MLs collectively going on a money-grubbing heist

[MDPorto]

My barber recently charges $50 for a standard simple hair cut
It's getting harder to walk out because hair is an essential, and all barbers are now doing it

The essentials are definitely very expensive now

Massages shops are visits to spend leisure income, we will walk out if you try to inflate your prices

I get a hair cut and beard trim once per month from my barber shop, who charges $65 for this service. I'm 90% certain that this will go up upon my next visit. This shop has my loyalty though due to consistent service, including from each individual barber who works at the shop.

As much as it is an essential, the next barber down the road is available if standards drop. This is where RnT shops will become very vulnerable during these economic times. If girls aren't providing consistency in terms of service and the fees being requested, then I feel customers are going to really start voting with their feet.

[MDPorto]

I agree with everything you say EXCEPT, maybe it's the pronunciation, you say "tip", I say "fee", as in "service fee". Like a restaurant (at least where I come from), you pay a defined charge for the meal, a tip for the waitress is optional. Obviously minor, but it can confuse some newbies. For me, a tip is optional, the amount optional. A fee for service is exactly that. Yes, the fee might be negotiated, but once agreed, it's no longer optional. And once established, on a return, is should be the same service fee, no need to negotiate.

I agree. Definitely, it is a "service fee" rather than a "tip".

[11Bravo]

Great post MDPorto
Where were you as I have been giving a monthly economic report about looking for VFM punting shops?

Recession times are here, and thank you for laying down the true market prices
As I said too, if you show the cash, many working women will lower their inflated expectations
Because most men have no idea what they are doing, and negiotiate with their pants around their ankles 90% into the punt. Lol

I think it's also a function of where you eat, in which restaurants, and with which cuisine. You eat on main street, at Branded restaurants, the haute cuisine places, the prices will be higher. But get off main street, some lunch counter, or some of the Asian places, prices are cheaper. Maybe I've just been lucky, but when I've been asked if I am interested in extras, I say "yes", and ask what is on the menu, they provide their menu, I ask prices, and THEY have stuck to MDPorto's guidelines. If they were outside of those, I'd just say no thank you. A number will drop their prices; for those that don't, I'd pass. Several times of late, I've been slightly surprised when she quoted 2 pineapples for a full meal where I was expecting 3.

IMHO, highly dependent on what your targets are: SYT's, higher; MILF's lower. In my experience, they all have the same equipment, might be in slightly better shape with the SYT, but the MILF certainly knows the best use of what she has and is rarely complacent.

I feel customers are going to really start voting with their feet.

I've always voted with my feet: walking away on bad service; walking back on good service.

[MDPorto]

When I first started going to RnT's over 20 years ago now, I was only going to dedicated RnT places i.e. Bodyrotic where it was mainly caucasian, girl next door types, who were trained by the parlour in the art of erotic massage. I had many great services at this place over the years, and prices in the early years weren't all that bad - $140 for an hour in a big room with a shower, with a very hot girl who had proper erotic massage skills (some of my most memorable sessions were better than any sex I've ever experienced with any ex-GF), on a leather massage table with two holes. Also, it was a very strict no extras policy. Again, YMMV and whatever floats ones boat.

Fast forward to today, their is discussion on other forums about how Bodyrotic has lifted their long time no extras policy, put an ATM machine on premises, no longer offering training or incentives to girls in order to learn the art of erotic massage, and have been infiltrated by (ex) full service girls and strippers who are looking to make big $ on extras. House Rate is $300 per hour, and I've heard of some absolute disasters in terms of extras being charged and men actually paying... I'm talking $250 for a CBJ, $100 for Spanish/TittyFuck, and everything else up to and including FS I don't even want to mention !!

I think it is really sad, because a place like Bodyrotic had a very unique niche which is now unlikely to ever return. Long time customers, like myself, have moved on and are unlikely to ever go back.

However, we must also acknowledge that the culture within the industry has changed and we also need to keep our expectations realistic. Don't get ripped off guys !! Always think with your big brain rather than the small one.

I also look at the current 'punting market' the same way I look at other adult male hobbies - cars and wrist watches are two good examples.

Prices have gone up during and since the COVID pandemic as a result of huge demand and limited supply.

Using wrist watches as an example, the best brands (Rolex, Patek Phillipe, Audamars Piquet, Vacheron Constantin) had sky rocketing demand just prior to and during the pandemic, while the less hyped brands (Tag, Breitling, IWC, JLC, etc) had to offer (sometimes significant) discounts to keep their stock moving. In the last 18-24+ months post the last lockdowns being lifted around the globe, the less hyped brands have decided to stop discounting along with raising their prices in line with inflation, implementing a similar business model to the best brands and trying to capitalise on the hype of the wrist watch hobby becoming popular.
Authorized Dealers also expect you to 'build a spend history' on less hyped stuff before you get offered the chance to buy a hyped watch (which you can sometimes sell on the secondary market for hefty profit if you wanted to), and the other brands know this (hence no more discounting).
The fact that people play these games with the ADs, in order to be offered the hype watches, has ruined the culture for those who want to collect watches across all brands and pay 'fair pricing' in the first place.
Sensible realistic expectation here is not to pay for watches out of an AD that you feel are overpriced.
(I do feel some of this may be out the window in 2024 though)

All the girls share the same 'waiting room' in a RnT shop. The less popular girls see the popular girls getting snapped up ahead of them by walk in punters, or getting booked up in advance over the phone.
The way the less popular girls (for the most part) combat the hype around popular girls is by attempting to extract as much extras as they can out of a vulnerable punter (quite possibly desperate punters who couldn't get to see their favourite popular girl when they wanted to).
Sensible realistic expectation here is not to pay for extras that you feel are overpriced and tell any girls who are pushy to shove it (in a respectful way off course - I think someone mentioned to say "I just got a message from work and need to go now).

If there is one thing that has certainly been on display since the times of the COVID pandemic - it's that a good majority of people in this world really do have more money than sense !

[frisson]

Shame the shops have NO business acumen in general and don't train women they employ

The suburb massage shop near me, the MLs tell me their boss actually trains them in legit massage!

But most human beings don't want to do a great job in anything, they just to the minimal. Only the rare thoughtful businessperson takes extra time to nuture repeat business which is the lifeblood of revenue.
In Sydney, this only happens in a handful of shops.
What a shame