Working safely as an escort, whether it’s independently or part of an escort agency, starts from the moment you answer your escort phone.
Get it wrong and your time will be repeatedly wasted. At worst, well, you don’t need me to tell you what could happen.
One thing I know at Elite Courtesans is outcalls. And I know how to do them safely. So for those of you starting out in the industry, I’ve listed some pointers below to help you deal with your phone calls to accept outcall bookings safely and minimise time wasters as much as possible.
- Don’t ever answer calls from withheld numbers. In fact, go a step further and download a blocker app for your mobile phone – you can then block withheld calls without ever being disturbed. The reason every escort on the planet lists ‘no private numbers’ on her website is because the men who hide behind them will waste your time.
- If you have a policy of only accepting bookings via a phone call, stick to it and refrain from answering text messages from unknown customers. Have a copy and paste message you can politely send new customers reaching you by text, kindly asking them to call for a booking / pointing them to your booking page.
- Be very aware of those who call briefly and then bombard you with texts. Over dramatic, rushed and last minute booking requests are known tactics by time wasters. When one asks for a 2hr booking and then quickly agrees to an overnight, all expenses paid, very short notice – big alarm bells.
- Don’t take bookings over email. Really? Yes, really. Email is an outlay for long winded communication with no sense of urgency. You ought to channel your communication so they are dealt with swiftly and succinctly for all. Save your email address for regulars who may wish to send you gift vouchers or flight details for your next booking!
- At Elite I always operated within sensible hours and have found that queries sent after 10pm / 11pm are often from men who may be drunk, high or both. You may wish to work late hours but you surely don’t want these customers. If you choose to work late, I strongly recommend you to accept advance bookings only and for the love of God… get a deposit!
- Lastly, late night visits to hotels can raise eyebrows at the front desk and cause problems, especially as doors often get locked.
How to spot a time waster on the phone?
I have been lucky to have had customer facing roles on my jobs prior to escorting. When working independently common sense and previous experience helped, but none the less when you’re new this can be daunting.
Gents who are genuinely interested in arranging a booking, will work with you to achieve what they want. They will be upfront with their information and any reluctance to give you their real name should be seen as a red flag.
Some tell-tale signs the call should be terminated:
- Is he going into excessive detail about outfits or services? Did he initially ask for a 1 hour booking and then accept without question that the minimum booking time for his area is 3 hours?
- Has he asked for an overnight booking, money no object (not always time wasters but treat with caution)?
- Be aware of anyone suggesting a first meet at a hotel which would make verification difficult (Travelodge hotels, for example), bed and breakfast, halls of residence, army barracks, in his office or at ‘a friend’s’ house?
- Has he told you he has a big cock and is amazing in bed?
In my experience, genuine customers have the utmost respect for your time, and do not keep you on the phone longer than a quick chat and to arrange the details. Anyone who yaps on for ages, bin em!
SMS etiquette: Ignore messages with distasteful language or tone. Messages containing “Hello baby” or simply “Hi” or “Are you available”, often lead to nothing. If you are unable to get from client what they want, where what time and how long in less than 3 messages – ignore.
If you are new to escorting, I strongly recommend you to consider phone conversations over SMS.
Remember, not everyone who is a time waster knows they are a time waster. Some men are just complete fantasists who will pull out of the booking when the time comes close. If you get an inkling that you’re dealing with one of those (overly nervous, hesitant etc), don’t bother, or get a good deposit at the very least.
Verifying identities
Set yourself with a business account so you can safely receive deposits from customers. A deposit by bank transfer is a fail proof way of verifying a customer’s identity. Whatever name or company name appears on your bank statement should match the one given by the customer at the time of the booking.
Not to mention that deposits cut the chances of a cancellation to almost zero.
Genuine customers will not hesitate in providing a copy of their ID and proof of residence. Stick to your guns and do not agree to a booking with a man who is reluctant to follow your safety guidelines.
Regarding names, musical sounding concoctions such as ‘Steve Smith’ or ‘Andy Anderson’ should put you on your guard. And if anyone asks why you need their surname or real name, hang up and stick them on a blacklist. The good ones never ask.
Outcalls to private residences.
For all new escorts, outcalls to a stranger’s home appears the scariest. Perform your due diligence with their ID check. If all is well and they sounded lovely on the phone, you can then proceed with the the following:
For outcalls to private residences, take his full name, address and landline telephone number. Check Electoral role on sites such as 192.com. The person may be listed as a company director? (this will also bring up directory enquiries and info from companies house). Once verified, don’t forget to call the client on his landline, or have him call you, to confirm that he is actually at that address.
Of course, life isn’t always that easy. Clients can opt-out of the online electoral role AND their landlines can be ex-directory. Even worse, nowadays most people don’t even have a working landline. In this scenario, I always Google his numbers – mobile and landline – using all different variations 01234555555, 01234 555555 and 01234 555 555. Those spaces do make a difference in Google! Sometimes you will score a hit – a business website, advert, whatever (must be a good source) that verifies his name and address. Don’t forget to check out his email address too, if you have it.
Failing that and on the *rare* occasion a deposit hasn’t been provided, at Elite I will ALWAYS get proof of address and a copy of their ID. This means asking him to scan in or photograph a bill and email it to us (a phone bill showing the landline or mobile is ideal). Driving license showing the same address, or a copuy of their passport.
Genuine clients do not mind doing this. I can’t remember the last time I was ever refused. Don’t feel that as an independent escort you won’t get away with being so ‘demanding’ – you will – and it might just be your saving grace.
Outcalls to Bel Air?
Don’t forget to verify with the customer if safe off street parking is available. You may also want to verify if the area is somewhere you will be comfortable parking and being around late at night when you depart your date.
Use Google street view to check the area. Rightmove and Zoopla to check house prices. If you feel the area would be unsafe to visit, suggest a hotel meet instead.
Visiting hotels
Hotels may appear much easier and safer however, this is where most of our time has been wasted in the past and before the introduction of deposits. Even if a customer is paying for his hotel room using cash (and gives a random name for his reservation), a credit card is still required to reserve a room. This is an important fact to know because in the event of a serious problem which could involve the police, the customer will be traceable. This is why it is important to accept bookings from bigger chain hotels only (more on hotels later).
In any case, you still want the client’s full name (with ID checked with deposit and / or ID), hotel details and his reservation number (if it’s an advance booking). If he’s already in the hotel, and it’s the day of the meeting, you’ll need his room number.
The first rule of hotel bookings is: never leave home until the client has checked in and you have called his room to verify that he is there. Otherwise, always check the hotel reservation. For short notice hotel bookings, I will always confirm the name the client gave me with reception before being put through to the room: ‘Hi, I’d like to speak to Mr Andy Davies, I think he’s in room 212, can you double-check that’s right before putting me through?’
For advance bookings to hotels, as well as ringing the room on the day, I will always call the hotel to check the reservation beforehand. I don’t think I’ve ever once been asked who I am – receptionists just assume I’m the client’s wife or his PA. So just something like: ‘Hi, I’m just calling to double-check you have Mr Boris Johnson booked in for Sept 1st?’ No justifications needed – sound confident, don’t talk too much and make sure you have the correct spelling.
I’d always recommend calling again on the day of the booking to check the client hasn’t cancelled his reservation. If he has, you can put yourself back on the rota for that night with hopefully enough time to spare to find a replacement client!
If your customer paid a a deposit, rest assured he will be there waiting with the bells on!
A note about hotels
Avoid Travelodge hotels for your first bookings – specially if you are unable to get a deposit. They don’t have telephones in the rooms. Always check with Premier Inns (hit and miss) and other budget hotels that they have phones in rooms before fully accepting a booking there. Also, if you’ve never heard of the hotel the client is proposing, check it out online. If it’s 7 bedroom family run hotel or a run down bolt-hole for dossers and drug addicts, AVOID.
Trust your Instincts
Instinct is the best protection you have. Always trust it. Hopefully, if you’ve marketed yourself correctly, you’ll never be short of work. But if you do find yourself running low, never be tempted to compromise on your safety.
If it sounds too good to be true… that’s because it is.
Stay safe ladies
Lisa x
