[BLUE]The ISG welcomes Smooci as a Site Sponsor
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[BLUE]The ISG welcomes Smooci as a Site Sponsor
Admin[/BLUE]
Has anyone used this site / app yet and if so how was the system?
But seriously, I have bored my mates shitless before it was a thing, saying that Thailand needs an 'Uber' style app that will put the bar-fining mamasans and other bar parasites out of business (or make them improve services).
So how did they get it launched to the world? eg: the app needs girls to be there for the punters, but how do you get the girls to sign up if there's no punters? Easy, you offer your 'disruptor' as a 'middleman' to escort services!
Since smooci have done this, I now know there has to be a better method to actually 'disrupt' the industry, not just put up a fancy middleman site that is pretending to be uber for gash. I intend to find it.
I will be watching smooci and looking for ways it can be iterated even better (just like facebook bounced off myspace to summit even greater heights).
I have just had a look at the site (no app yet as such) the cheapest price for 1 hour was B2,500 one pop! Most want B 3,000 and some 'pretties' asking B4,000 these girls are dreaming! That low price is more expensive than an hour in Germany! And the high price equals an hour in fucking Sydney, one of the most expensive cities in the world! WTF.
I used to get ST out of Thermae before it went Ja-poon-ese B1000 at least two pops, and pictures (B 100 'taxi' tip)
Let me put this in perspective in Thailand prices... my dentist has just x-rayed me, given me two novocaine jabs, removed a crown than had infection under it, and replaced with a temporary crown ALL for B 1700.
And all of that was more than two hours work as the crown had a troublesome anchor pin that would not budge.
So these girls are asking for 8x what a Thai dentist charges per hour, given they'll likely waste time showering you/themselves, talking shit, and etc. and maybe spend 30 minutes on actual sex if you're lucky, looks like there's a market for cheaper poon waiting to be tapped online still.
Connecting on-line seems to be the way the Thailand mongering scene is trending, so IMO Smooci can be a useful tool in this regard. It appears you are still paying more than you would with a Nana FL / SW or BG lady, but less than a traditional escort service. Basically you are paying for the convenience if you see someone you fancy.
If I was thinking outcall I would probably go with a PSE shop option like 2 hours 3,000 baht from Snow White or 2 hours 2,500 baht from Bamboo, but it is nice to have additional resources.
SL.
[QUOTE=Sunlover2;1977496]Connecting on-line seems to be the way the Thailand mongering scene is trending, so IMO Smooci can be a useful tool in this regard. It appears you are still paying more than you would with a Nana FL / SW or BG lady, but less than a traditional escort service. Basically you are paying for the convenience if you see someone you fancy.
If I was thinking outcall I would probably go with a PSE shop option like 2 hours 3,000 baht from Snow White or 2 hours 2,500 baht from Bamboo, but it is nice to have additional resources.
SL.[/QUOTE]I am all for the internet of everything, in Thailand, Uber has kicked the corrupt butt of the tuk tuk and taxi mafia, especially up north, although the Government are against it, and why? Because the greedy bastards can't have a cut of course! So like them, fucking dinosaurs, they have no clue.
As you say, it's nice to have options, I can see a low-end response to smooci doing VERY well in the online space. I think 'skanki' would be an excellent working title, stay tuned.
Used Smooci, my hotel telephone rang within 30 seconds of booking a girl confirming my booking. - Pretty professional in my books.
The discounts are great compared to regular agencies.
I haven't been offered to rate my girl yet, I don't get how the stars system work if I don't get a chance to rate the girl.
[QUOTE=Sunlover2;1977496]Connecting on-line seems to be the way the Thailand mongering scene is trending, so IMO Smooci can be a useful tool in this regard. It appears you are still paying more than you would with a Nana FL / SW or BG lady, but less than a traditional escort service. Basically you are paying for the convenience if you see someone you fancy.
If I was thinking outcall I would probably go with a PSE shop option like 2 hours 3,000 baht from Snow White or 2 hours 2,500 baht from Bamboo, but it is nice to have additional resources.
SL.[/QUOTE]2 hours at Snow White is not 3,000 Baht, it's 2,300 Baht. 1,900 for 1 hour, 2,100 for 1. 5 hours, and 2,300 for 2 hours.
This service is nothing different than an escort service. They just repackage the ladies on a different site. If you look at many of the Bangkok escort agencies, you will see many ladies on multiple sites. And then you see them in a massage shop, or in the disco.
Since they are a sponsoring member and can advertise, I for one would love for them to post in their own thread telling us their business model so we can learn more before trying their service. For example, what's the advantage of using their site when we can look at the girl on this site, see what agency she works for and then call them directly at their agency and pay the same fee.
Please tell us your business concept so we can learn how your service would be beneficial for us. Thanks in advance.
*** I now know how it works. Smooci is just acting as a middle man between the escort agency or independent provider. Their claim to fame is to increase the rate of successful bookings. I don't see how this business model will be successful since the agencies and providers will just be adding another expense to reduce their profits. Thais look a things a little differently, it's not about convenience, it's about how much money they can make per client. They simply don't care about customer service in this business.Good luck to smooci!!! I hope it works out for them!*****
But I'm still really curious about what smooci will say so please tell me the advantage of using your service instead of calling the agency listed in the girls photo. Is it cheaper for me? More reliable? Are we saying don't call the agency directly because they are not reliable? Please tell me. Thanks. We are all eagerly waiting to learn how the new service really works. I hope the person in charge of smooci can tell us.
[QUOTE=OliverKitsoff;1977483]I will be watching smooci and looking for ways it can be iterated even better (just like facebook bounced off myspace to summit even greater heights).
I have just had a look at the site (no app yet as such) the cheapest price for 1 hour was B2,500 one pop! Most want B 3,000 and some 'pretties' asking B4,000 these girls are dreaming!
Let me put this in perspective in Thailand prices... my dentist has just x-rayed me, given me two novocaine jabs, removed a crown than had infection under it, and replaced with a temporary crown ALL for B 1700.
And all of that was more than two hours work as the crown had a troublesome anchor pin that would not budge.
So these girls are asking for 8x what a Thai dentist charges per hour, given they'll likely waste time showering you/themselves, talking shit, and etc. and maybe spend 30 minutes on actual sex if you're lucky, looks like theres a market for cheaper poon waiting to be tapped online still...[/QUOTE]I like the perspective you bring. Keep it up. And let's hope that a dynamic market narrows the gap between ask and offer.
[QUOTE=Klassic;1981731]Used Smooci, my hotel telephone rang within 30 seconds of booking a girl confirming my booking. - Pretty professional in my books.
The discounts are great compared to regular agencies.
I haven't been offered to rate my girl yet, I don't get how the stars system work if I don't get a chance to rate the girl.[/QUOTE]Hi Klassic,
First of all, thanks for trying out smooci I hope smooci made it easier for you to book your companion.
An email should have been sent to you as soon as your companion presses "complete" on her phone or until booking times out. Please let me know if you still have not received an email.
[QUOTE=Sunlover2;1977496]Connecting on-line seems to be the way the Thailand mongering scene is trending, so IMO Smooci can be a useful tool in this regard.[/QUOTE]
I hope I'm wrong, but as more time passes, more I think Smocci will flop or at best stagnate.
Choosing a girl online is NOT a convenience worth paying extra for the majority of mongers. You don't get to see a girl or interact with her in any way, it's basically like a blind date except that you might get a few heavily edited pics which tell you about 20% as much as a single 5-second look at the real person does. You can't discuss services or get a sense of enthusiasm and personal chemistry. You don't get any of the benefits of choosing, just guessing. You don't get to go with the girl immediately, right then and there.
Now, if there were 100's of girls online at competitive prices, not available otherwise (as in the HK 141 scene), picking online would be a worthwhile compromise (albeit always a compromise).
At the moment, Smooci wedged itself firmly itself into the escort market (a tiny niche in Bangkok), providing a discount over escort sites, but still at a 50-100% markup over freelancer rates, and a 30-50% markup over over oily massage girl rates. At the latter, the benefit of choosing in person and impulse buys are a huge advantage, and at PSE oilies like Snow White service guarantees / standards are strong as well (you can get 2 h with unlimited shots for 2300).
To succeed, an online booking system has to go mass market, both with customers and with providers. Sites like this strongly depend on network effects -- the more customers there are the more girls it attracts and vice versa.
I have high hopes for a service like Smocci one day, but it'll have to be both price-competitive with the freelancers (cheap enough that a shot in the dark is worthwhile, so 1000-2000 baht for a one-pop session), have a significant provider base (with under 100 girls it's just a beefed-up escort agency), and as perhaps add a way to contact the providers to negotiate a few details, as well as have a more solid review system (stars mean nothing and are easily manipulated, and the site has every incentive to manipulate them, for instance removing low scores).
Moreover, you have to build momentum quickly. At the moment, I check Smooci 2-3 times a week (it's an interesting concept), but it's not yet compelling enough for a booking. If it doesn't shape up within a month or so, I (and most monger) probably won't check it again.
Wish you best of luck.
[QUOTE=Crocodilexp;1982053]I hope I'm wrong, but as more time passes, more I think Smocci will flop or at best stagnate.
Choosing a girl online is NOT a convenience worth paying extra for the majority of mongers. You don't get to see a girl or interact with her in any way, it's basically like a blind date except that you might get a few heavily edited pics which tell you about 20% as much as a single 5-second look at the real person does. You can't discuss services or get a sense of enthusiasm and personal chemistry. You don't get any of the benefits of choosing, just guessing. You don't get to go with the girl immediately, right then and there.[/QUOTE]There is a Special Requests box available before booking. As far as discussing services in more detail beforehand, I think if I were going to book a girl through smooci, I would lay it all out in that Special Requests box and wait for a yea or nay to what I would be willing to part with 3,000+ baht for with the girl even if the pics are photoshopped, but assuming it is at least close.
Otherwise, I think the most you stand to lose by being shocked out of the mood when the real lady shows up is, not sure, maybe 1,000 baht to cancel on the spot? I wish I only lost 1,000 baht on those occasions a seen and met girl changed her tune, totally dropped the built up chemistry and suddenly forgot all the things she said she would do for me in the bar. And how many of those 1,000 baht cancellations would smooci be willing to put up with on an individual girl before relenting and deciding to put more honest pics of her on the site?
[QUOTE=Crocodilexp;1982053]At the moment, Smooci wedged itself firmly itself into the escort market (a tiny niche in Bangkok), providing a discount over escort sites, but still at a 50-100% markup over freelancer rates, and a 30-50% markup over over oily massage girl rates. At the latter, the benefit of choosing in person and impulse buys are a huge advantage, and at PSE oilies like Snow White service guarantees / standards are strong as well (you can get 2 h with unlimited shots for 2300).
To succeed, an online booking system has to go mass market, both with customers and with providers. Sites like this strongly depend on network effects -- the more customers there are the more girls it attracts and vice versa.[/QUOTE]The niche seems tiny. Guys wanting an escort urgently within 4 hours or willing to leave it till the last 4 hours and take pot luck with what girls are available, or guys monitoring continually but willing to wait a long time till actually pull the trigger. Personally I would not fit any of these categories. Others might.
Sure its major market should be people who already use Escorts, I don't know how big that market is. Most of them will not be on ISG. Also the discount tries to tempt some guys not normally taking Escorts, but with added pressure to choose something in a hurry without much research about the target girl.
The 4 hour time slot is clearly the key, allowing girls to get a customer for reduced rate who normally would not have one at such short notice. I fear the quality of the girls available may not be the greatest compared to very best Escort girls. You get what you pay for. Ratings show the hit and miss nature of it all.
Some of us have become less and less keen to take the gamble of how good the girl will be preferring more reliable approaches to choosing girls, such as face to face conversation, or reliable massage shops.
Is this App going to work for really cautious guys, very choosy about girl characteristics, probably not? Pull in guys willing to try anything, sucked in by the discount. Anything like this needs significant time to build into something successful. Patience needed and teething troubles to be expected.
The real key is setting up a win / win model for girl and customer and maybe agency and having extremely low overheads.
Is the girl Agency relevant at all? How does that work? I mean some girls work for multiple agencies (unless they all have the same owner) and do freelance too.
Privately I might make an arrangement to meet some girl tomorrow, by LINE contact (no agency involved). However there is no guarantee the girl will actually go through with it. Something may come up. So I can identify with Idea to meet the girl in just 1 hour to increase chance she will not change her mind. Girls are flaky and unreliable. Even if she does show up, likely to be not on time at all. The advantage is the girl and her performance is known already. if she shows up. Always have to have backup plans. LOL
[QUOTE=Syzygies;1982061]Is the girl Agency relevant at all? How does that work? I mean some girls work for multiple agencies (unless they all have the same owner) and do freelance too.
However there is no guarantee the girl will actually go through with it. Something may come up. So I can identify with Idea to meet the girl in just 1 hour to increase chance she will not change her mind. Girls are flaky and unreliable. Even if she does show up, likely to be not on time at all.[/QUOTE]I can't see how involving an agency (which must somehow get a cut) helps attract either girls or customers. It doesn't do much for quality quality either. Perhaps it's necessary as a first step to getting a decent number of girls, but unless Smooci ditches the agencies and manages to attract independents, they'll remain stuck with the small piece of a tiny escort-service niche.
As for guarantees and flakiness, there are none, ever. That's what a good app workflow and review system can supposedly mitigate, although never reliably fix. A smartphone app could actually track the girl's on-time performance with good accuracy without relying on manual reviews. In addition, it could set up an incentive such as the girl making a small deposit when accepting a booking, which is returned when the customer confirms the session has started (but not if she's too late or cancels). Could be as little as 100 baht, loss aversion is a strong motivator.
[QUOTE=Crocodilexp;1982393]I can't see how involving an agency (which must somehow get a cut) helps attract either girls or customers. It doesn't do much for quality quality either. Perhaps it's necessary as a first step to getting a decent number of girls, but unless Smooci ditches the agencies and manages to attract independents, they'll remain stuck with the small piece of a tiny escort-service niche.
As for guarantees and flakiness, there are none, ever. That's what a good app workflow and review system can supposedly mitigate, although never reliably fix. A smartphone app could actually track the girl's on-time performance with good accuracy without relying on manual reviews. In addition, it could set up an incentive such as the girl making a small deposit when accepting a booking, which is returned when the customer confirms the session has started (but not if she's too late or cancels). Could be as little as 100 baht, loss aversion is a strong motivator.[/QUOTE]Their business model is good customer service and that seems to translate into something as simple as a successful booking. It seems to be the convenience of an uber style escort booking without the actual app, see my screen shot. I don't see the need or use for it but obviously the escort agencies are having issues with successful bookings so this middle man is required? Not sure I buy that.
It would be nice if the owner would chime in with his ideas so we all can understand, but sadly he's silent! I wonder why?
**** update****
I did compare the rates for some of the girls with their agency and some are cheaper. For example Pure Bangkok escorts prices are 1000 Baht cheaper so that's a good start.
Firstly, thanks for all your comments and feedback, we really do take it all on board.
Please note that Smooci is very far from being a completed product, and there are a lot of positive things going on behind the scenes as we speak.
Very basically, Smooci is a platform for Escort agencies and independents to offer their services and users to make instant bookings. Smooci has a live api system which is retrieving live information on the availability of the companion directly from their app. (each companion has their own app), the benefit of this is users will not get the call and say. I am sorry, this companion is not available. Or worst, the agency performs a bait and switch on you. With smooci, we do have technical algorithms in place to check for bait and switch. Booking at odd hours before would have been tough, but with Smooci, the agency does not have to stay up to facilitate late night bookings as the companion is able to perform the check, and confirm the booking all by themselves.
Re pricing: We do not set or control pricing. Agencies and independents are free to control their own pricing. We have encouraged agencies to offer competitive pricing on our platform, and the feedback has been very positive, with most agencies seeing an increase in bookings and they have continued their initial price structure on smooci.
One important thing to note is that our companion app (the app needed for independent Escorts to work on smooci and manage their profile and bookings) is still being tested and updated and is not ready to be released, hence we currently only have agency Escorts on our platform. Once this app is ready for release we will then open up to independent Escorts, which will mean more companions and a wide range of pricing (and what we hope will be more competitive pricing in general). We have a database of interested independents ready to be added to the platform as soon as we are happy to release the independent app to them but at the moment we cannot confirm when this will be.
[B]Benefits to users (long term):[/B]
- Competitive pricing (in the long term we hope that our platform will create a more competitively priced market, with agency escorts and independents all competing on a more even playing field).
- The ability to search multiple agencies and independents in one place with instant availability checks and booking confirmation through our api.
- Higher standards. In the long term we hope the even playing field and rating system will help highlight the best companions and raise standards in general. We will also be introducing a vetting and verification system for all companions, and try to tackle the issue of heavily photoshopped profile pictures.
- Improved customer service with 24/7 support.
- GPS tracking. This additional feature allows users to track their companions to their door, allowing for more accurate arrival times.
[B]Benefits to Escort agencies:[/B]
- A larger customer base and brand building opportunities.
- Automated booking. Meaning 24/7 bookings, client verification etc. Agencies can operate around the clock with less staff and outgoing costs.
- The opportunity to build reputation through good service.
[B]Benefits to Independent escorts (long term):[/B]
- The chance to compete with agency Escorts.
- Access to a large customer base.
- The tools to manage and organize themselves on a whole new level (price, availability, booking records, schedule).
Again, please note that Smooci is still very much work in process with a lot of improvements to come, and we are very much open to all feedback. Our goal is to improve the Escort booking experience for both the users and companions, creating higher standards and more healthy competition within the markets, and we wish to work with both in order to achieve this.