There is a very lively debate going on Adult Forum (http://www.adultforum.co.nz/) sparked by Lovely Betty’s blog post (http://bettybeldensblog.blogspot.com/) re. the possibility of a new legislation, which could make it illegal for WLs to work privately and parlours/clubs and agencies would then be the only way to ply our trade.
Battle lines have been clearly drawn (I LOVE the smell of napalm in the morning!..LOL).
Clearly, parlour owners will greatly profit from this arrangement, as the competition (girls working privately) would be wiped out overnight.
There are a lot of girls working privately in NZ,as it is as easy as putting the ad in the local paper.
A lot of those girls are very high caliber,truly stunning, situated in beautifully appointed premises. Of course, punters opt for those more often than not, as it provides a better atmosphere for GFE,privacy and discretion, to name just a few perks.
Of course, there are plenty of amateurs as well, trying to make a quick buck by pedalling their wares: they misrepresent themselves in the ads, have terrible houses/flats from which they work,have no idea of what proper service really means and,generally, are a sorry excuse for hookers.
Clearly, there is a place for both parlours and private workers, as different clients are after different things: some really want to come in for a chat first, have a drink, a cigarette, have a look around…
As wars are being waged on AF, I thought I talk about what parlours are like both here (NZ) and in Australia.
Australian parlours are generally very nice. Granted, there are exceptions, but if you find yourself in a big metropolis, like Melbourne, for instance, and go into one of many major brothels, you’ll be impressed.
Most of them are beautifully decorated and often have “themed” rooms.
For instance, Harem in South Melbourne is all about “old-style bordello boudoir”: there are crystal chandeliers, gold-gilded mirrors, and red and gold velour everywhere.
All the rooms have velour bedding (different colour in every room). Couple of rooms have four-poster beds and all of them have jacuzzi tabs. Entire place smells of old-world charm and luxury.
Every parlour has a lounge for the girls. Lounges are equipped with large flat-screen TVs w/Foxtel (AU version of Sky). There are plenty of comfortable couches for the girls to sit on. Robes and blankets are provided, so girls could cover themselves if they feel chilly. There are newspapers and magazines provided by the parlour for our perusal. Parlours are kept very warm, they all have central air and girls can control the thermostat or ask the receptionist to do so.
All parlours have kitchens and tea, coffee and juice is supplied for the girls by the parlour at no charge. Often parlours also offer toast, cans of tuna, minute noodles,tomatoes and cold cuts as well-again, at no charge, so the girls could have a snack while on shift.
Money is paid to the girls in cash BEFORE each booking commences. There are no “shift fees” or “advertising fees” or fines or any other such nonsense.
All parlours have cameras, so girls can see the client BEFORE they go out and do the into: this is how they avoid being “outed” by the people they know. Sometimes funny things happen: like when one of my friends was staring in horror at the camera,as she saw he best friend’s (AND roommate’s) fiancee walking through the door (and receptionist telling us that he is “such a good,regular client”)..LOL..
If the girl doesn’t want to do the into, she is not obligated to: all she has to say to receptionist “Not for me, thank you”. Even if she happens to be the only girl available, she won’t be made to go see the client.
Parlours have huge supply of linens and towels and those are kept in good condition: any sign of wear and tear and they’re thrown out.
All parlours have professional cleaners come in every day and they do a very thorough job.
Girls are asked to work certain length of time (usually about 6-7 hours, but NEVER longer than 8 hours). To encourage the girls, most parlours offer a “bonus” system. Those differ, but usually you get ENTIRE amount (the house doesn’t take their fee out) on your 6th booking if you worked for required amount of time (7 hours). However, most parlours are very reasonable: if there are few girls on and it’s not busy, they will let you go at any time, if you wish to do so. No parlour would ever make you work for 10-12 hours, although some girls choose to do so when they are in a dire need of money.
Condoms (of ALL sizes) and lube are provided by parlours for free.
Most parlours have intercoms in the rooms along with panic buttons.
Some places stand out above the rest. For instance, Collinwood Confidential (former Grosvernor) was bought outright (business AND the building) by two gay guys a year ago. What a difference they’ve made!
They purchased all new beds,mattresses,pillows and linens (beautifully colour-coordinated to match the new colour scheme). The entire place was remodeled and re-painted (slow,pain-staking work,as it had to be done room-by-room). It is now a very classy, contemporary place.
Girl’s lounge is HUGE and it has a number of couches as well as amazingly comfy armchairs (in case if you want a little solitude and don’t feel like sitting on the couch chatting and watching TV).
There is a large covered outside area for those who like to smoke.
Boys provide yogurts,cold cuts, tomatoes,soups and noodles,tuna and salmon,biscuits,designer teas (such as Lady Grey), fresh pastries every morning and often bring additional special treats during the day. All that at no charge to the girls!
There is 52″ flat-screen TV w/Foxtel, fresh gossip mags and newspapers.
They offer DOUBLE bonus system: they pay you additional $5 for each booking at the end of your shift and a full bonus for your 6th booking.
More importantly, they really care about well-being and safety of the girls. They take time to talk to each girl individually (and there are a lot of girls working in that parlour), find out what her situation is, what days/hours are best suited for her and try to tailor the schedule to fit her needs/goals.
They also pay close attention to every detail.
Mike and Barry (the owners) are great! This is how a parlour should be run.
Yes, there are definitely run-down sad-looking parlours in Melbourne as well, but the goods ones are everywhere, so why even bother with the bad ones??
Also, in Australia WLs have to undergo mandatory health testing every month: one cannot work in a parlour without a DC (doctor’s certificate). Testing includes blood sample (once every 3 months) and STI swab (vaginal and throat,as Gonorrhea could be nesting in there-take a note,those who ask for “natural” blow job-it’s a medical fact). This is strictly enforced.
Once the client has chosen a girl and paid, he is taken into the room and subjected to a “health check” (performed by the girl). We usually look for obvious signs of STI. If the girl notices something “out of order” she could either ask another girl to double check or simply tell the receptionist that the client failed health check. In that case the guy is given his money back and shown the door. No questions asked.
It is, actually, a very good practice,as there is nothing worse than being in the middle of a booking and suddenly seeing something that’s clearly a sign of STI: it makes it very awkward for all concerned.
Girl can refuse to see any client even if she’s done the into: if she feels uncomfortable, no one will force her.
Generally, receptionists are “on the ball”, watching client’s depart:girls meant to walk them out. If the girl is not there with the client, receptionist will immediately buzz the room to make sure that the girl is OK.
Now.. NZ parlours… I worked in a few and my girlfriend worked in some, so the following is compilation of our experiences.
Quite a few of NZ parlours are run-down (some are just plain dirty). A lot of them were “converted” in a hurry and have mismatched furniture bought in second-hand stores. This is especially true for smaller towns.
I’ve worked in a places where parlour has doubled up as owner’s personal storage: there was everything but a kitchen sink in there, in plain view. NZ owners are also very stingy with power:sometimes the heater in the room is not turned on until you actually walk in it with a client (and most NZ buildings don’t have any insulation, so in winter rooms are ice-cold and barely warm up by the end of one-hour booking,when the heater is switched off again).
There are few truly beautiful places (FunHouse being one of them), but on the average parlours in NZ are pretty sad looking: they are all in a major need of remodel (old,peeling paint and water stains), linens are threadbare and they all show signs of neglect.
Parlours would often dictate which shift they let any particular girl to work. Often they require very long shifts (10-12 hours).
Many parlours pay the girls at the end of the shift (which creates the problem if the girl wants to leave early) or even weekly (I would never work for a place like that, as it creates way too many variables).
Often parlours don’t have a nice area for girls to sit while waiting for a client (sometimes it’s just a cramped under-the-stairs area next to a washer and dryer). Or they DO have a nice area, but the girls are obligated to stand on their feet and talk to the clients all the time while not in a booking.
Some male owners take liberties with WLs and “sample the goods” for free before they let girls work in their establishments.
There are no health checks (for either girls or clients) and girls often pressured into seeing clients they don’t want to see or perform “extras” they don’t want to do as a condition of their employment.
Often there are no intercoms or panic buttons.
Sometimes owners or receptionists “close their eyes” on the fact that a client is way too intoxicated, agitated or plain dangerous-they just want the money.
Sometimes owners “micromanage” the girls and decide who they want to introduce to any particular client or what the girl should wear,etc.
Bottom line: in my humble opinion, NZPC and the Government should try and regulate parlours/clubs a bit more. We need to set higher standards,as some of those places are just plain embarrassing.
Parlour receptionists are a different story altogether. Some of them are really great and go out of their way to create a great atmosphere for both girls and clients (not an easy balancing act).
However, I’ve seen receptionist unceremoniously poking and pushing the girl to wake her up after a 10-hour shift to say “Hi” to a drunk client who couldn’t even string 2 words together coherently… I’ve witnessed them implying that the girl would “loose” her money if she left early…
I was imposed a fine once for refusing to use parlour’s driver to take me to work (I’d rather have my own car at all times). You can guess why that parlour insisted on a driver taking girls to and from work: less freedom for the girl,as it’s not that easy to leave on your own at 2 am, especially if the receptionist refuses to give you your money.
Some receptionists are quite skilled at “scary tactics”: they don’t say things out loud, but rather, imply them. This way they can always deny they’ve done anything wrong.
My girlfriend was working in a major parlour in Auckland when she became ill during the shift. Manager told her she would be fined $200 (!!) if she left early. In that same parlour my girlfriend’s wallet (with $800 in it)was stolen by another WL. Management did find the culprit that very night, but… They let her back to work 3 days later!
There are some pretty good agencies I know of in Wellington, where they rent private apartments, furnish them nicely and book the girls through phone/Internet. However, same problems exist: some managers pressure the girls into doing multiple bookings in a row (say 5-6) or into seeing clients the girls don’t want to see.
The best and most successful one at the moment is First Impressions, as it’s run by the girls themselves as a co-op (every girl truly works for herself).
Receptionists really do have the power to “make or break” any girl’s income. This I know for a fact.
I am friends with a really great receptionist in Melbourne. She truly cares and a lot of times acts as a “personal assistant” to the girls. I remember her telling me once to bring my washing in and she’d wash/dry and fold it for me, so I could work! (of course, I never took her up on that, but she seriously meant it). She would go after a client without the slightest hesitation if she suspected the girl was in trouble.
She told me once that she has a special pen on her at all times (NOT the flimsy plastic kind), so she could aim for the guy’s throat with it if he intended any harm to the girl.
She is the one who told me it is so easy to manipulate and control any one’s bookings. For instance, she overheard this one very pretty and very popular girl making fun of another, less attractive WL and being quite nasty and unkind. My friend demanded that the pretty one apologised immediately (the other girl was in tears and my friend hates injustice). When the girl stubbornly refused, my friend told her that she will not see another booking until she produces a heart-felt apology.
The way she did it was very subtle: after all the private intros were done, if the client wanted to book the pretty girl in question, my friend would hesitate for just a fraction of a second.. Then say “OK, sure, if you want her..” and just trail off. Of course, the guy would ask for more info and my friend would say “Oh, I don’t know.. I haven’t heard anything BAD about her.. In fact, no one said anything,really… Not like they do about (another girl’s name)-she CONSTANTLY gets a lot of great comments”. Of course, the guy then books that other girl..
You see how easy it is?
I was entangled with a receptionist from another parlour (see Lamentable Lesbian Love Story) and we never really got started… The girl she is with now happens to also be a receptionist in that same parlour.
I did one shift with her (you could cut the tension with a knife) and only got one booking, despite of the fact that I was THE ONLY girl available AND clients seem to like me in the into. They all went to talk to the receptionist (you have to in order to make a booking) and they all left without booking. I’m sure she had something to do with it.
We are all human: sometimes we can’t help the way we feel and our emotions get the best of us. In ideal world, the only criteria would be one’s job performance, appearance,attitude and work ethic. But we don’t live in ideal world, do we?
At least, when the girls work private, they have no one but themselves to blame if their business fails. That’s why some cannot do it: they need the structure and discipline of the parlour. But the parlours shouldn’t take advantage of that. It is a very fine line and a hard balance to find, but some manage to do it (and those are usually the most successful ones)