Vendors' experiences with nasty reactions from curious callers?

[The Last Laugh]

Hello everyone!

This question is mostly meant for the various tickling video vendors, but anyone can reply, of course.

I was wondering if you ever get some really bad calls from people wanting to know more about your company to see if they'd like to be models.

Most of the time, callers answering ads are surprised when they learn about the nature of the videos. Often amused, sometimes interested, sometimes not. Rude reactions are very rare. But today I had a rather nasty conversation.

She called a few days ago asking for some info, saying she was very ticklish and prone to smiling all the time. I explained all the basics, telling her we could meet for a more detailed information session eventually. She seemed fine with the idea and told me she's call back soon after thinking about it.

Today I called her to see if she had decided. Well, she wasn't the same pleasant person at all. She told me she thought was I was doing was disgusting, that it was a case of women exploitation. I kept my calm and remained as polite as possible (always a major advantage) and asked why she had called in the first place and said she would call back if that's how she felt about it. She answered that she was just calling to see what the "scam" was (not her actual words, but the basic idea). Ah, a vigilante investigating me. Interesting. She even said that she was considering calling the police. Oh, please.

I told her that I had nothing to hide, that I really do have a company and store and am actually selling my first video. She said that she's sure that it's true, and that I'm selling videos to sick people to support my sick interests.

Well, I told her that she's welcome to call the police if she wants to, since I'm not doing anything illegal. Of course, I'm not at all worried. I think the conversation showed her that even though she disapproves of my projet, there's really nothing she can do about it, and that I'm perfectly aware of that fact. Maintaining a professional attitude and being civil always pays off.

I understand that this project is not for everybody, and I realize that some people do think the adult video market is wrong and an "exploitation of women", even if it's only fully clothed models being tickled in my case. But if people know all the details and are comfortable with the concept, I don't see a problem at all. This person is way out of line. She's highly prejudiced, and she basically called all ticklephiles perverted sickos. I have to say that I resent that.

I kept her name and phone number, just in case. I think I should also keep a close eye on my ads on campus. Not sure what I can do if several start disappearing, but if it happens she will be high on my suspect list. That would be a very annoying billboard war. Sigh.

Anyway, back to the original question. Do any of you fellow video vendors have had any really bad experiences like this one? I mean, this won't have any consequences, but it was highly unpleasant nonetheless. I'm curious to know if I'm the only one running into nasty close-minded people (I'm pretty sure I'm not), and I'd like to know the opinions of people from the community on this topic.

Thank you for your interest.

 

[Oblesklk]

Ahh the joys of model recruiting 🙂 Although I don't run a tickle video business per se, I have gone through what you're experiencing. I've scheduled 4 shoots for TickleTown and other projects in the past few years.

Basically I never ever talk to anyone on the phone. My market was mostly college aged girls, so I'd only give email addresses, knowing that any student that age would have one. And anyone that doesn't would generally (just using statistics) not be very clued in on the web in general, and have no idea what we're trying to accomplish.

So I do all my recruiting through email. If someone needs to talk to me more in detail, we switch to a chat program like MSN messenger, Yahoo Messenger, AIM, etc.

I have gotten foul responses before. It's much easier to hit the delete button on my email program than listen to someone rant about absolutely nothing on the phone for 10 minutes 🙂

As for legalities, I can only talk about the US. I'm guessing the Canadian legal system is similar, if not identical. Make sure you look at their ID and take reasonable assurances the model is 18. Make sure you sign a contract with her stating the nature of the transaction. Have fun 🙂 Because I don't think what we're doing will be construed as illegal in my lifetime. It's just a contractual business transaction between two parties.

Now, if you're really worried about it, it may not be a bad idea to contact an attorney in your area to get the real scoop on this stuff.

 

[The Last Laugh]

Hi Oblesklk,

> Ahh the joys of model recruiting

Groan! It can be a pain, can't it?

> Although I don't run a tickle video business per se,
> I have gone through what you're experiencing. I've
> scheduled 4 shoots for TickleTown and other projects
> in the past few years.

I also was involved in a non-tickling project some time ago. It was a perfectly decent portrait photography project with an American friend of mine as the photographer. He was to come visit me in August 2000, and my job was pretty much the same as what I'm doing right now to get models: advertising, answering calls, doing info sessions and audition sessions, etc. And even though it had absolutely nothing to do with adult stuff (even less than The Last Laugh), I still got a couple of nasty calls.

One call in particular was from a boyfriend who brought his girlfriend to tears and yelled at me like crazy, threatening me with his precious little lawyer daddy and even suggesting he was going to come over to beat me up. Ha! Bring it on! I'll sue your ass off, you big idiot! And you're dada is welcome to try getting me in trouble, if he doesn't immediately falls on the floor laughing when you suggest it to him. No, I didn't tell him these things exactly like that. As I said, remainding calm and civil is the best approach. But what I told him meant pretty much the same thing. I must admit, I actually had a blast with that phone conversation, even though I felt bad for the girl.

Anyway, the main problem isn't the rare out-of-control jerk I get from time to time, but rather the mountain of unreliable candidates I get. Sad to say, but while some are genuinely interested and trustworthy, many don't even show up at info or audition meetings, and don't even call to warn me or explain. I don't know how they do it. Personally I couldn't live with myself. I mean, it's ok to drop out (even if it can be annoying), but at least call to tell me. Am I asking for too much?

> Basically I never ever talk to anyone on the phone.

I used to include the URL to an on-line information page for potential candidates in my ads. That was some time ago. By checking the visitor stats of that page I soon realized that although a lot of people checked it out, I was getting no calls from those people. I only got calls from people who called me directly. I guess that while I did my very best to make the page as inviting and reassuring as possible, most people were put off by it. After all, it is a very unusual project for most people, and I can understand them being somewhat suspicious. But it's not like giving me a call to more info was like signing contract or anything. I just wish they had at least tried.

The sad thing is that if they had only taken the time to call me I'm sure a number of them would have been interested. A direct conversation that allows to answer questions live and to give the other person an idea of who you are is much more warm and effective. It's not rare that people call and are actually more interested after the conversation than before.

Personally I hate it when people use e-mail to get info (as it used to happen in the past when I also included my e-mail in the ads), because I either have to write a long text to give them the basics, refer them to the info page with the usual results, or tell them I'd be happy to explain everything on the phone, it being such a more efficient method. The latter seems very reasonable to me, but do they call? Nope. So in my case providing people with an e-mail and/or a URL is shooting myself in the foot. For me, the phone is the way to go.

> And anyone that doesn't would generally (just using
> statistics) not be very clued in on the web in general,
> and have no idea what we're trying to accomplish.

That's a very good point, I have to agree with that.

> It's much easier to hit the delete button on my email
> program than listen to someone rant about absolutely
> nothing on the phone for 10 minutes

That's true. However, while it's not exactly pleasant at first, I do see such calls as intriguing challenges, and they can be funny when I think about them later. They make for good stories. What's really neat is to manage to keep one's cool and professionalism in the face of such idiocy, which tends to unsettle the nasty callers. It also shakes their belief that they're in the right. Very satisfying.

> Make sure you look at their ID and take reasonable
> assurances the model is 18. Make sure you sign a
> contract with her stating the nature of the transaction.

Absolutely. While I guess my videos wouldn't be technically illegal if I hired minors, many people would have a problem with such an issue, and it would certainly hurt my company's reputation. So ID to make sure they're all 18+ is essential. Also, I have two seperate legal documents, one for the audition session and one for actual commercial session. Both were written and approved by a lawyer.

Of course, the person I talked to today didn't have a problem with the legal side of things per se (though she futilely threatened me with legal action), or the age of the models. She simply thought the whole concept is plain wrong and an abuse of women. I can understand her general point, but it's only her personal opinon, and it was way out of proportion. And very insulting to ticklephiles.

> It's just a contractual business transaction between
> two parties.

Exactly. All my models are fully aware of all aspects of the project and the special interest my customers have for tickling. I don't hide anything from them. So if they're ok with it, enthusiastic even, where's the problem?

> Now, if you're really worried about it, it may not
> be a bad idea to contact an attorney in your area to
> get the real scoop on this stuff.

Nah, I wasn't worried about the lawyer dad guy and I'm not worried about the self-righteous woman either. But I did ask my lawyer about it some time ago, and after some research she determined that legally my videos aren't even considered adult material at all, and there's really nothing anyone can do to cause me legal trouble. My ads on campus, though, are not quite as safe. I hope she won't get any ideas.

Sorry for going on and on about this. Just getting something off my chest, I guess. Thanks for reading. And thank you, Oblesklk, for your comments.

 

[CurtWild]

She told me she thought was I was doing was disgusting, that it was a case of women exploitation.

while i don`t make videos,i do find this funny.i wonder how many calls she has made to Hugh Hefner

 

[mabus]

Francois, I missed this thread when you first posted it, and it is indeed an eye opener to the close mindedness and intolerence out there. It is the reason njjen3953 and so many others have reservations about discussing tickling with anyone else:
http://www.ticklingforum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=23275

I would tell her to mind her own business and go play, or, politely ask her to be in your video, even though she hates it. Tell here the real reason she is mad is because she secretly desires to be tickled to hysterics, but is afraid to admit it. It probably won't be true. (Boy, if she said yes, that would be a story!) It will probably really, really piss her off, and then you can laugh at her while she raves and fumes. She launched an unprovoked self-righteous attack on you, so why not enjoy yourself at her expense?

 

[The Last Laugh]

Francois, I missed this thread when you first posted it, and it is indeed an eye opener to the close mindedness and intolerence out there.

Well, you have to realize that this is a very special case, a rare exception. While not many people are willing to pose for a video, most find the project harmless enough, and many find it fun and original. One can't generalize based solely on the opinion of this particular person or that of the few people who think like her. Mind you, I don't go around telling everyone I meet about tickling. But I'm not worried about discussing it within an appropriate context, like my company. If this leads me to have to deal with the occasional crackpot, so be it.

Tell here the real reason she is mad is because she secretly desires to be tickled to hysterics, but is afraid to admit it.

Hahaha! I wish I had thought of that one. Well, I probably wouldn't have said it anyway, but whatever, it would have been an excellent comeback.