Smooci - Escorts on demand

[Smooci]

Smooci is currently only available in Bangkok, but we are working towards launching in Pattaya.

Smooci officially launched at the end of last year but the system has been working semi-manually as we only took on a group of trusted Bangkok agencies while develop the partner app which will allow independents/freelancers to work on our platform. The app is now getting close to completion and we are planning to launch in Singapore late next month, and depending on the success of that, we will be planning to launch in Pattaya around 1-3 months after that.

We are trying to work closely with a few forums/communities to help us develop the app towards the user, as our key concept is to create a platform and service which gives a more informed choice and more control back to the client.

[George810]

Let me open by wishing Smooci well in business. 

Let me say that there are many conveniences that our modern tech age has brought to us that I am now conditioned to and enjoy immensely.

Getting a girl in Pattaya-that's something I enjoy to go and do myself.  Walk the 6, have drink, talk to a few, contemplate options in person, check gogos, enjoy a drink watching them dance.  Ordering it with an app would take away all that enjoyment.  It seems our modern world has an App for everything, I just don't want one for this.

Stay well.

[rog555]

5 hours ago, Smooci said:

Smooci officially launched at the end of last year but the system has been working semi-manually as we only took on a group of trusted Bangkok agencies while develop the partner app

Fully tested, working software is preferable to software still under development.

Look at all the agro with a basic upgrade to this forum's software.  

My advice is not to make software Live until it is really ready.

Just my opinion.

[Smooci]

On 4/5/2017 at 7:57 PM, rog555 said:

Fully tested, working software is preferable to software still under development.

Look at all the agro with a basic upgrade to this forum's software.  

My advice is not to make software Live until it is really ready.

Just my opinion.

The site and system itself is fully working and had been vigorously tested before we launched. The partner app is a seperate app which will allow us to take independents/freelancers onboard.

[sabato]

Given the trouble freelancers have using ThaiFriendly (from both the site itself, and time wasting guys/guys looking for actual relationships), I think a service allowing independents somewhere to go is good - but I often wonder why existing freelancer sites (I forget the name, but there's a well established one) simply don't have many girls using them. It's like freelancers like the plausible deniability that goes with escorting from a dating site (e.g. if someone spots there profile, they can pretend they were dating). Or, they just don't know about these other sites, since they can just censor face photos. I don't know.

What I'd really like to see, is to adopt the adultwork model where reviews work both ways - that is, girls can review customers. It shits me that crappy customers mostly get a free pass (just in general, nothing specific to escort sites). If a girl sees a request from a customer with strong feedback, she can prioritize it.

[sabato]

To maybe answer my own question, the girls on ThaiFriendly have a chance to vet customers, some asking for photo's. Perhaps this is what holds back a freelancer from signing up to an escort site, they don't want to accept any and all customers. If you can tap into that market, you might be able to get a lot more girls advertising.

Right now I wouldn't recommend any escort site to freelancers I know as a way for them to find customers, as accepting any customer seems a world apart from selecting a customer of your choosing at a disco. If there was a site that allowed them this kind of vetting opportunity, I might well direct girls to the site.

[Smooci]

2 hours ago, sabato said:

To maybe answer my own question, the girls on ThaiFriendly have a chance to vet customers, some asking for photo's. Perhaps this is what holds back a freelancer from signing up to an escort site, they don't want to accept any and all customers. If you can tap into that market, you might be able to get a lot more girls advertising.

Right now I wouldn't recommend any escort site to freelancers I know as a way for them to find customers, as accepting any customer seems a world apart from selecting a customer of your choosing at a disco. If there was a site that allowed them this kind of vetting opportunity, I might well direct girls to the site.

Hi Sabato

We very much agree with your comments and position and that is why there has been such a delay in developing the app required for us to take independents/freelancers on board, as we need to develop a lot of features and integration.

While our key concept is to create a platform which gives the clients a more informed choice and greater control over their escort experience, we also want to help create an even playing field, giving freelancers the same tools and support an agency escort would have. This includes giving the companion as much info as we can on the client so they can decide to accept or decline each booking, and helping them to verify that a client is genuine and that his info and location are correct.

As well as the info, verification, and safety aspects, I think the biggest selling point to the companions (and also a positive to many clients), is that services and prices are agreed on the moment both parties accept the booking, so there is no need for awkward negotiations, and the companions only get sent booking requests which are guaranteed, genuine, and with their prices accepted, meaning no wasted time or disgenuine contact/bookings. I would assume a high percentage of contacts freelancers get on dating and classified sites are not serious or are looking to negotiate hard on price and service.

[sabato]

14 minutes ago, Smooci said:

As well as the info, verification, and safety aspects, I think the biggest selling point to the companions (and also a positive to many clients), is that services and prices are agreed on the moment both parties accept the booking, so there is no need for awkward negotiations, and the companions only get sent booking requests which are guaranteed, genuine, and with their prices accepted, meaning no wasted time or disgenuine contact/bookings. I would assume a high percentage of contacts freelancers get on dating and classified sites are not serious or are looking to negotiate hard on price and service.

Yes I'm sure freelancing on ThaiFriendly must be a pain, not to mention I think they get banned if they're too obvious about it. A lot of escort sites charge a premium that seems well in excess of what it should be, making it non-viable for many as a repeat option - so it's good to see your site offers a range of prices to create healthy competition, and encourage repeat business. 

If an independent only wants, say, Japanese customers, or customers above/below an age threshold - this is the kind of filtering I think could bag you more part-time freelancers. I know it doesn't go down well with some customers, but that's life , the increased availability of girls should more than make up for it. I encounter plenty of girls that communicate their preference for Japanese customers at gogo's, it's really not a problem.

 

[SirL]

50 minutes ago, Smooci said:

giving the companion as much info as we can on the client so they can decide to accept or decline each booking, and helping them to verify that a client is genuine and that his info and location are correct.

Hi Smooci,

If above you're writing that customers enter information about themselves into your system to be passed on to potential companions, can you explain what steps are taken to verify that information about the customer?  

Is there a process to prevent one individual customer registering a second/third/fourth account if their first one gets negative feedback/response?

How possible is it for a companion to decline a specific booking, and is the number of bookings declined visible to customers later?

Do companions give any kind of feedback or score on the customers, to be made available to other potential companions?

[sabato]

1 hour ago, SirL said:

Is there a process to prevent one individual customer registering a second/third/fourth account if their first one gets negative feedback/response?

I know some dating sites (DateInAsia?) use special cookies or computer fingerprinting to sort of do this, but not sure how reliable it is, and unsure if worth all the hassle when they can just log in with a different device. I think as with any rating system (like on ebay), you have to assume a new unrated girl or customer represents a risk.

[SirL]

1 hour ago, sabato said:

I know some dating sites (DateInAsia?) use special cookies or computer fingerprinting to sort of do this, but not sure how reliable it is

I think AirBnB have a fairly effective way to ensure that you can only have one account, because setting up an account requires some ID.  I don't know the details though.

[sabato]

1 minute ago, SirL said:

I think AirBnB have a fairly effective way to ensure that you can only have one account, because setting up an account requires some ID.  I don't know the details though.

That would spook a lot of customers (myself included), especially when you can't be sure how secure the company is (and even then it can be at the whim of a rogue employee). I'm thinking of the madison avenue data breach, which included details of customers who had paid to be deleted lol. A telephone number is a half measure, but disposable as well.

[SirL]

9 minutes ago, sabato said:

That would spook a lot of customers (myself included), especially when you can't be sure how secure the company is

Yes, fair comment, but that's how the world around us is, in particular AirBnB.  Maybe guys would be more concerned about their real names being associated with an escort service though?

For Smooci, I think guys would be reluctant to set up accounts in their real name which have to be really verified back to hard ID, eg passport etc.  If accounts aren't verified back to hard ID, it would surely be difficult to stop guys having multiple accounts, and if there are multiple accounts then any kind of negative feedback on the customers can easily be left behind by starting a new account.  So any kind of hard info about the customers, or feedback by the companions on them, becomes unreliable.  Besides, exactly the hard data that is verifiable in principle (dates of birth, passport numbers) isn't really the data that companions are interested in.

[sabato]

While I don't think this idea is workable in practice (just yet..), I kind of like the idea of a bond that new users can optionally pay - this money doesn't go to the girl in the event of a dispute (to avoid conflict of interest), but neither is it returned to the customer. Possibly it goes automatically to a charity. This provides a reliable indicator that a new customer is serious, and not intending to stiff the girl. Once they get a sufficient amount of feedback, the bond is returned. I say optional, as a girl can see a customer with or without this additional level of security assurance, and decide based on their personal level of risk tolerance. Sure sometimes it may be subject to abuse, but I think any girl abusing such a feature would soon be outed, as you would see a pattern emerge (at which time you could roll back the transactions).

If bitcoin were more popular (allowing an easy way to anonymously submit a security bond), I would gladly pay it, as I have high confidence the money is safe, and in the worst case, it goes to charity so no biggie. Not bulletproof, but would suppress the overwhelming majority of bad actors.

[Smooci]

I don't want to give too much away with regards to our tech and algorythms but we have a very talented tech team don't take any unnecssary personal information. In fact a client doens't even need to give their real name, the only name we need to confirm a booking is the name they have given to their hotel in order for our booking team to confirm that the client is where they say they are. Along with our SMS OTP verification (which can be done on a local, disposable sim) this is enough for us to give the escort confirmation that the booking is genuine.

Our system is not flawless and relies heavily on the rating and verification systems, but it is definietly working positively so far. As noted, new escorts will not yet have a rating (or photos verified in our new photo verification system), but we will be giving new companions a guide and tips, explaining how the rating and photo verificaton works, and showing why it's important to fill in details correctly, add accurate photos, and give good service. Any companions who try to cheat the system or offer poor service will soon be rated accordingly, being exposed and finding it difficult to get more bookings. If their behaviour continues they would eventually be banned (companions have to offer government ID in order to join the platform, so we can ensure they are of legal age, and make it difficult for banned users to rejoin).

One thing which is very important to note is that Smooci doesn't take any cut or percentage of the money paid to the companions. So unlike with agencies who take a sizable percentage of a companions earnings, our system will leave a companion in contorl of what they earn, knowing they don't have to lose a cut, which enables companions to offer lower rates and create more healthy competition.

One follow up question we often get, is: if we don't take any money from the bookings, how do we make money?

Right now we don't earn any money, but eventually we plan to add premium member services. For a small fee (similar to dating fee charges) we will offer clients a number of extra features, such as the ability to book 24 hours in advance, see all user comments, and see which photos have been verified. But essentially it will still be possible for non paying users to use our system and make and complete a booking without paying.

[hauhinbin]

Would be a useful addition, for me anyway, to know if the escort is willing to "date"women and this is to be stated on the site

[George36]

I have been preparing, well in advance, for my trip to Thailand in mid-August.  I looked at many of the escort sites in Bangkok as well as Pattaya.  Seems more often than not, the girls from Bangkok escort sites would link to Smooci for rate, etc.  Found it a very good system and have tentatively planned to spend a week in Bangkok to use your service.  

Truthfully, if you have it up in August in Pattaya, I will guarantee you at least five bookings over my three weeks there.  Probably more.  It is a better model for me to hire escorts as the hunt is not interesting to me.  At 63 and with 40+ years of mongering, I Desire to spend my time playing with the imps instead of talking or chasing them.  Just me.

Looking forward to using your service.

Have a Great Day,

 

George

[SirL]

4 hours ago, Smooci said:

a client doens't even need to give their real name, the only name we need to confirm a booking is the name they have given to their hotel in order for our booking team to confirm that the client is where they say they are.

I wonder whether this will turn out to be a practical problem.  Guys will almost always have hotels booked in their real names, because they're paying by bank card, and they may be reluctant to set up an account at an escort service in that same (real) name.  Are just first names, ie John, sufficient for Smooci?  Or, say, John Pattaya or John Smith?

[Smooci]

17 hours ago, SirL said:

I wonder whether this will turn out to be a practical problem.  Guys will almost always have hotels booked in their real names, because they're paying by bank card, and they may be reluctant to set up an account at an escort service in that same (real) name.  Are just first names, ie John, sufficient for Smooci?  Or, say, John Pattaya or John Smith?

Yes, first name is usually enough for the booking team to confirm the booking.

[JAI DEE MAK]

Nice idea  and concept however i don't think it is a winner sorry my friend .

 

JDM

[seagate1]

I need to understand if the service is available in Pattaya and in Bangkok; I had never used such service however heard a lot and my friends availed a few services from their favorite vendors.

In Pattaya, please share link wherein I may refer gallery to pick up and same for Bangkok, anyone here had any experience of this services and is it safe to get into?

[Billy Shears]

just curious, Do you pay the girl in advance or after the time is finished?

[seagate1]

3 minutes ago, WhiteThai said:

just curious, Do you pay the girl in advance or after the time is finished?

yeah! I think fee to be paid in advance, Just want to understand if fee to be paid in advance while booking or can be give to the girl once she arrives at room.

[Billy Shears]

49 minutes ago, seagate1 said:

yeah! I think fee to be paid in advance, Just want to understand if fee to be paid in advance while booking or can be give to the girl once she arrives at room.

If you pay in advance, what happens if your not happy with the service? The beauty of SEA is that if you get a girl in your room and she pulls some shit like no kissing or some other b.s., you can kick her out and your only out the bf. But if you pay upfront, your powerless.

[Garzan]

5 hours ago, seagate1 said:

I need to understand if the service is available in Pattaya and in Bangkok; I had never used such service however heard a lot and my friends availed a few services from their favorite vendors.
In Pattaya, please share link wherein I may refer gallery to pick up and same for Bangkok, anyone here had any experience of this services and is it safe to get into?

 

If you Google 'smooci' you can get the link, or you can click one of the smooci ads that appear on PA.
Once on the site, you will see that only Bangkok is currently selectable. When other areas are available, they too will be selectable.
The smooci guy has written several times that Pattaya and Singapore are coming soon, but still a few months out.
Going to the smooci website itself is a 100% certain way to find out what is available today. (Bangkok).