I wish…

Comments

• HeldHereJeff

  September 27

  Btw, I know cuddle requests is supposed to do this, but pros just don’t seem to check this. I’ve never gotten a response.
• nebulique

  September 27 edited September 27

  @HeldHereJeff very valid point. Scheduling is very time consuming.
• cuddlefaery

  September 27 edited September 27

  Does it make more sense for the 20% of users to spend more time searching for and contacting the 80%, or does it make more sense for the 80% to spend less time contacting the 20%? Or perhaps the best option is how the current system works: both majority and minority are equally responsible for making contact. (Percentages not accurate, just for illustration purposes)

  Edit to add: my point being, if you think searching, contacting, and vetting pros is time consuming, imagine how it must be for the pros who are having to sift through a much larger pool of potential clients.
• CuddleDuncan Mod

  September 27 edited September 27

  Attempting to arrange a cuddle session for tomorrow is having highly optimistic if not unrealistic expectations. That isn't how most professional cuddlers operate because they are not full time or even substantial part time, they are as and when. In any case there are very few industries where you would reasonably expect to obtain a booking at a day's notice. There isn't an 'emergency cuddling' sub-industry like the plumbers have.

  A very significant proportion of recipients will not even see the message in time, and a significant proportion of those that do will ignore it because short term requests have a deservedly bad reputation: the risk of a troublesome client is significantly higher than with, say, bookings made a week ahead. A significant proportion of those who might accept such a client, won't, because they weren't planning to cuddle tomorrow and have other plans. In our society a randomly chosen person isn't likely to be free tomorrow: but a professional isn't random, it's somebody who either is definitely not free, or has been actively trying not to be free.

  The optimal booking window is one to two weeks ahead in my knowledge and experience. It frequently takes at least two days simply to nail down the details.

  Bear in mind that the overall reply rate to opening messages is under half before you even start: and sometimes the reply doesn't come for several years. (It's happened to me more than once.)

  Conversely, if a professional is willing to accept a booking at a day's notice it's worth asking yourself why. There are of course a million legitimate reasons, but there are also other reasons. Experienced, highly-regarded professionals are not more expensive than inexperienced ones (often the opposite) and it can be hard to get an appointment with them at all, never mind at short notice.

  I have found that the optimal technique is to message two professionals ten days out, with at least one more in mind if needs be.

  The reason the request boards don't really work is because demand considerably exceeds supply. Most professionals can barely keep up with their messages, never mind having to look at another communication channel. It's tough being a professional cuddler: most people who attempt it don't get very far.
• HeldHereJeff

  September 27

  I agree 1 day out isn’t enough notice. It was just an example. In my mind this could be easier on a pro. They see a list of those requesting a cuddle, time windows, how much they would spend. Then the pro could design their own schedule. This way they can ignore the rest of the 100s of messages??!
• TheFunCartel

  September 27

  They see a list of those requesting a cuddle, time windows, how much they would spend.

  There is far more involved with many pros than wanting a cuddle and money as to who they decide to book. Reducing it to an EBay auction won’t really solve anything. For most, safety is concern number one.
• HeldHereJeff

  September 27

  That’s a rather negative way of seeing something that could offer flexibility. I don’t see safety being an issue with this any more than it is already. The pro is in charge, they get to know all their options. They get to choose. I have truly enjoyed my time cuddling with pros. I’m friends now with some. Their safety is number 1 on my mind.
• IronicMaiden

  September 27

  Would the pro cuddlers use this system? From everything said here, they have no reason to.
• HeldHereJeff

  September 27

  So far, almost every pro cuddler I talk to avoids the message boards. They are afraid they will say something the wrong way and get banned. But if there are some out there reading this, I’d love to hear their opinion.
• Bear

  September 28

  Posting your requirements for a professional Cuddler reminds me of about 15 to 20 years ago when grocery stores had memo boards where you could put up ads or business cards stating what you’re looking for. Hoping whoever you’re hoping for reads it.

  Similar if you were on a dating site or a friendship site putting a blank statement up of what you’re looking for which is very similar to putting a bid out for a contract job of some sort. You’re putting your parameters out and what you’re willing to spend. Versus looking at the individual professionals and seeing what fits you more so.

  The easiest way would be to change your filters for how much you’re willing to spend and the site will give you who is in your financial parameters. If someone only wanted to spend $100 then you put $100 as your highest parameter. It would definitely filter out by your economic boundary.

  We are dealing with human interaction, and there is no shortcut for that. Not the same as building a house asking for the lowest bidder.
• TheFunCartel

  September 28

  @Bear I do like your filter approach for the client. Makes far more sense for a site like this.
• summerson

  September 28 edited September 28

  I think it is a great feature. The enthusiasts can set their requirements for price range, age range , ethnicity, location and also preferably set an expiry timer. Let's say I come to know by Friday evening that I am available this weekend, then I can set these on my profile page and set it to expire in 48 hrs.
  The pros can be notified by the system if they prefer or there can be a tab that they can go visit to find the available clients. It's up to them to review those profile and engage with them. If the pros feel if it's too short of a notice they can just pass.

  When I filter for pros I always look for pros who are active in the last 1 week. I am pretty sure pros would do the same, this feature mentioned in OP would give more insight - it says "they are active and looking for a session actively."
• TheFunCartel

  September 28

  @summerson How would you do multiple areas and multiple dates at the same time as many of us that travel for work would do? I would want an option to turn the filter off.

  I doubt that given the resources of the site that we are anywhere close to having a system like that.
• Bear

  September 28

  @TheFunCartel
  It makes total sense. I do not remember if I figured it out or I read it from @SunsetSnuggles in a forum post, she always has great info.
• MeltMyWay

  September 28

  @HeldHereJeff to be completely honest I never would of thought to.check the cuddle boards to see if a potential client was looking for a pro. I thought they were for enthusiast and would never reply due to we are told not to "cold call" potential.cuddlers unless they have visited our page. I rarely will advertise in the pro section of cuddle boards but that's only when I'm offering a temporary discount or maybe a last minute trip somewhere.

  I will start to keep an eye on it though.