Can't say I have had this problem. I heard from a couple of pros shortly after I joined, but it was just to say hello. They were too far away geographically to reasonably expect to get business from me.
Why are enthusiasts always making threads about how professionals conduct business? If someone makes you feel annoyed or uncomfortable, move on to the next one. These posts are incredibly off-putting.
@SweetiSammi - Some people don't like being solicited for business. It's like receiving telemarketing calls. It's incredibly annoying and everyone wishes the telemarketers would go away.
@Mike403 the OP doesn’t mention anything about soliciting. He’s talking about building rapport precuddling.
@Sheena123 my response was not meant to be directed at you. My apologies if it seemed that way. Was trying to respond to 2 people on the same post. No harm no foul.
@robroo ah gotcha 👍🏻👍🏻
I wish there was a flat monthly fee to be listed as a pro on here rather than this 15% thing. I don't like using the booking feature when I'm not even able to share my number for my vetting call yet.
@SweetiSammi "Why are enthusiasts always making threads about how professionals conduct business? If someone makes you feel annoyed or uncomfortable, move on to the next one. These posts are incredibly off-putting."
Hello SweetiSammi, nice to meet you. This is my second post as an OP and my first about something that bothers me. I didn't realize how common posts from pros or enthusiasts are on the subject of bringing up issues or things that bother people. If this is pretty common, then isn't it good I am bringing it up with statistics to show for themselves an issue that the community of people here could work on together? Just a thought.
Twice votes came in on this thread. Once prior to when I was asking males more specifically about pros in general, and then later I modified it (removing all previous votes) to be for pros or enthusiasts, male or female, receiving a message like what I was mentioning.
About 40% of people in both votes are feeling a similar way to my main message.
@robroo "Andrew just spell out in detail what you want. Keep it in it's own paragraph and separate. That way it's in the open and everyone should see it. And open up a dialogue with whoever contacts you. Be upfront about what your looking for and see which direction it goes."
These are good points. I will look at my profile again and try to separate out my things I want in regards to communication. I do respond to everyone who contacts me, even if it feels pushy.
*Update: I modified my profile, what do you think?
@vivalalife "I wish there was a flat monthly fee to be listed as a pro on here rather than this 15% thing. I don't like using the booking feature when I'm not even able to share my number for my vetting call yet."
I am pretty sure male pros pay a flat monthly rate to be a pro. So, talk about gender equality... lol, brings up how me having a gender directed vote at first could have been bad. But then, is this not bad in of itself at a deeper level of the whole CuddleComfort?
Idk, these can be questions for another thread. My main desire from my thread is to start seeing less "pushiness", that's all.
@AndrewSnugs if we’re talking “statistics,” 40% is the minority.
@SweetiSammi What I wanted to convey in that message was that still there is a good portion of people on here who feel the way I do about "pushiness" and it is maybe worth a look at nonetheless.
Do you feel like it is worth the community as a whole to grow in areas that might be pain points for new or growing members?
@MxSmith "I recently realized there's a way for us to leave voice messages for each other without having to exchange phone numbers (and without having to create separate accounts on other platforms)! I just started a new thread so that people can still "talk" but still on CC which can be monitored.
Mx. Smith says hello
https://www.cuddlecomfort.com/forum/discussion/12871/voice-messages#latest "
This is great. I will want to do this myself at some point soon as well. There is soo much that gets left out when things are just done in text with no tone of voice. I can see just from this thread how that can happen. It is why I much prefer talking in person and hearing other peoples voices. I can get a better sense for how others feel and they can sense how I feel.
I have felt pretty happy throughout this thread here. I don't desire to be defensive or self-promoting. In fact, I don't care about the votes or even all my responses trying to bring clarification, peace, and resolution where there might be conflict. I don't want conflict, and I typically try to avoid it in my personal life.
I am totally ok with this thread getting deleted at some point. I don't care about getting popular or known either. I just want to see the community grow in love. And the thread is to bring up the issue of "pushiness" and how we as a whole can improve. Much love 🥰🧡
@AndrewSnugs I’ve honestly loved your very positive and understanding messages back and forth to people. It shows you care to grow and see both sides of an issue and come out with the healthiest solution. It’s refreshing. 😊
@Sheena123 Thank you, I am trying my best. And open to correction.
When someone views my profile and I have time I love to reach out and introduce myself. I don’t like anyone to feel pressured but more so comfortable with approaching me or asking any questions they may have.
Some clients have told me they never would have reached out to book had I not said hello first, even if they wanted to. Pros can be intimidating or the process itself may be unknown or overwhelming-
Across the board this may not be a one size fits all … appreciate the different advice and perspectives within this thread.
I personally (would) appreciate pros messaging me,
it might just be the way I am, but I would be more willing to book and cuddle with someone that shows interest in me even if I am paying for it.
I’ve actually taken the time to read all of the messages in this thread. I like getting the ‘intro’ e-mails from Pros. Yes, some are blunt and “all business”, which turns me off and I may reply with a brief ‘thank you’. The irony is that I can read a lot into their style/effort/interest by their initial message. Some have a well, thought-out, personal message to me. If I can tell they’ve spent time/effort on this message, it carries more weight. The above is from a Enthusiast perspective. Pro perspective (IMHO): These initial messages may often be triggered by a visitor to their profile. The visit by the enthusiast may have a variety of reasons. I have a suggestion: what if CC provided a ‘Pro Tip’ on these ‘visitor alerts’ and guidance on initial contacts? ie: As you receive visitor alerts, please be sensitive to be variety of reasons they may be visiting. If you would like to proactively reach out to them, here are a few suggestions: ie: visit their profile, mention that you noticed their visit and kindly introduce yourself, if you show true interest in them - it will improve your communications, etc (more here). The above are only suggestions meant for guidance. I have more ideas, but want to keep this short.
@Nature_Lover_ & @m2356 Yeah, I am totally ok with pros reaching out to me. I want a conversation probably first though. Like nature700 says, the "all business" is kind of a turn off. It is just a feeling that one might give off of being pushy with the booking request, instead of just like putting it out there. If that makes sense.
It makes me wonder why they are being so forceful. What reasoning do they have in their mind to be like that.
@nature700 "I have a suggestion: what if CC provided a ‘Pro Tip’ on these ‘visitor alerts’ and guidance on initial contacts? ie: As you receive visitor alerts, please be sensitive to be variety of reasons they may be visiting. If you would like to proactively reach out to them, here are a few suggestions: ie: visit their profile, mention that you noticed their visit and kindly introduce yourself, if you show true interest in them - it will improve your communications, etc (more here). The above are only suggestions meant for guidance. I have more ideas, but want to keep this short."
I could see how a visitor alert with good communication advice to start the introduction process could help. And even if members on here could have a setting somewhere of how they like to be contacted. Like, I am open to booking requests right away, or I prefer being giving a few messages back and forth first. Something like that.
I was confused the first time a pro reached out to me. I was afraid to respond because I thought responding = booking an appointment. I was on here a long time before I realized it was okay to respond.
@Babichev "I was confused the first time a pro reached out to me. I was afraid to respond because I thought responding = booking an appointment. I was on here a long time before I realized it was okay to respond.
Yeah, I could see that feeling that way being unfamiliar with the site.
@AndrewSnugs my friend is a male pro, I don't believe he pays a monthly fee for that... you might be thinking of cuddlist.
@vivalalife if he’s registered as a male pro on this site, he’s paying a monthly fee. If he’s not paying a fee then he’s an untagged pro
@vivalalife and @Sheena123 - all male pros pay a flat monthly fee.
@Sideon 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 I thought so 🤗
I don't mind being contacted by pros. But then I don't have a problem being straight up when I don't plan to book with someone who contacts me. So far, every session I have had with a pro from here has been good. I suspect there are pros on here who aren't well suited to this work, they have signed up with the mindset of doing it if the right opportunities come their way, but otherwise this isn't the kind of job they are particularly keen on doing. In my experience, most such pros get filtered out in initial conversation - i.e. before I even book a session with them. They either don't respond, or I don't connect with them in an initial screening call. So when pros reach out, it shows a certain initiative and desire to do this work which is very encouraging. If a pro reaches out to me after I view their profile, I may not book them immediately (I tend to stick with the same pros for a while) but the next time I'm looking for a new pro, I'll probably reach out to them first.
This site is circling the drain
@yeahboisoysoy it’s not, but sure 👍🏻
@yeahboisoysoy What are you basing your comment on?
Huh, "circling the drain". I Hadn't seen that one before. No offense meant to @yeahboisoysoy but I don't particularly like it. It's too... blah. I think something like, "at the edge of the abyss" or "in it's death throes" would have added a bit of drama and compeled the reader to either lean in for more, or to weigh in with a clever counter. However, I believe an even better choice may have been, "at an inflection point". It has a nice sort of urgent ambiguity to it and would pair better with the lack of a follow up. IMO...