Sponsorship disclosure

[Lionelmessi]

Since I’ve started this hobby the industry has certainly gone through some changes and amongst them this type of forum which has definitely been a game changer and has forced agencies to be accountable and sometimes adapt their practices.

There has been a power shift and Hobbyists definitely have the upper hand in my opinion to make sure that they are provided with the level of service they are entitled to expect for a relatively substantial amount of money.

The fact that reviews can make or break an SP’s career or an agency’s reputation is definitely something that the agencies are aware of and follow religiously. Furthermore they also know that an SP starting in the business will benefit from a good first review which will help spike interest and push bookings.

More than once I’ve been in situations where in exchange for writing a good review for a first timer I’ve been offered a discount on her hourly rate by the booker.

That incentive has always dissuaded me to actually book a girl that hadn’t been reviewed before hand because I wasn’t confortable either accepting the discount nor writing something that was tied to an incentive.

However it has happened that I’ve booked a girl for which I was offered a discount after she had been reviewed by someone else and couldn’t help thinking that the reviewer had also been offered the same advantage to write what he did.

Sometimes the review was accurate and the SP definitely deserved a good review without being offered the discount but in other cases I’m not sure the review would’ve been the same if the reviewer had paid full price.

Either way, shouldn’t the reviewer disclose in his review that he received a benefit for writing that review. In a way it constitutes a sponsorship but it doesn’t mean that it impacted the actual review but shouldn’t it be known and disclosed to the readers that the reviewer received some form of advantage or benefit for writing that review.
I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s been offered a discount on the rate of the SP in exchange for a first review and hope others will come forward if it’s been the case because it might be something worth disclosing and doesn’t mean it invalidates the genuineness of the review but still should be mentioned as it’s the case in other industries

 

[Like_It_Hot]

How do they know that you will write a nice review?
Do you have to give them your handle on MERB?
Do you get the discount immediately or on a next visit after they check your review?
How big the discount? I would suspect between $20-$40...
Thanks!

I would accept a discount on an unreviewed girl but would not commit to giving a falsely good one.

 

[CaptRenault]

More than once I’ve been in situations where in exchange for writing a good review for a first timer I’ve been offered a discount on her hourly rate by the booker...However it has happened that I’ve booked a girl for which I was offered a discount after she had been reviewed by someone else and couldn’t help thinking that the reviewer had also been offered the same advantage to write what he did.

You have been a member of MERB for less than one year and you have posted a grand total of one review (which wasn't much of a review, but more like a comment) and you are suggesting that girls and/or agencies are offering you discounts for favorable reviews--I doubt that very much.

You are still a newbie here and if you want members to take you seriously, then you should focus on accumulating some experience and making some contributions in the form of useful, complete reviews.

Though it never happened to me, it is conceivable that the scenario that you describe could happen, but given your lack of a track record on MERB, you seem like one of the last members who would be offered such a deal. Also, in Montreal, that kind of deal-making is just not necessary for established agencies and indies. MERB is not Amazon.com, which is full of fake reviews.

 

[Lionelmessi]

You have been a member of MERB for less than one year and you have posted a grand total of one review (which wasn't much of a review, but more like a comment) and you are suggesting that girls and/or agencies are offering you discounts for favorable reviews--I doubt that very much.

You are still a newbie here and if you want members to take you seriously, then you should focus on accumulating some experience and making some contributions in the form of useful, complete reviews.

Though it never happened to me, it is conceivable that the scenario that you describe could happen, but given your lack of a track record on MERB, you seem like one of the last members who would be offered such a deal. Also, in Montreal, that kind of deal-making is just not necessary for established agencies and indies. MERB is not Amazon.com, which is full of fake reviews.

Much like several others that are from an older generation,

First and foremost a lot of Newbies like myself who are late bloomers to this forum were customers long before this forum even existed and have established long standing relationship with agencies going back to the time when they were advertising in the journal the Montreal.

To keep up with the current times an old timer such as myself has slowly been adapting to this new reality but still do not feel the need to enumerate in graphic details what happens between a lady and myself and prefer to keep it between us as my experience won’t reflect someone else’s and especially because I’ve seen first hand how some of the body shaming reviews have affected the confidence of some ladies.

I’ve been seldom asked to be the first customer of a newly hired SP so I could report back to the booker afterwards and in the conversation prior to the booking I was asked if i was still oblivious to merb or if I had finally caught up to the current time and and created an. account and if so I’d i would write a review to help boost her visibility.

It was never a factor if I was an expert reviewer or not because truth of the matter is a lot of other newbies or less expert users of merb do not check the alleged credibility of the reviewer but just glance at all the reviews and will have their attention drawn to the latest thread title and once a thread is created on an SP at least the conversation is sparked and that’s what the agency wants in order to create a buzz if you will on a newbie.

The incentive isn’t as much for the review itself but mainly to put the SP’s name on top of the conversation topics and demonstrate that someone else has experienced the SP which reassures tourists that go online just to check if a girl is reviewed before accepting to book her or someone else that doesn’t want to go with someone that nobody has ever reviewed. For that purpose my review would’ve been as good as anyone else’s and yes I would be offered a discount just for going to the trouble of doing it because It was asked out from someone they would know would never badmouth or be disrespectful to an SP.

 

[envelopes]

Jesus christ... first the thread with the handicap accessible facilities, and now you want written disclaimers about marketing incentives... WE ARE PAYING TO SEE ESCORTS...... COME BACK TO REALITY to what this is.....

Just use your best judgement. See a thread that looks like a shill? Skip the girl.

Got offered a discount and you suspect another reviewer is posting a fake review? JUST write that in the review thread about your experience.... this isn't rocket science.

 

[Lionelmessi]

As I stated in my responses to the OP: it is possible that Montreal agencies give discounts to select clients in exchange for reviews, but I am confident that, if they do sometimes make such offers, then they choose MERB members who are well known to them and other members and not to guys who might be frequent clients but have never even registered for MERB.

As for "testing" girls to see if they make the grade, isn't that part of the job description for owners, bookers and drivers? Actually, I don't know, and I don't really care. As i stated above, whether a girl succeeds or fails as an escort ultimately depends on her looks and her service and how consistently she performs. No "seal of approval" from any one "tester" or reviewer matters more than the collective approval rating of clients in the marketplace.

If i understand correctly it is your opinion that a girl should be broken in the job by the owner, booker or driver, the first two who actually have a direct say in whether they work or not, so no conflict of interest there nor and no pressure at all for the girl....and the other one with whom she will have to work side by side afterwards...i guess you might consider it perks of the job for the driver...your one or two trips a year in montreal might've not been enough for you to familiarize yourself with anti fraternization policies most agencies have in place between staff members whether its with the bookers or the drivers...and can be cause for one or the other to be fired by the owners...

what you suggested might indicate that your knowledge of the industry is limited to what you've gained from this forum and if i do the math, you've been a member since 2003, so 19 years ago, if you average 2 trips a year here that means you've had at the most 38 opportunities to be in contact with agencies here and meet SP's...38 over 19 years...regular clients average at least that in a year...considering 80% of a business is generated by 20% of their customers your 2 trips a year would certainly not put you in the 20% which would explain why you would never get an offer of that sort...especially since your annual potential for reviews is limited to the number of trips you make, if reviewing SP twice a year is how you build crediblility than i could think about doing what i've seen on other forums, called review dumps...

I created a merb account, because of its praticality and for me to be able to find out more rapidly wether an SP or another was on the schedule for the day without having to go through half a dozen of websites and at the same time glance at some of the reviews and if i genuinely like an SP l'll be more enclined to review her in a positive and uplifting fashion because i'd rather help build her career rather than threaten it with a bad review...if i dont have anything good to say i prefer to keep it to myself unless i've been scammed or hussled which i find pertinent and useful for other considering booking her. If someone always only writes good reviews for certain agencies wont you be led to believe at one point that the person isnt completely objective, although it can also be possible it's not the case. So how do you differentiate between the two. hence my disclosure comment......if when reading a review, a specific information, had it been disclosed, wouldve affected the decision to go ahead or not with the booking, based on that review, then it is important enough to be mentioned in the review. It doesnt mean the review would not have been the same, but it doesn cast a doubt on whether or not the person may have oversold the experience in the review or withheld some bad parts because of the discount.

I've seen positive reviews of a rookie arise and suddenly when bad comments follow from those that have booked based on the first comment, the whole thread disappear....those are the ones that have been incentized and have caused others to book trusting a review that they might have perceived differently had they known the person writing it was offered a discount (about 10% for someone previously asking) The importance of the one starting the thread is not to be ignored and might also explain why you havent been asked to do so because of the power it would give you over them. You may or not be aware of the fact that after the first review, if other bad comments follow, the one who started it has the power to delete the whole thread and all the following posts simply by editing their original post and deleting it, meaning if bad comments arise, the owner or booker can do some damage control by asking the client who started it that they've incentized to delete his first comment which will deletete the unfavorable thread all together and save the rookies reputation. Again, a pratice you might not be familiar with but that despite my short time on Merb i've been made aware of...credibility is not only built with time it also stems from the experience gained by more than 2 trips a year in a city.

 

[Fradi]

Hmmm Lionel Messi my favourite player, but…
I don’t doubt that some guys might get offered an incentive to write a review as it makes sense to have an established reputation or to start someone’s career with a bang.
I doubt however that it would be offered to someone with almost zero reviews and no visibility on this forum, it just doesn’t make any sense and nobody squanders money needlessly.
Personally I have never been offered such a deal by any Indy ( I have never booked anyone from an agency Heaven has been the only one that might tempt me).
I would not take any kind of deal to begin with as I will write what I want without any kind of influence.
As far as reviews, I have kind of established who I trust as a reviewer sadly BBW Hunter was one of them, but I keep to Merb advertiser Indies and most often I have my ATF or my other favourite SP recommend someone if I want something special or some variety. They are much more knowledgeable in the industry and will be happy to recommend one of their friends.
In the end if someone really catches my eye and I want to see them I am perfectly willing to take that chance with a couple of hundred bucks, it is not the end of the world if it doesn’t work out.

 

[transatlantic]

Discount disclosure doesn’t really add any value as any experienced hobbyist would know reviews for providers with little/no reviews should be taken with a grain of salt.

This is even more true if the provider is new to the industry as the interaction is going to vary very widely based on chemistry.

 

[Like_It_Hot]

I don't understand why all this bashing and/or bullying against this new member. @Lionelmessi exposed his point. Those who don't believe him seem jealous of not having been offered special conditions to take the plunge with a "débutante". What is the point of all those conspiracy theories. If you don't believe the initial post, switch to a new thread. And most important try to show a minimum of respect toward other members.

 

[Fradi]

I don't understand why all this bashing and/or bullying against this new member. @Lionelmessi exposed his point. Those who don't believe him seem jealous of not having been offered special conditions to take the plunge with a "débutante". What is the point of all those conspiracy theories. If you don't believe the initial post, switch to a new thread. And most important try to show a minimum of respect toward other members.

I don’t know where you get the idea that people are jealous?
Do you honestly think $20-$40 discount makes a difference to any of us that spend thousands on this hobby.
I didn’t look at it as bullying or bashing more like questioning something that makes little sense, and offering a discount for reviews to a member that has almost no review history or presence on this board doesn’t make for good advertisement or money well spent that to me was the whole point of CaptRenault.

 

[Lionelmessi]

But the biggest unknown is how often the first meeting was a disaster, and no review was done because both parties had to evaluate whether this is the right fit. That would be the value that no one appreciates. We all like the benefits of risk-taking, without being the one who takes the risks.

Words of wisdom and definitely food for thought. Very insightful and certainly most interesting pov that arose from this discussion

 

[Lionelmessi]

Respect and credibility on an anonymous discussion forum are things that you earn. On an escort review site like MERB, you earn respect and credibility by establishing a track record of meaningful contributions to the board, most importantly, some honest, detailed but respectful reviews of Montreal sex workers (and sometimes of sex workers elsewhere in the world). A newbie who follows this advice and continues to post occasional reviews or shares useful information will get a genial welcome to MERB from both new and old members.

However, if someone wanted to get a less-than-enthusiastic welcome from everyone, a guy might do the following:

• The guy participates actively in the Montreal sex scene for 20+ years while supposedly being unaware of MERB and/or the Internet (because he is from the "older generation").
• He is supposedly such a good customer of certain agencies that bookers tell him about MERB and beg him to create an account so that he can submit reviews of new girls in exchange for a small discount. He is so ethical that he resists the temptation. Nevertheless, he might secretly have been making good use of MERB reviews during the time when it was possible for non-members to read reviews (some people call this "freeloading").
• Finally one day, he gives in to temptation and creates a MERB account 20 years after it started. He considers submitting a review or two, but he does not want to lower himself to the level of the typical MERB reviewer by sharing any "graphic details" of his encounters with Montreal escorts so he makes one brief comment about a girl and that's all. How noble!
• However, he does have some important information to share. Based on his many hundreds of dealings with Montreal agencies, he knows they routinely offer discounts to favored customers. Tabarnak! I am shocked, shocked to find that discounts are being offered! Unfortunately, though, he can't provide any details or examples of his allegations--no names of agencies or girls (even ones no longer in business) , frequency of offers, amounts of discounts, terms of offers made to him, etc. I guess that's because he doesn't like sharing "graphic details." MERB members just have to trust him.
• When anyone expresses skepticism about his claims, he accuses them of being jealous that they weren't offered such discounts. A clever means of self-defense! Who dares doubt him now?

Of course I am not suggesting that anyone would actually do this, but I describe this scenario just to provide guidance to other newbies on how to not get off to a good start as a new member of MERB. You're welcome!

Is that what I have to follow to be part of the cool crowd ? So there are good and bad starts for members and you're part of the welcoming comittee i gather which means one can receive an underwhelming and hostile welcome and not be off to a good start if a point of view he expresses doesn't sit well with you...If I'm not mistaken Merb stands for Montreal, you're obviously not from here cause here, whether on a forum or in person, we're welcoming and inclusive and certainly dont treat people the way you've been doing with character assassination for expressing a legitimate point of view that you're completely at liberty to disagree with and can just ignore or not answer without feeling compelled to attack the persons motives, intent or credibility and self righteously suggest a behaviour one ought to have not to have a target on his back when he enters the lion's den. And after you wonder why it took me so long to create an account and engage in discussions....i'm sure that type of behaviour certainly helped new members that were hesitant to engage to make sure they never do express or participate in conversations or want to be part of the cool crowd.

 

[Lionelmessi]

Review of Sweet Kylie posted today (Sunday) at 11:31AM in the Outcall Review Forum by LionelMessi:

https://merb.cc/xenforo/threads/sweet-kylie-velvetlovemtl-ex-vog-ex-godiva.143067/page-6#post-1443948

Review of Gaby posted yesterday (Saturday) at 1:02PM the Outcall Review Forum by LionelMessi :

https://merb.cc/xenforo/threads/gaby-xxxtase-ex-lia-vog-ex-gabrielle-xxxtase-ex-mia-delight.94426/page-6#post-1443746

There, now how hard was that, LionelMessi? Merci beaucoup for sharing your informative reviews of Kylie and Gaby. And welcome to MERB! You're now part of la foule cool.

Thank you CaptRenault I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship

 

[Shantie_mtl]

I will never ask somebody to make me a reviews. A not a lot of girls without reviews... really sucessfull

 

[Halloween Mike]

New girls are DEFINATELY offered to regulars first because the booker knows the guy can be trusted and will be nice with the new provider. I think its only fair. If you give your business once a week or more to an agency, they make lot of money with you, its a small thing they can do on their side. That remind me of a party i was years ago. At some point the girls got into a jacuzzi and some clients joined them. I was told it was just for specific clients, likely big regulars. In my case i don't go often to Montreal to be considered a regular per say. I was able to get a good relation with some bookers/owners because they knew i was one of the most reliable client, as in not cancelling, being nice to the girls etc. But i would say the most i booked with the same agency was maybe what 6 times a year? Thats not a lot of business still for them. Now to know if they get offered discounts, this i can't say. I know for a fact i never was "sponsored" myself. Only got a few discounts (and even a free session once) because of "issues" on the agency side.

As for owners sleeping with the roster, yeah its definately happening in most case. Maybe not necessarely as a "try out" like pointed out here, but at some point it does happen im sure, at least with the ones accepting it. I had a few SPs telling me they simply declined the offer because they wanted it to remain business with their bookers and the bookers accepted it. Its up to the girl pretty much.

Anyway personnally i wouldn't say no to a discount if offered but not if im FORCED to make a fake review. I doubt it would happen because i review anyway the vast majority of the time but lets say if the agency said "can you make a review and we will take 40$ off", why would i say no? As long as im free to be honest in said review.