I am sure that many of us know that choosing a provider is a lot like picking a stock. Even with the Blue Chips, there is some risk, as past results do not guarantee future performance. But generally speaking, these stocks, carefully chosen, will probably give good performance in a “reasonable” market. And some folks (and mutual funds) pride themselves on picking obviously undervalued issues. With big risks, the rewards can be large, but the downside can be bad news. This site provides ample evidence that A-list providers generally live up to their billing, but the results with the lesser knowns give much more mixed results. There are diamonds in the rough, but there is also a lot of “rough” out there.
A case in point: yesterday, I contacted a woman with reasonable exposure on a couple of the “other” sites. Reviews were mixed, but I foolishly thought my experience would be like the better ones. I was able to reach her on my burn phone and set up an appointment. She said she would text me the address. After hanging up, I texted her to made a clothing request, receiving the response “Yup”. After an hour, I hadn’t received the text with the address, so texted her back. No response. With the time of the appointment approaching, I drove to her neighborhood, which I knew and where I felt comfortable. I called and texted, but received no responses. As I was sitting in my car, the time of the appointment now long past, I was overwhelmed with just how stupid this whole scene felt. Cooler and wiser heads prevailed, so to speak, and I departed. The only sensible thing to do was to move on and forget. In retrospect, I shouldn’t have been surprised by the experience.
So, I have the following comments to offer: to the lovely women I have had the pleasure and good fortune to enjoy and get to know, I extend my heartfelt gratitude. You know who you are. And to the ones like the woman yesterday, I can only say “Let’s be careful out there!”
All of us should be careful.