do you think when you notice a provider has zero reviews or very few? Have you ever been misled by a review? What happened? What are some red flags you might encounter in reading provider reviews? Have you ever read a review that you suspected was fake? What made you question its legitimacy? How did that impact your decisions with regard to the provider? Do you ever look at the profile for the author of a review, to see if your tastes align or for any other reason? Have you ever reached out for more information? Are star-rating reviews helpful? Or review forms with multiple choice questions (e.g. “Are the pictures accurate? Y/N” kind of thing? Do you find that reviews are more useful or more widely used on any particular sites over the other? How does the review culture differ between, say, Rent.men vs RentMasseur vs others vs Company of Men etc?

 

Thank you guys!!

 

[soloyo215]

Hey, I answered and sent you my answers by message.

Best.

Edited June 20 by soloyo215

[BuffaloKyle]

It's ironic to comment on this topic because I left @Jason Dutch his second review on RM. I had told him that I was happy to because I know I only hire providers that have reviews already on their page or come recommended on here. The biggest dilemma now is that only premium members can leave reviews so if you don't get any premium members hiring you then they can't leave you a review even if you asked them to. And I wouldn't find it btw unsettling or pushy to get asked at the end of a session that you would appreciate a review if possible. Just a simple hey I really enjoyed our time together and I'd be appreciative of a review if you are able and willing to.

[+ Pensant]

10 hours ago, BuffaloKyle said:

The biggest dilemma now is that only premium members can leave reviews so if you don't get any premium members hiring you then they can't leave you a review even if you asked them to.

Exactly! I’m not signing up to be a premium member at the outrageous current price simply to leave reviews. Providers should petition RM to reinstate its old policy that allowed regular members to post reviews, which only makes the site even more valuable and useful for hobbyists and providers alike.

[carolus]

On 6/19/2024 at 9:08 PM, Jason Dutch said:

I have never made a big deal about reviews, and don’t usually bug my clients to write them. Just felt a bit vain/annoying to do so. I’m seriously regretting it now that I see that they’re a crucial part of your marketing and viability as a provider. I’ve had countless clients give me wonderful positive feedback directly or in private, but very few have made the effort to write a review, and I regret not following up and asking. 

I’d love to know how to encourage guys to review more, and what y’all think about review culture in general.  (I recognize, of course, that members of this community are likely to be more inclined to write/value reviews in the first place, and therefore aren’t a general population sample for my lil survey haha)

Right, so, here are my questions. You may answer question by question if you have some time to spare, or by all means freestyle a paragraph or bullet point response with any thoughts you have on these topics or any related points.

 

Part I : Writing reviews In general, do you typically submit reviews of the providers you see? Why or why not? Do you ever review the same provider multiple times (a review for each experience, for instance)? What factors influence whether or not you submit a review for a given provider?  How often do providers specifically ask you to submit a review? Do you feel it’s appropriate for a provider to request a review? When or how is the best way to do so? And is it ever inappropriate, annoying, or distasteful to ask for a review or remind you to submit one? Have you ever said you’d leave a review, but didn’t leave on in the end? What has your experience been like submitting reviews? Have they been posted, censored, responded to, removed or anything like that?  Do you ever notice a change in your experience with a provider, or in your dynamic, after you’ve written a review? Are you any more or less likely to book him again if you’ve reviewed them already? Have you ever felt any regret about a review you’ve left, be it positive or negative?  Do you think providers should have the right to respond to reviews? Should they be able to screen, report, or remove them?

Part II: Reading reviews How often do you read a provider's reviews while browsing ads/profiles?  What do you hope to learn from a review? What makes a review helpful or useful, and what makes it less useful? How important of a factor are reviews when you’re making a decision to reach out to a provider or meet them for the first time? Have they ever been the deciding factor for you? How much value do you ascribe to the number of reviews a provider has? Why? What do you think when you notice a provider has zero reviews or very few? Have you ever been misled by a review? What happened? What are some red flags you might encounter in reading provider reviews? Have you ever read a review that you suspected was fake? What made you question its legitimacy? How did that impact your decisions with regard to the provider? Do you ever look at the profile for the author of a review, to see if your tastes align or for any other reason? Have you ever reached out for more information? Are star-rating reviews helpful? Or review forms with multiple choice questions (e.g. “Are the pictures accurate? Y/N” kind of thing? Do you find that reviews are more useful or more widely used on any particular sites over the other? How does the review culture differ between, say, Rent.men vs RentMasseur vs others vs Company of Men etc?

 

Thank you guys!!

 

Writing reviews:

 

1 - Most often, yes. To recall a good time, or warn others of a bad time

2 - I hope to gauge whether it's worth seeing an escort.

3 - If I've had a very good or very bad time. If it's "meh" i won't submit one.

4 - Never, I've never had this.

5 - No, it's too forward IMHO.

6 - No, I haven't. 

7 - I've had a few been rebutted by an escort, given a point I've raised in good faith. But I've never had one removed.

8 - No, i haven't. I don't usually tell them I've written a review, if I enjoy a given session.

9 - Once, if the review whilst submitted in good faith has damaged them somehow.

10 - Yes. All reviews, whether good or bad, should be permitted on sites. But only those posted in good faith. If an experience is genuinely bad, then it should be allowed. the provider can either aim to provide a better service, or suck up the potential loss of income. if it were done out of spite or for malicious reasons, then the website owner should work with the escort to have it taken down. 

 

[jmichaeliii]

Writing Reviews:

1.  Always if experience is great, no if it is just Ok.  It would have to be really bad for me to write a negative one.

2. My regulars I will review every few months

3. The experience.  Great - yes, so so - no, terrible - yes

4. The newer ones more often.  The established ones almost never ask.  

5. I have no issue with them asking.  I get that they help business.  If I submit one that wasn't requested I almost always get a message back with their gratefulness for doing it.

6. Yes.  For a so so experience.  I don't want to be nasty with anyone unless the experience was really bad, but I'm not going to give a good review for a mediocre experience.  I also don't want to damage someones business if they were just having an off day.

7. About half the providers respond to them.  It is frustrating to try and write a negative review, which I have only done once.  Too much scrutiny from the webmaster.

8. In general no, but a newer provider did give me some bonus fun a session after I wrote a good review

9. No

10.  Absolutely they should respond.  I think there should be some way to remove certain reviews because to be fair, clients can be assholes too for no good reason.

Reading Reviews

1. Anyone I am interested in I read the reviews

2. I like to see consistent reports from people.  I also like to try and decipher what a session is like because sometimes it is a guessing game.

3. Almost always a factor.  If I am really interested in someone, I will occasionally DM people that wrote reviews for more detail

4. It really depends on the amount of years of service.  If there are 3 reviews for every year you have been a provider, thats good enough for me.

5. If there are zero, I tend to shy away.  If there are only a few, but they are recent and good, I'm generally OK with it.  One of my top providers only has 7 reviews for 5 years of service, and one of them is mine.  He is great and I recommend him here all the time.

6. No

7. I'm not sure how to say this, but you can tell who wrote a thoughtful review versus someone who isn't serious.  That's why having a few is good because there should be consistency between the good ones.

8. If a providers profile is suspicious I move on before I even get to reviews.  I tend to look to providers that live in my area versus travelers.

9. Yes I have done all of these

10. They help, but I like to read more what people think versus star ratings

11. Now that I know how to read the rentmen reviews, they and rent masseur are about even in quality.  I like to vet providers on this forum anytime I can.

[Jason Dutch]

Thank you so much to all who have responded, both in-thread and by DM!! Great information and helpful. Ultimately my first goal is to make a habit of mentioning how helpful reviews can be to my cliente while avoiding being annoying or vain haha. Let's see how it goes.

In the meantime I'd love to hear from anyone else who has thoughts.

[Jason Dutch]

On 6/19/2024 at 11:21 PM, BuffaloKyle said:

It's ironic to comment on this topic because I left @Jason Dutch his second review on RM. I had told him that I was happy to because I know I only hire providers that have reviews already on their page or come recommended on here. The biggest dilemma now is that only premium members can leave reviews so if you don't get any premium members hiring you then they can't leave you a review even if you asked them to. And I wouldn't find it btw unsettling or pushy to get asked at the end of a session that you would appreciate a review if possible. Just a simple hey I really enjoyed our time together and I'd be appreciative of a review if you are able and willing to.

Haha fair point — and can't thank you enough for that Miss ya bud

[Johnrom]

I like to write a review after a great session to help the masseur get more clients and reward his professionalism and talent.         I will not submit a review if the session is just okay or ordinary.  I have only written one or two negative reviews over many years to give heads up to others about unprofessionalism and/ or poor service. We can all agree that consistent positive reviews are very important when choosing a provider. The good providers strive to communicate well and be considerate to their clients. It is two way street! 

[+ DrownedBoy]

I sent my survey in. Since I use RMen, the review options (especially for the U.S.) are technically more limited.

[+ KensingtonHomo]

Part 1.

1. 90 percent of the time. The 10 percent where I don’t is bc it was as a bad to lackluster experience. But I will discuss my experience here.

2. Rarely, if significant time has past. Again, more likely to discuss regulars here. 

3. Friendly demeanor. Meeting expectations discussed. Overall good experience. 

4. Rarely. I usually bring it up. 

5. Assuming #3 is true, either as we say goodbye or in a post-text to say they enjoyed our time together. If the session wasn’t good or they didn’t meet their obligations, it’s foolish to ask me for a review. We saw someone in April who was far less endowed than claimed, less muscle than his photos, and never got hard. Unless you’re being hired to bottom, not getting hard is a problem. And he claimed smoking weed would get him hard so he left and fam back stoned. It didn’t improve. And we planned this in detail - and he assured us he was vers - so why he wouldn’t pop a viagra before the visit is beyond me. 

6.  No

7. To my knowledge, they’re all posted, 

8. I think with some guys a rave review translates into their enthusiasm to see us again. But it doesn’t change how I feel about it. 

9. No 

10. I do think they should be able to respond. Because some clients can be assholes. For removal, I think the escort should have to prove the author is being dishonest (e.g. RM should require the author to provide some evidence like a text thread.)

 

Part 2

1: I only read reviews if their profile interests me.

2. I look for consistency. Do the reviews tell a story about the provider giving a good experience, is their consistency in the client experience, and I look at pricing. 

3. Pretty important. I generally won’t meet someone who has no reviews on RM and no discussion here. We’ve done it a couple of times and the experiences were subpar. Unless somebody is new to the business, why no reviews? And since we’re not interested in guys under 30 or anyone inexperienced, being new is a red flag. 

4. The number is less important than the consistency. I also look to see if the guys who left the reviews have done so for others. I put more value on a single review from someone who had reviewed 20 guys than four reviews from 4 different guys where it’s their only review. 

5. See 3 and 4 above.

6. Not that I can recall. 

7. If all their reviews are from one person or people who haven’t left any other reviews. If they have 100 5 star reviews, I suspect they’ve gotten any below that removed. 

8. See 4 and 7. 

9. Yes and yes.

10. Prefer questions to stars, but nothing beats narrative.

11. I find people on CoM are more direct and more likely to share the good and bad. 

[rvwnsd]

Submitting Reviews:

1. In general, do you typically submit reviews of the providers you see? I try to, but sometimes I forget to do so. Why or why not? I won't leave a review for an "average" time. If we didn't live in a society where anything less than amazing was considered crap, I'd leave reviews for meetups that would be called "fine - nothing bad and nothing outstanding." I also won't leave a review when a session goes badly due to a lack of chemistry.
2. Do you ever review the same provider multiple times (a review for each experience, for instance)? If we see each other within a month or a few weeks, no. Sometimes, many reviews from the same client can be a red flag. If there's more than a three- to six-month lag between meetups then, yes, I'll write a second review.
3. What factors influence whether or not you submit a review for a given provider? In addition to what I said above, when a guy asks me to write a review and I enjoyed the session, I will write one.
4. How often do providers specifically ask you to submit a review? About 50% - 60% of the time.
5. Do you feel it’s appropriate for a provider to request a review? My opinion has evolved on this. I used to think it was inappropriate, but as more and more businesses started asking for reviews I've warmed up to it. When or how is the best way to do so? A couple of guys have said something like "If you enjoyed yourself, I'd appreciate your writing a review." Another said "Hey, I am just starting out and it would help me if you would leave a review." I think both approaches are fine. And is it ever inappropriate, annoying, or distasteful to ask for a review or remind you to submit one? A guy hounded me to write him a review and I finally asked him to stop. He didn't. So, I took two stars off the review and explained why in the comments. Another one rushed me out almost 20 minutes before the hour was up. He later asked for a review via RM and on the old Daddy's site. I asked him whether he really wanted a review that said he was sexy, but I felt rushed and he ended the session 20 minutes early. He decided it was best for me not to review him. He did contact me the next time he was in town, apologized, and offered a free 90 minutes as a way to make up for the first time. We had a great second session and I wrote him a review.
6. Have you ever said you’d leave a review, but didn’t leave one in the end? Yes. I was travelling and simply forgot. On a future visit I did leave a review, though.
7. What has your experience been like submitting reviews? Generally positive. Have they been posted, Yes censored, No responded to, Yes removed No or anything like that? 
8. Do you ever notice a change in your experience with a provider, or in your dynamic, after you’ve written a review? Only one time. The provider was very grateful for my review and extended our next time by two hours at no charge. He landed several clients based on my review and did so as a thank you. I neither asked for nor expected him to do that. . Are you any more or less likely to book him again if you’ve reviewed them already? Posting a review does not affect my desire to hire a guy again.
9. Have you ever felt any regret about a review you’ve left, be it positive or negative? Yes, once. I wrote a positive review shortly after leaving his place. After thinking about the session a little more, it occurred to me that the guy behaved like a dick. I contacted RM and they agreed to take down my review. 
10. Do you think providers should have the right to respond to reviews? Yes, I do. In fact, when this site's predecessor had a review site providers had the opportunity to comment on reviews. Some of the comments said more about the escort (both good and bad) than any review could. Should they be able to screen, report, or remove them? Report, yes. Providers should also be able to request removal. I do not think providers should be able to remove reviews themselves.

 

Reading Reviews

1. How often do you read a provider's reviews while browsing ads/profiles? About 75% - 80% of the time.
2. What do you hope to learn from a review? I want to see how well (or not well) a client's overall session went. I don't use it as a way to determine whether a guy will do a specific thing, but I will use it as a way to determine whether a guy did not do something he promised, shorted the client on time (or was not a clockwatcher), and whether he looked like his pics. What makes a review helpful or useful, and what makes it less useful? The tone of a review can say a lot about why a session might have gone wrong. (Again, I can see comments). When a reviewer is overly angry or aggressive, I tend to think the problem was the reviewer. Likewise, an over-the-top positive review seems fake.
3. How important of a factor are reviews when you’re making a decision to reach out to a provider or meet them for the first time? The presence or absence of reviews makes little difference to me I always say a restaurant review about the amazing steak does nothing for me if I'm interested in seafood. Have they ever been the deciding factor for you? Only a few times. One standout was a guy who I wanted to hire but who had overwhelmingly negative reviews. Another time I thought about taking a pass, but the reviews were overwhelmingly positive. Hired him and had a great time.
4. How much value do you ascribe to the number of reviews a provider has? Very little Why? Not everyone wants to leave a review. I don't think clients' actions (or lack of action) should penalize a provider.
5. What do you think when you notice a provider has zero reviews or very few? Doesn't matter in the least.
6. Have you ever been misled by a review?  Yes. What happened? Back in the old Daddy's review days, there were several escorts who were absolutely revered and discussed in the most glowing of terms, to the point where the tiniest bit of criticism would unleash the wrath of the forum members. I hired someone based on his glowing reviews and had a miserable time. The dude did the exact opposite of what we discussed. I hired him again, thinking it was me and not him. Wrong! Same situation. At one point, I asked him to stop doing something and he didn't. I finally told him that if he did that again, I would leave and he would not get paid. After posting about my experience, several other members DM'd me about similar experiences. Seemed liks he had a schtick and couldn't/wouldn't deviate from it.
7. What are some red flags you might encounter in reading provider reviews? All reviews from brand-new members, similarly worded comments across reviews, multiple reviews on the same day or within a day or two of each other, and comments that sound like a copy/paste from the provider's ad.
8. Have you ever read a review that you suspected was fake? Yes. What made you question its legitimacy? See above. How did that impact your decisions with regard to the provider? I didn't hire a couple of guys and once asked the provider about an over-the-top review. Provider confirmed it was wildly inaccurate but had been posted by a longtime client and he didn't want to insult the guy by having it taken down.
9. Do you ever look at the profile for the author of a review, to see if your tastes align or for any other reason? Yes, about 95% - 100% of the time. Have you ever reached out for more information? Yes, I have. The feedback is typically valuable and freely given.
10. Are star-rating reviews helpful? Or review forms with multiple choice questions (e.g. “Are the pictures accurate? Y/N” kind of thing? I think the yes/no questions are valuable. Stars are not so valuable because we live in a society where anything less than five stars is considered bad, so everyone gets five stars.
11. Do you find that reviews are more useful or more widely used on any particular sites over the other? How does the review culture differ between, say, Rent.men vs RentMasseur vs others vs Company of Men etc? Technically, Company of Men does not have reviews yet. We do allow general feedback and I find it useful. Rentmen reviews are a crap shoot. I find contacting reviewers to be helpful, though. Rentmasseur reviews tend to be more thoughtfully written and informative.

[BuffaloKyle]

8 minutes ago, rvwnsd said:

Have you ever felt any regret about a review you’ve left, be it positive or negative? Yes, once. I wrote a positive review shortly after leaving his place. After thinking about the session a little more, it occurred to me that the guy behaved like a dick. I contacted RM and they agreed to take down my review. 

You are able to, at least now, delete reviews you've written on your own. Go onto your dashboard and click on submitted reviews on the left hand menu and you can delete any reviews you've left. You can also change whether or not to have it visible on your own page as well.

Edited Monday at 03:16 AM by BuffaloKyle

[rvwnsd]

23 minutes ago, BuffaloKyle said:

You are able to, at least now, delete reviews you've written on your own. Go onto your dashboard and click on submitted reviews on the left hand menu and you can delete any reviews you've left. You can also change whether or not to have it visible on your own page as well.

Thanks. I haven't had occasion to use the function recently. The review in question was posted quite a while ago and, of course, they deleted it.

Will keep this in mind for next time, which hopefully never occurs.

[topunderachiever]

How do you distinguish between the motive behind a review?

To benefit the provider OR future clients.   

[BuffaloKyle]

4 hours ago, topunderachiever said:

How do you distinguish between the motive behind a review?

To benefit the provider OR future clients.   

I'd say both. Think of it just like if you went to a restaurant and the food was amazing. Your motive for leaving a review is to both benefit the business by helping it attract more customers and to benefit future customers by letting them know if they come spend money here that it'll be worth it.